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Episode 26 of Halliday’s Podcast drops with Ross Halliday in Lyon, joined by Billy Hart, Nic Elkoun and Jean-Louis Lafayedneey. 

Governments across the West are telling citizens to get ready. The UK’s “Be Ready” campaign urges every household to stock three days of food, water, medicine, torches and power banks. Japan now calls for at least three days, preferably a full week. France pushes the same 72-hour message. US military bases prepare for 90 days of self-sufficiency under FORTRESS. Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland and the Baltics join the growing list. Is this sensible resilience planning… or are we being prepared for something more serious? 

Closer to home: restless streets in Lyon - cost-of-living protests, tear gas, banned demonstrations, burnt-out shops, and J-Lo back in town as locals warn the worst is still to come. 

Plus the NFL’s Steelers vs Saints night at the Stade de France, overshadowed by a national anthem controversy when a key line of La Marseillaise was changed, and many weren’t happy. 

We also confront France’s soaring youth unemployment hitting record highs: how long can this last? 

Hard-hitting local insight from Lyon. Thanks for listening. 

#HallidaysPodcast #Episode26 #WarPreparedness #BeReady #LyonProtests #NFLParis #LaMarseillaise #FrenchYouthUnemployment #CivilResilience

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France’s third-largest city just went up in flames. 

On 17 October, cost-of-living protests in Lyon exploded into hours of pure chaos: 150–200 shops looted, the Place Bellecour tourist office torched, streets choked with tear gas, and nearly 200 arrests. Curfews slammed into place. All demonstrations banned for the following weekend. Authorities admit they lost control. 

In this raw, no-holds-barred Episode 25 of Halliday’s Podcast, host Ross Halliday is joined by the Home Team regulars Billy Hart (former NYPD) and Jean-Louis Lafayedneey for a frontline dissection of the unrest tearing through Lyon and the rest of France. They cut through the noise: 

• What really happened on the streets of Bellecour and the Presqu’île 
• Who’s driving the violence - radicals, opportunists, or something deeper 
• How French policing and political leadership are failing (or surviving) the test 
• The wider cost-of-living revolt and what it means for the country’s future 
• The American law-enforcement eye versus the French reality on the ground

Recorded live in Lyon while the city is still under tension, this is the unfiltered conversation you won’t hear on mainstream media. No spin. No safe distance. Press play. France is at boiling point - and this episode puts you right in the middle of it.

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In episode 24 of Halliday’s Podcast, I sit down with Paul Stanfield, CEO of Childlight – the Global Child Safety Institute, to examine one of the most urgent and under-recognised crises of our time: the global scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).

Paul draws on more than 30 years of senior law enforcement experience, including roles as Regional Director for the UK National Crime Agency in Africa and Director of INTERPOL’s Global Organised Crime programme, to explain why Childlight frames this issue as a public health emergency rather than solely a criminal justice problem.

We discuss:

- The shocking data behind Childlight’s Into the Light global index

- Why over 300 million children are affected by technology-facilitated sexual exploitation every year

- How organised crime, technology platforms, and weak regulation are enabling the crisis

- Practical, data-driven solutions that governments and industry can actually implement

- The shift from awareness to coordinated global action

This is a serious, evidence-based conversation about a hidden pandemic that is happening in every country — and what can be done to stop it.

🔗 Learn more about Childlight: https://www.childlight.org

🎧 Full episode also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Buzzsprout

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In this very important episode of Halliday’s Podcast, I sit down with Paul Stanfield, CEO of Childlight – the Global Child Safety Institute, to examine one of the most urgent and under-recognised crises of our time: the global scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).

Paul draws on more than 30 years of senior law enforcement experience, including roles as Regional Director for the UK National Crime Agency in Africa and Director of INTERPOL’s Global Organised Crime programme, to explain why Childlight frames this issue as a public health emergency rather than solely a criminal justice problem.

We discuss:

- The shocking data behind Childlight’s Into the Light global index

- Why over 300 million children are affected by technology-facilitated sexual exploitation every year

- How organised crime, technology platforms, and weak regulation are enabling the crisis

- Practical, data-driven solutions that governments and industry can actually implement

- The shift from awareness to coordinated global action

This is a serious, evidence-based conversation about a hidden pandemic that is happening in every country — and what can be done to stop it.

