Punching Upwards

On 4 November, an MD-11 cargo plane operated by UPS crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, killing fourteen people. We know that the airplane lost its left engine on take-off. But why did that happen?Punching Upwards, Episode 11 for 23 November 2025Topic: Aviation / UPS Flight 2976📢 Podcast RSS FeedCreditsThanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen and Fadi Mansour for subscribing to the podcast on Substack and supporting it financially! Additional thanks to Sir Galteran who continues to provide hefty financial backing via Fountain.fm! Sources* Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report DCA26MA024 (UPS Flight 2976), NTSB, November 2025* Crash: UPS MD11 at Louisville on Nov 4th 2025, burst into flames on takeoff, The Aviation Herald, 5 November 2025* NTSB releases new images and preliminary report on UPS cargo plane crash, NBC News, 21 November 2025* Aircraft Accident Report AAR-79-17 (American Airlines Flight 191), NTSB, December 1979* Gyroscopic Precession, AOPA Foundation, 29 January 2012* Extended Diversion Time Operations (EDTO) Manual, ICAO, 2017* Owner’s & Operator’s Guide: MD-11 Family, Aircraft Commerce, Issue 47, August 2006The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

Canadian officials killed over 300 ostriches, a full year after they recovered from the avian flu they had suffered from. Out of pure bureaucratic spite. And the media did its best to cover it up.Punching Upwards, Episode 10 for 16 November 2025Topic: Science / H5N1📢 Podcast RSS FeedCreditsThanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen and Fadi Mansour for subscribing to the podcast on Substack and supporting it financially! Additional thanks to Sir Galteran who continues to provide hefty financial backing via Fountain.fm! Sources* Shooting at B.C. ostrich farm as cull gets underway, The Canadian Press, 6 November 2025* Denmark to cull 17 million mink over COVID-19 mutation fears, ABC News, 6 November 2020* Orwell Watch: The Great Canadian “Ostrich Cull”, Racket News, 10 November 2025* B.C. ostrich cull started a ‘new kind of war’ after birds gunned down, family says, Global News, 10 November 2025* Gunshots end months-long Canadian ostrich cull saga that captivated RFK Jr, The BBC, 7 November 2025* The global H5N1 influenza panzootic in mammals, Peacock et al., Nature, 2024* Finding the real case-fatality rate of H5N1 avian influenza, Li et al., Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2008 (Sci-Hub mirror)* Evolution of Influenza A Virus by Mutation and Re-Assortment, Shao et al., International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2017* The ecology and adaptive evolution of influenza A interspecies transmission, Joseph et al., Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 2016The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

Norwegian public transport authority Ruter has discovered undocumented cell modems in electric buses built by Chinese company Yutong, which enable the manufacturer to turn the buses off remotely.Punching Upwards, Episode 9 for 9 November 2025Topic: Infosec📢 Podcast RSS FeedCreditsThanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen for being the first paying subscriber to the show! I appreciate this immensely.Thanks to Sir Galteran for supporting the show via Fountain.fmSources* Norway transport firm steps up controls after tests show Chinese-made buses can be halted remotely, The Associated Press, 5 November 2025* Show notes for Security Now! episode 1050, GRC.com, 4 November 2025* The interoperable EU-wide eCall, The European CommissionThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

According to the Wall Street Journal, the 1X NEO is a $20,000 robot that does your chores. The problem is that NEO is really bad at it. And the thing actually isn’t a robot, either.Punching Upwards, Episode 8 for 2 November 2025Topic: Technology / Artificial Intelligence📢 Podcast RSS FeedCreditsThanks to Sir Galteran for supporting the show via Fountain.fmSources* I Tried the First Humanoid Home Robot. It Got Weird, The Wall Street Journal, 28 October 2025* NEO Home Robot, 1X Technologies* I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human, The Wall Street Journal, 28 October 2025* Cambridge Dictionary definition of the word “robot”* R.U.R., WikipediaThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

The story of how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was allegedly attacked by GPS jamming is a particularly egregious example of journalists not doing their job properly.Punching Upwards, Episode 7, for 26 October 2025Topic: Aviation / War in Ukraine📢 Podcast RSS FeedCreditsThanks to Sir Galteran for supporting the show via Fountain.fm!Sources* Russia accused of sabotaging EU chief’s plane by jamming GPS, BBC News, 2 September 2025* THIS Just makes Me So ANGRY and Frustrated!, Mentour Now!, 12 September 2025* GPS jamming of leader’s plane puts Putin’s hybrid warfare on Europe’s radar, NBC News, 2 September 2025* Bulgaria U-turns on claim Moscow jammed GPS of von der Leyen’s plane, Euro News, 4 September 2025* Ursula von der Leyen’s flight to Plovdiv: what the data tells us, Flightradar24, 5 September 2025* Electronic Flight Bag, the new standard, Airbus FAST Magazine, 2021* Aeronautical charts for flight simulation: ChartFox* Aeronautical Chart Users’ Guide, FAA, 20 February 2025The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

