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Activists Around the World: Marta · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: And Samantha.
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  Speaker 1: And welcome to Stuff I Never Told You, a production
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  Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: And for today's activists around the world, today we're highlighting
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  Speaker 2: Marta Vieira da Silva, or better known as Marta.
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  Speaker 1: She just goes by Marta.
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  Speaker 2: A Brazilian soccer player who, until recently, held the all-time
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  Speaker 2: top score for a FIFA World Cup final. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: until this year, literally. So she does still hold the
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  Speaker 2: highest record for score in Women's FIFA World Cup finals.
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  Speaker 2: And Marta is a legend in the soccer world, learning
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  Speaker 2: to play soccer in the streets of Brazil and being
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  Speaker 2: discovered at the age of 14. She started playing professionally
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  Speaker 2: for Vasco da Gama in 2000. And after it folded,
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  Speaker 2: literally the team, she moved on to play with Santa
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  Speaker 2: Cruz until she moved to Umeå IK. There, she really
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  Speaker 2: established herself as a contender, with her scoring a hat-trick
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  Speaker 2: and scoring 25 goals, making her the second-highest scorer behind
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  Speaker 2: Lota Huling. But of course, this was only the beginning.
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  Speaker 2: She made history many times over in her career, including
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  Speaker 2: holding the most career goals in the Women's World Cup,
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  Speaker 2: and up until, again, recently, was the highest World Cup
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  Speaker 2: goals at 17 points, which was broken this year in
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  Speaker 2: the 2026 World Cup, when Lionel Messi scored, I believe, 19,
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  Speaker 2: and then... Kylian Mbappe came back around with scoring 22.
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  Speaker 2: So this is according to Olympic.com. Just as an aside,
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  Speaker 2: the AI interpretation puts messy as first due to quote
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  Speaker 2: unquote inaccuracies. I'm very confused by what the AI is
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  Speaker 2: trying to tell me. I don't want to use it,
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  Speaker 2: but that came up and I was like, huh? So
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  Speaker 2: I was a little bit confused. But of course, if
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  Speaker 2: you go to FIFA.com, they leave out Marta altogether, which
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  Speaker 2: I'm guessing they're like, oh, Women's World Cup is not
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  Speaker 2: the same as World Cup. So we're going to put
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  Speaker 2: this on this way. And I feel like it's kind
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  Speaker 2: of super misogynistic that FIFA makes a lot of money
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  Speaker 2: off of the Women's World Cup. And they couldn't just
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  Speaker 2: put it in the World Cup numbers, even though the
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  Speaker 2: Olympics does. Just a side note from me. And by
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  Speaker 2: the way, Marta did praise Messi and his performance when
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  Speaker 2: her record was broken, which she had held for like
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  Speaker 2: seven years. With a celebratory post of his goal and
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  Speaker 2: like three clap emojis. You know, we celebrate everybody. Her
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  Speaker 2: gameplay alone put her in history. And her activism, though,
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  Speaker 2: for women and girls, it really made her an ambassador
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  Speaker 2: and a leader for so many. So in 2018, the
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  Speaker 2: UN Women named her the Goodwill Ambassador for Women and
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  Speaker 2: Girls in Sports. So this is from UNWomen.org. An icon
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  Speaker 2: and a role model for many, Marta is widely regarded
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  Speaker 2: as the best female soccer player of all time. She
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  Speaker 2: currently plays for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's
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  Speaker 2: Soccer League in the United States and as a forward
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  Speaker 2: on the Brazilian national team. She is the all-time top
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  Speaker 2: scorer of FIFA Women's World Cup tournament and was named
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  Speaker 2: Player of the Year five consecutive times. This also made
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  Speaker 2: her the first woman from Latin America to be named
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  Speaker 2: ambassador for UN. So I thought that was a big thing.
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  Speaker 2: She said within the same article, quote, it is an
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  Speaker 2: honor to become a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Women
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  Speaker 2: and Girls in Sports. I'm fully committed to work with
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  Speaker 2: UN Women to ensure that women and girls around the
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  Speaker 2: world have the same opportunities that men and boys have
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  Speaker 2: to fulfill their potential. And I know from my life
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  Speaker 2: experience that sport is a fantastic tool for empowerment. Through sport,
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  Speaker 2: women and girls can challenge sociocultural norms and gender stereotypes
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  Speaker 2: and increase their self-esteem, develop life skills and leadership. They
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  Speaker 2: can improve their health and ownership and understanding of their bodies,
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  Speaker 2: become aware of what is violence and how to prevent it,
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  Speaker 2: and look for available services and develop economic skills.
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  Speaker 1: I love to see that.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, she'd already been an ambassador for the
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  Speaker 2: UN Development Program from 2010 to 2018. She also went
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  Speaker 2: on to launch Go Equal in 2023, which was her
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  Speaker 2: sportswear brand. And with the royalties, she donated to football-related
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  Speaker 2: organizations that promote women leadership in football. And if you
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  Speaker 2: were wondering.
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  Speaker 1: How many accolades.
