the last journey home

The Last Journey Home

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LAST JORNEY HOME

The Last Journey Home is the fifth track of DragonForce's Ultra Beatdown album. It was written by ZP Theart and Sam Totman but Totman wrote the music of the song.

Music Video [ ]

The music video of the song shows DragonForce heading home from a world tour/live concert performance, and the girl, on the cover of the Ultra Beatdown album, is featured in the music video.

Strangers to reason, our bleeding hearts so cold,

Life brings a change in season, fear will blind the soul,

In the silence one moment alone,

Cast away scattered far on the wasteland.

Sever the soul from the forgotten sickness, escape this life,

Challenge the dream before the long departed, a mindless rhyme,

Whoa, oh, oh,

Hear the burning thunder roar,

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh.

Still lost in a fire storm,

Tonight we feel the past return.

Lost inside the dream, pass by the life we'll live forever,

Still the wasted time left burning below,

One thousand shattered voices, lost inside an endless wonder,

Tonight her voice will take me home.

Shine glorious we run, we stare into the blackened sky,

Save the last command, the virtue blinding,

So far beyond the sun, still burning with the fire inside,

Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home.

Paralyzed, intensified, mutation, frustration,

Everlasting lifetime in the underworld,

We'll travel endlessly, deluded disjointed,

One man can't understand this sad misery.

Whoa, oh oh oh ohh,

Whoa, oh oh ohh,

Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh ohh.

They've taken my heart,

They've taken my soul,

And now we stand alone insanity.

In time we'll see the past unwind,

Alive, still wandering our fallen land,

One more time we stare into the blackened sky,

For tonight, in our hearts now we feel,

One last time see our destiny revealed.

Shine glorious we ride, we stare into the blackened sky,

So far beyond the sun, still blinded with the fire inside,

Once alone again, the silence stares

Shine glorious tonight, still blinded by the blackened sun,

Save the last command, forever rising,

So far beyond they come, still blinded with the fire inside,

Silent stares for our last journey home.

• The pink-haired girl featured on the cover art of the Ultra Beatdown album (excluding the cover art of the Special Edition of the album).
• 1 DragonForce
• 2 Heroes of Our Time
• 3 Valley of the Damned (album)

• Ultra Beatdown
• Music Videos

The Last Journey Home

• View history

The Last Journey Home is the fifth track of DragonForce's Ultra Beatdown album. The lyrics were written by ZP Theart and Sam Totman but Totman wrote the music of the song.

" Retro GTA style video game, meets modern day metal! " - DragonForce Official YouTube's Video Description for the Music Video.

• 1 Music Video
• 2.1 Album Version Lyrics
• 2.2 Music Video Lyrics
• 4 External Links/References

Music Video [ ]

The music video of the song shows DragonForce heading home from a world tour/live concert performance, and the girl, on the cover of the Ultra Beatdown album, is featured in the music video.

ZP Theart and Vadim in the Music Video

Album Version Lyrics [ ]

Strangers to reason, our bleeding hearts so cold,

Life brings a change in season, fear will blind the soul,

In the silence one moment alone,

Cast away scattered far on the wasteland.

Sever the soul from the forgotten sickness, escape this life,

Challenge the dream before the long departed, a mindless rhyme,

Hear the burning thunder roar,

Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

Still lost in a fire storm,

Tonight we feel the past return.

Lost inside the dream, pass by the life we'll live forever,

Still the wasted time left burning below,

One thousand shattered voices, lost inside an endless wonder,

Tonight her voice will take me home.

Shine glorious we run, we stare into the blackened sky,

Save the last command, the virtue blinding,

So far beyond the sun, still burning with the fire inside,

Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home.

Paralyzed, intensified, mutation, frustration,

Everlasting lifetime in the underworld,

We'll travel endlessly, deluded disjointed,

One man can't understand this sad misery.

Woh oh oh oh oh!

Woh oh oh oh!

Woh oh oh oh oh oh oh!

They've taken my heart,

They've taken my soul,

And now we stand alone insanity.

In time we'll see the past unwind,

Alive, still wandering our fallen land,

One more time we stare into the blackened sky,

For tonight, in our hearts now we feel,

One last time see our destiny revealed.

Shine glorious we ride, we stare into the blackened sky,

So far beyond the sun, still blinded with the fire inside,

Once alone again, the silence stares

Shine glorious tonight, still blinded by the blackened sun,

Save the last command, forever rising,

So far beyond they come, still blinded with the fire inside,

Silent stares for our last journey home.

Music Video Lyrics [ ]

• The pink-haired girl featured on the cover art of the Ultra Beatdown album (excluding the cover art of the Special Edition of the album) is featured in the music video of the song.

The girl on the cover of Ultra Beatdown who is featured in this song's music video

External Links/References [ ]

• The Last Journey Home Official Music Video
• 1 DragonForce
• 2 Herman Li
• 3 Vadim Pruzhanov

• Artists add

The Last Journey Home

• DragonForce

Lyrics submitted by spyro201

The Last Journey Home Lyrics as written by Herman Li Frederic Leclercq

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

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man, whoever posted these butchered the lyrics...

Strangers to reason, our bleeding hearts so cold, Life brings a change in season, fear will blind the soul, In the silence one moment alone, Cast away scattered far on the wasteland.

Sever the soul from the forgotten sickness, escape this life, Challenge the dream before the long departed a mindless rhyme, Whoa, oh, oh, Hear the burning thunder roar, Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh.

Whoa, oh, oh, Still lost in a fire storm, Tonight we feel the past return.

Lost inside the dream, pass by the life we'll live forever, Still the wasted time left burning below One thousand shattered voices, lost inside in endless wonder, Tonight her voice will take me home.

[Chorus:] Shine glorious we run, we stare into the blackened sky, Save the last command, the virtue blinding, So far beyond the sun, still burning with the fire inside, Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home.

Paralysed, intensified mutation, frustration, Everlasting lifetime in the underworld, We'll travel endlessly, deluded, disjointed, One man can't understand this sad misery.

Whoa, oh oh oh ohh, Whoa, oh oh ohh, Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh ohh.

They've taken my heart, They've taken my soul, And now we stand alone insanity.

In time we'll see the past unwind, Alive, still wandering our fallen land, One more time we stare into the blackened sky, For tonight, in our hearts now we feel, One last time see our destiny revealed.

Shine glorious tonight, still blinded by the blackened sun, Save the last command, forever rising, So far beyond they come, still burning with the fire inside, Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home.

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i know its not their fastest or most intense song yet, buts its an awesome song, exept for the transition from "one last time see our destiny reveal" to the chorus, which kinda left u hanging, it could have been much bigger and epic, but the energy dropped in that transition, other than that, great song!

Best song ever to exist ever ever......ever!

I think this song is about how one deteriorates as a person over time due to a great hardship.

I think this song is about a soldier with PTSD.

"Strangers to reason, our bleeding hearts so cold, Life brings a change in season, fear will blind the soul, In the silence one moment alone, Cast away scattered far on the wasteland."

He's sent in with his team who are all killed. Their hearts turned cold and he was in silence alone while they were all killed.

"Sever the soul from the forgotten sickness, escape this life, Challenge the dream before the long departed a mindless rhyme,"

He thinks of committing suicide to escape his illness, while hearing his team tell him to do it in his head.

"Still lost in a fire storm, Tonight we feel the past return.

Lost inside the dream, pass by the life we'll live forever, Still the wasted time left burning below One thousand shattered voices, lost inside in endless wonder, Tonight her voice will take me home."

He relives the experience over and over, only being brought out of it by his wife/girlfriend/whatever.

"[Chorus:] Shine glorious we run, we stare into the blackened sky, Save the last command, the virtue blinding, So far beyond the sun, still burning with the fire inside, Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home."

He relives the experience again in his dreams, trying to change things but he can't "save the last command." He remembers burning with rage when arriving home and being greeted only with silent stares.

"Paralysed, intensified mutation, frustration, Everlasting lifetime in the underworld, We'll travel endlessly, deluded, disjointed, One man can't understand this sad misery."

He's been changed by the experience and thinks no one can ever understand.

"They've taken my heart, They've taken my soul, And now we stand alone insanity."

The person he was with before has left. He now has no one and stands alone with the imagined images of his fallen comrades in insanity.

"In time we'll see the past unwind, Alive, still wandering our fallen land,"

He feels like his homeland isn't the place he left any more, and he wanders it alone, probably homeless

"One more time we stare into the blackened sky, For tonight, in our hearts now we feel, One last time see our destiny revealed."

He goes crazy and relives the battle in public,

"Shine glorious tonight, still blinded by the blackened sun, Save the last command, forever rising, So far beyond they come, still burning with the fire inside, Once alone again, silent stares for our last journey home."

He hurts people during this episode, believing the whole time that he is back in the battle, and is once again returned home only to silent stares.

