In this weeks Beauty for Ashes we look at the Venezuelan earthquake; Ukraine war; New York forgets 9/11; Religion and the World Cup; Country of the Week – Austria: Imam mob leader gets police award; Reem Alsalem, UN Raporteur does not believe all women; NSW education department want white men out of science; Pyra Lara Bird-Leakey and the new SNP; The National cancels Kate Forbes; A new Bach song? ; Skillet’s monster no 1 Christian song on Spotify; Eric Clapton – no.2 guitarist; Belgium goes nuclear; EU Aircon for the bosses but not the workers; Feedback; Bishop of Manchester supports draconian anti-lgbt conversion therapy; Geoffrey Donaldson; and the Final Word – Rev 22:12-15 – with music from Eric Clapton; Skillet; Bach; The Who; Strauss; The Sound of Music; ACDC; Johnny Cash.
Here is the music used in this months podcast on Spotify….
Support Beauty for Ashes here….
Or 
Paypal: theweeflea@gmail.com
Catch up on last weeks episode here – Beauty for Ashes 37 – World Cup Songs, Japan, Humanism, the Grooming Gangs Report, Starbucks in South Korea, and Starmer
Mr Stefanovic is no saint – he has been a very naughty boy. Also disappointed to see Ms Forbes being taken in by groups corrupting Christianity for their unwholesome ends.
Would you like to tell us which groups are corrupting Christian which the gullible Ms Forbes (according to you) has been taken in by? As regards Karl being no saint – if thats your standard then you are going to be left with very few journalists and commentators!
Four things spring to mind about today’s podcast.
1. “Posh ” English people representing constituents from your former neck of the woods is surely nothing new. Was Dundee not represented, for 14 years, by Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, late of Blenheim Palace?
2. Perhaps the young editor from the National can be forgiven for being surprised at Kate Forbe’s appearance at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship event. After all, for a considerable period of time, she was a leading figure in an SNP government where there was little sign that our Judeo- Christian heritage was of any consequence.
3. Did you jinx the Netherlands?
4. I now suspect that your number 1 guitarist will be Bert Weedon.
Yes and Churchhill was loathed and was voted out by a teetotal socialist!
Hi David – David here from South Africa. I found your podcast while I was looking for Flea from Red Hot Chilly Peppers and have been hooked ever since. I am a ‘rehabilitated’ ministers son having grown up in a conservative baptist environment during the height of Apartheid – and thus my faith is one of a constant tightrope walk of questions and curiosity. I love hearing your insights – even though I don’t always agree with your netzero stance – and I love your music selection, totally contrary to my experience of conservative Christianity. By the way, you said Scotland is probably the worst team in the World Cup – I’d hope that they have surpassed South Africa’s claim to that spot! I’d love to sit and listen to one of your sermons – and may even want to put up my hand and ask questions.
Would love to have you!
Hey David
Great show as usual. I recently recommended to a fellow Christian at work and after listening to one- he binged another 5 and greatly appreciated them.
Can I provide a gentle push back. I think that on some occasions, you push the envelope or evidence to far to make your point- which can weaken your argument and the credibility of your case.
2 examples from this week.
Forgetting 9/11: You argued that the recent election of Mamdani endorsed candidates means New Yorkers are forgetting 911. While a couple of the candidates elected are Moslem (or Moslem converts) one of them is Jewish! The dominant issue is their democratic socialism focus. That will include Pro-Gaza, but is also pro-abortion, LBTQI+ and every other progressive, leftist cause under the sun. It may be alarming… but to claim is forgetting 911 is just not an accurate representation of the facts.
Karl Stefanovic being ‘fired’: This is actually much more nuanced. Stefanovic has been walking a fine line with his podcast vs his employer for some months. That includes a chummy interviews with a number of other characters who his fellow journalists in Channel 9 have exposed (Charlie Teo and Ben Roberts Smith). While I have not seen the interview as it’s been withdrawn- it’s evidently a far cry from Trigonometry’s interview with Tommy Robertson. It’s an uncritical, chummy chat with no critical questioning. For a far more polished view of this how this should not be called a cancel culture ‘firing’ check out this overview. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/uncomfortable-conversations-with-josh-szeps/id1002920114?i=1000774658995
If you have never listened to this podcast before- can I highly recommend it. Josh Szeps is Australia’s Bari Weiss- founder of the Free Press. He was effectively pushed out of the ABC after writing a piece critical of Pride month- even though he is married, gay with surrogate kids. He encourages ‘Uncomforable Conversations’. His interview with Christian anti-gay marriage/ children’s rights advocate Katy Faust is a master class in respectful, engaging interviewing of opposite viewpoints.
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/uncomfortable-conversations-with-josh-szeps/id1002920114?i=1000716216754 https://theweeflea.com/2026/06/30/beauty-for-ashes-38-earthquakes-austria-lara-bird-leakey-and-skillet/
Thanks – that is really appreciated…will mention these in the next podcast.
I understand that Churchill was loathed to the extent that he was elected in 1908 again, twice, in 1910,, again in 1917 and once again in 1918.
With regard to your piece on the Bradley School RE teacher you fail to mention that a key issue of the problem was that of blasphemy. Perhaps we who are striving to be Christians should be more strident in our approach to blasphemy – similar to that taken by Islam. Throughout my long life I have been saddened and sickened by the amount of times the name of our Lord has been taken in vain on the broadcast media. No amount of complaints seem to be taken heed of. The fact that ourselves and Imams with similar views on blasphemy are looked upon as religious fanatics is instructive. It is a shame that you didn’t explore this element in your broadcast. Christianity needs to get as tough and more on blasphemy as Islam is if it wants to progress. Part of this will also involve getting rid of the concept of religious intolerance – which is again another big issue- along with that of getting rid of corrupt preachers and leaders.
No thanks. I don’t want to kill people because they draw a cartoon of Jesus!