Share

The Phileas Club
The Phileas Club 175 – France, Italy and Malaysia walk into a podcast
Ep. 175
•
On this episode:
- Italy: Patrick Zaki released in Egypt
- Malaysia: Najib Razak judged guilty on seven counts
- France: Eric Zemmour announces his candidacy
- And more !
Links:
- Pegasus Project – Special Report (English)
- Pegasus Project – Reportaje Especial (Spanish)
- 😎 Support the show at patreon.com/ThePhileasClub! 😎
- Theme by Daniel Beja (@misterdanielb / YouTube).
- Comments and more at frenchspin.com (article for this episode).
Hosts:
- Hosted by Patrick Beja (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook).
- Co-hosted by Norman Chella (Twitter).
- Co-hosted by Alessandro Toma (Twitter)
- Royalty Free Music by Musicincloud
More episodes
View all episodes

199. Hey Phileas, I'm not special anymore
48:51||Ep. 199Hey Phileas, Patrick makes a special request, Gunnar discusses the government shutdown on local politics and John talks about AI bubbles whilst amongst race riots.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 199 - Hey Phileas, I'm not special anymoreContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Gunnar Carlson (he/him) is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and loves the outdoors and working on equity and representation in outdoor recreation. Gunnar spends his personal time advocating for all outdoor recreation to be more inclusive and welcoming while also advocating for more opportunities in general. He loves to fish, camp, hike and mountain bike. Gunnar currently works for Riverton Community Housing at the University of MN where he works with seven cooperative boards to help build their capacity to better represent their members to Riverton while also improving their quality of life through governance. In this role Gunnar has had the opportunity to represent Riverton to the larger community and focus on the policy side of things.John was born in Melbourne, Australia, let's face it, an ever-increasing long time ago. His childhood saw him moving between the UK, Melbourne and Sydney.He initially pursued a career in sound (a highlight from this era was mastering Metallica's legendary Black Album (for its cassette release (though he usually doesn't mention that bit)). He later switched gears, studying archaeology and then IT/Programming, which launched a successful tech career. He remains a lifelong musician, currently playing with the band Monkeyskin (monkeyskin.au), and is a loving husband and father of four.The great Bruce Woodward produces the show!
198. Hey Phileas, There Are Diminishing Returns on Anger
39:17||Ep. 198Hey Phileas, Patrick talks about the hardships of being a content creator and Paul talks about the teacher's strike in Canada.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 198 - Hey Phileas, There Are Diminishing Returns on AngerContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Paul was born in Winnipeg Manitoba, and moved to Calgary Alberta at the age of 14. He has now lived in Alberta for almost 30 years. He is a father of 2, a 13 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. He has been married for 17 years. He enjoys PC gaming and summer outdoor activities like Cycling and running.The astounding Bruce Woodward produces the show!
197. Hey Phileas, There's Hope to be Had
38:48||Ep. 197Hey Phileas, Patrick talks about political culture, Dan talks about the difficulties in Mexico, and Bruce gives us hope with Zack Polanski,If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 197 - Hey Phileas, There's Hope to be HadContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Dan was born in a small city and moved to bigger places until he found his home in Mexico City. Far from the cows and the ranch, he has worked in advertising, taught classes, and enjoys making podcasts—even if it sometimes feels like podcasting will never catch on. He’s also a tech enthusiast and an AI skeptic—not because he doesn’t know how to use the latest digital toys, but because he uses them constantly, and his main job is fixing the things the robot overlords don’t (yet) know how to solve.You can find him as DanCampos on Bluesky and X, or just google “Noticias de Tecnología Express” or “Churros y Palomitas” and you’ll see his face.Bruce does not do podcasts and has no wife but has two wonderful kids and is happily divorced! He lives in Scotland living the lower-middle class dream, originally from Zimbabwe but moved several times over the years. He works as a data monkey for a Health and Social Care Partnership and loves to play computer games even at 47... recently back into World of Warcraft and re-learning how to play bass guitar, which is apparently not like riding a bike.He also produces the show!
196. Hey Phileas, did you know France is a mess too?
44:34||Ep. 196Hey Phileas, Patrick talks to us about a very interesting event, Michael talks about baseball in Japan with some life lessons learned, and Alec talks about being an ex-pat, what it means, and how he feels about it.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 195 - Hey Phileas, did you know France is a mess too?Contributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Michael Westbay is a software developer living in Yokohama, Japan. He's lived in Japan for a total of 38 years, where he and his wife, Margarita, raised two wonderful children. Besides programming, Michael really enjoys Japanese baseball. He started writing about Japanese baseball on the Internet in 1995 and continues to manage a sports database for not only Japanese baseball, but also Korean and Taiwanese professional leagues. He helped people visiting Japan get tickets for 9 years (after which the Yomiuri Giants, who originally suggested that he get tickets through their Fan Club for early access, decided to shut the business down). He still helps people get tickets on their own via a shared Google Sheet.You can find him by his handle, Westbaystars (a combination of Westbay and BayStars -- the local Yokohama professional baseball team) in most places, though he's not really active on the socials.Alec is a middle-class white American dude originally from the suburbs of Chicago. He moved to the French/Swiss border almost exactly 3 years ago to do PhD research at CERN, and now lives with his wife in Clermont-Ferrand on a research contract. He moved knowing no French and expecting to be there for just one year, but for so many reasons he decided to stay there permanently.And the superlative Bruce Woodward produces the show!
