Name: Sven's Tower by White Empress
Duration: 5 min 7 s
Description: Track 5 from the debut full-length album "Rise of The Empress"

@codepandorum: this deserves a good remix

Track 5 from the debut full-length album "Rise of The Empress"

Sven's Tower

System B

It seems every week we hear a new report of a cyber-attack. Recent examples include the hacks on Marks and Spencer's, Jaguar Land Rover, and the Co-op, all causing massive economic disruption.    

While these attacks seem to have come from cyber criminals working within the UK rather than other nation states, they highlight the destruction that cyber-attacks can wreak. What if those attacks were on our critical infrastructure? Our national grid? Our water supply? Is the UK prepared? 

Charlotte Kelloway meets former Director of Operations and Intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Nigel Inkster, who discusses when a cyber-attack could constitute a declaration of war.  

She also talks to former Director Cyber in the Foreign Office and Associate Dean for Strategic Development at the LSE School of Public Policy Professor Alexander Evans about what the UK is doing defensively and offensively to prevent cyber-attacks.  

Dr Lauren Sukin from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford explains why there is a lack of regulation in the cyberwar space and explores if depictions of cyberwar in the media are realistic.  

Contributors: Professor Alexander Evans, Dr Lauren Sukin, Nigel Inkster    

Research links:  

Lauren Sukin: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231153580  

Nigel Inkster: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Decoupling-Struggle-Technological-Supremacy/dp/1787383830  

LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.  

Will the next World War be a cyberwar?

In this episode, we are unpacking how effective COP30 really was, did the promises match the expectations and  where did world leaders deliver or fall short . COP 30 was held in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon. From extreme heat and climate-driven floods and fires to the political symbolism of choosing the Amazon over Rio, the setting shaped everything. 

The expectations were high this year. Brazil promised a ‘forest-first COP,’ with more youth engagement, significant inclusion of indigenous communities and major moves on finance and fossil fuels. Our host Simon Chin Yee, from UCL’s School of Public Policy and one of our guest Elena, Climate Reality Project Central and Eastern Europe, both of whom attended COP30 shares their biggest takeaways from Belem.

Our other guest, Susannah Fisher, is a leading researcher and author whose new book on climate adaptation, Sink or Swim, was published in August (Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sink-Swim-world-changing-climate/dp/1399414054/). In this episode, she explains why adaptation is a crucial part of the COP agenda and why it can’t be overlooked.

The episode also features the recent National Emergency Briefing on climate, and its important call to action to sign their petition to ask the government and all public service broadcasters to hold an urgent televised briefing so that everyone understands the profound risks this crisis poses to themselves and their families.
https://www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-keir
 
Credits:
Date of episode recording: 28th Nov 2026
Duration: 39:38
Language of episode: English 
Presenter: Professor Mark Maslin and Dr Simon Chin-Yee
Producer: Adam Batstone

Guests:
Susannah Fisher – Author and Principal Research Fellow at Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction, UCL.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sink-Swim-world-changing-climate/dp/1399414054/
Elena-Alexandra Miron – Central and Eastern Europe Regional Organiser, Climate Reality Project.

Season 5, Episode 12 - The COP Verdict: What Went Right and Wrong

I first heard "Section" at Lyny's set at Red Rocks when he supported Ganja White Knight, and the track stuck with me immediately. It was such a unique track, and I've been hooked on his sound since Noxious. I took my own spin on it, so enjoy this free download!

Follow JPhelpz:
www.instagram.com/jphelpz
www.facebook.com/jphelpzdubstep

Follow Lyny:
https://soundcloud.com/lynyofficial
https://www.instagram.com/lynyofficial

LYNY - SECTION (JPHELPZ FLIP)

Vision impairment affects millions of people worldwide. Dr Michael Crossland, a Senior Research Fellow at UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology, joins Professor Philip Schofield to discuss his research on how cutting-edge AI technologies can offer immediate support for those with low vision. They also explore how art, such as the work of visually impaired artist Luka Kille, provides a powerful way to express the lived experience of vision loss. 


Credits:
Date of episode recording: 2024-12-01
Duration: 00:16:02
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Professor Philip Schofield
Guests: Dr Michael Crossland 
Producer: Professor David Docherty OBE & Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS: Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, UCL) Director: Justin Hardy (IOE - Culture, Communication & Media, UCL) Producer: Stevie Doran

Season 2, Episode 7 - Vision Impairment: Science, Art and Lived Experience by Dr Michael Crossland

Money

11/16/2025, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Osho teaches that sometimes it is necessary to be for or against but there is a broader context in which this is not always necessary.

Arising in Unimaginable Awareness

Since returning to the White House for his second term in January 2025, Donald Trump has renewed his “America First” agenda by pursing a transactional approach to diplomacy and a desire to limit the US’ involvement overseas. This in turn is remoulding the global order.

To discuss Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the US’ place in the changing world order, in October 2025 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Charles Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.  

Further reading and resources
•	Charles A. Kupchan., No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn (Oxford Academic, 2012),
•	Charles A. Kupchan, Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself from the World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
•	The promise and peril of Trump's America first – LSE Phelan US Centre event, including links to event video and podcast recording

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026.

•	Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 
•	Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025

LSE: The Ballpark | The promise and peril of Trump’s America First with Professor Charles Kupchan

This year LSE is celebrating its 130th anniversary, and how it has shaped history and driven change across the world. Much of LSE’s history is linked to the United States, from philanthropic support from the US in LSE’s early days to famous alumni and American directors of the School.

