Best Ankur Shah Delight Podcasts (2025)

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#00128 What Is An Enemy? 24:48

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1y ago24:48

24:48

Yesterday, I delivered my first sermon in an actual house of worship. It was an exciting and bizarre moment for me, and turned out to be quite beautiful. Exciting because I see myself as a priest, and giving a sermon is a very priestly honor. Bizarre because I never thought I'd ever write a sentence like that last one! I've been marrying people for…

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#00127 How To Create Political Hatred 19:37

1y ago19:37

19:37

Earlier this week I spoke with renowned mediator Ken Cloke. Ken is a living breathing apostle of the philosophy of practical nonviolence that Gandhi and MLK took to such a high level. Because we were on a call with a group of professional mediators, I asked Ken what the recent US election might mean for mediators in the US. I'm sharing his answer m…

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#00126 It's Worse Than You Think: We Too Must Grow! 12:01

1y ago12:01

12:01

Happy USA Election Day 2024, denizens of the world. May it be, in fact, happy and harmless. I have an election-day message for you. We Too Must Grow. It's a combination of my thoughts on the opportunities the election presents us with "It's Worse Than You Think" and my explication of a song that I think is INCREDIBLY RELEVANT to this moment. The so…

1
#00125 How to Win a Democracy 18:01

1y ago18:01

18:01

This episode is based on a speech/sermon I wrote in October 2024 and delivered at a March for Democracy in a small town. I used the opportunity to share what conflict mediation has taught me about winning. Part I: Definitions of winning and losing Part II: What's really standing in our way Part III: The pearl of wisdom and what we can do about it T…

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#00124 Move Slowly and Heal Things: A Muslim-Jewish partnership conversation 1:10:41

1y ago1:10:41

1:10:41

This episode is about Muslim-Jewish relations. It's about whats been going on in Israel and Palestine for the last year. It's about what's possible in the next year. It's about what happens when we expand the circle of concern. And it's about what is happening, all over the world, in small communities, unreported by most of the news, when people op…

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#00123 Pacific Northwest Sea Gardens and What We Owe Our Descendants (with Nicole Norris) 1:02:28

1+ y ago1:02:28

1:02:28

Two years ago I overheard a conversation at a local farmers' market about Clam Gardens. Being a nosy podcast host, I eavesdropped, eventually inserted myself, and got some contact information. Today I caught up with Ala̱g̱a̱mił Nicole Norris, of Halalt First Nation on what's now known as Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia…

1
#00122 The Third Side 27:52

1+ y ago27:52

27:52

In this episode I present what I learned from William Ury's The Third Side. The basic idea is that our communities and societies are the most important element in developing an effective conflict management system, and that the essence of being effect is to exert peer pressure on resolving the conflict instead of taking the "side" of any of the par…

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#00121 Civic Engineering V1 Plan (How to Prevent a Civil War) 21:19

1+ y ago21:19

21:19

For the last few months I've been reflecting on How to Prevent a Civil War. Here's why I think we need to act: - It is in the avowed interests of multiple powerful actors -- both inside and outside of the US -- to foment widespread discord, confusion, and animosity. - The logical conclusion of widespread discord, confusion, and animosity is civil w…

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#00120 The Six Dimensions of Conflict Transformation 24:08

1+ y ago24:08

24:08

The concept I want to present today is the Six Dimensions of Conflict, which comes up in Chapters 2 and 3 of The Crossroads of Conflict by Ken Cloke. Ken has a model where he breaks down conflict and how we approach it into six areas, and then looks at that sextet from 4 different angles: - Orders of Resolution - Math/Geometry - Location in the bod…

1
#00119 Three examples of slow dialogue 19:11

1+ y ago19:11

19:11

As part of my journey towards understanding what brings us together and what keeps us apart, today I want to share three examples of social dialogue I learned about in the past couple of weeks. I will resist the temptation to draw conclusions prematurely, but just let us all ruminate together with these three examples. The first is from Nelson Mand…

