Acton Unwind: Recent Episodes
Acton Institute
Acton Unwind is a weekly roundtable discussion of news and current events through the Acton Institute's lens on the world: promoting a free and virtuous society and connecting good intentions with sound economics. Host Eric Kohn is joined by Dr. Samuel Gregg and other Acton Institute experts for an exploration of news, politics, religion, and culture.
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This week, Eric, Dylan, and Emily parse former vice president Mike Pence’s speech in New Hampshire, which was aimed at drawing distinctions between his definition of conservatism and the populism of the New Right and Donald Trump. Does Pence’s definition of the two in opposition to each other make sense? Or has populism always existed in American conservatism and on the left? Next, the panel looks at the implications for the Church of Scientology of the conviction and sentencing of former THAT ’70s SHOW co-star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life for rape. There are many people who would like to see Scientology lose its tax-exempt status and other constitutional protections, but what concerns should we have about the implications of those kinds of calls for other religions? And finally, the group reflects on the 22nd anniversary of September 11 and the passing of Jimmy Buffett. Pence Calls Trump’s Populism a ‘Road to Ruin’ for the G.O.P. | New York Times Conservatism vs. Populism Speech | Mike Pence for President The Dream of Scalable Democracy | Dylan Pahman, Law & Liberty Danny Masterson Sentenced to 30 Years to Life in Prison in Rape Retrial | TMZ Leah Remini Rips “Criminal” Scientology in Aftermath of Danny Masterson Prison Sentencing | Deadline A New York firefighter tells his story of 9/11 | Acton Line Bombs, guns, and drones cannot win a spiritual war (UPDATED) | Dylan Pahman, Religion & Liberty Online Jimmy Buffett, Roguish Bard of Island Escapism, Is Dead at 76 | New York Times
This week, guest host Dan Hugger is joined by Dylan Pahman and Emily Zanotti to discuss the Georgia election racketeering prosecution of former President Donald Trump. What is this case actually about, and how does it differ from the other Trump indictments? Are mug shots exploitative? Why did President Trump choose this moment to break his long Twitter silence? Then the panel examines last week’s Republican presidential debate. Have we leaned anything new about the candidates? How do we best think about the place of debates in our national life? Is Twitter/X the future of presidential politics? Subscribe to our podcasts Donald Trump says Georgia arrest and mugshot are a ‘travesty of justice’ | Telegraph.co.uk Georgia election racketeering prosecution | Wikipedia First Republican Presidential Debate Draws 12.8 Million Viewers | New York Times Trump’s Interview with Tucker Carlson Has More Than 150 Million ‘Views’ on X—Here’s Why That’s Misleading | Forbes.com Trump support grows among college-educated as primary foes fail to lock up group | Washington Examiner Nikki Haley turned Republican rumble into campaign momentum: Polls | Washington Examiner Image by Freepik photo credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office via AP
This week, Eric and Dan are joined by Sarah Isgur, senior editor of The Dispatch, to examine whether there’s a crisis in masculinity. With the successes of feminism and the shift in gender roles and expectations, how do men grapple with society’s needing less of what they traditionally have provided? How is the internet and social media influencing this supposed crisis? Is it helping in any way, making things worse, or is it a mixed bag? Then the gang closes on two quickly minted internet celebrities: Oliver Anthony of “Rich Men North of Richmond” fame, and the “crazy plane lady” who appears to be rebranding herself after her “not real” meltdown. How to Bury a Billionaire | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg Rethinking Sex: A Provocation | Christine Emba The Man in Me: Versions of the Male Experience | Ross Firestone The Internet of Beefs | Venkatesh Rao The Legal Academy, Episode 5: Eric Posner The Changing Face of Social Breakdown | Acton Line
This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan are joined by James M. Patterson, associate professor of politics and chair of the politics department at Ave Maria University, to discuss his essay from the Summer 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY, “Is the New Right Fascist?” What is fascism, beyond the most common Orwellian definition “that which is not desirable”? How much of the radicalism of the New Right is driven by a lot of young members who are “very online”? How seriously should we take the arguments of these people, and how much should we engage with them? Subscribe to our podcasts Is the New Right Fascist? | James M. Patterson, Religion & Liberty Patrick Deneen’s Otherworldly Regime | Jonah Goldberg, Religion & Liberty The man vs. the myth: who was John Foster Dulles? | Acton Line Ron DeSantis fires staffer who shared video with fascist imagery | David Weigel & Shelby Talcott, Semafor Why Integralism Is an Ideology of Despair | James M. Patterson, Law & Liberty After Republican Virtue | James M. Patterson, Law & Liberty Fascist Economics | Wilhelm Röpke Ur-Fascism | Umberto Eco, The New York Review of Books What if We’re the Bad Guys Here? | David Brooks, New York Times
This week, Eric is joined by Daniel Baas and Titus Techera, Acton’s premier movie reviewer, to discuss all things cinema, including: the success of Oppenheimer (which Titus liked), the success of Barbie (which Titus did not like), and what it is that’s bringing people back to theaters. Also, is it really a big deal that Dune 2 will bump The Marvels out of IMAX theaters, since The Marvels wasn’t made for that format anyway? Is it all right that some movies hit you over the head with a message sledgehammer-like? And finally, what explains the surprise success of Sound of Freedom? Subscribe to our podcasts Barbie Is a Movie for Our Time. This Is a Bad Thing. | Titus Techera, Acton Institute Oppenheimer and the Last Great America | Titus Techera, Acton Institute Sound of Freedom Is a Clarion Call for More Christians in the Arts | Titus Techera, Acton Institute Overload: Will any shows from the Golden Age of TV endure? | Sonny Bunch, The Weekly Standard
This week, Eric, Noah, and Emily are joined by Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the cover story in the Summer 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY entitled “The Death of Conservatism Is Greatly Exaggerated.” Why have there been so many attempts to declare American conservatism dead? Why do so many of them, and in particular a recent piece from Jon Askonas in Compact magazine, ignore the fact that so many of the criticisms the current “New Right” levels at conservatism and American life are not all that new? How should we grapple with the effects of technology on American life? And what is our politics supposed to be for, as opposed to what we’re using it for now? Next, they discuss an open letter primarily written by Harvard Law School professor Mark Tushnet calling for President Joe Biden to ignore Supreme Court rulings he doesn’t like. Does the left have a comprehensible legal philosophy? How much was the rise of the New Right derailed by the success of the Federalist Society and the Dobbs decision? And is this just a mirror version of what Harvard Law professor Adrian Vermeule is calling for? And finally, three members of our four-person panel have seen Oppenheimer. Was dropping the bomb on Japan the right decision? Subscribe to our podcasts The Death of Conservatism Is Greatly Exaggerated | Christine Rosen, RELIGION & LIBERTY Subscribe to RELIGION & LIBERTY Harvard’s Mark Tushnet Wants Joe Biden to Become a Dictator | Charles C.W. Cooke, National Review Oppenheimer and the Last Great America | Titus Techera, Acton Institute
This week, Eric, Dan, and Emily discuss the recent decision in the 303 Creative from the Supreme Court. Is bad journalism the major culprit in people misunderstanding both the holding in the case, as well as the very facts of it? How much does it matter that it’s a First Amendment speech case and not a First Amendment religious case? Next, they tackle the newly announced plan from the Biden administration to cancel a load of student loan debt and ask the question, this again? Then, they examine the story of Hunter Biden’s daughter who has not been accepted or acknowledge by President Biden. Is it fair to hold this against him when making a political analysis of his fitness for the office? And finally, they look at two stories – the elevation of Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, who authored a book 30 years ago titled “Heal Me with Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing,” to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the statements by Bishop Américo Aguiar about not seeking to convert people at World Youth Day – and ask the question: what’s up with the Catholic Church?