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• Cast & crew

The Last Journey Home

The film is based on the true story of the Bulgarian poet Dimcho Debelyanov and actress Nevena Buyuklieva. He was only 29 years old when he died in Greece in World War I. His remains were re... Read all The film is based on the true story of the Bulgarian poet Dimcho Debelyanov and actress Nevena Buyuklieva. He was only 29 years old when he died in Greece in World War I. His remains were returned back home, with efforts of N. Buyuklieva. The film is based on the true story of the Bulgarian poet Dimcho Debelyanov and actress Nevena Buyuklieva. He was only 29 years old when he died in Greece in World War I. His remains were returned back home, with efforts of N. Buyuklieva.

• Marian Marinov
• Silvia Lulcheva
• Neve Gachev
• Kristiyan Iliev

• Nevena Buyuklieva

• Todora Arabadjieva
• The Undertaker
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews

• April 28, 2020 (Bulgaria)
• Official site of the production Company
• Sofia, Bulgaria
• New Age Studio
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• €250,000 (estimated)

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• Runtime 26 minutes
• Black and White

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USS Kitty Hawk's Final Journey: From Naval Glory to a Texan Scrapyard in 2022

Posted: May 1, 2024 | Last updated: May 1, 2024

The iconic USS Kitty Hawk, a veteran of several wars and the last oil-powered aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, has reached its final destination, not with the fanfare befitting a distinguished naval vessel, but with the quiet finality of being sold for scrap.

On January 15, 2022, the storied Kitty Hawk embarked on her last voyage, leaving Bremerton, en route to a scrapyard in Texas, marking an end of service that spanned from the Vietnam War to operations during the Iraq War.

Commissioned in 1961, the USS Kitty Hawk quickly distinguished itself as a formidable asset in the U.S. Navy's carrier fleet. It notably received the Presidential Unit Citation in January 1969 for the pivotal role its crew and Carrier Air Wing Eleven played during the intense combat of the Vietnam War.

Even as the dawn of the new millennium brought advanced technology and new classes of carriers, the Kitty Hawk remained a crucial platform for military operations, notably during Operation Southern Watch in the early 2000s.

Despite its storied past and the memories forged aboard its decks, the USS Kitty Hawk and its sister ship, the USS John F. Kennedy—another oil-powered giant of the seas—were sold for a paltry sum, one cent and one penny respectively. The vessels' fates were sealed as their utility and operational conditions waned following decommission.

The Kitty Hawk, after over a decade in limbo at a shipyard in Puget Sound, and the John F. Kennedy, decommissioned two years prior to Kitty Hawk, were destined to be dismantled alongside each other, their historic contributions not enough to save them from the cutters' torches.

The USS Kitty Hawk's journey to the scrapyard was a testament to the logistical challenges and the end-of-life considerations for such massive vessels.

It was too large to pass through the Panama Canal and therefore made a 16,000-mile trip, arriving in Texas five months later. This once mighty ship, capable of 30 knots and home to a crew of 4,582, had to be towed by tugboats due to non-operational steam boilers and turbines. Throughout its life, the carrier played host to a variety of aircraft, ranging from the A-1 Skyraider to the F-14 Tomcat, symbolizing the evolution of naval air power.

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The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok

U.s. lawmakers have long worried that the chinese government could use the app to spread propaganda..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. And this is “The Daily.”

[THEME MUSIC]

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban the video app TikTok over concerns that its ties to China pose a national security risk. Last week, they passed a law that might finally do it. Today, my colleague, Sapna Maheshwari, on the secret effort behind the law and what a ban would mean for the company’s 170 million American users.

It’s Tuesday, April 30.

So Sapna, tell me about this law that just passed that potentially bans the social media app TikTok. We’ve seen efforts in the past to rein in TikTok, but this one really seems like the most substantial yet.

It’s a huge deal. What this law really does is it puts the future of this hugely popular app with 170 million American users into question. TikTok has reshaped the way many people listen to music. It’s changed the way we cook. It’s made a whole different kind of celebrity.

But it’s never been able to shake these concerns around the fact that it has really close ties to China. It’s owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. And lawmakers, for years, have been worried that the Chinese government could somehow use ByteDance and TikTok to get information on Americans or possibly spread propaganda.

President Trump tried to ban it in 2020. The State of Montana tried to ban this app last year. TikTok has largely survived those challenges, but this time it could actually be banned in the United States.

So let’s talk about this. Why did this effort succeed where the other ones failed?

So it’s an interesting story.

Here we go.

The committee will come to order.

And it really dates back to this hearing about a year ago that Congress had with Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok.

Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security.

Members of the committee, thank you for your time.

— TikTok has repeatedly said that it has addressed these national security concerns and that there’s no issue here. And you can hear that when Shou Chew testified.

Let me start by addressing a few misconceptions about ByteDance of which we are a subsidiary. ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

He’s saying American investors are behind ByteDance.

Now, TikTok itself is not available in mainland China. We’re headquartered in Los Angeles and in Singapore.

And I myself am Singaporean. I live in Singapore.

The bottom line is this — American data, stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel.

And we are actually going above and beyond what American technology companies do to keep things safe.

And I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much.

And is Congress convinced by that?

Congress is not convinced by that.

ByteDance is a Chinese company?

Well, ByteDance owns many businesses that operates in China.

Is it or is it not a Chinese company?

Congressman, the way we look at it, it was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

No, no, no, no. I’m not asking how you look at it. Fact, is it a Chinese company or not? For example, Dell is a company —

It was this really fiery, five-hour hearing, where Republicans and Democrats asked really contentious questions.

We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government. Will you repeat —

The question is, are you percent certain that they cannot use your company to promote such messages?

It is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep this free from any manipulation by any government.

OK. If you can’t say it 100 percent certain I take that as a no.

There’s this underlying sense of distrust around the company and its ties to China.

I will remind you that making false or misleading statements to Congress is a federal crime.

I understand. Again, you can go on our platform. You will find that content.

And it becomes clear through the hearing that, across the board, Republicans and Democrats largely feel the same way.

Mr. Chew, I got to hand it to you. You’ve actually done something that in the last three to four years has not happened except for the exception of maybe Vladimir Putin. You have unified Republicans and Democrats.

So within weeks of this hearing, this small group of lawmakers gets together. And they say, let’s come up with a law that works where all the other ones have failed and actually make TikTok answer to its Chinese connections once and for all.

So tell me about this small group of lawmakers. Who are they?

So it starts with Republicans. Among them is Steve Scalise, one of the most powerful Republicans in the House. And a small group sort of works together for a few months, but they realize that in order to really make this law work, they’re going to need Democrats. So they end up working through this House Committee that’s focused on China and competition. And this is where the bulk of the work on this bill takes place.

And just to note, this is a really small group. There’s less than 20 key players who are working on this. And all throughout, they are keeping this very, very secret.

And why exactly are they keeping it secret? What’s the point of that?

So this group really wanted to keep this out of the eyes of TikTok, which has a huge lobbying presence in DC, and has successfully worked to kill bills that targeted TikTok in the past. And what they’re really doing is looking at all of the past efforts to either force a sale or a ban of TikTok, and trying to work their way through why those plans didn’t succeed and what they can do differently.

But while the lawmakers are working on this bill, something big happens that kind of changes the politics around it. And that’s October 7.

Your social media feeds are unique to you, but could they be shaping how you view the Israel-Gaza War? The BBC’s —

As the war breaks out and people start getting information about it, a lot of people are getting information about the Israel-Hamas War on TikTok, especially young people.

Social media algorithms seem to be driving some users towards increasingly divisive posts —

And there’s this big messy argument spilling out into living rooms and all over the internet, and, of course on TikTok. And it’s getting very heated. For instance, there’s this moment in the fall where a bunch of TikTok users start sharing this old manifesto.

I read Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America.”

It’s wild, and everyone should read it.

Go read “A Letter to America.” Seriously, go read it.

That was actually written by Osama bin Laden, defending the 9/11 attacks and criticizing the United States’ support of Israel. TikTok users start trying to tie it to the modern day conflict.

Reading this letter, it becomes apparent to me that the actions of 9/11 were all just the buildup of our government failing other nations.

The way this letter is going viral right now is giving me the greatest sense of relief. Now it’s all coming to light because of Palestine.

And there’s these accusations that TikTok may be promoting one side of the conflict over the other. And a couple of researchers look at hashtags around Palestine, and they say that the data they pulled shows that TikTok is showing way more pro-Palestine videos and not so much for Israel. And this sets off huge alarm bells for this small group of lawmakers.

But isn’t that just a function of the fact that TikTok, at this point, is the public square in the United States for young people? I mean, this is what young people were talking about, and this is where they’re doing the talking.

TikTok has pushed back really forcefully against these accusations. They said that Gallup polls show that young people view Israel differently than older generations. They say that they’re not the ones influencing what people post, that the hashtags and the videos are a reflection of the user base and nothing that they’re doing to influence.