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#00118 A Sober Roadmap to Nuclear Disarmament (with Ward Hayes Wilson) 1:03:04

1+ y ago1:03:04

1:03:04

As Lao Tzu used to say: "Do the hard thing while it is still easy." According to my guest, Ward Hayes Wilson, it's a pretty good time to work on nuclear disarmament. This is precisely the opposite of all my reflections on the issues, which usually end in hopeless shrugging and attempts to resign myself towards guaranteed nuclear annihilation. (Much…

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#00117 Every Conflict Hides a Story, with Somia Sadiq 1:08:26

1+ y ago1:08:26

1:08:26

Somia Sadiq is a peacebuilder and entrepreneur focused on Conflict Transformation. Our conversation was so wide-ranging I thought it would be worth a brief rundown of what we covered: - Resilience and Fasting - Definitions: Settler and Newcomer - Identity politics - Ancestral guilt and shame - How to approach history (and history of oppression) wit…

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#00116 Atheism, Spirituality, and Civil War with Casper ter Kuile 1:10:21

1+ y ago1:10:21

1:10:21

Casper ter Kuile is like a better version of myself. He's on a mission to rescue spiritual truths from religious dogma to fill the voids in modern life. We talk about what atheism and spirituality mean to us, gain inspiration from a John O'Donahue essay on "The Priestliness of the Human Heart," discuss the current struggles in El Salvador (and how …

1
#00115 A meditation on Pain, Drugs, and Gratitude with Wolf Sherman 57:52

1+ y ago57:52

57:52

Wolf Sherman has dealt with excruciating pain 24/7 since being hit by a car a couple of years ago. The relationships he has developed between pain, drugs, and gratitude struck me as something every single one of us can learn from. We also get into modern masculinity and communication with whales. Yeah, You heard me right. 🐋 🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸 ♥️ I…

1
#00114 John Giuliano on Justice, Revenge, and the situation in El Salvador 56:09

1+ y ago56:09

56:09

In this episode, I talk with one of my greatest mentors, John Giuliano, about how the Régimen de excepción is affecting his small community. Specifically, we discuss the situation of the co-director of the Tamarindo Foundation, Santos, who was arrested 54 days ago (as of March 6, 2024). The second half of the show (@ 16:02) covers John's response t…

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#00113 Thanksgiving Sourdough Bread Recipe (Depth-First Search) 12:46

2y ago12:46

12:46

Here's a gratitude-forward recipe for Sourdough Bread. I go through the 4 main ingredients that go into the bread, and then go into the ingredients that go into those, and then the ingredients that go into those… It's a gratitude practice. Try it out on literally anything in your life and see where you end up. If you're actually looking for my reci…

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#00112 Abby Carl: Composting Trauma into Healing 1:02:17

2y ago1:02:17

1:02:17

If what I'm trying to do with this podcast is: Go deep immediately without any fluff, and Help us all understand how purpose shows itself empirically, even when things look horribly gnarly, Then I give this conversation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. It's deep. It deals with horrible things (sexual trauma). It's hopeful. And Abby Carl is an absolute hero for turning all h…

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#00111 Jason Taylor: Five Elements Acupuncture and The Seasons of Life 1:01:41

2y ago1:01:41

1:01:41

Jason Taylor runs deep. He's an ecologist and Five Elements acupuncturist with a lot to share about living a healthy and balanced life. But what I liked best is how deeply he engaged with the questions. That's part of what I love about this show – it's not just Information handed down from On High, but a mutual exploration, where we're all learning…

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#00110 Crystal Beasley: Making Decisions with the Heart and A Finishing School For Men 1:08:06

2y ago1:08:06

1:08:06

Crystal Beasley is a trip. She's a high priestess of the heart and listening to her journey is the auditory equivalent of getting tickled (for me) at least. At one point she tells me she is here to protect the place of women. Then she mentions a finishing school she runs, to turn Men into Gentlemen. And then she reveals the How: Teaching them to As…

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#00109 Walter Faro: The actual Assassin's Creed 1:01:09

