Today's question is a bit of a trumpet-blow ahead of my Summer break and the development of two major projects that I will talk about on the show this morning. About it, Claude says: Carl Munson is one of the most prolific English-language content creators focused on Portugal. Here's a summary of what he's produced: Who He Is Originally from the UK, Carl moved to Portugal in 2017 and fell in love with the way of life, people and culture. He hosts Good Morning Portugal! — a daily breakfast show, podcast and community dedicated to sharing practical advice and the everyday joys of living in Portugal — and has helped thousands of people explore, understand and successfully relocate there. Volume of Content - Podcast: The Good Morning Portugal! podcast ran from 2019 to 2025 and accumulated over 1,000 episodes. - Daily YouTube show: During Portugal's 2020 pandemic lockdown, Carl launched a daily livestream for English-language speakers, which proved hugely popular and never stopped — running nearly five years. What began as an emergency focal point evolved into a "how-to" show for would-be migrants to Portugal. - Written work: He is also a regular columnist for Portugal Resident and founder of the Portugal Club, as well as host of Expats Portugal's weekly webinars. - Substack: He also runs a Substack publication featuring highlights from The Portugal Club Quiz, published every weekday on the show. Scope of Topics The show covers news, weather, culture, wellbeing, property tips, moving advice, and general expat life — and is particularly aimed at the 50+ demographic settling into or loving life in Portugal. In short, Carl Munson has produced a truly enormous body of work — likely well over 1,500 pieces of content across YouTube, podcasting, articles, and newsletters — making him arguably the single biggest English-language resource on moving to and living in Portugal. Gemini: Since moving from the UK to Portugal's Silver Coast in 2017, Carl Munson has become one of the most prolific content creators and community builders for English-speaking expats. Over the years, he has generated thousands of pieces of content spanning daily broadcasts, articles, masterclasses, and digital forums.

Especially for @Melinda Waddell... After a constitutional standoff, two rounds of parliamentary votes, and a decade of mounting pressure, the new Nationality Law is signed. Here's everything that's changed. (Based on a Portugal Talk Radio podcast · 31 May 2026 · 8 min read) Portugal has just rewritten the rules on who can become Portuguese. After months of political debate, a constitutional standoff, and two separate trips through parliament, President António José Seguro signed the country's new Nationality Law on the third of May this year. For tens of thousands of residents, investors, and descendants of Portuguese emigrants around the world, the question is simple: what does this mean for me? At a glance — key facts - Signed into law: 3 May 2026 President Seguro - Parliamentary vote: 1 April 2026, 152 to 64 - Residency (non-EU/non-CPLP): 10 years (was 5) - Residency (EU & CPLP nationals): 7 years (was 3–5) - In force: 19 May 2026 - published in the Diário da República 18 May 2026 - Sephardic route: Permanently closed from 4 May 2026 *The roots of the reform* Portuguese nationality law has its roots in 'Lei 37/81' - a law that has been updated several times over the decades. But the pace of change accelerated sharply in 2025, when the newly elected government, which took office in June of that year, moved quickly to overhaul the rules. The pitch was this: Portugal needed stricter, clearer conditions for citizenship - longer waiting periods, proper language testing, and tighter checks on criminal records. The government argued Portugal's rules were among the most permissive in Europe and had, in some cases, been abused. Portugal's rules were among the most permissive in Europe. The government argued they had, in some cases, been systematically abused. *A law built in three acts* What followed was anything but straightforward. Parliament approved the first version of the reform in July 2025. But in August, the Constitutional Court stepped in - striking down several provisions as unconstitutional. Judges found that rules restricting family reunification violated the constitutional right to family unity. The President sent the law back to parliament.

Because there is crime in Portugal (it's not a paradise...), I'll place some ocasional news about the subject here. Seven people were convicted to prison (7Y9M to 16 years) for a total of 36 robberies. They robbed houses, with old folks inside, and businesses, perpetrated in the districts of Coimbra and Aveiro in early 2022.https://www.jn.pt/3644566357/sete-dos-15-arguidos-do-caso-teia-dourada-condenados-a-prisao/

Born in 1846, this figure spent decades climbing the military ranks as a respected General and engineer. When the Monarchy fell in 1910, he transitioned into the new Republican era not as a radical firebrand, but as a career officer known for professional competence. This 'soldier-first' reputation eventually made him the go-to candidate for leadership when the young Republic began to fracture under the weight of constant strikes, political assassinations, and economic instability. By early 1915, Portugal was a pressure cooker of dissent. The ruling Democratic Party was determined to drag the country into World War I, a move deeply unpopular with the military and the working class. Seeking to break the deadlock and restore 'order,' the President bypassed Parliament to appoint this man as Prime Minister. This move essentially handed the keys of the country to the military, sparking a four-month period of governance that history would famously label the 'Dictatorship of the Swords.' During his brief tenure, he attempted to play the role of the great stabilizer. He began closing down radical political clubs, granting amnesty to exiled monarchists, and attempting to heal the bitter rift between the state and the Catholic Church. To his supporters, he was a pragmatic savior bringing discipline back to a lawless Lisbon; to his detractors, he was a 'crypto-monarchist' traitor who was dismantling the very foundations of the 1910 Revolution. The end came swiftly and violently on this very day, May 14, in 1915. A revolutionary junta, backed by the Navy and armed civilian militias, launched a bloody uprising to 'rescue' the Republic. As the cruiser Vasco da Gama opened fire on the city from the Tagus, his government collapsed in a single day of street fighting that left hundreds dead. He was arrested, stripped of power, and eventually sent into exile in the Azores, marking the beginning of an even more chaotic phase of the First Republic. He was neither a bloodthirsty tyrant nor a visionary democrat; he was a conservative military technician caught in the gears of a political machine he didn't fully understand. He believed that the complexities of a nation could be managed through the same rigid hierarchy and discipline he used in the Army. His failure demonstrated a harsh truth in Portuguese history: that while the military could seize control of the streets, it could not so easily bridge the deep ideological chasms of a divided people.

In the spring of 1917, amid the horrors of World War I, three young shepherd children - Lúcia dos Santos (10) and her cousins Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marto (7) - were tending their sheep in central Portugal. On May 13, in a hollow known as the Cova da Iria, they witnessed a dazzling lady “brighter than the sun,” dressed in white and standing atop a small holm oak tree. She identified herself as coming from heaven and asked them to return on the 13th day of each month for six months, urging them to pray the Rosary daily for the end of the war and the conversion of sinners. Over the following apparitions, she revealed three prophetic secrets (including a vision of hell, warnings of future wars, and a call to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart), taught them prayers of reparation, and promised a great miracle. Despite skepticism, mockery, and even imprisonment by local authorities, the children remained faithful. On October 13, 1917, around 70,000 people gathered in pouring rain; the clouds parted, and the sun appeared to dance, whirl, and plunge toward the earth in a multicolored spectacle known as the “Miracle of the Sun” - an event witnessed by believers and skeptics alike, drying their clothes instantly and confirming the apparitions. Francisco and Jacinta died young (as foretold), while Lúcia lived to share the full message, which continues to inspire millions of pilgrims to this day. Where did this take place, and where is there a world-renowned shrine today, where millions of Catholics continue to converge? See Portugal's other two 'F's here