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis | SCOTUS Blog Biden Thumps Nose At Supreme Court, Still Plans to Forgive Student Debt— In a Big Way | The Root Hunter Biden’s Daughter and a Tale of Two Families | New York Times ‘Heal Me with Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing.’ An old book sparks a new controversy in the Vatican | Associated Press World Youth Day and Converting Everyone to Christ | Bishop Robert Barron, Word on Fire Bishop Robert Barron: The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism | Acton Line
This week, Eric, Dan, and Noah Gould, Acton’s Alumni and Student Programs manager, are joined by Jane Clark Scharl. Jane is the author of the essay “Blood of a Thousand Christs: The Violent Faith of Cormac McCarthy,” which appears in the Summer 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY. What are we to make of McCarthy’s style and the prevalence of violence in his works? Where is God in McCarthy’s work? How much is obscured by McCarthy’s unique and stripped down style? Then, Eric, Dan, and Noah discuss two of the recent big rulings by the Supreme Court: overturning affirmative action policies at elite universities and tossing out President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program.
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About Jane Clark Scharl
Blood of a Thousand Christs: The Violent Faith of Cormac McCarthy | J.C. Scharl, Religion & Liberty
Student Debt Cancellation, Canceled | The Morning Dispatch
Supreme Court Guts Affirmative Action | The Morning Dispatch
photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the coup attempt in Russia over the weekend, as the Wagner Group paramilitary organization marched from its position in Ukraine toward Moscow before suddenly calling off the revolt. What does this mean for Russian president Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine? Do we have reason to believe this was an actual revolt or coup attempt—or something orchestrated by Putin for his own purposes? Then the guys recap the tragic story of the OceanGate Titan submarine, which imploded while on a trip taking people to view the wreck of the Titanic. Is this, like the story of the Titanic itself, the high cost of hubris? Why do so many people so quickly retreat into making jokes about an awful tragedy?
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Taking Putin Down a Peg | The Morning Dispatch
Does Britain Have High or Low State Capacity? | Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution
Real estate is China's economic Achilles heel | Noah Smith, Noahpinion
On Differences Between Urban & Rural China | Dan Wang
The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom
Titan sub implosion: What we know about catastrophic event | BBC
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This week, Jonah Goldberg joins Eric, Dan, and Dylan to discuss his newly released review of Patrick Deneen’s book, "Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future.” Following on the success, or at least the popularity, of his last book, “Why Liberalism Failed,” does Deneen have solutions to the problems he sees in modern society? Does his scholarship hold up under scrutiny? And is that the odor of Marxism exuding from the book—or is it just the choice to name the final chapter after the famous speech by Lenin? Is there more to it than that? (Narrator: “There’s more to it than that.”) To close out, the guys comment on the passing of the novelist Cormac McCarthy and how his books understood and demonstrated the grotesque violence of man in a state of nature.
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Patrick Deneen’s Otherworldly Regime | Jonah Goldberg, Acton Institute
Liberalism Isn't Rule by Elites | Stephanie Slade, Reason Magazine
‘I Don’t Want to Violently Overthrow the Government. I Want Something Far More Revolutionary.’ | Politico Magazine
Episode 150: Define Your Terms | The Editors Podcast, National Review
Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy | Jonah Goldberg
Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory | Daniel E. Burns, National Affairs
From Peak Oil to Peak Liberalism | D.G. Hart, Journal of Markets & Morality
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
National Conservatism One Year Later | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89 | New York Times
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This week, Eric and Dan are joined by Emily Zanotti, a new contributing editor at the Acton Institute, as they tackle the latest indictment of former president Donald Trump. Again we ask: Does the act of indicting a former president and current candidate for president alone render America a banana republic? What’s the difference between this case and cases of other prominent politicians—such as Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and Hillary Clinton—mishandling classified information? If there is a double standard at play, how do we rectify that situation to make it a single standard going forward? Next, the group examines comments by Bishop Athanasius Schneider that Catholics can’t suffer from depression. How should we think about the power of faith in the context of mental illness? How much of this is an overreaction to the seeming obsession with mental health problems in the modern world? And finally, we take a look at the lives of two very different people who passed away this week: Christian TV broadcaster and founder of Regent University Pat Robertson and the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
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Indictment of former president Donald Trump
Trump Indicted Over Documents | The Morning Dispatch
Catholics cannot be depressed | Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Twitter
Died: Pat Robertson, Broadcast Pioneer Who Brought Christian TV to the Mainstream | Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today
Ted Kaczynski, ‘Unabomber’ Who Attacked Modern Life, Dies at 81 | New York Times
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan talk conservative boycott culture: Bud Light, Target, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and more. If the social responsibility of business is to increase profits, as Milton Friedman said, is there a way we can return to that understanding? Or are we going to be stuck in a political tug-of-war where people on the left and the right want the oars of every institution pulling in the same direction—their direction? Next, they examine the newly passed debt ceiling deal. Will we ever find a way out of government-by-crisis so we can have a real conversation about the utterly irresponsible debt load the country is carrying? And finally, have you heard of the Marvin Heemeyer “Killdozer” story from 2004? If anyone tries to tell you he’s some kind of a hero, just a regular guy pushed to the limit by a capricious city government, don’t believe it. Eric lays out the real facts.
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The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman, New York Times Magazine
The social responsibility of Chick-fil-A is to make delicious sandwiches | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute
The Good That Business Does | Robert G. Kennedy
To boycott or not to boycott Disney, that is the question | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
The Rise and Fall of the Spokestroll | Abe Greenwald, Commentary
What’s in the US debt ceiling deal and who won? | BBC
Marvin Heemeyer & The Killdozer | Wikipedia
Tread (2019) Documentary
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan rummage around a grab bag of topics for this potpourri episode of the podcast. First up: The expiration of Title 42, the pandemic-era border-security measure. Will its going away create new problems at the border? Almost certainly. But the policy can’t stay if the pandemic is, according to the federal government, over. If Congress could find a way to do its job, it could reinstitute a similar policy. Next, a communist coffee shop in Toronto closes. Might it have been a good idea to be open before 9 a.m., when most people want coffee? The laws of economics and the marketplace will get you every time. Then, is it appropriate for women to wear yoga pants in public? Is it even appropriate to wear yoga pants for yoga? Penultimately, the guys marvel at the tale of La Sombrita, a piece of metal that’s supposed to provide light and shade at bus stops in Los Angeles that does neither and came at the low, low cost of $200,000 and three years in development. And finally, Pastor Tim Keller is remembered a few days after he passed away at the age of 72.
