Best Glitter Up The Dark Podcasts (2025)

1
Compliance, KYC, and All That Stuff 27:44

3M ago27:44

27:44

Welcome back to Bite-Size Payments, where we dive into their history, how they work, and, of course, who does what. Today, we’re tackling compliance—yes, that lovely, complex topic that often seems like it gets in the way. But it’s essential, and we’ll explain why. Yes, it’s complex, but it’s also the backbone of a secure financial system. Today, I…

1
Cross border Payments 38:06

5M ago38:06

38:06

Welcome to Bitesize Payments where we discuss their history how they work and of course who does what. In today’s episode, we’ll unravel the fascinating world of Cross-Border Payments. With so many payment terms, brand names, and confusing jargon out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But at its core, cross-border payments are actually a straigh…

1
Fintechs - the disruptors 35:06

8M ago35:06

35:06

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments where we discuss their history, how they work and of course who does what…. Today we are looking at key stakeholder in payments, fintech's… The new young things of the industry or are they… ? So today we are discussing Fintech’s, and I am super pleased to be joined by Caleb, CEO of Tilled. It was not long ago that …

1
The rise of Mobile Payments 20:50

9M ago20:50

20:50

Welcome to Bitesize Payments, where we discuss their history, how they work and of course who does what… Today we are going to discuss mobile payments…. Remember when losing your wallet was the ultimate nightmare? These days, losing your phone feels like losing your entire life—and your wallet’s just a passenger on that ride! Let’s take a quick jou…

1
Gold - All that Glitters is not Gold 16:19

10M ago16:19

16:19

Welcome back to bitesize Payments, where we explain their history, how they work and of course who does what. Today we’re diving into a topic that has fascinated civilizations for thousands of years: gold. Did you know that all the gold ever mined would fit into a cube just 21 meters on each side? All that Glitters is not Gold – comes from Shakespe…

1
European Payment Systems from a US PoV 51:46

11M ago51:46

51:46

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments. Where we discuss their history, how they work and who does what. Today we are going to do the reverse of the last podcast with Eric Grover – we will be looking at Europe from an American's point of view. We say Europe, but what do we mean? What’s the EU, SEPA, and EEA? We will walk you through that. Obviously, Eur…

1
The US Payments System from a Europeans PoV 40:18

1y ago40:18

40:18

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments where we look at their history, how they work and who does what. When we look at the payment systems of another region, they often seem impenetrable due to different brand names, terminologies, use cases, and cultural nuances. You might be thinking, aren’t payments just payments around the world? Well, yes and no. …

1
Banks - The invisible network 29:16

1y ago29:16

29:16

Welcome back to bitesize payments where we discuss the history, how they work and who does what? Today we are going to discuss banks, what do they do? We have discussed a little of their history in previous episodes, we talk through them as key stakeholders as well, banks are right at the top of the list. So we're zooming in on banks - institutions…

1
Clearings - Its groundhog day 24:46

1y ago24:46

24:46

Welcome back to bitesize Payments were we discuss their history, how they work and of course who does what. In this episode we're discussing Clearings. Clearings what are they? Well, they are sometimes called rails, schemes or the last mile either way there are a lot and I mean a lot, as I have mentioned before there is a clearing for every type of…

1
Fraud and Scams - The dark underbelly of Payments 18:15

1y ago18:15

18:15

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments, in today's episode we dive into the murky waters of payment fraud and scams. From ancient swindlers to modern-day cybercriminals, we're charting the course of deceptive practices that have evolved alongside our financial systems. Fraud is a personal and often distressing experience, and while we won't dwell on the…

1
Corporates - the power house of Payments 40:00

1+ y ago40:00

40:00

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments, in this episode we are going to discuss a Major Stakeholder that is not always discussed as much as they should have. As an example, when the EU asked for feedback in preparation for PSD2 the “corporates” gave more feedback than all the other groups put together, yet we seem to put them in a distant place. While w…

1
Regulators - Are they helping? 32:18

1+ y ago32:18

32:18

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments, where we delve into the world of payments, exploring their history, how they work, and the key players involved. Today, we're tackling a crucial topic: regulators. Love them or hate them, they play a vital role in shaping the payments landscape. From ensuring fair competition to protecting consumers, their influen…

1
ISO20022 - The "cure all"? 20:41

1+ y ago20:41

20:41

Welcome back dear listeners to Bitesize Payments, today we are going to discuss ISO20022. It’s the lingua franca of financial services. We started this journey when we discussed Standards, but ISO deserves a podcast on its own. But here’s the thing ISO touches the entire ecosystem and so the issue is a timing one. The stakeholders need to not just …

1
Standards - They're more interesting than you think!!! No really they are.... 29:21

1+ y ago29:21

29:21

Standards hmm that sounds interesting Paul well yep fair point but where would we be without them? Imagine a world where each time you tried to send money to someone, you had to navigate a new process, perhaps even create new accounts, or understand new protocols. Sounds chaotic, right? That's a world without payment standards. The financial world …