195. Hey Phileas, how do I stay sane?
45:55||Ep. 195Hey Phileas, Patrick talks about American lives among other things, Tom talks about his news regime to stay sane and Matthias talks about conscription in Germany and its history.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 195 - Hey Phileas, how do I stay sane?Contributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Tom is a US-based independent tech podcaster who lives in Los Angeles with his excellent content creator wife and their Instagram-famous dog.Born in the 80s, Matthias is a millennial who grew up with the promise of a brave new world with jet packs and warp drive, only to end up in whatever this is right now. On his way he studied political science, which makes him despair every time he overhears people talk about politics on the train but also made him want to explain to people how political systems actually work. Which he also got to do for an international audience on the Phileas Club. He has lived in different parts of the country over the years but is now based in the southwest of Germany, near the French border, where he follows some of his nerdier passions and is working for a non-profit organization running a maker space and supporting repair initiatives.And the amazing Bruce Woodward produces the show!
194. Hey Phileas, what does "integrated" mean?
41:44||Ep. 194Hey Phileas, Patrick talks about the fall of the 1,200th French government in 18 months, Baptiste, talks about being integrated in Switzerland and Gunnar talks about nature reserves and school shootings...If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 194 - Hey Phileas, what does "integrated" mean?Contributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Baptiste is 26, he grew up in a small village in eastern France and moved to Switzerland at 18 to pursue his studies. He now works as an engineer in Zürich, where he also enjoys outdoor sports, podcasting, and cooking. Politically, he describes himself as a classical liberal, though he believes most people don't fit neatly into any one category.Gunnar Carlson (he/him) is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and loves the outdoors and working on equity and representation in outdoor recreation. Gunnar spends his personal time advocating for all outdoor recreation to be more inclusive and welcoming while also advocating for more opportunities in general. He loves to fish, camp, hike and mountain bike. Gunnar currently works for Riverton Community Housing at the University of MN where he works with seven cooperative boards to help build their capacity to better represent their members to Riverton while also improving their quality of life through governance. In this role Gunnar has had the opportunity to represent Riverton to the larger community and focus on the policy side of things.And the wonderful Bruce Woodward produces the show!
193. Hey Phileas, it's international plumbing day
50:35||Ep. 193Hey Phileas, today we've had a holiday and we are exhausted.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 193 - Hey Phileas, it's international plumbing dayContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Dan was born in a small city and moved to bigger places until he found his home in Mexico City. Far from the cows and the ranch, he has worked in advertising, taught classes, and enjoys making podcasts—even if it sometimes feels like podcasting will never catch on. He’s also a tech enthusiast and an AI skeptic—not because he doesn’t know how to use the latest digital toys, but because he uses them constantly, and his main job is fixing the things the robot overlords don’t (yet) know how to solve.You can find him as DanCampos on Bluesky and X, or just google “Noticias de Tecnología Express” or “Churros y Palomitas” and you’ll see his face.John was born in Melbourne, Australia, let's face it, an ever-increasing long time ago. His childhood saw him moving between the UK, Melbourne and Sydney.He initially pursued a career in sound (a highlight from this era was mastering Metallica's legendary Black Album (for its cassette release (though he usually doesn't mention that bit)). He later switched gears, studying archaeology and then IT/Programming, which launched a successful tech career. He remains a lifelong musician, currently playing with the band Monkeyskin (monkeyskin.au), and is a loving husband and father of four.And the wonderful Bruce Woodward produces the show!
192. Hey Phileas, Let's talk about Gaza
01:08:00||Ep. 192Hey Phileas, today we talk about Gaza and about the fall out of American tariffs and the idea of a very Canadian fifty first state.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/The Phileas Club 192 - Hey Phileas, Let's talk about GazaContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Bart is a cybersecurity specialist and podcaster originally from Flanders in Belgium but living in Ireland since the age of four. Bart podcasts about cybersecurity, programming, the art and craft of photography, and all things Apple. Bart now lives west of Dublin at boundary between urban and rural Ireland with his husband of twelve years.Paul was born in Winnipeg Manitoba, and moved to Calgary Alberta at the age of 14. He has now lived in Alberta for almost 30 years. He am a father of 2, a 13 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. He has been married for 17 years. He enjoys PC gaming and summer outdoor activities like Cycling and running.
191. Hey Phileas, we don't want to talk politics today
32:11||Ep. 191Hey Phileas, today I don't want to talk about politics anymore, and want to talk about how useful debating really is and how important it is to have community. Alec introduces himself and how ideas can change and how important it is to get to know people and how easy it is to misunderstand.If you're interested in becoming an AWESOME contributor please fill out this form: ➡️➡️ https://forms.gle/KJdRRqh4ngERAu7G7 ⬅️⬅️--PatrickI'm on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/notpatrick.comCome chat on Discord: https://notpatrick.com/discord/Alec on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/lancaster2124.bsky.socialThe Phileas Club 191 - Hey Phileas, We don't want to talk politics todayContributors:Patrick does podcasts for a living and hails from France (and often Finland) with his wonderful wife and two kids.Alec is a middle-class white American dude originally from the suburbs of Chicago. He moved to the French/Swiss border almost exactly 3 years ago to do PhD research at CERN, and now lives with his wife in Clermont-Ferrand on a research contract. He moved knowing no French and expecting to be there for just one year, but for so many reasons he decided to stay in France/Switzerland permanently.