October 31 2026
November 2026: Welcome to Rev. Dr. Robert Flanagan’s Courage to Thrive podcast and video show!
This month: Father Bob talks with photojournalist Phil Pasquini, who is currently in France and Italy covering the revolts happening abroad.
We are recording on Oct. 29, 2026. Here’s what’s happening in France:
Photos by Phil Pasquini, Paris, October 2026
During last weekend’s uprising, officials said more than 1,300 arrests were made as hundreds of thousands of people took part in another day of protests across France on Saturday, followed by clashes later in the day. The BBC reported that after largely peaceful demonstrations, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in a number of cities including Paris, while barricades were set alight in Marseille and people ripped boards from a shop in Bordeaux. Officials have so far managed to avoid rioting and looting on the scale seen last weekend, which resulted in some of the worst scenes of disorder in France’s modern history. The interior ministry said an estimated 410,000 people protested on Saturday, while the unions put the number at about 800,000.
Bob asks Phil:
- How did you become a photographer and journalist? What moved you?
- You have worked extensively in Europe and the Middle East. What attracted you to these places?
- You are a mid-generation Baby Boomer. You could be retired, taking photos of birds and landscapes. What keeps you interested in reporting and photojournalism?
- Have you been in dangerous situations that made you think twice?
- What gave you the courage to take the risk?
- Based on everything you’ve witnessed and seen, how would you define courage?
Turning to the protests and riots in French and Italian cities, what can you tell me about these events? What are the factors influencing events? Why both France and Italy?- In your photos published on the protests, some signs and posters made political references (Anarchists movement symbol, pro-Palestine flag, and pro-French nationalist movements phrases), what do you make of these? How might they be influencing what’s happening?
- In your opinion, what are the government perspectives on what is happening? What about their response? Do you see evidence of outside influence?
- The French government appear to spend a large amount of money on social services like many European countries? Why do you think the riots occurred now?
- How different are the people who protest during the day and those at night?
- Let’s turn back to you. Do you have another adventure on the horizon? Do you have plans to report from other locations? Where?
- You seem to enjoy this work and find meaning from it. So you see yourself as thriving? If so, what does thriving mean to you?
Find more photos by Phil here.
About our guest: Award-winning photographer and international photojournalist/reporter Phil Pasquini has been a staff member at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs magazine since 1998. He also regularly contributes to several other national and international publications, including Pakistan Link Newspaper, Countercurrents, IndyBay, Nuzeink, and LA Progressive.
He regularly reports on a wide range of national and international subjects, including Middle Eastern and Islamic events. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute, he has, in his professional career, worked as an artist, a college art professor in sculpture and industrial design, and lectured on these subjects in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. In 1980, he received a National Endowment for the Arts individual fellowship. His sculptures have been exhibited internationally and are in public and private collections worldwide.
In 2010, he and his wife, Elaine, received the prestigious “Fairness & Integrity in Media” award from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). His photographs regularly appear in books, film, magazines, newspapers, online, TV, and other forms in international publications. He has also worked in television and as a radio correspondent, reporting on the ground from around the world.
His passion for photography developed at an early age and has grown into a lifelong fascination that remains an all-consuming undertaking to this day. In addition to above-water photography, he has done extensive underwater photography in the US and the Middle East. He has also written several books, including Domes, Arches and Minarets: A History of Islamic-inspired Buildings in America (2012). Learn more: philpasquini.com
About our host: An esteemed Episcopal priest and author, Father Bob has dedicated his life to spiritual transformation and caring for others. With a profound connection to his faith and an unwavering commitment to helping those in need, he has touched countless lives through his ministry, writings, and teachings. Bob’s book, “Letters of an Unexpected Mystic,” was a 2023 Selah Book Award finalist in the Bible study category.
Learn more: robertdflanagan.com • Podcast show: Courage2Thrive.com • TV series: Courage2Thrive.tv
In his first-person spiritual journal, 
He knows that we do that by relating well to ourselves and others, the world and its various creatures and places—and God. “We thrive when we relate to who and what is around us in a healthy manner. We can discover ourselves—who we are—in beautiful, elegant, hope-filled, positive ways,” says 