But for lawmakers, this doesn’t really make their concerns go away. Instead, this conflict shows them how TikTok could be used to spread propaganda. It made lawmakers feel that TikTok could be really dangerous when it comes to shaping the views of Americans on foreign policy, on US elections. And what it also does is, it provides this driving force to this group that’s drafting this bill. And they suddenly see that this might be a way to bring more people into their effort.

And so heading into November against this backdrop, they even bring in the White House and the Justice Department to help work on this bill. And with the White House, they want to make sure that this is a bill that the president will support. And they work with the Justice Department to shore up the language in the bill to help defend against court challenges.

Because the Justice Department, of course, would be the one that would have to defend the bill, right?

That’s exactly right. And so they’re trying to make it as rock solid as possible so that they can win in court when TikTok challenges this law. And so March rolls around, and they decide that it’s time to unveil this bill that they’ve been working on for close to a year.

The battle over TikTok on Capitol Hill is intensifying.

This morning, House lawmakers have agreed unanimously to move a bill to a full floor vote.

And TikTok is caught completely flat footed. They didn’t see this coming. And this is just what the group wanted. So TikTok has this army of lobbyists that’s suddenly scrambling. And they go into damage control mode. They start reaching out to members of Congress.

This app is so much more than just an app for dumb TikTok dances.

They fly a group of TikTok stars and small businesses to come to DC —

This is a life-changing apps.

— and lobby on the steps of the Capitol and meet with lawmakers.

Standing up here with all these amazing TikTokers behind me is a complete honor, and every single one of them would voice their opinion just like this. This is how we feel. This has to stop.

They set up interviews between these TikTok creators, as they’re known, and big TV shows and news programs. And they’re doing everything they can to fight against this bill before it goes any further. And then they decide to do something unusual, which is use TikTok itself to try and derail this bill.

How exactly do they do that?

So days after this bill is announced, a ton of TikTok users get a message when they open the TikTok app that basically says, call Congress and tell them not to ban TikTok.

Hmm. OK. So like, literally this window comes up and says, call Congress. Here you go.

Exactly. You can enter your zip code, and there’s a button that appears. And you can press it, and the call goes straight to your representative.

So offices are quickly overwhelmed by calls. And TikTok sent out this message to users on the same day that a House committee is going into vote on this bill and whether to move it forward. And so the stunt happens. They go into vote, and they come out, and it’s 50 to 0 in support of the bill.

One of the representatives who worked on the bill said that this stunt by TikTok turned a lot of no’s into yeses and yeses into, quote, “hell yeses.”

[LAUGHS]: so the whole episode sounds like it actually backfired, right? Like, TikTok’s stunt essentially just confirmed what was the deepest fears of lawmakers about this company, that the app could be used to influence American politics.

That’s definitely how a lot of lawmakers viewed it. And when this bill is brought to the full House a week later, it passes by an overwhelming majority. And weeks later, it passes in the Senate as part of a broader aid package. And on Wednesday, it’s signed into law by President Biden.

But now the question is, what does it mean? Like, how will this actually work? And how will it affect the tens of millions of Americans who use TikTok every day?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

So Sapna, now that Biden has signed this bill, what does it actually mean in practice for TikTok? What does the law do?

So the law is really trying to push ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to sell to a non-Chinese owner. And the company basically has nine months for this sale to happen. There’s an option for President Biden to add another three months to that clock. And if the company doesn’t find a buyer or refuses to be sold, it will be banned.

And what would a ban actually mean, Sapna? I mean, people would still have the app on their phones, right? So it wouldn’t disappear overnight.

Yeah, no one’s coming to pick up your phone and to forcibly delete this thing. What the law says is that app stores and web hosting services wouldn’t be allowed to carry TikTok anymore. So basically, it would kind of die a slow death over time, where it wouldn’t be updated and just kind of peter out.

So the bottom line here is that the clock has started on this potential sale, right? They have 12 months to find a buyer. So what are the obstacles here? I mean, it sounds pretty ferociously complicated.

There’s a ton of challenges here. And it’s a very messy choose-your-own adventure. So one of the first big questions is who could buy this?

ByteDance and TikTok are private. We don’t know their financials. But analysts estimate that it will cost tens of billions of dollars. That narrows the buying pool pretty quickly. And a lot of the companies that could afford to buy it, like Meta, the owner of Facebook, or Google, which owns YouTube, would probably be kicked out of the running because they are simply too big. Regulators would say, you already own these big apps. You can’t possibly add this to your stable.

There’d be a monopoly concern there.

Exactly. And then, there’s a lot of questions around how this would work, technically. ByteDance and TikTok are very much global organizations. You have the CEO in Singapore. They have huge operations in Ireland. They have this big workforce in the US. And of course, they do have engineers in China.

So how do you extract all those things, make it all work? It’s a very big international transaction.

And then there is the chance that the Chinese government blocks this sale and says, you cannot do this, ByteDance. We will not allow it.

So Sapna, how does that actually work, though, in terms of China? I mean, can China actually just ban the sale of this company? I mean, it is a private company after all, right?

Well, here’s one way it could work. The Chinese government could block the export of TikTok’s algorithm. And let me explain that in kind of plain English.

They could basically block the technology that fuels the TikTokiness of this app, the recommendations, the magic of it, why you see what you see when you’re looking at TikTok.

TikTokiness, is that an adjective?

That is now an adjective.

[LAUGHS]: Nice.

And there’s a chance that Beijing could say, hey, you can’t export this technology. That is proprietary. And if that happens, that suddenly makes TikTok way, way less valuable.

So the Chinese government could let the sale go through potentially, but as a kind of an empty shell, right? The thing that makes TikTok TikTok, the algorithm, wouldn’t be part of the company. So that probably isn’t very appealing for a potential buyer.

Exactly. And I mean, the role of the Chinese government here is really interesting. I’ve talked to experts who say, well, if the Chinese government interferes to try and block a sale of this app, doesn’t that underscore and prove all the concerns that have been expressed by American lawmakers?

If you’re worried about China being in control of this thing, well, that just confirmed your fears.

Exactly. And I mean, it’s an interesting thing that ByteDance and TikTok have to grapple with.

So bottom line here — selling TikTok is quite complicated, and perhaps not even possible for these reasons that you’re giving, right? I mean, not least of which because the Chinese government might not allow the algorithm to leave the country. And that’s not something that the US Congress has a lot of control over.

So is this law fundamentally just a ban, then?

That’s what TikTok is calling it. Right after this bill was signed into law on Wednesday —

Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.

— Tiktok’s CEO made a TikTok — what else?— that explained the company’s position.

Because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.

He actually argued that TikTok reflects American values.

TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard. And that’s why so many people have made TikTok part of their daily lives.

And he said that this law infringes on the First Amendment free speech rights of Americans who love it and who use it every day.

The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.

So it’s very clear that TikTok plans to challenge this law in court. And the court fight to follow will determine the fate of TikTok’s future in the US.

So is that First Amendment argument that the TikTok CEO is making here going to work?

Nobody wants to put money on that. I mean, the company is really approaching this with the idea that the First Amendment rights of Americans are being infringed on. But if you remember, the government has been working on this law. They’ve been anticipating those challenges. And they can justify an infringing of First Amendment rights in certain cases, including with national security concerns. And so it’ll be up to a judge on whether those concerns pass muster and justify this sale and even a potential ban of TikTok.

Got it. So TikTok will argue free speech, First Amendment. And the government will counter by saying, look, this is about China. This is about America’s national security interests.

That’s right. And the legal experts that I’ve spoken with say this is a really big and sticky area of the law, and it’s a huge case. And they really think that this will go to the Supreme Court, regardless of who wins in the first round of this.

So where does that leave the millions of Americans who use TikTok, and many of them, of course, who earn a living on the platform?

I mean, it’s really uncertain what happens now with the company, and the clock has started ticking. When I’ve looked at TikTok and looked at videos from users —

This is about the impending TikTok ban. And it just triggered me so much. It makes my blood boil, and I have to get this out there.

There’s a lot of shock —

The most success I’ve had has been here on TikTok, and now they’re trying to take it away.

This is so stupid!

— and anger.

You can’t ban apps! You can’t ban things from people!

People are confused.

Word on the street is that in the next 9 to 12 months, TikTok could be banned.

And they’re also caught a bit off guard, just because there have been these years of efforts to do something about TikTok. People on the app have been hearing about a TikTok ban, really, since 2020.

The government can take away a literal app on our phones, and we’re supposed to believe we’re free?

A few TikTokers have said, how can this be the thing that the government is pushing through so quickly?

Can we stop funding a genocide? No. Can we get free COVID tests? No. Can we stop killing the planet? No. Can we at least watch videos on an app of people doing fun things and learn about the world around us? No.

So there’s this sense of distrust and disappointment for many people who love this app.

