It seems that every time life is about to return to normal—a new variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc upon the world. Christmas travel was disrupted by—among other things—the lack of healthy workers in the travel and service industries.
This time—it’s the Omicron variant. The bad news is that Omicron spreads much more rapidly than the Delta variant or the original virus. The good news is that it seems to be less severe than the previous variants—especially for those who have been vaccinated.
Another bit of hopeful news is that drug companies such as Pfizer and Astra Zeneca have developed medicines that can treat people already infected with Covid—even though there may not be enough to go around at first.
Airline schedule cancelled flying directions
Throughout the world—there seems be a trend toward managing the pandemic via masking, vaccination, and treatment—rather than the massive shutdowns and cancellations of major events that were prevalent in the early days of the pandemic.
Your New Life Station will keep you informed of the latest developments—as we enter the new year.
The Pacific Rim and Southwest Asia
The Pacific Rim, the Indian subcontinent and southwest Asia provide the reasons Your New Life Station broadcasts the International English Hour. The Pacific Rim is that part of the Eastern Hemisphere that encompasses English-prevalent countries Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and New Zealand. Additionally—English is widely spoken in Indonesia. And English is the official language of government and commerce in the southwest Asian countries of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In Japan and in countries of the Middle East, many speak English as a second language.
Your New Life Station’s broadcast schedule makes use of Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), a 24-hour system also known as Greenwich Mean Time. Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behind UTC; Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind. When some parts of the world switch to daylight saving time for the warm weather months, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is four hours behind UTC, and Central Daylight Time (CDT) is five hours behind. Outside the U.S.—most locations are on standard time all year rather than daylight time. Karachi is five hours ahead of UTC. Mumbai and New Delhi are five-and-a-half hours ahead. Manila, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lampur are eight hours ahead. And Tokyo is nine hours ahead of UTC.
You can use our listener website www.knls.org to hear the English Hour if you have internet access. You can also access the broadcast through the KNLS app on your mobile device or through Google or Safari. If you listen via shortwave radio, you can access knls.org to get our broadcast frequencies or you can write us and request a schedule.
The English Hour is the Asian continent’s source for the music of our time and the message of all time. We work to provide a geographical balance in the topics we feature as we take you from “Alaska to Asia to Africa to America.” Our Eye on the World stories often show the interdependence of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Since our target audience is mostly non-Christians, our content is different from a typical Christian format station in America. While we provide our share of positive, uplifting content, some of our programming also provides an honest look at the dark side of life on Earth. Indeed, some program segments and music selections may raise questions that a thoughtful truth seeker will ask. And other segments, such as the Bible or Christian lifestyle lessons, serve to answer those questions.
Music to Love
Music is a universal language. Probably 80 per cent of the world’s pop tunes are sung in English, and are enjoyed by people everywhere, many who are themselves not proficient in English. The English Hour features your favorite songs from today’s best music. International pop charts show that your favorite music is also the favorite of people who are culturally diverse—whether in Nairobi, Sydney, Singapore, or Jakarta.
The songs are pop, rock, r & b, and occasional hip-hop and country music that crosses over to the pop charts. The English Hour generally features music by artists from the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. But music artists from all over the world, including European deejays, have found their names on or near the top of international pop charts.
News to Know
The English hour features reporting about topics of current interest. Marcy Bryan reports about entertainment, business, and news about religion and social issues. Kelly Ann Monahan has the latest developments in medicine, science, and computer technology. Paul Ladd provides special reports about diverse topics, religious and secular. Larry Souder interviews interesting people, sometimes in front of a live audience, on Souder & Friends. Doug Poling provides commentary on the news from a Christian perspective on Today’s News & the Good News. And Adam Holtz and Jonathan McKee of Focus on the Family provide Plugged-in reviews of the latest movies, online games, and TV shows.
Upcoming Reports for January
- The economic downturn caused by the pandemic won’t last much longer. This according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. Marcy Bryan reports.
- Bill Gates is predicting the pandemic itself will—for all practical purposes—come to an end this year.
- Britney Spears’ conservatorship has brought new attention to this form of legal action. Marcy Bryan provides a brief explanation about conservatorship and the ways it changed Britney’s life for 13 years.
- Drug maker Pfizer is developing an anti-covid pill that could soon be available world-wide. Marcy reports the ways it could make treatment of active Covid cases much easier.
- And Kelly Ann Monahan reports about an anti-Covid pill made by Astra-Zeneca that’s been approved for use in the United Kingdom.
- Actor Will Smith is considered by some to be the world’s most marketable actor. Marcy reports on his no-nonsense daily routine.
- You may have heard us use the word “gospel” on our English broadcasts. Paul Ladd and author Jim Wick discuss what the word means.
- Paul continues his interview with up-and-coming actor Jack Dylan Grazer and his mom Angela Lafever.
- And Kelly Ann Monahan reports on the latest findings about the link between sodium and heart disease.
A Message to Live
This is what we’re about and why we’re on the air and on the internet. Our mission is to present the lessons of the Bible, including and emphasizing the Good News in an interesting, non-threatening way.
Ongoing Series:
• All God’s Giants with Larry Souder
• Andy Baker’s Prayer Lesson
• Author’s Journal with Wesley Paine
• Believer’s Hall of Faith with Bill Young
• Bible Archaeology—Proofs from the Earth with Bill Humble
• Creation Moments with Paul Taylor
• Encounters with Jesus with Larry Souder
• Family Minute with Brit & Kate Ryan
• First Person with Paul Ladd
• God’s Money with Don White
• Groundwire with Sean Dunn
• Hope in Conflict with Larry Souder
• Jim Daly commentary
• Joy of Peacemaking with Larry Souder
• Life Stories with Joe Norris
• Profiles of the New Testament with Bob Borquez
• Profiles of the Old Testament with Royce Kessler
• Refiner’s Fire with Paul Ladd
• The Big Picture with Steve Diggs
• The Good Book with Greg Taylor
• The Journey with Greg Taylor
• The Proverbial Family with Larry Souder
• Today’s News & the Good News with Doug Poling
• True Stories of the Bible with Bill Steensland
• Unforgettable Conversations with Larry Souder
• You Might Be Too Busy If… with Gary Holloway & Paul Ladd
