The Total Quadball. Podcast

Dodos win their 3rd European D1 crown and Marauders go from bridesmaid in 2023 to bride in 2024, winning the D2 title.

After we covered the organisation of the event in Part 1, Part 2 sees us cover the action on the pitch in Salou. New guests Gio Forino and Merlin Zimmermann recap the events of both tournaments and share their personal experience of this year's EQC.

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Daniel Price Croft and Thomas Berglitsch from the EQC committee join us to talk about organising this year's EQC in Salou- the biggest Quadball event in European history.

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Kicking off with our first episode of 2024, the Total Quadball. Podcast looks ahead to this year's European Quadball Cup Divisions 1 & 2. Suzanne Fischer from the Ghent Gargoyles and Rheinos Bonn's Leander Troll join us to discuss the biggest Quadball event in European history. We take a glance at some of the teams, players and themes that will influence an action-packed weekend of Quadball in Salou, Spain and try and anticipate how it may turn out.

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Returning to the pod having last featured on the pod in our 4th ever-episode is Louis Lermytte- star player for Belgium and Antwerp QC. Louis gives us the lowdown on everything that's happened since he last spoke to us. We discuss how he and his Antwerp teammates came out of retirement after the covid break with a renewed sense of purpose and where that's taken them since. After a challenge first year back, Louis tell us how Antwerp won their second European title at EQC 2023 and how he Belgium came 3rd at the World Cup, giving the US a real run for their money. We also cover some of Louis' other ventures and look to the future of the sport.

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Part 2 of our World Cup review, recorded in-person in London with Michelle Ferguson, Anjit Aulakh, Jay Holmes and Matt Bateman. In this section, we focus more on the gameplay and the results from the tournament, notably the performance of the debut teams (India, Japan, African Nations) and the top 4 (England, Belgium, Germany, USA).

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Having had a few weeks to soak it in, it's now time to review the IQA World Cup 2023!

This is the first instalment of a two parter covering the tournament with more to follow in the coming days.

For the second time ever, we recorded this episode in-person in an amazing London recording studio which brought a whole new level to what we've done previously on the podcast.

Canada's Michelle Ferguson, England's Matt Bateman, India's Anjit Aulakh and man of the people Jay Holmes join us to dissect the biggest tournament of the year in great detail.

We hope you enjoy this and also enjoy Part 2, coming very soon...

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Our last episode heading into the IQA World Cup 2023, and we're adding a bit of spice.

To get you in the mood for the tournament, hot take connoisseurs Tad Walters and James Hosford join us to discuss some hot takes heading into the event.

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The final episode of the Road to Richmond project sees us finally turn to the host nations and reigning champions- USA. USNQT Assistant Coach and player Jackson Johnson returns to the pod to tell us all about how the team is preparing to stay golden this summer.

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Canada Head Coach Michael Howard is our penultimate guest on the Road to Richmond project. He tells us how the national team program has adapted in recent years to face the challenges that have come their way and how this year's Canada team is looking just a few days out from the big event in Virginia.

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This episode it's the turn of Fraser's team- Hong Kong. As coach of the team, Fraser is joined by Team Manager Chris Lau to discuss the growth of the sport in Hong Kong and Asia as well as the two's collective experience with the Hong Kong national team thus far.

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In this episode, we cover South America's only represented team at this World Cup- Brazil. IQA Pan-American Games champions in 2022, Assistant Coach and player Gustavo 'Gunis' Sperate joins us talk all about that Pan-American triumph as well as the growth of Brazilian Quadball over the years and the preparation of the team heading into Richmond in a couple of weeks time.

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Will Quadball be coming home again this summer?

After securing a second European Games title last year in Ireland, England come into World Cup going for glory once more. We chat with the team's head coach, Alice Walker, about this year's roster, their preparation and their prospects for the tournament in Richmond, Virginia.

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Austria captain Daniel Mitterauer talks with us about the recent developments in Austrian Quadball as well as how the national team is approaching this year's World Cup.

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Kohei Koyama (JQA President/Founder/Japan Broom Stars Captain) and Camila Cortea (Japan Broom Stars player) are the latest guests on our Road to Richmond. We learn about how Quadball has developed in Japan in recent years and how the Japan Broom Stars are preparing to take on the world this summer in Virginia.