2y ago1:01:09

1:01:09

Walter Faro sees himself as a protector and creator of refuge. His father (and mentor) was a trained assassin and mercenary, and Walter has spent his life trying to understand and integrate the skills and worldview he learned in his formative years. Incredibly, he brings this history and presence to his work as a DEI facilitator. Naturally, his vis…

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How to stop a war? Israel, Hamas, and the prospects for peace-building with Ken Cloke 47:06

2y ago47:06

47:06

I talk to world-renowned mediator Ken Cloke about: His personal reaction to the October 7th attacks and ensuing war Every Generation Has To Confront The Zero Sum Game Two Options When We Look At War What can individuals who don't live in the Middle East do? 50 Questions To Ask In Political Arguments Organizations he supports: Combatants for Peace a…

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#00108 Melvin Myles: Healing The Heart Through Music 1:36:47

2y ago1:36:47

1:36:47

Melvin Myles wields music as a weapon of love. He grew up in a gospel tradition in Mississippi, discovered Jazz in college, and stumbled his way (we laugh about it) into being a professional vocal artist. But for me the best part is what Melvin is so effortlessly able to communicate about the heart. Deep Truths I struggle to articulate through writ…

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#00107 Eric Grace: The Density of the Soul 1:45:16

2y ago1:45:16

1:45:16

🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸 ♥️ If you liked this episode, let us know with a review. And follow this show to get all our latest episodes. ♥️♥️Of course, If you really liked this episode, subscribe to The Ten Thousand Heroes newsletter to get weekly 5 minute reads on meaning, purpose, and community. Plus, you'll never miss an episode again. http://momentuml…

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Jeff Salzman: Four Reactions To Horrific Violence inside each one of us 8:54

2y ago8:54

8:54

This is an excerpt from a conversation Jeff Salzman with the Developmental Alliance, with a brief preface from yours truly. Jeff posts Integral takes on the news regularly at https://www.youtube.com/@UCCa3meEuah-lc2lIMX2BTng (and I often join him!) 🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸 ♥️ If you liked this episode, let us know with a review. And follow this show to …

1
I've got my goals: What could possibly go wrong? 9:50

2y ago9:50

9:50

There's two critical steps towards making the impact you want to make in the world: 1) Knowing what you want to do 2) Doing it Most people never figure out Step 1. But if you've worked hard enough to have a clear idea of what you want to do, you're still not out of the woods yet. For any plan of consequence there are lots and lots and lots and lots…

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#00106 Karen Bonner: How To Use Your Dreams 59:34

2y ago59:34

59:34

🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸 ♥️ If you liked this episode, let us know with a review. And follow this show to get all our latest episodes. ♥️♥️Of course, If you really liked this episode, subscribe to The Ten Thousand Heroes newsletter to get weekly 5 minute reads on meaning, purpose, and community. Plus, you'll never miss an episode again. http://momentuml…

1
#00105 Fabiana Fondevila: From Wonder To Action 56:15

2y ago56:15

56:15

🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸🏽‍♂️🦸🏾‍♂️🦸‍♀️🦸🏾🦸🏼‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏿🦸🏽‍♂️🦸🏾‍♂️ ♥️ If you liked this episode, let us know with a review. And follow this show to get all our latest episodes. ♥️♥️Of course, If you really liked this episode, subscribe to The Ten Thousand Heroes newsletter to get weekly 5 minute reads on meaning, purpose, and community. Plus, you'll never mi…

1
#00104 We're writing "The Book" on Purpose 14:26

2+ y ago14:26

14:26

If I were to write a book about purpose today (I have another ~3 hours before I need to pick up Jasmine), what would it be about? Which is maybe the same question as: What are the most important questions for me to address on this show? In the audio/video version of the episode (links below!) I'll explain these things a bit more, but here's the rou…

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#00103 How To Find Your Purpose 25:00

2+ y ago25:00

25:00

There's two things I want to do today: Explain how you find your purpose (according to me, today) Share the "pre-interview" video I made for my upcoming guests. It's a simple two-step method that involves asking a specific question and then running experiments based on the answer. Everyday I run into people – in person, at parties, through email, a…