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What Is Title 42? What Its End Means for Immigration and U.S.-Mexico Border | Wall Street Journal
What Part of Legal Immigration Don’t You Understand? | Reason
The Anarchist: Toronto's anti-capitalist cafe is permanently closing | Daily Hive
DieWorkwear Twitter Thread on Yoga Pats and Menswear
La Sombrita, or, How to Fail at Infrastructure | Cato Institute
Engaging the Culture for Christ | Stephen O. Presley, Acton Institute
Died: Tim Keller, New York City Pastor Who Modeled Winsome Witness | Christianity Today
Photo Credit: @LADOTofficial Twitter
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This week on Acton Unwind, special guest panelist Farah Adeed along with Dan and Dylan discuss two major stories in the majority-Muslim world: the arrest and subsequent release of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and Sunday’s election in Turkey.
Farah is an incoming Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at Boston University and studies the role of religion in the nation-building process and democratization in Muslim-majority countries. He is also a former Emerging Leader at Acton.
The panel begins with an examination of Imran Khan’s place in Pakistani public life, then move on to the larger political landscape of Pakistan, the place of the military establishment, and the role of Islam in public life.
Next the panel turns to Sunday’s election in Turkey: What is the state of Turkish politics today in the wake of the election? Why was it both so close and so contentious? And what does the election suggest about the state of Turkey’s democratic institutions?
Lastly, the panel examines how Islam can play a constructive role in the development of free and democratic institutions in the Muslim-majority world and what historical resources can inspire such reform and renewal.
Arrest of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was illegal, top court rules | CNN
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan released on bail | CNN
Turkey’s Election Scenarios: The Good, the Bad, and the Scary | National Review
Turkey’s Erdogan faces second round in fevered race for presidency | BBC
Is Indonesia’s “Civil Islam” a model for the Muslim world? | Religion & Liberty Online
Abolishing blasphemy laws in Pakistan will lead to more violence | Religion & Liberty Online
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the suspension of the Acton Institute’s TikTok account after it shared promotional content for our award-winning documentary feature film, The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom. Is it just a weird coincidence that these kinds of suspensions keep happening to accounts that share content that the Chinese Communist Party would disapprove of? How should we think about attempts by Congress to address the risks presented by the TikTok app, which funnels a ton of personal information back to its parent company, ByteDance, in China? Would banning the app even be effective at reducing such a threat to privacy? Next, the guys turn their attention to CPAC Hungary, the Conservative Political Action Conference’s latest international summit. What are the lessons we’re supposed to learn from Hungary that could actually apply to the United States, which is a vastly different country in almost every conceivable way?
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TikTok Suspends a Film on Jimmy Lai | Wall Street Journal
Banned by TikTok: The CCP Doesn’t Want You to See The Hong Konger | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute
TikTok Claims ‘Technical Error’ Led to Suspension of Think Tank that Posted about Hong Kong | National Review
Acton Institute on TikTok
Stream The Hong Konger On Demand
CPAC Hungary Speakers List
The GOP-Hungary connection shaping the ’24 campaign | Axios
I Was Banned From Entering CPAC Hungary’s ‘Woke Free Zone’ | Politico
The Words TikTok Parent ByteDance May Be Watching You Say | Forbes
Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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This week, Dan, Dylan, and Stephen discuss recent housing policy proposals in Texas. What market-based reforms could lower housing costs? What should policymakers keep in mind when seeking to lower housing costs? What are the biggest political obstacles they face and how might moral arguments help in overcoming them? The panel’s ears then turn to the AI song stylings of “Fake Drake.” Is the music industry poised to be disrupted by AI? What sort of property rights are likely to emerge in the wake of AI disruption? Is all music just copying already? Are music and Muzak that different? Finally, our panel turns to a discussion of “Everything-Bagel Liberalism.” Why do progressives feel the need to satisfy all constituencies in every policy all at once? How can economics help translate policies from mere good intentions into real-world change?
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Texas Looks To The Free Market To Tackle Housing Costs | Forbes
An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World | NY Times
I Cloned Myself With AI. She Fooled My Bank and My Family. | Wall Street Journal
Did Ed Sheeran ACTUALLY Plagiarize Marvin Gaye? | Adam Neely
The Grotesque Legacy of Music as Property | Adam Neely
The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism | NY Times
Every policy objective, all the time, all at once | Slow Boring
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss Dan’s essay in the Spring 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY magazine, “National Conservatism One Year Later,” revisiting the National Conservatism movement one year after his essay on his visit to the NatCon2 conference. What, if anything, do we now understand better about the NatCon movement? Does it stand apart from traditional American conservatism, or is it slowly being subsumed by the mainstream right? And where do the post-liberals and Catholic integralists figure into this movement, if at all? Then the guys turn their attention to the expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee from the State House. Was this move by Tennessee Republicans wise, prudent, or even necessary? Is it in keeping with a very NatCon mentality to turn all political fights up to 11? And finally, they take a look at the ProPublica story about the hospitality benefits billionaire Harlan Crow has provided over the years to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Is there any there-there to this story? Or is the simple appearance of impropriety bad enough to warrant concern?
National Conservatism One Year Later | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
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The hundred-year war for American conservatism | Acton Line
Tennessee House Ousts 2 Democratic Lawmakers: What You Need to Know | New York Times
Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire | ProPublica
Lawmakers Revive SCOTUS Ethics Debate | The Dispatch
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss what we know (and there’s still much we don’t know) about the indictment of former President Donald Trump by New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Was it a wise move to indict Trump? Does indicting a former president for the first time in American history presage the “end of the republic”? Next, the guys discuss the horrible school shooting in Nashville and the quick descent into collectivist thinking on the part of both the political left and the political right. And finally, Dylan shares a horrifying AI-created video of Will Smith eating spaghetti that highlights just how far some AI technology has to go, while Eric uses it to make a point about what AI creators won’t allow to be created, like political satire of China’s president, Xi Jinping.
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What We Know About the Indictment and Surrender of Donald Trump | New York Times
6 Killed in Nashville School Shooting, Including 3 Children | New York Times
The Lonely Man with a Gun | Russ Roberts
AI-Generated Video of Will Smith Eating Spaghetti
Midjourney CEO Says ‘Political Satire in China Is Pretty Not Okay,’ but Apparently Silencing Satire About Xi Jinping Is Pretty Okay | Techdirt
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the new legislation in Utah restricting social media access for minors. Will it work? Is it a good idea? Will it even have a chance to take effect, as social media companies are certain to sue over it? Then, continuing on the same theme, the guys take a look at last week’s congressional hearings on TikTok. Did anyone come out of this looking good? Is a ban on TikTok inevitable now? Does Congress’s reason for banning TikTok even matter? And finally, Xi and Putin meet for a summit. What does that mean for the future of the war in Ukraine and for U.S.-China relations?