We got rid of TikTok. You’re welcome. Protecting you from China. You know that phone was made in China. Ah!

And I think there’s also this question, too, around what about TikTok makes it so harmful? Even though it has increasingly become a place for news, there’s plenty of people who simply use this app for entertainment. And what they’re seeing out of Washington just doesn’t square with the reality they experience when they pull out their phones.

And I wonder, Sapna, I mean, just kind of stepping back for a second, let’s say this ban on TikTok succeeds. If it goes through, would Americans be better off?

It depends who you ask. For the users who love TikTok, if it actually disappeared, it would be the government taking away a place where maybe they make money, where they get their entertainment, where they figure out what to read or what to cook next. To free speech advocates, this would be dystopian, unheard of for the government to crack down on an app with such wide usage by Americans.

But for the American political class And the National security establishment, this is a necessary move, one that was years in the making, not something that was just come up with on the fly. And ultimately, it all comes down to China and this idea that you can’t have a social media app like this, a source of news like this, that is even at all at risk of being influenced by the Chinese government and our greatest adversaries.

Sapna, thank you.

Here’s what else you should know today. On Monday, in its latest high-profile showdown with pro-Palestinian protesters, Columbia University gave students until 2:00 PM to clear out from an encampment at the center of campus or face suspension. It appeared to be an effort to remove the encampment without relying on New York City Police, whose removal of a previous encampment there two weeks ago inspired similar protests on campuses across the country.

Free Palestine!

Hi, this is Sharon Otterman reporting for “The New York Times.”

00 PM deadline for protesters to clear out of the encampment at the center of Columbia University has come and gone, and there’s still quite a large contingent inside the encampment.

But Monday’s warning seemed only to galvanize the Columbia protesters and their supporters.

And hundreds of students and others from around the campus have come out to support them. They are currently walking around in a picket around the encampment.

Hundreds of students, standing for or five people deep, encircled the encampment in a show of solidarity. They were joined by members of the Columbia faculty.

There’s also dozens of faculty members, who are prepared to stand in lines in front of the main entrance to the encampment, in case Public Safety or the NYPD move in. But as of 2:00, there was no sign of that happening.

Then, on Monday evening, Columbia announced it had begun to suspend students who had failed to leave the encampment. It was unclear exactly how many students had been suspended.

[PRO-PALESTINE CHANTING]:

Today’s episode was produced by Will Reid, Rachelle Banja, and Rob Szypko. It was edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sharon Otterman.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring
• April 26, 2024   •   21:50 Harvey Weinstein Conviction Thrown Out
• April 25, 2024   •   40:33 The Crackdown on Student Protesters
• April 24, 2024   •   32:18 Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?
• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?
• April 22, 2024   •   24:30 The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Sapna Maheshwari

Produced by Will Reid ,  Rachelle Bonja and Rob Szypko

Edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban TikTok, concerned that the video app’s links to China pose a national security risk.

Sapna Maheshwari, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the behind-the-scenes push to rein in TikTok and discusses what a ban could mean for the app’s 170 million users in the United States.

On today’s episode

Sapna Maheshwari , who covers TikTok, technology and emerging media companies for The New York Times.

Background reading

A tiny group of lawmakers huddled in private about a year ago, aiming to bulletproof a bill that could ban TikTok.

The TikTok law faces court challenges, a shortage of qualified buyers and Beijing’s hostility .

Love, hate or fear it, TikTok has changed America .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Special thanks to Sharon Otterman .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected] . More about Sapna Maheshwari

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DC/Dox Film Festival Unveils Second Annual Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)

By Addie Morfoot

Addie Morfoot

Contributor

• DC/Dox Film Festival Unveils Second Annual Lineup (EXCLUSIVE) 16 hours ago
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DC/Dox has unveiled the lineup for its second annual edition, which takes place in Washington, D.C., from June 13-16. The documentary festival will kick things off with “ Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story ,” the Warner Bros. Discovery film that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

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In April, Sitney revealed that Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” was one of four docus that would make up DC/Dox’s Signature Screenings section. The remaining three docus in the program are: Lana Wilson’s “Look Into My Eyes” (DC/Dox Centerpiece film), Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much” (DC/Dox Spotlight film), and Sally Aitkin’s “Every Little Thing” (DC/Dox Closing Night film). Each docu premiered at Sundance 2024.

“These four signature films capture important aspects of our human experience: resilience in the face of adversity, the beauty found in small acts of kindness, the power of art and music to unite people in our shared humanity, and the universal desire to find higher meaning in our lives,” said Sitney.

Six feature docus will make their world premieres at DC/Dox: They are: AJ Schnack’s “Majority Rules,” about Alaska’s decision to use ranked-choice voting; Ross Kauffman’s “Wild Wild Space” an exploration of private companies jostling for dominance in space; Catherine Gund’s “Paint Me a Road Out of Here,” about Faith Ringgold’s painting “For the Women’s House”; Bridget Hunnicutt’s “Breaking the West,” about a Russian oligarch’s ambitions in the West; Alexandra Shiva and Lindsey Megrue’s observational portrait of a psychiatric unit for young adults titled “One South: Portrait of a Psyche Ward”; and Asako Gladsjo’s “The Calling, which follows a group of medical students in the Bronx.

DC/Dox will also screen the North American premieres of Peter Middleton’s “Apollo Thirteen: Survival,” which chronicles the almost disastrous NASA mission, and Chad Freidrichs’ “The Cinema Within” about the art and science of film editing. Jeremy Xido’s “The Bones,” an examination of the high-stakes world of dinosaur bone trading, will make its U.S. premiere at the fest. The doc premiered in March at CPH:Dox.

“With this second edition, DC/Dox continues to provide a festival experience that can only be found in the nation’s capital,” says DC/Dox co-founder Jamie Shor. “This festival allows filmmakers the unique opportunity to connect with an audience that can be influencers and amplifiers of their work, as well as appreciators.”

DC/Dox 2024 PROGRAM

Signature Screenings

Signature Screenings Opening Night Screening: Thursday, June 13

SUPER/MAN:THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY: DIRS Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. PRODS Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, and Ian Bonhôte. United Kingdom, USA. The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, marked by his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman. After becoming a quadriplegic he became a passionate advocate for disability rights, all while continuing his career in cinema, and dedicating himself to his beloved family. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery. Spotlight Screening: Friday, June 14

LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH: DIR Dawn Porter. PRODS Trish D. Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, and Leah Smith. USA. Using a wealth of rarely seen archives, the virtuoso vocalist Luther Vandross tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson, and Roberta Flack. Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing. Centerpiece Screening: Saturday, June 15

LOOK INTO MY EYES: DIR Lana Wilson. PRODS Kyle Martin and Lana Wilson. USA. A group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing. Courtesy of A24. Closing Night Screening: Sunday, June 16 EVERY LITTLE THING: DIR Sally Aitken. PRODS Bettina Dalton, Oli Harbottle, and Anna Godas. Australia. Amid the glamor of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness. Courtesy of Wildbear Entertainment, Dogwoof, and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios.