🔗 Learn more about Childlight: https://www.childlight.org

🎧 Full episode also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Buzzsprout

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In Episode 23 of Halliday’s Podcast, host Ross Halliday sits down with Danial Kaabi, CEO of Sea Horizon Offshore Marine Services, a Qatar-based, third-generation family company specialising in vessel ownership, chartering, towage, rig moves, jack-up accommodation barges and ship management for the Gulf’s offshore oil & gas and LNG sector. 

Recorded amid ongoing US-Israel-Iran tensions and repeated suspensions of maritime activity around the Strait of Hormuz, Danial shares:

• How Sea Horizon won multi-decade contracts supporting Qatar Energy at Ras Laffan and Halul Island

• Real-time business adaptation: 24-hour passage insurance, vessel positioning, contingency planning and salvage opportunities

• The acceleration of in-house AI tools for chartering, predictive maintenance and crew management during operational downtime

• Personal experiences of the February 2026 conflict outbreak in Dubai and Doha

• Regional resilience, government support and the long-term outlook for the Gulf as a maritime and energy hub Essential listening for anyone following Middle East geopolitics, offshore energy, global shipping risk or AI in maritime services.

Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of business, strategy and real-world disruption.

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Join host Ross Halliday and the unstoppable home team regular, Billy Hart, for a blockbuster Easter Special on Halliday's Podcast Episode 22!

Billy Hart – former military and law enforcement powerhouse – is back after an epic rucking adventure across Ireland, where he witnessed the thrilling Ireland vs Scotland Six Nations match. 

But that's just the warm-up.

The conversation turns serious and timely as the panel unpacks the escalating War in Iran – US and Israeli strikes, regional fallout, and what it means for global security in 2026. With Billy's unique military and law enforcement lens, they break down the latest developments, strategic implications, and potential ripple effects.

Looking ahead, they dive deep into FIFA World Cup 2026 preparations in the USA. From a law enforcement and security perspective, Billy shares insider insights on crowd control challenges, terrorism risks, massive funding issues, coordination between local police, and why this could be one of the most complex security operations in sporting history.

Expect sharp analysis, real-world experience, a touch of humor, and no-holds-barred discussion – classic Halliday's Podcast style.

Whether you're into international affairs, rugby stories, military insights, or major event security, this episode delivers.

 Subscribe, like, and share if you're fired up about global security and real talk.

Available now on Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.

#HallidaysPodcast #BillyHart #SixNations2026 #IrelandRugby #IranWar #FIFA2026 #WorldCupSecurity #LawEnforcement #CurrentAffairs #EasterSpecial

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We kick off with the good vibes: back from half-term in France's record-breaking snow - the Alps turned whiteout paradise, bluebird days, family ski sessions, bad slope decisions, and zero regrets for Nic and J-Lo. Billy skips the pistes for boots-on-the-ground work at the Winter Olympics in Italy - major event security amid the thrill of Team USA's historic hockey double, beating Canada in both men's and women's finals (men's in dramatic overtime). Epic highs for American fans, heartbreak for Canada, but that's the raw beauty of top-tier competition. 

Then we turn to the weight that truly defines this episode: the death of Quentin Deranque, 23, who succumbed on February 14, 2026, to severe injuries from an assault in Lyon two days earlier. We attended the vigil and the powerful tribute march on February 21 - thousands in sorrow, portraits raised, banners for justice, the city tense yet united in grief. The ongoing investigation (arrests continuing, recent ones this week, pretrial steps) keeps the nation gripped. 

J-Lo brings the unfiltered French view from the streets; Billy the security reality check. We speak openly and respectfully about the human toll - a family shattered, a young man's promising life cut short - and why confronting division with calm and empathy is essential now more than ever. 

From winter joy to deep reflection: this is why we talk. Listen in.

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Recorded live on Shrove Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 – Pancake Day vibes aside, this episode hits hard. 

Ross Halliday dives into the stories shaping France and Europe right now: French kids enjoying winter half-term slopes, the Munich Security Conference wrapping with stark warnings on global threats and signs of European resolve, and Les Bleus charging toward a potential Grand Slam in the Six Nations – vintage squad, unstoppable form, pure French pride delivering joy amid the storm.