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Kids in Utah will need parents’ OK to access social media | Associated Press
Brad Wilcox on Twitter
Utah's Governor Should Veto “Social Media Regulations” Bill S.B. 152 | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Social Media Data from Jonathan Haidt
Lawmakers’ Drive to Rein In TikTok Intensifies After CEO’s Testimony | Wall Street Journal
Xi and Putin’s Burgeoning Bromance | The Morning Dispatch
Republican or Not? | Saturday Night Live
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the protests in France over the move by French president Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. How does France, and other countries facing the realities of math when it comes to their pension programs, navigate the reality that these kinds of reforms are simultaneously necessary and very unpopular? Next, the guys consider the alleged difficulty people are having defining “wokeness” in the wake of author Bethany Mandel’s going blank when asked to define the term on The Hill’s morning show, “Rising.” Is this just a rhetorical game? And finally, in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the usual suspects have been calling for new financial regulations to address the allegedly risky behavior of SBV. But would any of these proposals have done anything to prevent the kind of incident that just occurred?
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French Protests, Turning Violent, Aim to Override Macron’s Pension Overhaul | Wall Street Journal
Bethany Mandel on “Rising”
Bethany Mandel defines “wokeness”
Of Course You Know What "Woke” Means | Freddie deBoer
PC Art Class | The Kids in the Hall
SVB Is DOA | Acton Unwind
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the actions of the federal government in response. How concerned should we be by the moral hazard problem of bailing out the depositors of the bank beyond the $250K that is insured by the FDIC? Does this expose how the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stifle inflation are riskier than many think? Next, they examine the report from the Department of Energy attributing, with “low confidence,” the outbreak of COVID-19 to a lab leak. What lessons should we take away from this about the perils of trying to determine in real time what is and is not misinformation, as the lab leak theory was labeled early on. And finally, Rod Dreher’s blog at The American Conservative is no more. Did Rod remain too long in an old world of blogging that no longer exists, to his detriment?
Should businesses allow their employees to work remotely? Almost all employers and employees have wrestled with this question. More and more job-seekers are expecting remote-work flexibility, and COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns greatly accelerated this trend. But are employees really as productive working from home? Does remote work hurt company culture? Or could hybrid or remote options make businesses more successful? David Bahnsen, Founder of the Bahnsen Group, argues that remote work should be minimized. Dr. Raj Choudhury, remote work expert at Harvard Business School, argues that businesses should embrace hybrid and remote options. This debate took place as a part of the 2023 Business Matters conference.
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The Second-Largest Bank Failure in U.S. History | The Morning Dispatch
'It’s a Wonderful Life' Bank Run
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says | Wall Street Journal
How Rod Dreher’s Blog Got a Little “Too Weird” for The American Conservative | Vanity Fair
Gary Shteyngart’s ‘Gentile Region’ | Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
How Rod Dreher Caused an International Scandal in Eastern Europe | The Bulwark
The Internet of Beefs | Venkatesh Rao, Ribbonfarm
Which political tweets do best? | Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
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This week, Dan Hugger, Dan Churchwell, and Dylan Pahman discuss the question of artificial intelligence, particularly the software behind a series of AI chatbots that have become publicly available in the past year. What are the possible uses and abuses, especially when incorporated into search engines like Microsoft’s Bing? And what happens when they stop being polite and start acting as if they were alive?
Then the panel discusses a paper presented last week by Dylan Pahman at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s American Politics and Government Summit. The paper, titled “A Brief, Christian Prehistory of American Liberalism,” addresses an ongoing and often contentious debate within the American conservative movement on the place of the liberal tradition within conservatism.
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A science fiction magazine closed submissions after being bombarded with stories written by ChatGPT | Fast Company
A Concerning Trend | Neil Clarke
Bing Chat is blatantly, aggressively misaligned | Less Wrong
Is Bing too belligerent? Microsoft looks to tame AI chatbot | AP News
American Politics And Government Summit | ISI
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan start with a discussion of President’s Day, a holiday where we’ve collectivized all the Presidents of the United States of America – good, and, and indifferent – into one day of celebration. That means it’s an opportunity for Eric to once again highlight how awful Woodrow Wilson really was. Then, they move on to the horrific shooting at Michigan State University. Why is it a new trend for advocates of a particular set of political beliefs to respond to these incidents with “f*** your thoughts and prayers?” And, if we spent some time thinking and praying about our legal system and the way it works, what could we imagine doing differently that could help prevent incidents like this from happening again? Finally, they examine the new editing of certain works by Roald Dahl to remove potentially offensive words, phrases, and ideas. Thomas Bowdler, please call your office.
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Timeline of events in Michigan State University shooting | Associated Press
Statement from Michigan State Rep. Ranjeev Puri | Twitter
The Michigan State University killer was previously charged with a felony but was still able to buy guns. Here’s why | CNN
Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship | Associated Press
Sen. Josh Hawley wants to create a legal age to be allowed on social media | NBC News
But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past | Chuck Klosterman
'Fahrenheit 451' Was Once Sanitized for Public Schools | Reason
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Today Eric, Dan, and Dylan are joined by Terry Mattingly of GetReligion.org to discuss his essay in the Winter 2022 edition of Religion & Liberty, "The Evolving Religion of Journalism.” How has journalism—and its audience—changed, and why? Has the internet transformed broadcasting into narrowcasting? How has a transition from the old bias of liberalism to illiberalism, even “Jacobinism,” remade what journalists produce and we consume? Then the guys look at the Super Bowl ads and explore why they seem to be less entertaining and mostly just celebrities in different unfunny situations. And was the Super Bowl ad that drew the most attention an ad for Jesus?
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The Evolving Religion of Journalism | Terry Mattingly, Religion & Liberty
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Overload: Will any shows from the Golden Age of TV endure? | Sonny Bunch, The Washington Examiner
Put the State of the Union address out of its misery | Eric Kohn, Acton Institute
Super Bowl commercials, from Adam Driver(s) to M&M candies; the hits and the misses | NPR
Plug-In: Around 100 million Super Bowl viewers saw new commercials — about Jesus? | Get Religion
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan try to pump the hot air out of the Chinese surveillance-balloon story. What was China up to? Should we have shot it down earlier? Was the purpose to induce Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel his visit? Then the guys turn their attention to the murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Is this an example of the police department and the city acting appropriately in quickly firing the officers involved? How can we use this awful tragedy to make changes that will result in increased trust between the police and citizens? And finally, a presentation at the World Economic Forum suggests that wearable technology will soon enable the reading of brainwaves, which employers could allegedly use to make us more productive, or police could use to prevent crimes before they happen. Are we really on the cusp of Minority Report? Or does this whole idea misunderstand the nature of the human person?
