Series: Cog

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Guest:

• Dr. Arman Grigoryan

Topics:

• Revolutionary Mistakes
• Nov. 9 Statement, Corridors, Communications
• Misguided Pivot
• Turkish Involvement in the 44-Day War

Episode 349 | Recorded: July 31, 2024

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Guest:

• Hayk Mamijanyan

Topics:

• Prospect of a Trump Presidency on the Caucasus
• Update on political prisoners
• PACE report
• Referendum on joining EU
• Bagrat Srbazan Tavush movement

Episode 346 | Recorded: July 18, 2024

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Guest:

• Artur Papyan
• Ruben Muradyan

Topics:

• Armenia’s Draft Law on Mass Surveillance
• USAID-funded Deal with AWS
• Government Track Record of Cybersecurity Failures

Episode 344 | Recorded: July 11, 2024

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Guest:

• Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey

Topics:

• Background on the Lemkin Institute
• Genocide in Artsakh
• Armenian Government’s Genocide Denial
• Gaza and other Genocides

Episode 341 | Recorded: June 25, 2024

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Guest:

• Aram Orbelyan

Topics:

• Unconstitutional “Delimitation” Process
• Could the Opposition Trigger New Elections?

Episode 340 | Recorded: June 21, 2024

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Guest:

• Hagop Djernazian

Topics:

• Update on the current situation of the Armenian Quarters in Jerusalem
• State of the Community’s Case against Xana Gardens Inc.
• Armenia Recognizes the State of Palestine
• Effects of Armenian-Israeli Relations on the Armenian Community

Episode 338 | Recorded on Wednesday, June 23, 2024

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Guest:

• Dr. Archil Sikharulidze

Topics:

• Georgian Law on Foreign Agents
• Politics and Diplomacy of Armenia
• Parallels and Lessons from Georgia

Episode 332 | Recorded: May 25, 2024

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Guest:

• Sopo Japaridze

Topics:

• USSR: A common Home & History
• Georgia’s Foreign Agent Bill
• Armenia-Georgian Relations

Episode 330 | Recorded: May 17, 2024

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Guests:

• Benyamin Poghosyan
• Rananjay Anand

Topics:

• Impressions: Raisina 2024 Dialogue
• Indian Community
• Trade Opportunities
• Defense & Security

Episode 327 | Recorded: April 26, 2024

Groong Links:

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Topics:

• Mission Details
  • Mission & Goals
  • Operational Details
  • Communication
  • Immunity
• Perceptions from Neighboring Countries
• Incidents
  • August 15 ,2023
  • Nerkin Hand

Guest:

• Dr. Markus Ritter

Episode 322 | Recorded: March 26, 2024

Groong Links:

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Topics:

• US Strategic Interests in the South Caucasus
• The Challenge of Armenia’s Neighborhood
• Weaponry that could help Armenia
• Clear Expectations and Limits
• The Turkish Factor
• The Iranian Factor

Guest:

• Paul Cormarie

Episode 321 | Recorded: March 26, 2024

Groong Links:

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Topics:

• Economic Diversification
• Systemic Corruption
• Bank Secrecy Scrapped

Guest:

• Tatul Manaseryan

Episode 319 | Recorded: March 16, 2024

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Topics:

• IRI Poll, December 2023
• MPG Poll, February 2024

Guest:

• Hrant Mikaelian

Topics:

Episode 317 | Recorded: March 16, 2024

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Guest:

• Canadian Ambassador Andrew Turner

Topics:

• Establishment of Canadian Embassy in Armenia
• EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA)
• Political Prisoners
• Canadian Military Supplies to Turkey

Episode 316 | Recorded: March 15, 2024

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Dr. Archil Sikharulidze

Topics:

• Georgian Nationalism and Identity
• Georgia, Armenia, post 2018
• Accession to the EU
• Strategic Partnership

Episode 315 | Recorded: March 12, 2024

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Dr. Ehsan Movahedian

Topics:

• Iran Parliamentary Elections
• Geopolitical U-turn in Armenia?
• Iran Armenia Relations
• Anti-Iranian Propaganda from NGOs

Episode 314 | Recorded: March 11, 2024

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Dr. David Darchiashvili

Topics:

• Georgia’s search for a modern national identity
• Politics in Context
• EU accession process and outlook
• Armenia-Georgia Strategic Partnership

