Valkyrie, also known by her Asgardian name Brunnhilde, was selected by Odin to lead his personal unit of shield-maidens, the Valkyrior. Renowned for her prowess in battle, this outstanding heroine has appeared in multiple Marvel movies including Thor: Love and Thunder. For Asgard, let's learn her comic bok history.&nbsp;         &nbsp;  Join #MarvelClub for the full THOR experience & more:&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;      GHL RECOMMENDED READING from this episode:&nbsp; Follow the show on TWITTER -&nbsp; Visit our Facebook fan page:&nbsp; You can find Ashley at&nbsp;&nbsp;and Jason at&nbsp;. Thanks for showing up to class today. Class is dismissed!

421: Valkyrie (Thor)

If you're someone who's a decade or two out from your high school graduation, do you ever find yourself thinking that you're just not as happy as you were back then? Of course all the positive-thinking self-talk then kicks in and you think, "Well, maybe I actually wasn't that happy before. I do like my life better now. I like the independence I have. Yeah, yeah, I really like being an adult." Yet, no matter the glass-half-full glow you try to put on things, you can't shake the feeling that your happiness has declined over the years, that at 30, you weren't as happy as you were at 20, and that at 40, you weren't as happy as you were when you were 30.

Well, that feeling is more than a nostalgic hunch, and it's not unique to you. It's actually been born out by hundreds of research papers and studies and shown to be a near-universal experience. My guest today has authored many of those papers. His name is Dr. David Branchflower and he's a labor economist who not only studies the data around money and jobs, but also around human happiness. Today on the show David explains how happiness follows a U-shaped curve, and starts declining around age 18, and continues to fall into midlife, before picking back up again, and David shares the average age at which happiness hits its very lowest point. While it's not entirely clear why the U-shape of happiness occurs, we talk about some possible reasons behind it. And while the U-shape is consistent across the world, it can be lower or higher, and so we discuss how factors like gender, socio-economic and martial status, and having children affect happiness, and whether it's possible to mitigate the dip.

While the fact that it won't be until your mid-60s that you feel as happy as you were at age 18 might seem depressing, David argues that it's comforting to know that the feelings of declining happiness you experience at you approach midlife are normal, and will not only pass one day, but start moving in the other direction.

#795: The U-Shaped Curve of Happiness

A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon

In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you.

Sources:
Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.
Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi’” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.
Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology.

The History of China

Special - Mid-Autumn: Fly Me to the Moon

In Brazil, fears are growing that if <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/09/08/win-or-lose-jair-bolsonaro-poses-a-threat-to-brazilian-democracy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jair Bolsonaro </a>loses in October, as polls suggest is likely, he may try to stage a coup or foment violence. He’s been sowing distrust in the country’s electoral system, and many of his supporters are well-armed. Should <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2022/09/01/should-every-schoolchild-eat-free?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">school lunches</a> be free? And why <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/09/01/why-is-indias-sex-ratio-normalising?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the gap</a> between the number of boys and girls born in India is narrowing. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <hr> Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Playing his Trump card: Bolsonaro and the election

It is a dark week for people named 'Elizabeth' or 'Queen' but we've somehow managed to gather ourselves and create a fitting tribute to the one they called 'Queen Elizabeth'.

Queen Coins Only

502: A Class Act, Until the End

Authoritarian regimes in many countries, and the men that lead them, depend on the international management of licit and illicit funds under their control. Frank Vogl shows that curbing their activities for their kleptocratic clients is critical to secure democracy, enhance national security, and ensure international financial stability.

Audiobook: The Enablers:

Jordan Poole - NBATV (9/25/22)

What made Teth Adam, soon to be played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a major motion picture, go from a villain who appeared only once during the 1940s to one who changed the hierarchy of the DC Universe? Let’s dig deep into the history of Black Adam, Shazam’s greatest foe!

Additional research & writing by Diego Nunez - https://twitter.com/Blackcrow521 

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Thanks for showing up to class today. Class is dismissed!

434: Black Adam

State media have taken to calling President Xi Jinping “the helmsman”; at the five-yearly meeting he <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2022/10/16/at-chinas-communist-party-congress-xi-jinping-sails-on-undaunted?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">defended</a> his means of steering the country. We ask how to read between his tightly prepared lines. Many of America’s firms will soon deliver disappointing profits—and there is <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2022/10/09/have-profits-peaked-at-american-businesses?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more to blame</a> than simple business cycles. And research suggests that parenthood causes fathers’ brains <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/09/28/becoming-a-father-shrinks-your-cerebrum?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to shrink</a>.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Helmsman’s high water: China’s Communist Party Congress

Howard Gives New ‘Monster Mash’ Lyrics in Phony Phone Call – The Howard Stern Show

8 BIT CRUMBS - 10 - 28 - 2022

Each week, Ashley and Jason will educate you about a different character from geek culture. Geek out, laugh, and learn! Get ready to enter your mind university.