It is easier to be charitable than it is to be kind. Charity requires a coin; kindness requires a piece of ourselves. In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, we take a deep, philosophical dive into four stories of winter connection. We look at a bakery window in Paris, a metro station in Prague, a frozen mountain border, and a riverside bench in Seoul. We ask the difficult questions: Why do we prefer to give leftovers rather than offer a seat at the table? Why is grief forbidden during the holidays? And how do we learn to see the "indigo" history of the people we rush past every day? Join me as we dismantle the invisible walls we build to keep the cold—and each other—out.

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Seoul is a city of neon miracles and heated benches, but for Min-ji, a seventy-year-old cardboard collector, it is a place of relentless cold. She moves through the Christmas Eve crowds like a ghost, her spine curved by the weight of her cart, invisible to the young couples passing by. When a student stops not to offer pity, but to listen, he uncovers a history buried under layers of dust—a memory of silk, indigo, and a woman who was once a queen in her own life. This is a story about the dignity we carry, even when the world refuses to see it.

Welcome to a new episode of the English Plus Podcast.

If these moments of quiet connection and hope resonated with you, we’re thrilled to tell you that the full collection, When the Bells Don't Ring by Danny Ballan, is now available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

Get Danny's book When the Bells Stop Ringing for yourself or as a gift for your loved ones this Christmas.

Buy the paperback from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G34NWXDV

High in the Caucasus Mountains, the wind screams across a frozen ridge known as No Man’s Land. Levan, a soldier on guard duty, stares through his scope at the enemy line, waiting for movement. It is Christmas Eve, but war does not respect the calendar. When a figure finally breaks the white silence of the neutral zone, Levan’s finger hovers over the trigger. But he isn't looking at a soldier; he is looking at a desperate woman and a trapped animal. Today, we witness a moment on the border where duty collides with humanity.

If these moments of quiet connection and hope resonated with you, we’re thrilled to tell you that the full collection, When the Bells Don't Ring by Danny Ballan, is now available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

Get Danny's book When the Bells Stop Ringing for yourself or as a gift for your loved ones this Christmas. Buy the paperback from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G34NWXDV