Features 1-800-ON-HER-OWN: DIR Dana Flor. PROD Amy Hobby. USA. 1-800-ON-HER-OWN follows groundbreaking indie musician/feminist Ani DiFranco, founder of the first “woman-run non-corporate queer-happy” label, Righteous Babe Records, on a wild road trip from her punk-folk past to her life today as an activist, mother and rock star. Throughout, Ani remains resolutely true to herself, no matter the cost. ADMISSIONS GRANTED: DIRS Hao Wu and Miao Wang. PRODS Hao Wu and Miao Wang. USA. In a landmark Supreme Court case pitting Asian American plaintiffs against Harvard University, activists on both sides wrestle with hard truths about race and equality, as the fate of affirmative action hangs in the balance. Courtesy of MSNBC Films. AIN’T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND: DIR Ilana Trachtman. PROD Ilana Trachtman. USA. Five Howard University students rode a segregated carousel outside Washington, DC in 1960, igniting the first organized interracial civil rights protest in US history. This is the untold story of the Jews they marched with, Nazis they provoked, Congressmen they inspired, and Civil Rights leaders they became. Screening as part of DC/FRAME. AMERICA’S BURNING: DIR David Smick. PROD Ian Michaels. USA. America’s Burning explores the country’s divide through the lens of the U.S. economy and examines the big question — could an economic civil war take us all down? AND SO IT BEGINS: DIR Ramona S. Diaz. PROD Ramona S. Diaz. USA. Amidst the traditional pomp and circumstance of Filipino elections, a quirky people’s movement rises to defend the nation against deepening threats to truth and democracy. In a collective act of joy as a form of resistance, hope flickers against the backdrop of increasing autocracy. ANTIDOTE: DIR James Jones. PROD James Jones. United Kingdom. A deeply immersive and urgent film that reveals the cost of standing up to Vladimir Putin and daring to tell the truth about modern Russia. APOLLO THIRTEEN: SURVIVAL: DIR Peter Middleton. PRODS Hugh Davies and Clive Patterson. USA. In April 1970, NASA faced the greatest crisis in its history: three astronauts were halfway to the moon on a spacecraft that had suffered a catastrophic explosion. With access to NASA’s complete audiovisual archives, APOLLO THIRTEEN: SURVIVAL tells the story of a space mission like no other. North American Premiere. Courtesy of Netflix. THE BITTER PILL: DIR Clay Tweel. PRODS Tim Grant, Shannon E. Riggs, and Mary Rohlich. USA. A small-town lawyer takes on a 500 billion-dollar sector of the pharmaceutical industry to aid his community in its recovery from the opioid epidemic. BLACK BOX DIARIES: DIR Shiori Ito. PRODS Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin, and Shiori Ito. Japan, United Kingdom, USA. Young journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems. Courtesy of Dogwoof. BLACK TABLE: DIRS John Antonio James and Bill Mack. PRODS Katie Taber, John Antonio James, Bill Mack. USA. For Black students at an elite college during the early days of the culture wars, the most important lessons didn’t happen inside the classroom. THE BONES: DIR Jeremy Xido. PROD Ina Fichman. Canada, Germany. Traversing the globe, paleontologists are on a quest to unearth dinosaur fossils that may hold the key to save humanity from extinction. It’s a race against time before the bones disappear into the hands of fossil dealers, who stand to make millions by selling them on the open market. US Premiere. Courtesy of Dogwoof. BREAKING THE WEST: DIR Bridget Hunnicutt. PRODS Bridget Hunnicutt, Mike Gehman, Eddie Stafford. USA. A Russian oligarch’s dream of becoming a pop star is derailed, as he is accused of influencing the 2016 US presidential election. World Premiere. Screening as part of DC/FRAME. THE CALLING: DIR Asako Gladsjo. PROD Tanya Blake. USA. Over the course of a year, a diverse group of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx learn what it takes to become doctors serving one of America’s most underserved communities. World Premiere. Courtesy of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY: DIR Ben Sturgulewski. PRODS Katie Stjernholm and Baktash Ahadi. USA. In the peaks of Afghanistan, villagers from rival ethnic groups build makeshift skis and convene for a thrilling mountain race that requires incredible camaraderie and resilience – lessons they must call upon when they experience the collapse of their country to the Taliban. THE CINEMA WITHIN: DIR Chad Freidrichs. PRODS Chad Freidrichs and Jaime Freidrichs. USA. Film editor Walter Murch, film scholar David Bordwell, and a group of psychologists suggest that film editing is profoundly “natural,” but in remote Turkish mountains, a budding researcher – alongside people who have never seen films – puts this deepest of cinematic ideas to the test. North American Premiere.

DAUGHTERS: DIRS Angela Patton and Natalie Rae. PRODS Natalie Rae, Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, and Laura Choi Raycroft. USA. Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy-Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, DC jail. Courtesy of Netflix.

DRIVER: DIR Nesa Azimi. PRODS Nesa Azimi, Nicolas Borel, and Ines Hofmann Kanna. USA. After losing everything, Desiree Wood takes a second lease on life as a long-haul truck driver. Alongside an irreverent group of women drivers, she fights for a life on the road.

EMERGENT CITY: DIRS Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg. PRODS Brenda Avila-Hanna, Kelly Anderson. USA. As rents and sea levels rise, Brooklyn residents confronting a new real estate development navigate a tangled web of power, money and politics.

THE FIRST CLASS: Lee Hirsh. PRODS. Robert Fernandez, Lee Hirsch. USA. A rousing documentary that immerses viewers into the lives of the very first students and teachers at Memphis’s Crosstown High.

HOLLYWOODGATE: DIR Ibrahim Nash’at. PRODS Talal Derki, Odessa Rae, and Shane Boris. Germany. When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban retook control of the ravaged country and immediately found an American base loaded with weaponry. Unprecedented and audacious, director Ibrahim Nash’at’s HOLLYWOODGATE spends a year inside Afghanistan following the Taliban as they take possession of the cache America left behind—and transform from a fundamentalist militia into a heavily armed military regime.

INHERITANCE: DIRS Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing. PRODS Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing. USA. Filmed over 11 years, INHERITANCE follows Curtis, a young boy, as he grows up in rural Appalachia in a family and community surrounded by substance use disorder and poverty. Can Curtis break the cycle of addiction that has plagued his family for generations?

INTERCEPTED: DIR Oksana Karpovych. PRODS Rocío B. Fuentes, Pauline Tran Van Lieu, Lucie Rego, Darya Bassel, and Olha Beskhmelnytsina. Canada, France, Ukraine. Quiet scenes of everyday life for Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion play out in stark contrast with intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families, creating a stunning tension between sound and image.

LOVE MACHINA: DIR Peter Sillen. PRODS Brendan Doyle and Peter Sillen. USA. LOVE MACHINA follows Bina48, a humanoid AI, commissioned in 2007 by Martine & Bina Rothblatt. An early sketch of potential digital consciousness, Bina48 is our vehicle to explore the Rothblatts’ futurist ideas and their quest to be in love forever.

MADE IN ETHIOPIA: DIRS Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan. PRODS Tamara Dawit, Xinyan Yu, and Max Duncan. Canada, Ethiopia, USA, United Kingdom. When a massive Chinese factory complex attempts a high-stakes expansion in rural Ethiopia, three women in search of prosperity have their faith in industrialization tested to the limit. Courtesy of Dogwoof.

MEDIHA: DIR Hasan Oswald. PRODS Hasan Oswald, Annelise Mecca, Fahrinisa Campana, Alexander Spiess, and Stephen Nemeth. USA. Mediha, a teenage Yazidi girl who has recently returned from ISIS captivity, turns her camera on herself to process her trauma. She confronts her past through personal video-diaries, reclaiming her voice and stepping bravely towards the future. Courtesy of The Film Collaborative.

NEW WAVE: Elizabeth Ai. PRODS. Rachel Sine, Elizabeth Ai. USA. Mile-high hair. Synthesized music. Underground parties. Elizabeth Ai was on a mission to excavate an untold story of rebellious punks in the chaotic world of 80s Vietnamese new wave until she rediscovered a hidden past. Courtesy of The Film Collaborative.

OMAR AND CEDRIC: IF THIS EVER GETS WEIRD: DIR Nicolas Jack Davies. PRODS. Germany. Whittled down from hundreds of hours of footage shot by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, this film offers an all-access pass to the masterminds behind the Grammy award-winning band, The Mars Volta. Courtesy of Autlook Filmsales.

ONE SOUTH: PORTRAIT OF A PSYCH UNIT: DIRS Alexandra Shiva and Lindsey Megrue. PROD Matt Gottesfeld. USA. A deeply intimate, two-part observational portrait of an inpatient psychiatric unit in Queens, NY that specializes in treating young adults in acute crisis. World Premiere. Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films.

PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE: DIR Catherine Gund. PROD Tanya Selvaratnam. USA. Featuring artists Faith Ringgold and Mary Baxter, PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE uncovers the whitewashed history of Faith’s masterpiece For the Women’s House and follows its 50-year journey from Rikers Island to the Brooklyn Museum in a heartbreaking, funny, and true parable for a world without mass incarceration. World Premiere.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY: DIR Rachel Elizabeth Seed. PRODS Kirsten Johnson, Maida Lynn, Hinda Gilbert, and Robina Riccitiello. USA. A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY is an intimate, genre-bending portrait of a daughter’s attempt to piece together a portrait of her mother, an avant-garde journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast archive Sheila Turner Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Davidson, Lisette Model, and others, the film explores memory, legacy, and stories left untold. Courtesy of The Film Collaborative.

PORCELAIN WAR: DIRS Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev. PRODS Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Camilla Mazzaferro, and Olivia Ahnemann. USA. Under roaring fighter jets, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey choose to stay behind. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it’s easy to make people afraid, it’s hard to destroy their passion for living.

PRECONCEIVED: DIRS Sabrine Keane and Kate Dumke. PRODS Heather Keane, Maggie Contreras, and Sabrine Keane. USA. PRECONCEIVED explores the pervasive presence of crisis pregnancy centers throughout the US, and their role in furthering the anti-abortion movement. Courtesy of The Film Collaborative.

THE RIDE AHEAD: DIRS Dan Habib and Samuel Habib. PROD Erica Lupinacci. USA. Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career and find love. But no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability. Can a community of disability activists help him follow his dreams?

SABBATH QUEEN: DIR Sandi DuBowski. PROD Sandi DuBowski. USA. Filmed over 21 years, SABBATH QUEEN follows Amichai Lau-Lavie, descendent of 38 generations of rabbis, from drag-queen rebel to rabbi, as he radically reinvents religion and ritual, challenges patriarchy and supremacy, and stands up for peace.