Episode 308 | Recorded: February 7, 2024

Groong Links:

• linktr.ee/Groong

Guest:

• Michael Goorjian

Topics:

• Amerikatsi: Motifs, Aspects and Character of the Film
• Goorjian’s Style, Influences, and Interests
• The Oscar Shortlisting journey
• Bedros & Asbed Afterthoughts on the Conversation

Episode 307 | Recorded: February 5, 2024

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Dr. Pietro Shakarian

Topics:

• An Armenian in St. Petersburg, Russia
• Russian Perceptions and Outlook on the War in Ukraine
• Perceptions of Armenia and Artsakh in Russia
• World Events that might Affect Outcome of the War in Ukraine
• Where do Armenia and Artsakh Figure in a New World Order?

Episode 303 | Recorded: January 22, 2024

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Aghasi Yenokyan

Topics:

• Ruling Party Power Grabs
  • Why is Civil Contract so Adamant on Total Municipal Control
  • Political Prisoners
• Early/Snap Elections?
• Armenia’s Controlled Judiciary
• About Yenokian’s new book: Ալտերնատիվ պատմություն Հայոց

Episode 298 | Recorded: December 13, 2023

Groong Links:

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Guest:

• Aram Orbelyan

Topics:

• What are the different status options?
• Armenian Passport and Citizenship
• What is Authority Code 070, how is it being treated?
• What Hurdles are Artsakhtsis facing in Armenia and Why?
• What is the Armenian Government’s Posture on all this?
• Aliyev’s Deadline and What Armenian Should do about it
• Does the Rome Statute Help?

Episode 294 | Recorded: November 13, 2023

Groong Links:

• linktr.ee/Groong

Guest:

• Aram Orbelyan

Topics:

• What is the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration?
• What is the CIS Based on?
• About Borders, Treaties, and Declarations
• Armenia’s explicit reservation affecting Artsakh in the Treaty
• Why would Pashinyan ignore the Reservations?
• Territorial Integrity and Use of Force
• What Autonomy was LTP Envisioning?
• Where does 2023 Leave the Cause of Artsakh?
• How should Armenia Pursue it on the International Scene?

Episode 293 | Recorded: November 13, 2023

Setrag Balian & Hagop Djernazian - Jerusalem Patriarchate and Armenian Quarters under Threat by Israeli Investors and Armed Settlers

Groong Links:

• linktr.ee/Groong

Guest:

• Setrag Balian
• Hagop Djernazian

Topics:

• Violent Events following Patriarch’s Letter of Cancellation of Lease Agreement on November 1
• Further Issues on November 9
• Are the Lease Agreement and its Cancellation Legal?
• What do Israeli Settlers have to do with the Lease Deal?
• What Next?

Episode 292 | Recorded on Wednesday, November 9 2023

Groong Links:

• linktr.ee/Groong

Guest:

• Levon Zourabian

Topics:

• Armenian National Congress (ANC)
• Democracy and Armenia
• Azerbaijan-Armenia Negotiations
• Artsakh
• Global Conflicts - Israel, Ukraine

Episode 290 | Recorded: October 27, 2023

Guest:

• Aghasi Yenokyan

Topics:

• Armenian News & Media Space
  • RFE/RL Azatutyun in the Armenian Media Space
  • Fake News
  • Freedom of Press
• Politics and Geopolitics of Armenia
• Artsakh
• Global Conflicts - Israel, Ukraine

Episode 289 | Recorded: October 26, 2023

Guest:

• Dr. Ehsan Movahedian

Topics:

• Iran in an Evolving World Order
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Armenian-Iranian Relations
• Azerbaijani-Iranian Relations
• Vision for a Better Future

Episode 287 | Recorded: October 20, 2023

Guest:

• Aram Orbelyan

Topics:

• Genocide & Consequences
• Legal Status of Former Artsakh Leadership
• Artsakh Government in Exile

Episode 285 | Recorded: October 11, 2023

Guest:

• Benyamin Poghosyan

Topics:

• Outstanding Causes of the Conflict
• Why did Aliyev Bail out of Granada?
• Could Azerbaijan Attack Armenia?
• How Might Events Unfold?