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Timeline: A Chinese spy balloon’s 7-day trip across the United States | Politico
Here is a timeline of events in the death of Tyre Nichols | New York Times
Davos AM23 — Ready for Brain Transparency? | World Economic Forum
The Metaverse Does Not Exist | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
Suppose You Were an Idiot: On the Importance of Acknowledging Incompetence | Public Discourse
A Multi-Level Bayesian Analysis of Racial Bias in Police Shootings at the County-Level in the United States, 2011–2014 | PLOS ONE
Towards a Pure Theory of Threat Systems | The American Economic Review
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan breakdown the Ticketmaster/Taylor Swift ticket sale controversy in the wake of the proprietors of Live Nation Entertainment being dragged before Congress for a hearing. Are they a monopoly? If so, how would we know, and what should we do? And what is more offensive: Ticketmaster’s expensive fees and crashing website or a dozen U.S. senators reading questions written for them by junior staffers with Taylor Swift lyrics in them? Next, it’s 90 seconds until midnight on the Doomsday Clock, the PR gimmick of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that allegedly predicts the apocalypse. Should we take it seriously, or is this another case of “scientism” instead of science—people with expertise in one area getting out of their lane? And finally, Big Tech has big layoffs. Maybe these companies aren’t the all-powerful behemoths both sides of the political aisle make them out to be.
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Ticketmaster Faces the Music | The Morning Dispatch
52 Seconds of U.S. Senators Quoting Taylor Swift Lyrics
The Doomsday Clock reveals how close we are to total annihilation | CNN
‘Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Demands $10 Trillion or It Will Destroy Earth by Setting Clock to Midnight | The Onion
The Tech Bubble Burst | The Dispatch
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan review the story of Ivan Provorov, the defenseman for the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers who skipped participating in warmups in a Pride-themed jersey before the team’s Pride Night game, citing his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs as the reason. Should this even be a story? Should NHL or other professional sports teams impose political stances and social causes on players? Then the guys look at the upcoming fight over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. If this isn’t the time to have a serious conversation about spending and debt, when is? And finally, they examine the enigma that is Rep. George Santos, who has come under fire recently for numerous inflated claims about his résumé and background. What drives people to lie about themselves, and to such an extent, when the truth can be so easily found out?
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Flyers’ Provorov cites religion for boycott on Pride night | Associated Press
Understanding the Debt Ceiling Debate | The Morning Dispatch
James M. Buchanan on the Ethics of Public Debt and Default | James E. Alvey, Journal of Markets & Morality
George Santos: Everything the Embattled Congressman Has Lied About | Forbes
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan examine the revelations that President Biden, when he was Vice President Biden, mishandled classified documents, similar in some ways to how former President Trump mishandled “Top Secret” documents he took from the White House as his presidency ended. With such serious questions on offer about how much information we classify and inconsistencies in how we punish people who mishandle it, why are so many people focusing only on questions of hypocrisy on Biden’s part? Next, the guys turn to the storming of the capitol and other government buildings in Brazil by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Even as it conjures comparisons to January 6 in the U.S., is that the most helpful lens through which to examine this story? And finally, the constantly wrong Paul Ehrlich is back, having been featured on a “60 Minutes” segment about mass extinction, to declare himself to be the embodiment of science. How wrong can one biologist be? Very, it turns out.
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Biden White House Mounts Absurd Defense on Classified-Document Discoveries | National Review
Mar-a-Lago Madness | The Re-Education with Eli Lake
The Dream of Scalable Democracy | Dylan Pahman, Law & Liberty
True Liberty Demands Respectful Disagreement | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute
Welcome to the Internet | Bo Burnham (NSFW language)
Bolsonaro Supporters Wreak Havoc on Brasília | The Morning Dispatch
Letter from Birmingham Jail | Martin Luther King, Jr.
Scientists say planet in midst of sixth mass extinction, Earth's wildlife running out of places to live | 60 Minutes
60 Minutes Promotes Paul Ehrlich's Failed Doomsaying One More Time | Ronald Bailey, Reason
Paul Ehrlich: Wrong on 60 Minutes and for Almost 60 Years | FEE
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This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan remember the life and legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What will be his enduring contributions to theology and to the Catholic faith? And how will his decision to resign the papacy, the first time in 600 years that this occurred, and handling of the Church’s sex abuse scandal be factored into his legacy? Then the guys turn their attention to Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s election as Speaker of the House after 15 rounds of voting. Is this a glorious mess that points to a return to normal order in the House? Or a sign of complete disarray in Congress and the Republican Party? Both? Finally, they examine the injury to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during last week’s Monday Night Football game. Was the rush to resume the game, which was finally postponed, an indictment of our obsession with sports above the health and safety of the players?
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Benedict XVI, First Modern Pope to Resign, Dies at 95 | New York Times
Pope Benedict XVI: 1927-2022 | Joshua Gregor, Acton Institute
Caritas in Veritate | Pope Benedict XVI
Introduction to Christianity | Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
Jesus of Nazareth | Pope Benedict XVI
‘In the Beginning…': A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall | Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute
The House Speaker Battle’s Dramatic Conclusion | The Morning Dispatch
What to Know About Damar Hamlin’s Injury | New York Times
More than $8 million has been raised to support a charity backed by NFL star Damar Hamlin | Insider
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss China’s decision to relent on their “zero-COVID policies. With an ineffective vaccine and much of the older population unvaccinated, what happens if the current COVID variant rips through the country with a huge death toll? And why did China, which is clearly indifferent to human life, even decide to engage in these policies in the first place? Then the guys examine the release of Trump NFTs, which raised $4.5 million for the former president. Is there any current value to NFTs aside from the value people place on them by buying them? And finally, Eric, Dan, and Dylan make some traditional, and nontraditional, Christmas-movie recommendations.
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From Zero Covid to No Plan: Behind China’s Pandemic U-Turn | New York Times
Donald Trump's NFT Trading Cards Sell Out, Raise Over $5M | CNET
Remember Alf? He’s back! In pog form.
Christmas Movies:
Dylan: Spirited & Jingle All the Way
Dan: It’s A Wonderful Life & The Muppet Christmas Carol
Eric: The Muppet Christmas Carol & Die Hard
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman tackle the “Twitter Files,” the internal documents from the social media company that have been released by several independent journalists like Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss. What, if anything, do they tell us about the way Twitter was run previously? Is there even enough information in what was released to draw meaningful conclusions about the pre–Elon Musk regime? Next, with Jimmy Lai sentenced to more than five years for his conviction on “fraud” charges, what will this mean for his upcoming National Security Law trial? And finally, is Christmas over-commercialized? And does it really matter if it is?
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Twitter Files Part 1 | Matt Taibbi
Twitter Files Part 2 | Bari Weiss
Twitter Files Part 3 | Matt Taibbi
Twitter Files Part 4 | Michael Shellenberger
Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson Don’t Understand the First Amendment | David French, The Atlantic
Jimmy Lai Gets 5 Years for Fraud as He Awaits Trial | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute
The Hong Konger Film Website
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the move by Ukraine’s government to prevent churches affiliated with Moscow from operating in Ukraine. How dangerous is this? And why is trying to determine what constitutes a legitimate religion always problematic? Then the guys turn their attention to the protests in China and the delay of Jimmy Lai’s National Security Law trial in Hong Kong. How big of a threat to the Chinese Communist Party are these protests? And why should we focus more on marginal improvements in places like China and Hong Kong than on big revolutionary changes? Finally, they take stock of Kanye West’s public meltdown and his promotion of anti-Semitic ideology.