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#102 George Moore: Seeing AIDS as a Teacher, not a Curse 1:14:09

2+ y ago1:14:09

1:14:09

A couple of months ago, at an in-person event I helped organize to connect people with their Visions, I met George Moore. Towards the end of the retreat, when offered the choice between a plant-based bug spray and the DEET version, he said: "Oh, give me the chemicals. They've been keeping me alive for over 30 years anyways" That moment planted a se…

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#00101 Mike Taubman: The Goal of Education 1:10:40

2+ y ago1:10:40

1:10:40

In this episode, I interview an old friend of mine, Mike Taubman, who has dedicated his life to education. Mike isn't just teaching high school, he's helping public education in the US intersect with the perennial goals of education: Making whole humans and whole societies. Mike teaches in Newark, NJ, at North Star Academy's Washington Park High Sc…

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#00100 I Unlocked a Fountain of Limitless Creative Energy in Less Time Than It Takes To Toast A Waffle 16:13

2+ y ago16:13

16:13

These are the final days of our first public Elephant In the Room challenge and it's been a dramatic success, for me personally and for many of the 100+ people who are participating. In this week's episode, I share my story – my elephant, my struggles, and what I learned – and draw an important lesson out of it. TLDR: I went in thinking the Elephan…

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#00099 The Land of Unease: Where The Transformation Lives 9:48

2+ y ago9:48

9:48

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow This is Ten Thousand Heroes and I'm Ankur Shah Delight. In this episode I tell two stories about being Really Uncomfortable, in order to explore: Why we put ourselves in uncomfortable positions, and What we might be gaining from it. In the YouTube version, I also …

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#00098 Brendon Tomasi: The Fatherhood Ritual 18:41

2+ y ago18:41

18:41

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow I talk with an old friend – Brendon Tomasi – about his journey from Party Animal to Father Animal, and the ritual he developed to help him make that transition. In a culture where the Baby Shower seems to be so popular, and is more about Things than Mothers, the F…

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#00097 Every Moment Has A Message 7:59

2+ y ago7:59

7:59

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow This is Ten Thousand Heroes and I'm Ankur Shah Delight. This episode is about the role of conflict and transition in our lives. I also try to define purpose empirically and make a pragmatic argument for why the way you tell your life story really matters (because …

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#00096 Happy Decolonization Week 6:10

2+ y ago6:10

6:10

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow This is Ten Thousand Heroes and I'm Ankur Shah Delight. Happy Decolonization Week, everyone! This is my July 4th episode. It's about reinterpreting symbols and how a symbol can bring us together even if we don't have the same understanding of it. But in order to d…

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#00095 Nico Slate: What is Brotherhood? 47:52

2+ y ago47:52

47:52

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow This is Ten Thousand Heroes and I'm Ankur Shah Delight. Today's episode is an interview with historian and author Nico Slate. His most recent book is part-memoir, part-biography, and part-history, and addresses his evolving relationship with his half-brother Peter…

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#00094 The Elephant in the Room Challenge (Starts July 1st) 9:49

2+ y ago9:49

9:49

Finally! Finally! Finally! I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time. In a few days we launch our first public challenge: The Elephant In The Room. This episode is all about it: Why I think this is so good for you What you can hope to experience How to sign up And we get a little personal and let out our own Elephants near the end…

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#00093 Dan Anear: Marriage Is Like War, only smaller 34:35

2+ y ago34:35

34:35

In this episode I talk with Relationship Therapist and Coach Dan Anear about conflict in relationships and specifically, the role our emotions play in conflict. For decades the conventional wisdom was "leave your emotions" at the door. Dan would like to challenge that. He also brings in his work with Terry Real's Relational Life Institute, and remi…

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#00092 Shilpa Jain: FeedForward (Like Feedback But Better) 23:11