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  Speaker 2: She had, well, they include FIFA Women's World Cup Golden
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  Speaker 2: Boot and Golden Ball in 2007, FIFA Best Special Award
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  Speaker 2: in 2023, Sports Illustrated Top 20 Female Athletes of the
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  Speaker 2: Decade from 2000-2009, and FIFA MARTA Award 2024, which was
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  Speaker 2: named after her and created because of her techniques. And
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  Speaker 2: it was to be awarded for the Women's Association football
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  Speaker 2: player to have scored the most aesthetically significant goal of
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  Speaker 2: the year. So it was that most beautiful goal, which
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  Speaker 2: When you watch, you're like, oh, that was beautiful. That
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  Speaker 2: was gorgeous. Goal is one of those. So they named
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  Speaker 2: it after her. And there is a biopic coming up
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  Speaker 2: pretty soon, starring Brazilian actress Alice Carvalho and directed by
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  Speaker 2: Indrucha Waddington, who did a Vinnie Jr. biopic as well,
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  Speaker 2: another soccer player. And it's supposed to be released in
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  Speaker 2: April of 2027. I think it's currently in production. Just
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  Speaker 2: keep in note. And we wanted to end with a
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  Speaker 2: part of a translated letter she wrote to her younger
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  Speaker 2: self for theplayerstribune.com. So just FYI, it is very, very,
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  Speaker 2: very long and it's very, very inspiring. So you should
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  Speaker 2: definitely read it. We just took a little bit out
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  Speaker 2: of it because I thought it was something really fun
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  Speaker 2: and beautiful to share. So this is what she wrote.
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  Speaker 2: And it is translated from Portuguese to English. Dear 14-year-old Marta,
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  Speaker 2: get on the bus. I know what you're thinking. I
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  Speaker 2: know what you're feeling. Don't think about it, how scared
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  Speaker 2: you are, how nervous you are, how everyone said you
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  Speaker 2: can't do it, that you shouldn't do it. Don't think
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  Speaker 2: about any of that. Just get on the bus. This bus,
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  Speaker 2: if you can believe it, is going to take you
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  Speaker 2: on the three-days drive to Rio de Janeiro. This bus
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  Speaker 2: will leave behind your family and 11,000 people in Dos Riachos.
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  Speaker 2: This bus will leave flat dirt roads for green countryside
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  Speaker 2: that will turn to mountains and then the city. This
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  Speaker 2: bus is going to take you to your dream, your
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  Speaker 2: dream of becoming a professional footballer, and it's going to
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  Speaker 2: take you to so much more. I know it doesn't
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  Speaker 2: make sense to you right now. I know the questions
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  Speaker 2: you ask every day. Why would God give me this
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  Speaker 2: talent if no one wants me to play? But use that.
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  Speaker 2: Use that for strength and motivation. Use it to fight, Marta.
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  Speaker 2: Fight to prove everyone wrong, everyone who thinks there's no
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  Speaker 2: place for girls on the pitch. Fight against their prejudice.
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  Speaker 2: Fight against the lack of support. Fight against it all,
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  Speaker 2: the boys, the people who say you can't do it. Fight.
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  Speaker 2: Fight to be accepted. Teach them, Marta, how to improvise,
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  Speaker 2: how to express themselves, and make some history. A UEFA
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  Speaker 2: Women's Cup, seven league titles, an 87-minute goal to win
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  Speaker 2: the Swedish Cup, another Swedish Cup, and then keep going
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  Speaker 2: all over the world playing football. It's amazing how much
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  Speaker 2: the game has changed for women, but in many ways,
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  Speaker 2: you'll find it's always going to be just a little
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  Speaker 2: bit harder for girls. Leagues and clubs will start and shutter.
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  Speaker 2: But one thing you'll find, whether in Brazil or Sweden
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  Speaker 2: or now being back to the United States with Orlando Pride,
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  Speaker 2: is that every woman shares something. A complicated story and
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  Speaker 2: a love for football that keeps driving them. But that loneliness,
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  Speaker 2: it won't last and it won't be long before you
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  Speaker 2: are all playing together. I know right now, at 14
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  Speaker 2: years old, all you want to do is get away
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  Speaker 2: from Dos Riachos. So this is going to sound crazy.
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  Speaker 2: But one of the best moments of your career will
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  Speaker 2: happen there. You'll go all over the world. But Dos
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  Speaker 2: Riachos is where it will hit you. You'll come home,
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  Speaker 2: it'll be 2006, and you'll have just won FIFA World
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  Speaker 2: Player of the Year for the first time. That's right,
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  Speaker 2: this is just your first. There'll be crowds of people
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  Speaker 2: welcoming you home. Everyone wants to see the hometown hero
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  Speaker 2: who's come back. They'll even drive you around in a
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  Speaker 2: fire truck. You won't be rejected anymore. The same people
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  Speaker 2: who said you were odd, that you couldn't play, that
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  Speaker 2: you shouldn't play, will be applauding as you go by.
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  Speaker 2: You're a woman and you're a footballer. I know all
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  Speaker 2: of this seems so far away now, standing on the road,
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  Speaker 2: looking at this buzz. But it's all right there. And
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  Speaker 2: the first step is only 2,000 kilometers away. Believe in yourself.
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  Speaker 2: Believe in your instinct. And you'll find out just why
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  Speaker 2: God has given you this talent. You won't ask why anymore.
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  Speaker 2: And neither will anybody else. Get on the bus. Marta.
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  Speaker 2: So again, this is just a small clip, but it
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  Speaker 2: was so beautiful and so inspiring. You should definitely go
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  Speaker 2: and check it out. But yeah, I kind of love
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  Speaker 2: people like Marta who just really inspire and lead in
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  Speaker 2: such an amazing way. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: And I love the idea of reaching back to your
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  Speaker 3: younger self and saying, just this world awaits you. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: So good.
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  Speaker 3: Well, listeners, if you have any thoughts about this, if
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: you have any suggestions for future episodes, please let us know.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: You can email us at hello at stuffandnevertoldyou.com. You can
• 8:56
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• 8:57
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• 9:01
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• 9:04
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• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Thanks, as always, to our super producer, Rima, and our executive,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Bruce Maya. Thank you. And thanks to you for listening.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Stuff I've Never Told You is a production by HeartRadio.
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