1
CBDC – The next big thing in Fiat money 31:49

1+ y ago31:49

31:49

Welcome to today's episode of Bitesize payments, where we'll be diving deep into the world of Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs. The latest revolution in Fiat Money since the bank note. From their origins to their potential impact on the global financial system. Probably a once in a lifetime event, we will also talk specifically about the D…

1
Crypto - The red pill or the blue pill 19:27

1+ y ago19:27

19:27

Welcome to back dear listeners to Bitesize Payments. Today, we delve into the world of cryptocurrencies. They are digital natives in a payments world that is mostly analogue, the technology behind them is genuinely impressive however they introduce new paradigms which to some cause’s issues. Like many tools in the payment sphere, it’s not the tool …

1
RTGS part 2 20:06

1+ y ago20:06

20:06

Dave and I thought that there was so much to discuss around RTGS that we decided that we need 2 podcasts. So here is part 2…. We are going to discuss a little of their history and dive into why RTGSs are so critical…. Before the advent of RTGS, many countries used deferred net settlement systems for interbank transactions. In these systems, payment…

1
Governmental Bodies - The Treasury, Central Banks, and payment operators. 28:14

1+ y ago28:14

28:14

Welcome back dear listeners to Bitesize Payments. Today, we're going to explore a topic that's at the heart of every country's economy: our governmental bodies – The Treasury, Central Banks, and payment operators. Their roles are pivotal to any nation, but they are probably the least understood by Payment’s folk – generally the stakeholders and the…

1
Real Time Gross Settlement part 1 20:10

1+ y ago20:10

20:10

Today we will be discussing something that underpins every major economy and is of vital importance to the flow of money yet is probably totally unfamiliar to many people - Real-Time Gross Settlement systems, or RTGS for short. I’m joined again by David Godfrey to help me explore this subject, RTGS, as I said, is possibly something that many people…

1
Cash - Is it still king? 21:45

1+ y ago21:45

21:45

Welcome to Bitesize Payments! In this episode, we're delving into the world of cash. Over the past few years, I've had numerous conversations about cash and its unique characteristics, including its anonymity. I even had a memorable discussion about it while getting my hair cut – thanks, Ali! It’s the most personal payments method, it’s the most in…

1
Cheque or checks? – writing letters to the bank 28:22

1+ y ago28:22

28:22

Welcome Dear listener to Bitesize Payments where we talk about their history how they work and who does what. In this episode we are going back in time to 1659, we are going to talk about a method of payments that goes back literally centuries, we still use them today and in some countries are really popular and more efficient than you might think.…

1
The Magic of Cards and their 4 corners 37:04

1+ y ago37:04

37:04

Welcome back, dear listeners, to 'Bitesize Payments.' In this podcast, we delve into the fascinating history of payments, exploring how they function, and the key players involved. Today, our focus is on cards. Once considered a status symbol, today nearly everyone possesses one, with many owning multiple cards. While most of us use them in our dai…

1
Citizens - the super user - its all about us (baby)! 20:43

2y ago20:43

20:43

Today's episode is all about you, the citizen, and your role in the payment's ecosystem. With so much of what happens in payments, terminology and brand names often occluding what's really happening. No more so when it comes to us and what we do and how we use payments. So, I'm going to try and explain payments as they relate to us as Stakeholders …

1
Immediate Payments - the new kid on the block...... 32:10

2y ago32:10

32:10

today we are going to discuss one of the newer payment rails – real time payments or immediate payments. But wait aren’t all payments real time well turns out no so much. However, they are probably going to be one of the unifying payment rails. Right now Immediate payments are growing compound, 30 % in Spain , 37% of all transaction is the UK are n…

1
We're off to the mall - Merchants 38:52

2y ago38:52

38:52

How many purchases have you made today, coffee, lunch, food shopping? Is so common for us that we don’t think about these purchases as payments…. This is something that we all do, we buy stuff, but do we understand it and who are the actors involved. But they make up approximately 80 % of all the payments made…. Lets just let that sink in for a min…

1
ACHs - Forward into the 60s 28:24

2y ago28:24

28:24

Welcome back to Bitesize Payments. In the last episode we discussed the key stakeholders, Corporates, Governments and of course ourselves. I this episode we are going to discuss ACH’s – Automated Clearing Houses. ACHs are important for us as by and large that how we get paid. We are going back to relatively modern history late 60s early 70s. This o…

1
Episode 4 Who's who in the Payments Zoo 32:00

2y ago32:00

32:00

In our previous episodes, we delved into the early history of payments, explored the concepts of money and currency, and examined the influence of networks on payment evolution. Today, we're going to navigate the Payments Zoo, identifying and understanding the various actors in this complex ecosystem. In my previous roles delivering training course…