But the heart of this episode is the gut-wrenching main story: the murder of 23-year-old mathematics student and far-right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon. A calm, thoughtful, religious young man providing security at a protest against far-left MEP Rima Hassan's university appearance, Quentin was brutally attacked by at least six masked assailants – kicked, punched, left with catastrophic head and brain injuries. He died in hospital over the weekend. Lyon prosecutors have launched a murder investigation (homicide volontaire), with arrests now mounting (reports of 9–11 suspects detained, including links to hard-left groups and even a parliamentary aide). The government points to radical left violence fueling the fire.

This isn't just tragedy, it's a stark warning. Political divisions in France are boiling over into deadly street clashes, far-right vs. far-left, rhetoric turning lethal ahead of elections. Jean-Louis Lafayeedney joins Ross for a raw, unfiltered deep dive.

The urgent message: We cannot be divided. A nation – or a civilazation – tearing itself apart from within only breeds weakness and decline. Time to reclaim shared values, choose dialogue over destruction, and protect life and liberty before it's too late.

Buckle up – this is Halliday's Podcast Episode 20. Real talk, no filters. Hit play now.

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Halliday’s Hometeam – proudly sponsored by Lyon Rucking Club – is a salute to courage in all its forms.

Halliday’s Hometeam  deliver an episode that embodies the podcast’s core creed: No Fear.

Recorded under the shadow of France’s heightened security and the echo of Scotland’s ancient pledge. 

We open with gratitude: reflecting on Antoine Gliksohn, Executive Director of the Global Albinism Alliance, and the fearless advocacy that continues to change lives worldwide.

Then the Hometeam march forward:

The Auld Alliance – forged in battle, alive in brotherhood – why the bond between Scotland and France remains a living oath of shared spirit.

The Soul of Lyon – where gastronomic genius meets a quiet podcast revolution, honours the city’s warrior heart.

Post-Louvre France: a nation on watch – deep respect for the law enforcement and military professionals who stand post.

Rucking as reverence – every kilometre under weight is a nod to those who carry heavier burdens in silence: soldiers, gendarmes, first responders, and the civilians who refuse to flinch.

Albinism, MS, and the ultimate No Fear mindset – Nicholas Elkoun’s living testimony that the greatest security is the courage to keep moving forward

For everyone who has ever shouldered a ruck, stood a post, or simply chosen to walk tall when the world felt heavy.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all good podcast platforms. 

Comment if you stand with those who serve!

Tag your Hometeam – the ones who remind you that fear is a choice 

Episode 13 deploys next week......The march continues.

#NoFear #LyonSoul #AuldAlliance #AlbinismAwareness #Remembrance #LyonRuckingClub #Hometeam #HallidaysPodcast #MilitaryRespect #LawEnforcement #FirstResponders

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We open Episode 19 of Halliday's Podcast with a raw admission: this was the hardest episode Halliday's Podcast has ever attempted. 

Horrific details. Long, heavy silences. Moments where words simply failed. Joining Ross in the studio are longtime collaborators Billy Hart and Nic Elkoun (Jean-Louis is sidelined by illness) to grapple, not with gossip or name-dropping, but with the profound rupture caused by the January 30, 2026, Department of Justice release: over 3 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, and more than 2,000 videos from two decades of Epstein investigations.

This isn't another layer of scandal. The material shatters the old narrative of isolated crimes or powerful "friends." It exposes something far darker: systematic, ritualized abuse of children involving extreme violence, shielded for decades by interlocking layers of political, judicial, law enforcement, and media protection. The era of plausible deniability, careful ambiguity, and "wait for proof" is over. What remains are uncomfortable, inescapable questions: How do institutions entrusted with justice enable horrors on this scale? How can any society claim moral authority when its elites appear to operate beyond humanity itself? And how do we rebuild trust when the very systems meant to protect the vulnerable have instead preserved the predators?

Expect no easy answers or tidy lists. This is a candid, stumbling, honest attempt to face what most voices have chosen to avoid. The conversation is raw, halting at times, and that's exactly why it matters.

If silence was ever an option, it isn't anymore.

Listen if you're ready for the truth, however shattering.

#EpsteinFiles #TrueReckoning #Podcast

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