Episode 283 | Recorded: October 5, 2023

Guest:

• Arthur G. Martirosyan

Topics:

• The Game of Alternatives
• How does it apply to Negotiations?
• Is Armenia Negotiating Effectively?

Episode 281 | Recorded: October 1, 2023

Topics:

• Armenia’s Diplomacy at the UN
• Artsakh Elections / Blockade
• Yerevan Elections

Guest:

• Dziunik Aghajanian

Guest:

• Anna Abrahamian

Topics:

• The Wagner Group
• Special Ops in Russia
• Over at The Ministry of Defense
• A White Russian
• On The Western Front
• Are We Done Yet?
• Parallels with 2016 in Armenia?
• PMCs in Armenia?

Episode 265 | Recorded: June 30, 2023

Hagop Djernazian - Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate Land Lease Angers Worldwide Community

Guest:

• Hagop Djernazian

Topics:

• Intro to Armenians in Jerusalem
• Escalating violence on Armenians
• Intro to the Armenian Patriarchate
• On the contract of the 99-year lease and its consequences
• About the community protest movement
• What if the contract goes forward?

Episode 261 | Recorded on Wednesday, June 11 2023

Dziunik Aghajanian - on Armenian Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, the Pashinyan Agenda, and Mother Armenia

Guest:

• Amb. Dziunik Aghajanian

Topics:

• Intro to Ms Aghajanian
  • Career path, Mentors, Influencers
  • Parting ways with the MFA
• How did Armenia Resist Turkish Pressure prior to 2018
• Impressions of 2018 events
• On Pashinyan’s Policies to Surrender Artsakh
  • Letter Planning the Surrender
  • Messaging Aliyev to begin Instigations
  • Changing Security Doctrine
• The Myth of Western Security Guarantees
• Pashinyan’s Fiction re Alma Ata and Madrid Principles
• On Armenia’s National Interests
• On Armenian

Yerevan Court Freezes Assets of 168.am and Journalist Davit Sargsyan on Tigran Avinyan’s Demand A Conversation with Ruben Melikyan

Guest:

• Ruben Melikyan

Topics:

Episode 254 | Recorded on Thursday, May 13 2023

Guest:

• Alison Tahmizian Meuse

Topics:

• Aghavno / Berdzor
• April 11 Azeri Aggression Near Tegh
• Raising Flags
• Azeri Infiltrations into Armenia

Episode 247 | Recorded: April 14, 2023

Guest:

• Naira Melikyan

In this Conversations on Groong episode, we’ll be talking Naira Melikyan who shares troubling information from her attempt to travel to Artsakh via the newly built road passing by the village of Kornidzor. Armenian border guards turned away the Miasin group citing security concerns.

Episode 245 | Recorded: April 7, 2023

Guest:

• Benyamin Poghosyan

Topics:

• What agreements were reached between China and Russia?
• What is the role of India in the new world order?
• Consequence of moving away from a dollar-denominated global economic order?
• China as peacemaker in Ukraine
• China as peacemaker in the Middle East
• China’s role in Iran and South Caucasus
• How should Armenia navigate world order changes?

Episode 244 | Recorded: April 5, 2023

Guest:

• Johnny G. Melikian

Topics:

• On March 7, the Georgian parliament voted into law a bill that would require political actors to clarify their foreign funding sources and their activities to lobby lawmakers with such funding. This ignited large protests in Tbilisi, and on March 9 the parliament agreed to rescind the law and to release arrested opposition members. We analyze the events and the outcome.

Episode 238 | Recorded: March 15, 2023

Today we’re going to talk with Anna Abrahamian about two or three topics.

• The Munich Security Conference 2023.
• We’ll touch on Russian president Putin’s state of the federation address.
• The latest political developments in Artsakh.

Guest:

• Anna Abrahamian , a geopolitical analyst who splits her time between Moscow and Athens. Having obtained training in international law, Anna has worked in such noteworthy institutions as the Defense Analyses Institute in Athens as well as the Crisis Group in Brussels. Today, Anna provides her analysis on geopolitics and Armenian politics to her

In this Conversations on Groong episode, we’ll be talking about the Internet censorship bill proposed in Armenia before the new year. We’ll also talk about the threat and activity of some Cyber spying malware in Armenia, such as the Israeli Pegasus software, which represents a threat to journalists and freedom of expression.