SECRET MALL APARTMENT: DIR Jeremy Workman. PROD Jeremy Workman. USA. In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming along the way. More than a wild prank, the secret apartment became a meaningful place for everyone involved.

SHAKING IT UP: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIZ CARPENTER: DIRS Abby Ginzberg and Christy Carpenter. PRODS Abby Ginzberg and Christy Carpenter. USA. Over her 89 years, Liz Carpenter was often front and center where history was unfolding, leaving her own indelible mark on some of the most vivid moments and movements that shaped the twentieth century. As journalist, vice-presidential advisor, White House official, author, humorist, and feminist leader she blazed important trails.

SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY: DIRS Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina. PRODS Jeff Zimbalist, Maria Bukhonina, Chris Smith, and Tamir Ardon. USA. To save their careers and their relationships, a daredevil couple journeys across the globe to illegally climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a life-or-death acrobatic stunt on the spire. Courtesy of Netflix.

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT: DIR Johan Grimonprez. PRODS Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety. France. Jazz and decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.

STORY & PICTURES BY: DIR Joanna Rudnick. PRODS Joanna Rudnick, Tim Horsburgh, and Korelan Matteson. USA. This is a story about the boundary pushers who shape souls and give children strange dreams; picture book creators who are changing the narrative for the next generation, even when their own lives are not fairytales.

SUGARCANE: DIRS Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. PRODS Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn. USA, Canada. An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve. Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films.

UNION: DIRS Brett Story and Stephen Maing. PRODS Brett Story, Stephen Maing, Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, and Martin Dicicco. USA. The Amazon Labor Union (ALU)—a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City’s Staten Island—takes on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize. Courtesy of The Film Collaborative.

WAR GAME: DIRS Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber. PRODS Todd Lubin, Jesse Moss, Jack Turner, Mark DiCristofaro, Jessica Grimshaw, and Nick Shumaker. USA. A bipartisan group of U.S. defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations participate in an unscripted role-play exercise, set on January 6, 2025, in which they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the U.S. military, in the wake of a contested presidential election.

WILD WILD SPACE: DIR Ross Kauffman. PRODS Jaye Callahan, Ashlee Vance, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Adam McKay, Todd Schulman, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, and Craig H. Shepherd. USA. Less than one hundred miles above our heads is where some of the most valuable real estate in the universe lives: Low Earth Orbit. This is an extraterrestrial land grab, a galactic Wild West where the cowboys are visionaries, tinkerers, and capitalists dead set on owning the future. WILD WILD SPACE delivers the audience into this critical and unknown world. World Premiere. Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films.

14 PAINTINGS: DIR Dongnan Chen. PRODS Jiaqing Lin, Chongjun Li, Dongnan Chen, Jisong Li, and Heying Chen. China. A field study of fourteen paintings from China’s Dafen village, as the government rebrands the copy-painting district as a hub for original art.

51ST STATE: DIR Hannah Rosenzweig. PRODS List Rubin and Ray Whitehouse. USA. 51ST STATE explores the emerging national issue of DC statehood from the personal perspective of one of DC’s most vibrant Gen Z leaders – set against the overlooked cultural backdrop of our capital city and a deep yet virtually unknown crack in our democracy. World Premiere. Screening as part of DC/FRAME.

ANYUKA: DIR Maya Erdelyi. PROD Marga Varea. USA. A story of a marvelous and tragic life as told across three generations.

BEEN THERE: DIR Corina Schwingruber Ilić. PROD Stella Händler. Switzerland. Weekend trips, city breaks, a detour into nature or around the world, tourists become invaders in search of the best pictures.

THE BIG WAIT: DIR Yannick Jamey. PRODS Lucy Pijnenburg and Yannick Jamey. Australia. In a remote desert town in Australia, population two, a couple manages an emergency airport and keeps vacant cottages in pristine condition, waiting for visitors who never seem to arrive.

BOB’S FUNERAL: DIR Jack Dunphy. PROD Jordan Tetewsky. USA. Searching for the root of generational trauma, the director takes a camera into his estranged grandfather’s funeral.

A BORDER BETWEEN US: DIR Riad Arfin. PROD Charlotte Hailstone. United Kingdom. How does a couple with roots in two different countries find a place to make home? North American Premiere.

THE CALLERS: DIR Lindsey Dryden. PRODS Colleen Cassingham, Samantha Steele, Lindsey Dryden. USA. Anonymous documentary testimony from the UK’s oldest queer support line is blended with imagined creative scenes to tell the stories of those who have sought help from it in times of need.

CAN I HUG YOU?: DIR Elahe Esmaili. PROD Hossein Behboudi Rad. Iran, United Kingdom. In the Iranian city of Qom, restrictions are imposed on women in the name of “sexual safety.” Hossein grew up in this context, but as a young boy he found himself victimized, left to carry this secret into adulthood. Now, with the help of his wife Elahe, he is confronting his trauma. North American Premiere.

CHRISTMAS, EVERY DAY: DIR Faye Tsakas. PRODS Enrique Pedraza Botero, Rowan Ings, Lauren Howell, and Faye Tsakas. USA. From their rural Alabama home, two preteen girls market fashion and beauty products to thousands of online fans.

CONTRACTIONS: DIR Lynne Sachs. PRODS Emily Berisso and Laura Goodman. USA. Intimate confessions, paired with experimental choreography outside a woman’s clinic in Memphis, offer a glimpse into the end of safe and legal abortion access in the US. Plays with companion audio piece, WE CONTINUE TO SPEAK, featuring recordings of the participants and producers of CONTRACTIONS as they vocalize their reactions to the reduction of women’s bodily autonomy in the United States.

EAT FLOWERS: DIR River Autumn Finlay. PRODS Cig Harvey and Sashka Rothchild. USA. When a dear friend is forced into isolation with a rare form of leukemia, artist Cig Harvey sets out to fill her sterile world with beauty and magic.

FAMILIA: DIRS Picho García and Gabriela Pena. PRODS Gabriela Pena and Picho García. Chile. The dual nature of social media is revealed when a young man tries to get an appealing profile picture, while the family WhatsApp chat is sharing the last days of the grandfather’s life

FRANK: DIR David Gauvey Herbert. PRODS Lance Oppenheim, Abigail Rowe, and Nate Hurtsellers. USA. At 99 years old, Frank Lucianna is America’s oldest practicing attorney. Now, he’s preparing for his final criminal trial.

HELLO STRANGER: DIR Amélie Hardy. PRODS Sarah Mannering and Fanny Drew. Canada. Between loads of laundry at the corner laundromat, Cooper shares the tumultuous story of her gender reassignment journey.

HINDSIGHT: DIR Max Rykov. PRODS Anna Rykova and Igor Rykov. Ukraine, USA. A visual meditation on the memories of two young Ukrainians emerging from the fall of the Iron Curtain, Hindsight looks at the fragility of our roots, the impermanence of our cultures, and the transience of our freedom through the lens of a VHS camera in the late 1990s. Screening as part of DC/FRAME.

HOLD THE LINE: DIR Daniel Lombroso. PROD Devon Blackwell. USA. When the largest Protestant organization in the U.S. decides to purge women in leadership positions, one prominent female pastor fights back. East Coast Premiere. Courtesy of The New Yorker.

I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: DIR Frank Eli Martin. PRODS Sophie Outhwaite and Solomon Golding. United Kingdom. A visionary devotion to the Virgin Mary in rural Ireland reveals the hushed secrets that exist beneath the surface of the country’s Catholic institutions.

IN DUE SEASON: DIR Ashley O’Shay. PROD Cherrelle Swain. USA. Despite the Obama-era push for expansion under the Affordable Care Act, ten states—mainly in the South—opted out, leaving many low-income families without healthcare coverage. IN DUE SEASON introduces us to three individuals caught in this gap. World Premiere.

INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART: DIR Ema Ryan Yamazaki. PROD Eric Nyari. Japan. As first-grader Ayame traverses the ups and downs of music auditions and performances, lessons of sacrifice and resilience in the Japanese education system are revealed. World Premiere. Courtesy of The New York Times Op-Docs.

JE M’APPELLE MARIIA: DIR Juho Reinikainen. PRODS Hedi NIkzad, Aalto University, and ELO Film School Finland. Finland. Ukrainian Mother and daughter Liubov and Mariia start on a European journey toward Mariia’s big dream of visiting Paris and studying in France.

THE LEGACY OF LEE’S FLOWER SHOP: DIR Kamilah Thurmon. PRODS Rick Lee, Stacie Lee, and Kristie Lee. USA. Lee’s Flower and Card Shop, the oldest Black-owned flower shop in Washington, DC, has planted seeds of wisdom and perseverance in the District since 1945. Screening as part of DC/FRAME.