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France Head Coach William Nouvel is our guest for this episode of the Road to Richmond, telling all about the development of the French game and how the national team preparing for this summer's World Cup.

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Mexico Coach Ariel Heiblum joins us to share his insights on Quadball in Mexico and the national team. We focus particularly on last year's IQA Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru and what's exciting about this year's Mexico team.

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James Hicks, former USA coach and now a player and coach for African Nations, tells us all about the most unique team at this summer's IQA World Cup. In this episode, James talks us through the inspiration behind the African Nations team, the importance it holds for him on a personal level as well giving us some insight into how the team is getting ready to take on the best athletes in the world in Richmond.

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German Head Coach Marco Ziegaus is our latest guest on the Road to Richmond World Cup project. Marco tells us all about the development of the German NGB and National Team over the last few years to the point where they are now ready to put up a serious challenge for the world title this summer.

We hope you're enjoying the series so far and are excited for our upcoming episodes. Next one drops this Wednesday

so stay tuned...

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In Part 4, we venture to Australia to hear how the Dropbears are getting ready for this year's World Cup. Sam Chittenden, Australia captain for European Games 2022, shares her views on Quadball in Australia and what she's excited for heading into 2023's showcase event.

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Norway Assistant Coach Sjur Ask Bjelland joins us to talk about the Norwegian national team and their preparation for the World Cup including some reflections on last year's EG 2022 performance and how that leads into this year's tournament.

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Belgian Gryffins and Antwerp QC Head Coach Viktor Moortgat joins us for part 2 of the Road to Richmond project to tell us how Belgium is preparing for the World Cup. After Antwerp QC won EQC D1 so emphatically in May, there are hypes once more this team to challenge for the World title.

Episodes are coming thick and fast now so make sure you like the facebook page to stay up-to-date!

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Welcome to the start of a new 15 episode project covering all the attending teams at this summer's IQA World Cup in Richmond, VA, USA.

We start with one of the tournament's newcomers- India. Team Manager Naresh Edala joins us to explain how the team has come together, what their goals and motivations are for the tournament plus which players on the team you should watch out for at the World Cup.

We hope you enjoy this new type of episode, plenty more of them coming your way in the next few weeks, watch this space.

The World Cup hype is building!

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Luna Deroo joins us to tell us what to expect from this year's LXG tournament in Ghent, Belgium and why you should sign up and get involved.

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London QC Coach Seb Waters makes a long awaited return to the pod alongside newcomer Paul Fander from Ruhr Phoenix Bochum as we dissect the most recent instalment of the European Quadball Cup Division 1 which took place in Heidelberg, Germany during May 2023. We cover many gameplay aspects of the tournament and discuss some of the key trends appearing in the European game at the moment.

We're also joined at the start of the episode by tournament organiser Laurens Grinwis Plaat Stultjes who lifts the lid on how this year's EQC was run, providing unseen-before transparency into the inner workings of running the continent's premier club tournament.

Thanks to everyone who expressed their appreciation for the pod at EQC, it means a lot to know people are enjoying the content we produce. Plenty more to come over the next few weeks as we build towards an exciting summer of Quadball!

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Returning to our Coaching mini-series, we take a deep dive into the world of Creighton Quadball with their Head Coach- Curtis Taylor. From accidentally stumbling across the sport on Google, Curtis tells us all about his early years in the sport starting the Marquette University program before switching to play club quadball with Florida's Finest and then creating the Creighton University program. We learn all about his coaching ethos and mentality that has allowed him to turn Creighton from complete newcomers into one of the powerhouses of the US collegiate Quadball scene.

Thanks to everyone for their mailbag questions. Stay tuned for more exciting episodes coming up over the next few weeks leading into summer!

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Major League Quadball's Events Director Emily Hickmott joins us on the pod to talk all about MLQ Worlds Weekend, an exciting event happening this summer in New York City. We go through what's involved in the event and explain why you should sign up and get involved.

Lots more content about this summer's Quadball action coming your way very soon!