Topics:

• Censoring the Internet
• Cyberthreats and Cyberspying in Armenia

Guest: Artur Papyan , malware researcher, digital security consultant, co-founder of CyberHub and director of the Media DIversity Institute .

Episode 229 | Recorded: February 24, 2023

Guests:

• Suren Sargsyan , founder and a President at the Armenian Center for American Studies, a research center based in Yerevan.

“Pashinyan’s participation in Munich Security Conference didn’t give anything to Armenia” - Suren Sargsyan

Topic:

Today is day 72 of the total blockade of Artsakh. For 72 days, the 120K citizens of Artsakh have not had the ability to enter or exit their country. They are deprived of the ability to visit Armenia or to receive guests from Armenia. With very limited supplies, they are forced to ration food with the help of food stamps in order to

Conversations on Groong - Jan 22, 2023

On January 19, 15 conscripts in the village of Azat, Armenia died in a fire that engulfed their temporary makeshift barracks.

Guest:

• Karen Vrtanesyan

Topics:

• Conditions in the Armenian Army
• Information chaos following the incident
• Beheading of the 2nd Army Corps

Episode 214 | Recorded: January 22, 2023

Metaxe Hakobyan: Blockade of Artsakh Day 41 | Ep 213 - Jan 21, 2023

Armenian News Network Groong - Jan 21, 2023

Guest/Հյուրը:

• Metaxe Hakobyan : member of the Justice faction in the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh.

Episode 213 | Recorded: January 21, 2023

Conversations on Groong - Jan 18, 2023

Guest:

• Rananjay Anand

Topics:

• Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO
• The Indian Community in Armenia
• Where India sees itself on the world stage
• Drivers for Indian-Armenian Relations
• How to improve economic and trade relations
• The Hope & Promise of Indian Armenian Friendship

Episode 209 | Recorded: January 18, 2023

Edgar Ghazaryan: Էդգար Ղազարյանը, Արցախում քաղաքական զարգացումների մասին | Ep 207 - Jan 17, 2023

Armenian News Network Groong - Jan 17, 2023

Guest/Հյուրը:

• Edgar Ghazaryan/Էդգար Ղազարյան

Topics:

Why should Ruben Vardanyan stay? Ինչու՞ պետք է Ռուբեն Վարդանյանը մնա

Episode 207 | Recorded: January 17, 2023

Guests:

• Aram Orbelyan , international law specialist, who is an attorney and managing partner at Concern Dialog law firm, and PhD in Public international law. Mr. Orbelyan lectures at the Academy of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia, and lectured public international law at French University of Armenia. Mr. Orbelyan was Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia between 2011 and 2014.

“The Armenian government, under its legislation, is obliged to protect the independence of Artsakh” - Aram Orbelyan

Topic:

As of earlier this week, Artsakh has introduced coupons to ration food. Other

Guests:

• William Bairamian , founder and editor of The Armenite. He has written extensively on Armenian politics, culture, and society. He received degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and UCLA.
• Arthur Khachikyan , International Relations expert from Stanford University, specializing in Intervention. He currently teaches at the Russian Armenian University in Yerevan.

“This is a repeat of Srebrenica. To gradually strangle and force the people to leave.” -Arthur Khachikyan

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh)

Guest:

• Hovhannes Ishkhanyan , writer, documentary filmmaker, publicist, co-founder of Eye for an Eye (Akn Und Akan), a community of documentarians. Hovhannes has a Master’s in journalism from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.

Using art to prevent catastrophes instead of reacting to them

Ishkhanyan’s documentary “Sleep art”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqzPpVsK-g

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor, as this crisis enters its 25th

Guest:

• Karen Vrtanesyan , expert on military and warfare strategies with a focus on Armenia and its neighboring region. Co-founder of the website razm.info.

“This is not a humanitarian crisis. This is a political crisis, a crisis of statehood. -Karen Vrtanesyan”

Topic:

This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this very serious humanitarian crisis in progress.

Links:

• 168 Hours: https://168.am
• Groong: https://podcasts.groong.org

Episode 196 | Recorded: December 30, 2022

Guest:

• Benyamin Poghosyan , Chairman of the Yerevan based think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies.

“Aliyev’s strategy is ’no Armenians, no problems’. What is our strategy?” -Benyamin Poghosyan

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, as this crisis enters its 16th day.