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Zelensky proposes preventing Orthodox churches ‘affiliated’ with Moscow from operating in Ukraine | New York Times
Man, Religion, and Tribalism | Joseph Pearce, The Imaginative Conservative
Protests in China are about much more than COVID lockdowns | Rev. Robert Sirico, Fox News
Hong Kong Blocks Visa for British Lawyer in Lai Trial | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute
Trailer for ‘The Hong Konger’
Website for ‘The Hong Konger’
The Kanye/Kyrie storm, an explainer | Rachel Ferguson, Christian Post
Why do some people hate the Jews? | Acton Line
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This week, Dan Hugger, Michael Matheson Miller, and Stephen Barrows examine the collapse of the crypto currency exchange FTX and the sentencing of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. How should we think about fraud in business? What is the role of corporate governance in securing the common good? How should investors and prospective clients best do their due diligence on companies they use and invest in? How do disreputable corporate leaders utilize regulatory and ideological capture to deceive? Is crypto currency itself a scam? What is the role of conscience in business and what does justice and repentance look like for disgraced business leaders?
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda quietly used FTX customer funds for trading, say sources | CNBC
The Collapse of a Cryptocurrency Guru | Titus Techera, Acton Institute
Emoji for expenses, penthouses and slipshod accounting: The most damning details from new FTX CEO’s report | CNBC
Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself | Vox
How FTX bought its way to become the 'most regulated' crypto exchange | Reuters
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What the Midterm Elections Say About American Civic Health
This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan take a look at the surprising 2022 midterm election results to break down what they say about the health of American civic and political life. What does it mean that we’re seeing record participation in the political process but increasing dissatisfaction with the state of political life? What impact did the issue of abortion have, and did we all underestimate how important it would be? Then Dan gives an update on the latest from Ukraine as we approach the G20 meeting.
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Zelenskiy visits recaptured Kherson, vows to drive Russia from all of Ukraine | Reuters
This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss affirmative action in college admissions shortly after two cases involving the University of North Carolina and Harvard were argued before the Supreme Court. Was affirmative action ever justified in college admissions? If so, is it still justified? And if it goes, should it be replaced with something else to help the historically disadvantaged? Then the guys examine a recent study highlighting the positive benefits to the environment from Catholics’ abstaining from meat on Fridays. Is this the right lens through which to consider a return to meatless Fridays year-round? And finally, tomorrow is Election Day. How should we think about voting as part of our personal civic involvement? Is there every a good reason to abstain?
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Creation and the Heart of Man: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on Environmentalism | Fr. Michael Butler & Andrew P. Morriss
Why Many Smart, Low-Income Students Don't Apply to Elite Schools | NPR
Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith | William F. Buckley, Jr.
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This week, Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger discuss Elon Musk’s finalized takeover of Twitter. Can he make it better? Is it possible to make Twitter better? Perhaps more important to Musk, can he make it profitable? And will Musk’s acquisition change the nature of the platform in how it serves as a public salon for the media elite? Then the guys discuss the presidential election in Brazil. What does the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro mean for Brazil and for the rise of populist leaders worldwide?
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Elon Musk Is Said to Have Ordered Job Cuts Across Twitter | New York Times
Elon Musk says Twitter blue tick to be revamped | BBC
Twitter will be no worse with owner Elon Musk, and probably no better | Eric Kohn, Acton Institute
Brazil Elects Lula, a Leftist Former Leader, in a Rebuke of Bolsonaro | New York Times
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This week, Dan Hugger, Dylan Pahman, and John Pinheiro discuss the undoing of the Truss government in the United Kingdom. What caused the unraveling? Does “neoliberalism” have a future? What does the current political crisis in the United Kingdom tell us about the future of American conservatism and the right more generally? How should this inform our thinking about the conflict between classical liberals and the “New Right”?
Our panel then explores technology through the lens of the new “Unplugged Scholarship” being offered at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Is this the way forward in education, or indeed life?
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For Britain’s PM, Chaos Has Consequences
New Avatars for the Right | Law & Liberty
Classical liberalism vs. The New Right | Marginal Revolution
Boris Johnson returns to UK in bid for rapid political comeback | Reuters
Innovative Scholarship Confronts Crisis of Smartphone Addiction | Franciscan University of Steubenville
Innovative Steps to Reclaim a Human Way of Life for the Next Generation | Newsweek
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the protests in Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested for improperly covering her head. Why isn’t there more media coverage of these protests after five weeks? Is the Iranian regime actually in danger? And what, if anything, should countries like the United States being doing to encourage these human rights protesters? Then the guys examine a new study from the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology on the striking lack of intellectual diversity on elite college campuses. Should we be surprised that places like Harvard, Yale, and Smith College are so unrepresentative? Should we even expect them to be?
Iran Protests Spread With Uprising at Prison | Wall Street Journal
Mahsa Amini: How one woman's death sparked Iran protests | BBC
Diverse and Divided: A Political Demography of American Elite Students | CSPI
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This week, Dan Hugger is joined by Sarah Negri and John Pinheiro to discuss the national debate around Columbus Day and the ongoing escalation of the war in Ukraine. What should we as American’s in general, and Christian’s in particular mark of Columbus’s Legacy? What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day and need its celebration be in conflict with Columbus Day? What is the relationship between Columbus Day and the Italian American Community? What do the latest escalations by the Russian Federation kinetic, political, and rhetorical mean for the future of Ukraine? Is peace possible? Should we take the threat of nuclear escalation seriously? How should the international community respond?
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Russia launches biggest air strikes since start of Ukraine war | Rueters
Putin signs annexation of Ukrainian regions as losses mount | AP News
Poland suggests hosting US nuclear weapons amid growing fears of Putin’s threats | The Guardian
Russia’s Nuclear Bluster Is a Sign of Panic | The Atlantic
In S.D., it's Native Americans' Day, not Columbus Day | Argus Leader
Hochul, Zeldin find common ground: Columbus Day won’t be canceled despite ‘woke’ push | New York Post
N.J. district eliminates Columbus Day as a school holiday over objections of Italian American groups | NJ.com
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This week, Eric Kohn is joined by Dan Hugger and Dan Churchwell to discuss the theme of the Fall 2022 issue of Acton’s magazine, Religion & Liberty: What is the metaverse? What is its relationship to science fiction literature? And what is the impact of technology on society and culture, and how we should think through the consequences, intended and unintended, of technology and the metaverse on our lives?
Dan Hugger’s Fall 2022 R&L cover story is entitled, “The Metaverse Does Not Exist.”
Dan Churchwell’s review essay, which also appears in the issue, is entitled, “The Screen Is Not Your Master.”
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The Metaverse Does Not Exist | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
The Screen Is Not Your Master | Dan Churchwell, Religion & Liberty (forthcoming)
Overload: Will any shows from the Golden Age of TV endure? | Sonny Bunch, The Weekly Standard
The changing face of social breakdown | Acton Line
The Changing Face of Social Breakdown | Yuval Levin, The Dispatch
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This week, Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger are joined by two special guests—Stephanie Slade, senior editor at Reason magazine and Fellow in Liberal Studies at the Acton Institute, and Jack Butler, submissions editor at National Review—both of whom attended the National Conservatism 3 conference, to discuss all things pertaining to the conference and the National Conservatism movement.