2+ y ago23:11

23:11

Shilpa Jain has been mediating, facilitating, and working with conflict since she was a wee lass. In this episode she gives a rough outline of "FeedForward", a feedback technique that aims to bridge the advantages of effective and relational feedback in the corporate and non-profit settings. It's something that every single one of us can use in our…

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#00091 How to turn Uncertainty into a superpower? April Rinne: Flux, Uncertainty, and Decision Making 1:19:25

2+ y ago1:19:25

1:19:25

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow April Rinne's whole message is about Flux. Flow, change, flexibility, rolling with the punches, and paying attention. That's how I capture it, at least. Her actual 8 flux superpowers are here: https://fluxmindset.com/8-superpowers In keeping with the theme, this i…

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#00090 The Limits of Conflict Avoidance 9:01

2+ y ago9:01

9:01

Most of us love avoiding conflict... ...if love is evaluated on the basis of our actions rather than our words. And there's some really good reasons the mind avoids conflict. 1. You can't lose if you don't play (risk-averse) 2. Conflict means somebody (you) f*cked up. (guilt/shame) There's also another really good reason the body avoids conflict. 3…

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#00089 Nala Walla: Grief, Ancestor Work, The Invention of Whiteness, The Ecstasy of Grief 24:37

2+ y ago24:37

24:37

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow This is a different kind of episode. I ended up meeting my guest in person, which, hilariously, is actually much tricker to record than meeting online. I had a videocamera I was playing with and found it really difficult to have us both on the camera at the same t…

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#00088 Conflict Resolution, The Future of Work, AI, Basic Income, and The Machine 20:17

2+ y ago20:17

20:17

So last week I came at you with a whole map of what I'm going to do this season, involving 10 definitions of heroism. And this week -- predictably, if you knew me -- I'm not exactly going to do that. But it'll be close. I'm going to explain why finding our purpose (analytically) is going to be a question of survival in the coming world of AI, Basic…

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#00087 Greg Thomas: How Jazz Becomes Heroic Through Conflict 1:17:21

2+ y ago1:17:21

1:17:21

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow Welcome to the first interview of Season 6. As you may know, I want to devote this season to Conflict. I took this course in Mediation, the light has been revealed to me, and now I see every conflict as an integral part of my spiritual path. And by extension, of y…

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#00086 Welcome to Season 6! Solocast:Ten Definitions of a Hero 12:44

2+ y ago12:44

12:44

Today I want to share my plan with you for the next season of this show, Season 6. This season, I'm going to focus my solocasts on my own definitions of what a hero is, using the last 2 years of this podcast as my body of research. I've come up with 10 different definitions of heroism so far, and I'm going to do an episode about each one of them ov…

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#00085 Special Announcement: Season 5 Closer ! 1:33

2+ y ago1:33

1:33

Title: #000XX Season 5 Closer Description: What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of 10,000 Heroes. I'm your host, Ankur Shah Delight. This is a little different than the normal episode. This is more of an announcement. This is the end of season five. So I…

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#00084 The Role of Anger in Nonviolence with Professor Nico Slate 33:52

2+ y ago33:52

33:52

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow The rage is relentless. The anger continues. In this episode I get some expert perspective on how social movements have used anger constructively (which is the goal for us of, right?) Show Links: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow Email: [email protected] …

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#00083 Ank tries to "Red Up" and show some anger (with Dr. Manuel Manotas) 34:32

2+ y ago34:32

34:32

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow As part of my continuing exploration with anger, I work with Somatic Experience expert Manuel Manotas on feeling some anger (with a specific example) Lots of f-bombs in this one. And then, at the end, I bring the same example to a crew friends and get each of thei…

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#00082 John Giuliano on Anger, Love, and the war in El Salvador 51:58

2+ y ago51:58

51:58

What did this episode awaken in you? Don't be shy. https://www.speakpipe.com/10khshow Welcome back to another conversation with my foul-mouthed mentor, John Giuliano. As part of the ongoing series exploring what Anger can do for us, I talk with John about the role anger played in his life, especially during his time involved with the El Salvadoran …