This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this

Guest:

• Arthur Khachatryan , an MP from the Hayastan (Armenia) alliance and member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutyun). In the past, he held government posts such as Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, Governor of Shirak, and Minister of Agriculture.

“The Armenian authorities are trying to bury the issue of status of Artsakh” -Arthur Khachatryan

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, as this crisis enters its 15th day.

Guest:

• Edgar Elbakyan , a political scientist and social thinker based in Yerevan, Armenia. He is a co-founder of the Armenian Project non-profit organization, which contributes to enhancing Armenian national civil society.

“The problem is not resources or power, the problem is how you put forward your goals”

Topic:

The blockade of Artsakh is now 13 days old. More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh). Supermarket shelves are empty. Essential medicine is running out.

On Friday, December 23, that’s yesterday, a meeting between

“Turkish threats are going to disappear only when there is no Armenia” - Varuzhan Geghamyan

Guest:

• Varuzhan Geghamyan

Topic:

• We continue our coverage of the crisis in Artsakh by developments in the UN Security Council as well as Turkish and Iranian concerns in the region.
• More than 120 thousand people, including 30 thousand children, are under siege. Today is the 11th day of the crisis.
• This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between ANN/Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this very serious humanitarian

“Current Armenian government blames everyone, but themselves, Azerbaijan and Turkey.” -Aram Orbelyan

Guest:

• Aram Orbelyan , an international law specialist, who is an attorney and managing partner at Concern Dialog law firm, and PhD in Public international law. Mr. Orbelyan lectures at the Academy of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia, and lectured public international law at French University of Armenia. Mr. Orbelyan was Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia between 2011 and 2014.

Topic:

This is Day 11 of the complete blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. More than 120 thousand

“Armenia has to draw a red line - Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan” -Hayk Mamijanyan

Guest:

• Hayk Mamijanyan is the leader of the oppositional Pativ Unem (With Honor) alliance in the Armenian National Assembly, and a member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).

Topic:

This is Day 9 of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan.

This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this very serious humanitarian crisis in progress.

Links:

• 168 Hours: https://168.am

“Pashinyan, why don’t you go and shake Artak Beglaryan’s hand, like you did in Shushi in 2019” - Tevan Poghosyan

Guest:

• Tevan Poghosyan , is president of the International Center for Human Development in Yerevan. Mr. Poghosyan was an MP in the National Assembly between 2012 and 2017 from the Heritage party. From 1997 to 1999 he served as the Nagorno-Karabakh Public Affairs Office Director in Washington, D.C.

Topic:

This is Day 9 of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more

“This is the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the people of Artsakh” -Arman Tatoyan

Guest:

• Arman Tatoyan , is the former ombudsman of the Republic of Armenia. Currently actively pursues human rights for Armenians in the republics of Armenia and Artsakh, especially through his foundation, the “Tatoyan” Center for Law and Justice.

Topic:

This is Day 9 of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan.

As we are recording this discussion, more than 120 thousand people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh). For 9 days, Azerbaijan has brazenly blocked

Guest:

• Hrant Mikaelian , a political scientist and multidisciplinary researcher in social sciences based in Yerevan. He is also a senior researcher at the Caucasus Institute.

“The full state-led attack against Artsakh and Armenia, which no-one in Europe condemned, was a case where the military solution worked. From 2020 onwards, many actors in the world see that you can attack and get away with it.”

Topic:

This is Day 8 of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. 120 thousand people are effectively being held hostage by the regime in Baku.

Groong and 168 Hours are continuing our

Guest:

• Arthur Khachikyan , PhD is an International Relations expert from Stanford University, specializing in Intervention. He currently teaches at the Russian Armenian University in Yerevan.

Topic:

We’re going on to Day 6 of the Artsakh Blockade by Azerbaijan, and Groong and 168 Hours are teaming up to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this very serious issue, a major humanitarian crisis in Artsakh in progress.

“We somehow have this complex. We think we’re the sleeping beauty and the west is going to come and save us. And every time that it

Guest:

• Hakob Hakobyan

«Սա պետք է ոգևորի և ոգեշնչի յուրաքանչյուր հայի և պետք է նոր թափ հաղորդի մեր այն 30 տարիների պայքարին, որը դեռևս չենք ավարտել:»

Episode 184 | Recorded: December 15, 2022