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The Will to Power Was Front and Center at NatCon III | Stephanie Slade, Reason
Both Left and Right Are Converging on Authoritarianism | Stephanie Slade, Reason
Four Myths About National Conservatism You Should Stop Believing | David Brog, The Federalist
National Conservatism and the Declaration | David Tucker, Law & Liberty
National Conservatism and Its Enemies | Religion & Liberty
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
National Conservatism: A Primer for the Uninitiated | Josh Hammer, Newsweek
National Conservatism: A Statement of Principles | The American Conservative
The hundred-year war for American conservatism | Acton Line
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman are joined by special guest Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg to discuss the recent New York Times article on New York City’s Orthodox yeshivas. Is the Times piece fair? What interest does the state have in the kind of education the children in Hasidic enclaves in New York City are receiving? And is America becoming increasingly inhospitable to Jews? Then the guys discuss the move by some state governors to send migrants who arrive at the southern border to so-called sanctuary cities. Is this a defensible policy, with the supposed ends justifying using fellow humans as the means of making a political point?
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In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush with Public Money | New York Times
The Jews of the Jews | Moshe Krakowski, Commentary
The Plot Against Jewish Education | Liel Leibovitz, Tablet Magazine
New York State vs. the Yeshivas | Eli Spitzer, Mosaic Magazine
Religious Liberty in the States | Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the legacies of two world leaders who have recently passed: Queen Elizabeth II of England and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. How should these two very different figures be remembered, and what will be their enduring legacies? How should we think about the legacy of the British Empire, which was dissolved under Queen Elizabeth’s reign with the end of British rule in Hong Kong? And how much credit should Gorbachev get for the dissolution of the Soviet Union under his watch when this was never his intention? And finally, the guys discuss the ongoing National Conservatism 3 conference and the status of that movement.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) | Richard Turnbull, Acton Institute
Would Kuyper go to Mars? | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute
Gorbachev Pizza Hut commercial
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
National Conservatism and Its Enemies | Religion & Liberty Winter-Spring 2022
National Conservatism and Its Enemies | Religion & Liberty Winter-Spring 2022
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This week, Eric Kohn, John Pinheiro, and Dylan Pahman discuss every angle of the executive order from President Joe Biden granting up to $20,000 of student-loan-debt forgiveness to qualifying individuals. Is there a solid legal case for doing this? Can one argue persuasively that transferring debts from those who incurred them to those who did not—namely, the American taxpayers—is in any way just? Does it make sense to take this action without addressing the deeper problems in the student loan and higher education system, which debt-relief advocates themselves portray as predatory? How do we address the cultural problems that exist in the system—namely, the increased expectation that everyone should go to college?
Student Loan Debt Statistics: 2022 | NerdWallet
Untangling the college loan crisis | Anne Rathbone Bradley, Religion & Liberty
Is There a Christian Case for Biden’s Debt Relief Plan? | David French, The Dispatch
Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America | Daniel J. Flynn
Millennials and Marriage | Rachel Lu, Public Discourse
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman reflect on what has transpired in Afghanistan in the year since the withdrawal of American forces from the country. Could the inevitable withdrawal have been better planned to prevent the debacle that ensued? What is the current state of the country’s economy, and of the rights of women and children? Could things be worse? Then the guys turn their attention to a possible earthquake in the American public school system, as major cities see declining enrollments while states like Arizona make large expansions to school-choice programs. What happens when these unstoppable forces meet the immovable object of teachers unions?
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The Taliban retake Afghanistan | Acton Unwind
Have the Taliban changed? | Acton Unwind
Afghanistan, One Year Later | The Morning Dispatch
Lawmakers Still Wrestle With Biden’s Chaotic Afghanistan Withdrawal | The Dispatch
Afghanistan's Economic Collapse | The Morning Dispatch
After just 68 days of summer, Chicago Public Schools’ new year starts Monday. Here’s what you need to know. | Chicago Tribune
One-third of Chicago Public Schools are half full | Illinois Policy Institute
Universal school vouchers: What you should know about the bill that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law | Fox 10 Phoenix
Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read | Yahoo News
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman explore some of the big picture questions raised in the wake of the FBI's executing a search warrant for Trump’s Florida digs, Mar-a-Lago. How should we balance practical political concerns with questions of the rule of law? Would more transparency help? Or would breaking the Department of Justice’s protocol, as former FBI director Jim Comey did about the Hillary Clinton private-server investigation, cause more harm than good? And are we capable of viewing a former president as just another American citizen once he’s left office? Then the guys reflect on the reaction to the violent attack on novelist Salman Rushdie last week. While news outlets claim we’re still searching for a motive for the attack, Iran affirmed the fatwa and bounty on Rushdie’s life, so what’s the mystery? And finally, a piece in The Atlantic accuses rad-trad Catholics of “weaponizing” the rosary. While the original incendiary title has since been edited, wouldn’t it save a lot of embarrassment to have at least one person of faith around to avoid making basic mistakes?
The FBI’s Mar-a-Lago ‘Raid’: It’s about the Capitol Riot, Not the Mishandling of Classified Information | Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review
Do We Believe Our Own Dogma? | Kevin Williamson, National Review
What Comes Next After Mar-a-Lago Search | Morning Dispatch, The Dispatch
Thinking Through the Trump Search | David French, The Dispatch
Salman Rushdie recovering from 'life changing' injuries after he was stabbed on stage. Here's what we know | CNN
Abolishing blasphemy laws in Pakistan will lead to more violence | Farah Adeed, Acton Institute
How Extremist Gun Culture Is Trying to Co-Opt the Rosary | The Atlantic
Original headline and image for Atlantic article
GetReligion
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This week, guest host Dan Hugger, Sarah Negri, and Dylan Pahman discuss the diplomatic crisis unfolding in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. How should the United States respond to an increasingly aggressive Communist China? From there the discussion turns to the recent defeat of the proposed Value Them Both Amendment to the Kansas Constitution. What can we learn about the future of the abortion debate in America from this result? Then we discuss the recent Republican primary election in Michigan’s 3rd congressional district between John Gibbs and Congressman Peter Meijer. What does this close race tell us about the state of the Republican Party and the near-future prospects for American politics at large?
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Pelosi has landed in Taiwan. Here's why that's a big deal | NPR
Nancy Pelosi: Why I’m leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan | The Washington Post
Furious China fires missiles near Taiwan in drills after Pelosi visit | Reuters
Right to abortion protected by Kansas Constitution, state Supreme Court rules | The Wichita Eagle
'No' prevails: Kansas votes to protect abortion rights in state constitution | The Kansas City Star
The end of Roe is the beginning of new life for citizens and their duties | Acton Institute
How Meijer's Trump impeachment vote sealed his fate in west Michigan | Detroit News
Gibbs, Scholten seek to win over supporters of defeated Congressman Peter Meijer | MLive
Defeated GOP lawmaker sees ‘dark and cynical’ streak prevailing in politics - POLITICO
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David L. Bahnsen joins Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman on the show this week to discuss all things economics. Just what is a recession? How do we know? What should we do if we’re actually in one? What is the future of inflation? If inflation comes down, is it a good sign or would it be indicative of different problems in the economy? Are we at risk of investing too much in the power of government and politicians to both break and fix the economy? And are oil companies making record profits?