MY DEAD DAD: DIRS Abby Ellis and Erik Osterholm. PRODS Omar Mullick, Michael Simkin, and Erik Osterholm. USA. With a cult-like following at the New York Times, Christopher Gray throws his family for a posthumous loop when he requests that his body be defleshed and his skeleton preserved for permanent display—a request his daughter strictly abides, but not before a last father-daughter road trip along the way.

ON THE BATTLEFIELD: DIRS Theresa Delsoin, Lisa Marie Malloy, J.P. Sniadecki, and Ray Whitaker. PRODS Rachel Burns, Karin Chien, Judson Childs, Theresa Delsoin, Clarence Dossie, Wynne Hannan, Lisa Marie Malloy, J.P. Sniadecki, and Ray Whitaker. USA. In the Southern Illinois region of Little Egypt, a sound recordist walks through the fields where once stood Pyramid Courts – the housing projects that formed the heart of the Black community of his hometown, Cairo.

ONE STORY AT A TIME: CELESTE LECESNE: DIRS Eva Tenuto and Natalia Iyudin. PROD Kashka Glowacka. USA. Celeste Lecesne candidly shares how he escaped the confines of homophobia by sharing his truth with the world in an off-broadway solo-show that becomes an Academy Award-winning film and ultimately inspires The Trevor Project, the largest suicide prevention lifeline for LGBTQIA+ youth.

THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA: DIR Molly O’Brien. PRODS Lisa Remington and Molly O’Brien. USA. Orin O’Brien never wanted the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein made her the first female musician hired by the NY Philharmonic, it was inevitable. Exploring Orin’s remarkable career, we discover the key to life: “You don’t mind playing second fiddle.”

PENN F—ING STATION: DIR Claire Read. PRODS Nora DeLigter and Claire Read. USA. In NYC, the debate over how to fix Penn Station erupts between the city’s power brokers and residents. But what’s at stake is not just a transit hub; it’s the future of the city. World Premiere.

PUBLIC DEFENDER: DIR Andrea Kalin. PRODS Andrea Kalin, Ethan Oser, Kate Woodsome, Liz Gilbert Cohen, and Janice Engel. USA. What happens when a liberal public defender represents right-wing January 6th rioters? PUBLIC DEFENDER takes on America’s epidemic of division and misinformation with humanity and comic relief, modeling how to restore trust and accountability one relationship at a time. Screening as part of DC/FRAME.

THE PUZZLE PALACE: DIRS Jenny Schweitzer Bell and Brian Bell. PRODS Brian Bell, Jenny Schweitzer Bell, Justin Lacob, Kenny Laubbacher, and Bryn Mooser. USA. Amassing the world’s largest puzzle collection is a labor of love for one inseparable couple.

THE QUILTERS: DIR Jenifer McShane. PROD Jenifer McShane. USA. A quilting group inside a maximum security prison is an unlikely setting where incarcerated men create personalized quilts for local foster children. Through this process and the relationships formed, we witness the power of art to restore an individual’s view of themselves and others. World Premiere.

SEAT 31: ZOOEY ZEPHYR: DIR Kimberly Reed. PRODS Kimberly Reed and Robin Honan. USA. After Zooey Zephyr’s expulsion from the Montana House of Representatives for defending transgender medical care, she made a nearby bench her “office.” Director Kimberly Reed’s intimate camera transforms this shocking political moment into a portrait of trans and queer joy.

THE SOUND OF THE WIND: DIR Maria Pankova. PROD Sophia Carr-Gomm. United Kingdom. Yuliia has become a refugee in Scotland due to the war in Ukraine. She is fighting for the future of her children while trying to maintain her relationship with her husband, who is on the frontline.

THE TEST: DIRS Claudia Myers and Laura Waters Hinson. PROD Heather Brumley. USA. A Ghanaian maintenance worker at a Virginia retirement community dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for his family. With their future at stake, he enlists the help of two elderly residents to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the US Citizenship exam. Screening as part of DC/FRAME.

TO BE DESTROYED: DIR Arthur Bradford. PRODS Jennifer Ollman and Katie Taber. USA. Author Dave Eggers travels to Rapid City, SD after learning that five books, including his novel, The Circle, were removed from local high school shelves and designated “to be destroyed”. Courtesy of MSNBC Films.

TO BE INVISIBLE: DIR Myah Overstreet. PRODS Myah Overstreet, Devon Blackwell, Melissa Fajardo, Jennifer Redfearn, and Jason Spingarn-Koff. USA. For over three years, Alexis and Kellie have been fighting to get their children back. With the assistance of a former social worker turned parent advocate, these mothers are battling to reunite with their children, who were removed from their homes by the children’s welfare service.

UNTIL HE’S BACK: DIR Jacqueline Baylon. PROD Jacqueline Baylon. USA. After learning that his son, Yahya, has died at sea trying to get to Spain, Ahmed Tchiche must find a way to bring his remains back home to Morocco so he and his family can have a proper goodbye.

WE EXIST IN MEMORY: DIR Darian Woehr. PROD Hailey Sadler. USA. How do you rebuild home from nothing but memories? Through the candid conversations between a grandmother and grandchild living in refuge, we witness the complexity of raising a new generation in displacement.

WEEKEND VISITS: DIR Pete Quandt. PRODS Hannah Whisenant and Garson Ormiston. USA. Jessi, an incarcerated mother at a rural Virginia prison, gets the rare experience of an extended visitation with her sweet and hyperactive 9-year-old, Ryleigh.

WINDING PATH: DIRS Ross Kauffman and Alexandra Lazarowich. PROD Robin Honan. USA. Eastern Shoshone medical student Jenna Murray spent summers on the Wind River Indian Reservation helping her grandfather any way she could. When he suddenly dies, she must find a way to heal before realizing her dream of a life in medicine.

WOULDN’T MAKE IT ANY OTHER WAY: DIR Hao Zhou. PRODS Tyler Hill, Merrill Sterritt, and Carlo Velayo. USA. Having built a colorful queer life in Iowa, an aspiring costume designer visits their island homeland of Guam to make costumes for a children’s theater while reconnecting with distanced parents.

YOU CAN’T SHRINK LOVE: DIR Veena Rao. PROD Veena Rao. USA. An artist gives life in miniature to the memories of our most beloved companions.

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Migrants spotted in the Channel and rescued by coastguard

Before today's crossing, nine boats had made the journey in the last week, bringing a total of 543 migrants.

Saturday 27 April 2024 16:26, UK

A small boat carrying migrants has been spotted in the English Channel this morning as crossings continue

The coastguard said that they were alerted to the incident "involving a small boats vessel on the Goodwin Sands" off the coast of Deal, Kent, at around 7.45am and despatched two lifeboats and a helicopter from several locations across the county.

In a statement, HM Coastguard said: "Everyone was rescued safely and disembarked to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities."

Sky News obtained footage of migrants being brought ashore in Dover, but it was not clear whether this was the boat mentioned by the coastguard or a separate incident.

Before today's crossing, nine boats made the journey last week, bringing a total of 543 migrants during that time period.

It is not known how many were on board today's boat.

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These latest arrivals come as Number 10 said the first deportation flight to Rwanda has been booked, after Rishi Sunak's flagship deportation bill became law.

More on Migrant Crossings

'Thanks to God': Woman's joy on making it to England after 30 attempts

More than half of asylum seekers allocated for removal to Rwanda cannot be found, according to government's own report

UK will 'not take back asylum seekers from Ireland until France takes back Channel migrants'

Related Topics:

• Migrant crossings

Read more: Rwanda bill 'raises major concerns' - top human rights official Sunak leaves no doubt he's staking premiership on Rwanda plan Four arrested over alleged people smuggling Facebook adverts

The Safety of Rwanda Bill, which declares the African nation a safe country to deport asylum seekers to, received royal assent on Thursday, meaning it has become an act of parliament and has become law.

The prime minister created the legislation to revive the scheme to send people arriving on small boats to the east African nation after the Supreme Court ruled the scheme "unlawful" in a landmark ruling last year.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 - states that Rwanda should be regarded as a safe country "for the purposes of relocating people, including in UK courts and tribunals".

After a number of setbacks and delays, the bill was passed in parliament earlier this week, with Home Secretary James Cleverly hailing the approval as a "landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats".

Anticipating the bill's passage, the prime minister earlier this week promised the first flights would take off in 10 to 12 weeks - "come what may".

Related Topics

Boise State Online

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Kody Walker’s journey of resilience and influence

The cyber operations and resilience program at Boise State has a secret weapon, Kody Walker. After receiving his Purple Heart and struggling to make meaning in a world turned upside down, Walker found a path into cybersecurity. Overcoming a traumatic brain injury to obtain three degrees in four short years, he imprinted himself and his values onto the cyber operations and resilience program. Walker has become a guiding light for many students in the program, serving as a cheerleader, mentor and teacher over the last few years. His story is one of personal triumph and the transformative power of education and mentorship.