For now, the EU’s Chat Control legislation has been halted by German opposition. What is this new law? And why is it so dangerous?Punching Upwards, Episode 6 for 19 October 2025Topic: Privacy / Crypto Wars📢 Podcast RSS FeedSources* Why chat control is so dangerous, Netzpolitik.org, 2021 * Chat Control: The EU Wants to Break Encryption & Germany Is The Deciding Factor, Tuta, 24 September 2025* RFC 4949: Internet Security Glossary, Version 2, Robert Shirey, IETF Network Working Group, 2007* Doomed to Repeat History? - Lessons from the Crypto Wars of the 1990s, Danielle Kehl, Andi Wilson, Kevin Bankston, 2015* Bugs in Our Pockets: The Risks of Client-Side Scanning, Abelson, Anderson, Bellovin et al., 2021* Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Laying Down Rules to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, The European Commission, 2022The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

The story of an IT consultant turned unwitting security researcher, who found a security vulnerability, reported it to the software vendor and instead of getting a reward got prosecuted for hackingPunching Upwards, Episode 5 for 12 October 2025Topic: Infosec📢 Podcast RSS FeedSources* Tagesthemen report featuring Hendrik Heinle* heise online — Datenleck bei Modern Solution: Sicherheitslücke betrifft rund 700.000 Käufer* heise online — Datenleck bei Modern Solution: Hausdurchsuchung statt Bug Bounty* heise online — Kommentar zu Modern Solution: Der Staat darf kein Handlanger von Stümpern sein* heise online — Datenleck: Anzeige gegen IT-Experte kam von Modern Solution* heise online — Modern Solution: Staatsanwaltschaft scheitert mit Anklage gegen IT-Experten* heise online — Modern Solution: Jetzt doch Strafverfahren gegen Sicherheitsforscher* heise online — Gericht sieht Nutzung von Klartext-Passwörtern als Hacken an* heise online — Kommentar zu Modern Solution: Der Hackerparagraf muss endlich weg!​* heise online — Modern Solution: Berufungsgericht bestätigt Schuld des Sicherheitsforschers* heise online — Kommentar zu Modern Solution: Wer gemeinnützig handelt, wird bestraft* heise online — Modern Solution: Verurteilter IT-Experte reicht Verfassungsbeschwerde ein* heise online — Bundesverfassungsgericht lehnt Beschwerde im Fall Modern Solution ab* Legal texts: § 202a, § 202b, § 202c StGBThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

Drones have been sighted over several Danish airports and the country is in turmoil, coincidentally days before an EU summit to discuss drone defence spending. And nobody is asking questions.Punching Upwards, Episode 4 for 5 October 2025Topics: Politics / War in Ukraine📢 Podcast RSS FeedDrones / War / Denmark / Poland / Ukraine / Russia / EU / NATO / War in UkraineSources* The Bureau of Investigative Journalism — Obama’s covert drone war in numbers: ten times more strikes than Bush* Military Mechanics — The RQ-4 Global Hawk: The Largest, Most Advanced, and Most Expensive UAV Ever Built* FAB INDUSTRIES — NATO Claims It Has Shot Down Russian Drones over Poland* Channel 4 — Drones over Denmark are ‘hybrid attack’ says defence minister * France 24 — ‘Drone Wall’: EU summit in Copenhagen follows airspace violations* France 24 — ‘Denmark is on high alert after reporting several drone incursions’* The Associated Press — Pentagon press briefing: 12/11/24 * CBS New York — Drones seen across N.J. were part of FAA research project, White House says The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

Israel’s War in Gaza has escalated the Middle Eastern conflict after the Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023 and has hardened political fronts — what side should you take in this conflict?Punching Upwards, Episode 3 for 28 September 2025Topic: Politics / War in Gaza📢 Podcast RSS FeedSources* NBC News – IDF shows journalists raw footage of the October 7 Hamas terror attack* NBC News – Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza City* The Hindustan Times – Palestine Shames Israel For Massacre, Genocide & Ethnic Cleansing In Gaza, Netanyahu Aide Hits BackThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah last week while debating his political opponents on a university campus – what the reactions to his death mean for our society at largePunching Upwards, Episode 2 for 21 September 2025Topics: Politics / Free Speech📢 Podcast RSS FeedSources* FOX 10 Phoenix – Charlie Kirk dies after being shot at Utah Valley University* Charlie Kirk Gets Challenged to a Fist Fight, Things Get WildThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe

IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan was arrested in the UK on charges of inciting violence – a look at his run-ins with British law and transgender activism and the free speech implications of his arrestPunching Upwards, Episode 1, for 14 September 2025Topics: Politics / Free Speech📢 Podcast RSS FeedSources* Sky News – Graham Linehan arrest: Met Police chief says officers “in impossible position” * Resistance Radio – Guest: Graham Linehan* The Joe Rogan Experience 2361* The Glinner Update — I just got arrested again* The Case of David Paisley vs. Graham Linehan* The BBC — Graham Linehan “relentlessly” harassed trans activist, court told* Public Order Act 1986* The BBC — Online speech laws need to be reviewed after Linehan arrest, says StreetingThe theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules! Get full access to Punching Upwards at punchingupwards.substack.com/subscribe