1
Networks - From The Silk Road, Knights Templar to Wires 17:21

2y ago17:21

17:21

In our first two episodes, we traced the evolution from the barter system to commodity money, and from coins to paper currency. We also demystified the foundational aspects of payments, clarifying terms like currency, legal tender, and the concept of money itself. Today's episode takes a slightly different route. We're shifting our focus from coins…

1
Introducing Bitesize Payment 3:03

2y ago3:03

3:03

Hi and welcome to Bite Size Payments. My name is Paul Thomalla and literally years I've been saying I'd like to record a series of podcast about payments. Well guess what? I finally gone and done it. So, thank you for listening to my trailer for my Podcast Bitesize payments. I hope this trailer whets your appetite. Payments are everyday activity, b…

1
Shells, Beads, Coins and Money 18:41

2y ago18:41

18:41

Welcome to Bitsesize Payments where I try and explain the history of payments, how they work and who does what. In this, the first episode, I walk through 8,000 years of payments history in 20 mins... taking us for Bartering to shells, to beads to coins to Money... Buckle up.... Any question please contact me @ [email protected] Enjoy! Pau…

1
What's money anyway? 19:12

2y ago19:12

19:12

Welcome to Bitesize payments where I try to explain the history of payments, how they work and whos does what. In these episode I try and explain some fo the key terms that we use around payments and where they come from, terms such as money, currency, payments and legal tender. Hopefully this will provide key context for later episodes as well as …

1
Tina Turner: Queen of Rock 'n' Roll 42:35

3y ago42:35

42:35

What does it really mean when people say "Tina Turner taught Mick Jagger how to dance"? Join Sasha Geffen as they welcome author Maureen Mahon and Nkeki Obi Melekwe, who stars as Tina in the Broadway musical, to break down Tina's strategic navigation of gender and race in the music industry, embodying her on the broadway stage and, of course, those…

1
Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Her Electric Guitar 30:29

3+ y ago30:29

30:29

Is the electric guitar really so masculine? Sasha Geffen unravels our misconceptions about how the electric guitar has been gendered since its creation, with a lens on today’s shredders like Willow, Brittany Howard, and St. Vincent -- but starting from the beginning, with the Godmother of Rock 'N Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Geffen is joined by pro…

1
The Strange Currencies of R.E.M. 32:19

3+ y ago32:19

32:19

This episode unravels how such an unusual, musically different band like R.E.M. was able to enter the mainstream, and how queer desire was woven covertly throughout their music before lead singer Michael Stipe even came out. Stevie Knipe of the band Adult Mom and of R.E.M. megafandom joins Sasha Geffen to unpack the influence of the band, from mand…

1
The LaBelle Glam Revolution 33:31

3+ y ago33:31

33:31

LaBelle, the musical trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash, inspired much of the queer, expressive freedom that defined glam rock in the mid-70s, and yet their story and music has essentially been erased from the genre’s history. Our host Sasha Geffen and writer Adele Bertei dive into the self-contained unit of fiery, inspired women: …

1
Judas, Joan and the Power of Metal 37:13

3+ y ago37:13

37:13

Mainstream metal in the 1980s may appear very straight and masculine at first glance, but look a little further with host Sasha Geffen and uncover a history of queer plausible deniability and vocal and visual androgyny. Vic Creature of the doom metal band Vile Creature and writer Micco Caporale offer insight on metal’s anti-authority culture, body …

1
The Rise of Falsetto: From Little Richard to the Bee Gees 37:00

3+ y ago37:00

37:00

Men have been singing in typically female vocal ranges for decades, and Sasha Geffen shows us how this “falsetto” technique has broken both vocal and gender norms throughout history. Estelle Caswell from Vox Media joins to share her love for R&B slow jammers like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, as we explore the phenomenon of men singing really hi…

1
Sexy Cyborgs: Britney, Beyoncé and Beyond 31:17

3+ y ago31:17

31:17

Robotic imagery, prominent in music since the turn of the millennium, confuses traditional expectations about gender and sexuality. But why? Sasha Geffen breaks it down with author Ann Powers, touching on everything from Beyonce’s cyber glove in “Single Ladies,” to cyborg Britney fan art, and even Janelle Monae in giant vagina pants.…

1
Musical Shape-Shifting: The Many Pitches of Prince 30:36

3+ y ago30:36

30:36

How do our ears gender vocal pitch, and what happens when artists intentionally play with this? Sasha Geffen introduces us to a long, dynamic history of how artists like Kanye West, Parliament Funkadelic and more have experimented with vocal pitch in different ways, but with a focus on the legendary Prince. Professor Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound en…

1
Introducing Shattering Gleam: A Podcast About Music and Gender 0:58

3+ y ago0:58

0:58

Welcome to Shattering Gleam, a podcast hosted by music critic and author Sasha Geffen that highlights the stories of pop stars smashing the gender binary with their music. You can find Shattering Gleam on Apple Podcasts, the SXM App, Pandora, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And don’t forget to hit ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’ so you never …

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