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Anjit Aulakh from Werewolves of London and Lana Naudts from Ghent Gargoyles join us as we look ahead to this year's European Quadball Cup Division 1 in Heidelberg, Germany. We react to the community's predictions and hot takes and discuss issues relevant to the tournament, getting you all hyped up for what promises to be the most competitive European Championships yet.

Thank you to everyone for getting involved with the predictions and hot takes, we hope you enjoy the episode!

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Ed Brett & Rudi Obasi-Adams join Fraser for a casual chinwag discussing the aftermath of March Mayhem. We talk about many topics including playing with 3 max, tackling, time caps, the performance of our respective teams at the tournament, end game scenarios, value picks and fantasy drafts.

Lots to chat about following an enjoyable first tournament in 2023!

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Current Boston Pandas, Boston Forge and USNQT player Ian Scura joins us for a dive into his Quadball career. Having first been exposed to Quadball via his brother, Ian tells us how he started out at Middlebury College, the birthplace of our sport, before going on to work his way up through the ranks of the Boston Quadball scene all the way to playing for the US National team on ESPN. We also cover our shared passion of podcasting, making for a great introspective discussion.

Thanks as always for your mailbag questions and support for the pod!

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Our first people-focused episode of the series, Chris Radojewski becomes the second Canadian guest to join us on the pod. Chris takes us through his lengthy journey in the sport that has taken him across Canada and the US up till his days in London, UK. Chris tells how he has managed to stay motivated in the sport, the early days playing at the USQ World Cup in New York, the development of quadball in Edmonton, his time playing for the Canadian national team, and he also walks us through Werewolves of London's epic 2022 season including the winning shot in the BQC final.

A great chat with one of the most knowledgeable active members in the sport today.

Thanks to everyone for their mailbag questions, keep sending them in to our Facebook page and let us know which guests/topics you'd like to hear on the pod. We always love hearing from you!

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Suzanne Fischer, Lisa Tietze and Leander Troll join us for an in-depth discussion about women and their role in the sport. We consider multiple aspects on this subject and share our own personal experiences from our time in the sport to help shed some light on what we feel is an important issue in Quadball.

This is Part 2 of our discussion. If you missed Part 1, have a listen to last week's episode.

Disclaimer- We realise that gender can be a difficult subject to talk about both in life and in Quadball. The aim of this episode is to have an open and constructive discussion so we can look at the issue and think of ways that we can improve our sport for everyone involved. The speakers mean for no ill-intent to come from this discussion but hope by having discussions like this, it can help us understand each other better going forward. As a podcast, we would be very interested in having an episode about gender non-conformity in the sport to provide some balance to this discussion. If you wish to be involved then please get in touch via our facebook page.

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Suzanne Fischer, Lisa Tietze and Leander Troll join us for an in-depth discussion about women and their role in the sport. We consider multiple aspects on this subject and share our own personal experiences from our time in the sport to help shed some light on what we feel is an important issue in Quadball.

This is Part 1 of our discussion, Part 2 will be released in next week's episode.

Disclaimer- We realise that gender can be a difficult subject to talk about both in life and in Quadball. The aim of this episode is to have an open and constructive discussion so we can look at the issue and think of ways that we can improve our sport for everyone involved. The speakers mean for no ill-intent to come from this discussion but hope by having discussions like this, it can help us understand each other better going forward. As a podcast, we would be very interested in having an episode about gender non-conformity in the sport to provide some balance to this discussion. If you wish to be involved then please get in touch via our facebook page.

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We're back!!! 

Kicking off our first episode of 2023 and the 6th series with a new name, new logo and new brand but the same great content about the sport we love. 

In this episode, Alex Roberts Ed Brett, Luke Twist and Rudi Obasi-Adams join us to chat about the upcoming March Mayhem fantasy tournament and the draft that took place recently. We go through the various teams and picks including our reaches and steals and our selection of the teams to watch out for.

We hope you enjoy our first episode after a long few months away, plenty more exciting episodes to look forward to in the coming weeks!

New logo and brand designed by Nicola Gertler.

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Germany's Leander Troll and Norway's Stein Elgethun join us for our 50th episode to talk all about July's IQA European Games 2022 tournament in Limerick, Ireland. 

We debrief on the key aspects of the final international quidditch tournament before the sport's rebrand as Quadball and speculate on what's to come at next year's World Cup in Richmond, USA.

Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported the pod for the first 50 episodes. It's amazing to have reached this milestone and it's been great to share people's lived experiences of the sport with the global community. We look forward to the future of the sport as we rebrand to become 'The Total Quadball Podcast' for our new series coming soon.

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Dr. Ash Cooper joins us for his second appearance on the pod to talk all about psychology. In this in-depth discussion, we look at various aspects of psychology and its impact on life as well as sporting performance. Whether it's understanding the 'why' behind the way you or your teammates behave, learning how to bring a team together, analysing your opposition or staying calm under pressure, there is bound to be something you can take away from this thought-provoking episode.

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Guests Alice Walker, Luke Twist and Nathan Morton join us for a very special first ever in-person recording of the pod. We look at unpopular opinions from across the sport's community and give our opinions on them. A fun new type of episode which we hope you enjoy listening along to.

Thanks to everyone for their submissions for Unpopular Opinion, we greatly appreciated your input!

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Guests Suzanne Fischer and Emma 'Jandels' Humphrey join us to look ahead to this weekend's European Games 2022. We return to Limerick, Ireland for another international tournament this time with 20 national teams from across Europe (as well as Australia and Hong Kong) competing to win the European crown. We talk about our previous experiences of EG as a tournament, what to expect (or not expect) from the attending teams, the gameplay format, Day 1 fixtures, and ultimately who we feel will win the tournament.

We hope you enjoy this episode and for those will be attending the tournament in Limerick this weekend, we look forward to seeing you there!

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Miguel Vázquez joins us to talk through his career in the sport. Miguel details his path to quidditch via Fencing & Rugby, the early days of Spanish quidditch, the development of the Spanish national team and its various milestones, club level quidditch with the Madrid teams and the Bizkaia Boggarts, his leadership style, and his move to playing with Berlin Bluecaps and training with the German national team. 

Big thanks to everyone for their mailbag questions, our biggest mailbag to date! We hope you can keep up that effort for future episodes.

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We're joined by former Australian Dropbears Head Coach Gen Middleton to discuss all the ins and outs of coaching quidditch at the highest level. Having started her coaching career in Gymnastics, Gen tells us about the skills she learnt which she brought to her role as a quidditch coach and all the hard work that went into putting together the 2016 Dropbears team that won the World Cup. Within the overall topic of Coaching, we discuss the importance of people management, self-evaluation, gender, culture, and personal development both as a coach and as a player. Some excellent insights from one of the sport's highest achieving coaches.

Thanks to everyone for their mailbag questions, we hope you all enjoy the episode!

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Paris Titans beater Etienne Pogu joins us for a catch up following the most recent EQC and to talk about his journey through the sport. During the episode we cover all kinds of topics including- Etienne's new passion for endurance racing and his travels over the past few years, his introduction to the sport and rapid rise to the top, the summer he spent playing for New York Titans in the first MLQ season, winning European titles with Paris Titans and France, avoiding complacency, dealing with animosity, learning from and reacting to defeat and Etienne's approach to beating.

A wide ranging and insightful episode with one of Europe's best players, we hope you enjoy it.

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Oda Schiøtz from Münchner Wolpertinger and Anjit Aulakh and Simon Bidwell from Werewolves of London join us to discuss what went down at the recent European Quidditch Cup Division 1 tournament held in Limerick, Ireland. We talk about our personal experiences of the tournament including Werewolves' epic run to winning their first European title as well as casting our eyes tentatively towards European Games next month also taking place in Limerick.

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For our first people focused episode of the new series, we had the pleasure of speaking with Jackson Johnson. Fresh off the back of winning his first national title with Texas Hill Country Heat, Jackson tells us about his quidditch career in which he has become one of the best beaters in the game. From Texas State, to Lone Star, to Austin Outlaws in MLQ and the US National Team, Jackson has worked his way up through the ranks, achieving a lot (including 3 MLQ titles and a World Cup) while also dealing with disappointment along the way with 4 silver medals at US Nationals. Jackson gives us an insight into the way he plays the game as well as his thoughts on his career so far, notably the recent championship win with Heat. 

Thanks to everyone as always for their mailbag submissions, stay tuned for our EQC Division 1 Review coming soon!