To talk about the LSE’s long and close relationship with the United States, in October 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Michael Cox. Professor Cox is a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS, LSE's foreign policy think tank, and was its Director between 2008 and 2019. He is also Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE and has been writing a history of LSE.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.  

Further reading and resources

•	Cox, Michael, John Ikenberry, and Takashi Inoguchi (eds), American Democracy Promotion: Impulses, Strategies, and Impacts (Oxford University Press, 2000)
•	Cox, M., & Stokes, D. (Eds.), US Foreign Policy (Oxford University Press, 2026)
•	Celebrating LSE's 130th anniversary

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 2 February 2026. 

•	Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 
•	Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025

LSE: The Ballpark | LSE at 130 and the United States with Professor Michael Cox

White Empress comprise: Paul Allender, formerly the main guitarist and songwriter in Cradle of Filth, vocalist Mary Zimmer from Luna Mortis and a vocal coach, Will Graney, keyboardist from Damnation Angels, Chela Harper, bass player for Coal Chamber, guitarist Jeremy Kohnmann from the Awakening and drummer Zac Morris who’s played with many bands including Ugly Kid Joe. 

When Paul relocated to the USA in 2012, in between working with Cradle of Filth, he decided to start work on another project, with local musicians in his newly adopted home of Minneapolis and his friend, Martin Skaroupka from Cradle of Filth; this soon became White Empress.

With Paul’s relentless guitar and Mary’s diverse vocals ranging from operatic to death metal screams, White Empress is exploring new areas of metal.

Paul Allender says, "White Empress is the link the music scene has been so desperately missing. The band started writing together two years ago and have slowly crafted the sound that is White Empress. White Empress has all the best parts of the metal scene rolled up in to one band. The music is hard, but emotive. White Empress’ unique style and sound stands is bringing the fresh life to the music scene that its been crying out for.” 

Their first release was their EP ‘White Empress’ which garnered great press and radio coverage. 

After this the band have moved on to their first album, entitled ‘Rise Of The Empress’. This has been recorded in White Empress’ studio and has been mixed and mastered by veteran producer, Kit Woolven (Thin Lizzy, Dave Gilmour…) and is set for release on Peaceville Records, 29th September 2014. 

The band already have fans in the press from their EP: 

Dom Lawson – Metal Hammer – UK  “Further proof that Paul Allender is one of the foremost masters of infernal riffs and atmospheric filth in metal today, White Empress wield old school grandeur and haunting, arcane extremity like gleaming weapons of sonic refinement. Dark, diverse, lissom and wickedly infectious, theirs is a sound that oozes freshness while dragging us ever deeper into the depths of Hell…”  

Malcolm Dome: Total Rock, Classic Rock – UK  “Really impressed with the tracks. They combine a eerie choral atmosphere with a full-on, scathing metal attack. The musicianship is intricate yet ferocious, and the vocals have the delicate web of intrigue.” 

Aldo Mancusi – Brutal Crush – Italy  “Devastating, Deadly, Extreme! Three words to define the sound of these guys. A war machine that wounds the listener to death with riffs forged in hot metal, drum rhythms that will rip out your guts and the ear-melting screaming. Excellent!” 

Tarja Virmakari – Metal Shock – Finland  When I heard the first WHITE EMPRESS demo tracks at the end of summer 2013, I was absolutely amazed! It’s not possible to compare their music to anything I have heard before. At one point I thought I heard something that reminded me of a song, but right in the next instant new atmospheres filled my mind. There were rich riffs, drum blasts, gut-tearing clean vocals, along with growls and screaming, which proved my assumptions to be wrong. WHITE EMPRESS is new, fresh and hypnotic,  something that has to be experienced personally. This band is surely one of the greatest sensations of 2013 and I cannot wait to see what 2014 will bring from the WHITE EMPRESS camp! 

RISE OF THE EMPRESS

“It might have looked like smoke to those who hadn’t been there…but it was steam. Steam rising from the still-wet wounds of the fallen, scattered across the fields. It mingled with the collecting dew and filled the air with a rank, pungent aroma. 
The smell of a new era.

The Warrior stirred, managed to get to his knees, and then, pushing with an iron hand on the dank ground, to his feet. His eyes scanned the scores of dead, searching for his weapon. A smile crept across his face.
Strong, victorious, he strode to the edge of the wood. All along the treeline, first one here, then one there, a new member of the new race emerged. They nodded to each other, knowing this was the dawn they’d waited for.

The marriage of man and machine had birthed them into a future where they held within them all the capacities of both.
Against the rising sun, a silhouette loomed, and he knelt at her feet. He turned his face up, and swallowed his knee-jerk revulsion to her monstrous flesh…
Aluminum coils, laced through her skin, held her form together here and there, the sacrifice she had coldly made to achieve majesty. 
All color had left her except for the dried clots of blood, which clung insistently to the holes left by the stoic stitching, begging her to remember a humanity she had marshaled, a mortality…. she’d eschewed.
The ink pools of her eyes surveyed her subjects, as one by one they bowed before her. Her glittering irises assessed them, counted them- dismissed them.

What she’d done had been for the cause- not them. If they proved loyal, they might live to see the third moon. If not- only the Warrior would be spared. 
Wiping the last of the battle sweat from her lips, she took his weapon and knighted him- the first, the last, the best… into the reign of the White Empress.”

Sven's Tower

White Empress

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