Walker’s military background

Walker’s journey into the world of security and protection began during his military service where he honed his skills in military police duties. He focused on safeguarding high-value targets and providing protection for diplomats and dignitaries. This role often thrust him into the line of fire, exposing him to threats and challenges that demanded constant vigilance and adaptability.

After 20 years of military service and surviving a few different incidents, shootings and a roadside bombing, he began his medical retirement from the military. He was medivacked to Texas to join the Warrior Transition Unit. The Unit was for injured military personnel waiting to see doctors and make the full transition to civilian life. Walker reflected on this part of his story, “During that time, I think it was very devastating because, ultimately, that was my life. I loved it.” He found himself bored with the endless waiting and lack of action.

The transition was not merely a change of scenery but a profound shift in identity and purpose. Walker, who had dedicated his life to protecting others and serving his country, initially found the prospect of civilian life daunting. He began encouraging his peers to use the GI Bill to fund a path to a new career. He was focusing on his recovery but also focused on seeing his military family thrive. “We were able to create an environment for healthy soldiers, they could help out and it gave them some sense of purpose to include a type of job function.” He volunteered around 4,000 hours in a hospice for military veterans as he finished his transition out of the military.

Once he fully transitioned to civilian life, Walker worked for a defense contractor out of Long Island. They wanted to hire him full-time but needed him to get an education first. Even though he had encouraged others in his unit to return to school and earned a plethora of credits, he didn’t have a degree. Walker gives a half-smile as he shares, “I just never figured out what I wanted to do.” But working for the defense contractor, he could see how his military service set him up to be great in cybersecurity and it got him excited for the future again. He quit his job and started to research cybersecurity programs.

Three degrees in four years

Walker applied to the cybersecurity program at the College of Western Idaho. Recognizing the program’s potential to serve as a springboard for his career aspirations, he returned to Idaho and waited to be admitted. While waiting he started taking advantage of online programs like TryHackMe to pick up new skills and fulfill his curiosity. In the spring of 2020, he began his associate of applied science in cybersecurity. Despite the program suddenly transitioning from in-person to online due to COVID-19, he completed his degree in May of 2021.

Initially, Walker thought he would get his associate degree and return to the defense contractor who started it all. Still, something about the Boise State University cyber operations and resilience undergraduate program resonated with him. Walker reflects on that period, “During that time, Dr. Loo [the program director] did an information session with our class. And that’s where I’m like, yeah, this is where I’m going. This is my next move. I started the cyber operations and resilience program in the fall of 2021.”

Intrigued by the program’s promise of advanced coursework and specialized training, Walker wasted no time seizing the opportunity to enroll. Recognizing the potential for personal and professional growth that the cyber operations and resilience program offered, he embraced the challenge.

By December 2022, he had achieved his bachelor’s in cyber operations and resilience. As he navigated the complexities of the program, Walker found himself continually inspired by the wealth of knowledge and expertise surrounding him. Each lesson, assignment and interaction with peers and educators deepened his understanding of cybersecurity, governance, risk and compliance, fueling his passion and igniting his desire to excel. He recognized cybersecurity’s impact on our way of life and how important it is to defend critical infrastructure to ensure the reliability of hospitals, power grids and water treatment facilities. To him, the education he and his peers were receiving at Boise State wasn’t just about personal advancement — it was about equipping themselves to protect America, just as he had done during his time in the military.

When asked why he felt driven to continue through the graduate program, Walker stated, “Whenever I go and put my application in somewhere, wherever it may be, I want to make sure that I bring more to that table. Which usually means, I will probably have more education than my hiring manager.” He leans in and puts on his serious tone, “If I don’t show up with the most I can bring to a table, then I’m robbing myself of an opportunity. Not only is it the opportunity to get a job, but it’s the opportunity to show people there’s more than just a degree and a job. You know, you have to continually feed your education. You gotta continually feed your knowledge, and that’s through education, experience, and certifications.” He leans back and smiles, “No matter where I go, I will be the best representation of myself.”

This May (2024), Walker will graduate with his master’s in cyber operations and resilience.

Networking at Hackfort

During his first semester at Boise State, Walker and his classmate decided to attend the Hackfort event during the fall of 2021, a component of Treefort Music Festival. Engaging with the cybersecurity community, he immersed himself in discussions with Sin Ming Loo, a key figure whose mentorship would shape his future path. During their conversation, Loo recognized Walker’s passion for the program and cyber and wanted his insights into what was and was not working in the program. By the following spring, he began working at Boise State University as a teaching assistant. “So after my first semester going to school in the program. I started TA-ing. And my first TA class was CPS 301, with Sandy Dunn.”

CPS 301, Information Assurance and Critical Thinking, is one of the most challenging courses in the program. It pushes students out of their comfort zones and is often the first time they get to practice looking at cyber problems from every angle with frameworks and context. Walker spent hours with students, coaching them through the complex assignments and cheering them on, reminding them that they are just new, not imposters.

Becoming a mentor

Walker is a guiding force within the program and is revered by many students. Tyler Dibble, a student who once contemplated transferring out after facing challenges in a course, credits Walker with giving him the tools to persevere. Dibble expressed, “Kody is the first real mentor I have ever had. He emphasizes teamwork, collaboration and networking. He helped me make connections with people in the community.” Now actively engaged in the cyber operations and resilience program, Dibble contributes to special projects, the CyberLab and the Discord community, assisting fellow students in finding their path and establishing connections. Reflecting on Walker’s influence, Dibble shared, “I don’t ever look up to other folks, but I do look up to Kody.”

Shea McNama expressed gratitude, noting that without Walker’s support, completing his Master’s degree would have been unlikely, “He has been an excellent influence and sounding board when needed. He is also a great friend.”

Kris Pruett and Walker were the first cohort in the undergraduate cyber operations and resilience program. Pruett underscored the program’s transformative nature, remarking, “Rewiring your brain to think differently can be challenging, and this program requires a bit of that!” Pruett acknowledged some hurdles during the program’s development, noting, “Needless to say, there were many ups and downs throughout the years.”

Despite the challenges in the program, she praised Walker’s unwavering positivity, stating, “Kody was always a positive light throughout the process, never letting the challenges get in the way and always taking the time to provide encouragement and support.” Pruett described him as “one of the most authentic, shoot-you-straight people I know.” She commended Walker’s remarkable dedication to education, noting, “The fact that he not only completed his bachelor’s degree but went back for a master’s while teaching and all of his other responsibilities is awe-inspiring.”

Reflecting on his journey, Walker acknowledged how becoming a TA impacted his personal and professional growth. In this role, he discovered his true calling as a mentor and educator, igniting a newfound sense of purpose and direction in his academic journey. After a year of mentoring students as a teaching assistant, he applied to become a Lecturer.

“When I put my application in for the cyber operations and resilience program they had to jump through a lot of hoops to get me hired and had to get a lot of signature sign-offs because I only had a bachelor’s degree. But I believe, in the end, it was probably the best thing I’ve ever done because I can make amazing global impacts on students every day at the program. at least 50% of students, if not more.”

Walker makes his mark

Walker not only teaches a diverse range of courses but also spearheads innovative special projects aimed at enriching students’ learning experiences and preparing them for real-world challenges. Currently, he is teaching several courses, each designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in cybersecurity. Among them are the capstone courses, the Internet of Things and cyber systems hardening.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Walker is deeply involved in leading various special projects to enhance students’ practical skills and foster community engagement. These projects reflect his commitment to innovation and a desire to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Some of the notable special projects spearheaded by Walker are transitioning a niche Discord channel from a former student and current adjunct professor to a server managed by current students for all cyber operations and resilience students, the CORe Learning Lab and building more internship opportunities for students outside of Idaho.

Walker also plays a pivotal role in establishing partnerships with industry partners to provide real-world projects to students for their capstone course. He lights up, explaining, “We work with small towns, small communities, rural school districts and tribal entities. That will give them a cyber risk assessment for free.” These projects offer students invaluable practical experience and the opportunity to work on challenging cybersecurity problems in collaboration with industry professionals.

What’s next for Walker

Central to Walker’s vision is the legacy he hopes to leave behind — one of global impact through education and mentorship. Reflecting on personal philosophy, he underscored the importance of selflessness and aiding others, drawing parallels between his dedication to cybersecurity education and his previous experiences in hospice care.

Walker envisions creating a self-sustaining student mentorship program so that graduating students can mentor new students as they come in. He knows that classes need updating continually to stay relevant: “You know, part of the whole thing about cyber is, everything is constantly in flux. Everything’s changing.” He plans to be here to ensure that classes are challenging enough to push students out of their comfort zones but not torture them.

For Walker, getting his master’s degree is only the beginning. He has no plans to leave Boise State. Building a more cyber-secure workforce starts with education, and as part of the cyber operations and resilience program, he is in the perfect place to impact the world. He beams, “I feel this is my calling, and I will continue down this path, making a global impact. One student at a time.”

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