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For the start of the new series, OSI Vikings' Jakob Lenz and Werewolves of London's Luke Twist join us to discuss the upcoming European Quidditch Cup Division 1 tournament taking place this weekend in Limerick, Ireland. 

We look back at some of our favourite memories from past EQCs before turning our attention to this year's edition of the tournament. We discuss what we're looking forward to about the tournament plus the teams and games to watch.

Please excuse some of the audio issues encountered in the episode. We've mitigated this as much as possible so hopefully you can still enjoy the content of the episode without much trouble.

We hope you enjoy this episode and we look forward to seeing many of you, the listeners, in Limerick this weekend.

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Our series 4 finale episode is another trip into the unknown experimenting with a new type of episode. Jay Holmes joins us to talk about the topic of team culture. Throughout the episode we discuss this in all kinds of different aspects drawing on examples from our experiences playing quidditch and other sports and identifying key traits and behaviours that people should strive for in order to create a positive team culture.

Note- We did have some connection issue which unfortunately have affected the recording at certain points. Normally we try to edit these issues out beforehand however in some cases this was not possible. If you would like some clarification on certain points where the audio cuts out, please message our Facebook page and we will do our best to expand on the points being made. Apologies for the inconvenience.

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Amber Connerton, Anjit Aulakh and Emma 'Jandels' Humphrey join us to debrief following this year's British Quidditch Cup in Sheffield.

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In this latest episode, Belgium and Antwerp star Seppe De Wit joins us for a chat. Seppe reveals all about the retirement and return of the Dodos during the coronavirus pandemic as well as various other topics. He also discusses his new passion for extreme endurance cycling, his rise through European quidditch with Antwerp QC, the highs and lows of playing quidditch at the top level as well as detailing his leadership style and his mindset as an elite player. Another great episode with another great guest. Thanks as always to everyone for sending in their mailbag questions.

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Alice Walker and Seb Waters join Fraser to look ahead to this weekend's British Quidditch Cup in Sheffield, UK. In this episode we look back on memorable moments from past BQCs before switching focus to the weekend ahead including Day 1 matchups and exciting teams & players to watch out for.

*This episode was recorded before the releasing of any rosters so there may be some inaccuracies*

We hope this episode gets you excited for the tournament ahead and we look forward to seeing you there. Best of luck to all competing teams and players!

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Part 2 of our episode with 4 out of the 5 QuidditchUK Presidents. Guests Rob Barringer, Ben Morton, Mel Piper and Matt Bateman tell us more stories about their time running the British NGB for Quidditch as well as giving us an insight as to where Quidditch has been at organisationally for past few years, where's it at now with the impact of the global pandemic and where the sport is heading in the UK and across the world. Thanks to everyone for listening to our new longest ever episode and to everyone who sent in questions for the mailbag. We hope you like this episode.

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In our first ever two part episode, we sat down to talk with 4 out of 5 of the QuidditchUK Presidents. Rob Barringer, Ben Morton, Mel Piper and Matt Bateman joined us for what ended up being a 3 hour conversation about their respective experiences leading Quidditch in the UK and shedding light on what it takes to run a National Governing Body for an emerging sport. Part 1 focuses more on the origins of quidditch in the UK, the establishment of QuidditchUK as an organisation and where it went on to from there. Part 2 is more centred on the challenges of the last couple of years as well as looking to the future of the sport. We hope you enjoy this Part 1, make sure you watch out for Part 2 coming next week.

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For this episode we have the pleasure of a long chat with quidditch powercouple Julia Baer & Tyler Trudeau. In an entertaining and insightful discussion, the pair of them tell us a series of interesting stories including their college experiences at Richmond & Emerson, meeting each other while playing for the Boston Nightriders (now Boston Forge), their successful run of MLQ & USQ titles with the Riders and QC Boston as well as dealing with a big scare ahead of the 2018 IQA World Cup. We also discuss the impact of their time playing on the Bosnyan Bearsharks and how being a part of the team has helped them maintain a sustainable and healthy relationship with the sport as well as their recent adventures playing and coaching the Washington Admirals in MLQ. A highly enjoyable and motivational episode for our listeners, we hope you enjoy it. Thanks as always to everyone for submitting their mailbag questions!

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