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U.S. GDP Fell at 0.9% Annual Rate in Second Quarter; Recession Fears Loom Over Economy | Wall Street Journal
Fed hikes interest rates by 0.75 percentage point for second consecutive time to fight inflation | CNBC
The Inflation Reduction Act Won’t Reduce Inflation | Wall Street Journal
The Dividend Cafe | David L. Bahnsen
There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths | David L. Bahnsen
Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society | Dylan Pahman
Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It | David L. Bahnsen
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the rising concern about political violence in the wake of the attack in New York on Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin. How do we stem this tide, and what role do politicians and rhetoric play in inciting such violence? From there the discussion turns to the elimination of cash bail in New York. Then, given President Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, how should we approach dealing with nations that violate human rights and, specific to Saudi Arabia, murder journalists, especially when there are geopolitical security concerns in the region? Finally, two St. Louis Cardinals superstars can’t travel to Canada to play the Blue Jays because they aren’t vaccinated. Do travel restrictions like this make sense anymore?
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Suspected attacker of GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin arrested on federal assault charge | CNN
Survey Looks at Acceptance of Political Violence in U.S. | New York Times
Roberts rebukes Schumer for saying justices will ‘pay the price’ for a vote against abortion rights | Washington Post
Biden Says He Told Saudi Prince He Blames Him for Khashoggi Murder | New York Times
Here's what the 'glowing orb' Trump touched in Saudi Arabia actually was | Insider
‘The Dissident’
Dictatorships & Double Standards | Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Commentary Magazine
Kansas City Royals, with 10 unvaccinated players absent, beat Toronto Blue Jays | ESPN
Cardinals’ unvaccinated stars explain decision; Miles Mikolas regrets getting vaccine | The Comeback
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In a very special bonus episode of Acton Unwind, Eric Kohn is joined by Dylan Pahman and Daniel Baas to discuss the fourth season of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things.” They explore the show’s depiction of communism, the satanic panic of the 1980s, concepts of good and evil, and tease out some possible religious allegories.
Supernatural thriller Stranger Things shows the all-too-human evil of communism | Dylan Pahman
Cronyism vs. free markets in ‘Stranger Things’ | Dylan Pahman
Stranger Things on America: ‘It’s not rigged!’ | Jordan Ballor
Stranger Things’ Impressive Run | Bradley Birzer, National Review
Stranger Things 4 | Eddie Munson's Upside Down Guitar Scene | Netflix
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman ponder the nexus of age, experience, and leadership. Is it possible to be too old to have a job with as many high-pressure responsibilities as come with being president of the United States? If so, what is the wisest way to implement an age limitation? Should we just leave it up to voters to decide based on the individual candidates available? Then the guys discuss whether changing our language has the ability to change what it is we’re talking about. Does insisting people use words like “Latinx” have any meaningful impact on concepts of gender? Or does it just annoy a lot of people? Finally, Dylan details the argument made in his and Texas Tech University economics professor Alexander Salter’s recent Wall Street Journal essay on lessons from the Bible on money and inflation.
Jill Biden’s ‘LatinX IncluXion Luncheon’ FiaXco | Charles Cooke, National Review
In God—and Sound Money—We Trust | Dylan Pahman & Alexander Salter, Wall Street Journal
For the Least of These: Against Inflation Economics | Dylan Pahman & Alexander Salter, Public Discourse
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss both the shocking assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the political downfall of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. What is Abe’s legacy and the significance of his assassination in Japanese civic and political culture? And will Boris Johnson even leave a legacy beyond negotiating Brexit? Next, Twitter is looking to sue Elon Musk, who has announced he’s backing out of his deal to purchase the social media platform. Can you force someone to buy something? And finally, the guys break down the end of the Supreme Court’s term, particularly the case of West Virginia v. EPA. How much in American political life could be fixed by Congress just doing its job?
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Who Shot Shinzo Abe and Why? Everything We Know So Far | Bloomberg
Shinzo Abe, powerful former Japan PM, leaves divided legacy | Associated Press
Why was U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced to resign, and what happens next? | CBS News
Nine Tories Vie for Leadership in Contest for Johnson’s Successor | Bloomberg
Twitter, Elon Musk Set for Unprecedented Legal Battle Over Deal Collapse | Wall Street Journal
Twitter will be no worse with owner Elon Musk, and probably no better | Eric Kohn, Acton Institute
West Virginia v. EPA | US Supreme Court
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman take stock of the current status of the American founding, 246 years after the colonies declared independence. How effective have the attacks coming from the left and the right on the founding been, if at all? Then they examine the horrific mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. If public policy can’t fix broken souls, how can we reach people like this shooterbefore they perpetrate these violent acts?
Highland Park shooting sends shockwaves | Axios
Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory | Daniel E. Burns, National Affairs
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss everything surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned previous precedents in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Why has most of the reaction been about the policy implications flowing from the decision and not what the Supreme Court actually wrote and held in Dobbs? What does that say about civics education in America right now? What should we take away from the concurring opinions filed by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas? What, if anything, was the impact of the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion? And how will the decision affect the nascent common-good constitutionalism movement?
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Opinion of the Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
The Essential Natural Law | Samuel Gregg
The future of abortion in America | Acton Unwind
Samuel Gregg Joins AIER to Lead Initiative Defending Freedom, Combatting Collectivism | AIER
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On this episode, Eric Kohn, Dylan Pahman, and Dan Hugger discuss the newly launched LIV Golf International Series, a competitor to the PGA Tour that has drawn defections from some big golfing names—Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau, to name a few—and controversy for being primarily funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What is the ethical responsibility of the average sports consumer when a sporting event is being funded or supported by a monstrous regime? Then the guys turn their attention to the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates by 75 basis points in an effort to combat inflation. Will it work? Will it have terrible unintended consequences? Both?
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What is LIV Golf? The controversial PGA Tour competitor Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson are joining, explained | The Athletic
Shark trailer | ESPN 30 for 30
But What if We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present as if It Were the Past | Chuck Klosterman
For the Least of These: Against Inflation Economics | Public Discourse
Partisan vitriol threatens the economy—and lives (with David Bahnsen) | Acton Unwind
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This week, special guest David Bahnsen joins Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger as they discuss inflation in America hitting a 40-year high. What’s driving the present persistent inflation? How is our present economic malaise different from our last bout of persistent inflation in the 1970s? How does political polarization hamper our ability to respond effectively to economic crises? The second half of the program is dedicated to a review and evaluation of the ongoing work of the January 6 committee, as well as the recent assassination attempt on Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. What does the emerging tendency toward political violence say about America? How does our present partisan politics fuel this disturbing trend?
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Higher Unemployment Rate Looms as the Fed Fights Inflation | The Wall Street Journal
There's No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths | David Bahnsen
In First Jan. 6 Hearing, Graphic Footage and Stark Testimony Show Depth of Attack | The New York Times
Who Is the Former TV News Chief Helping the Jan. 6 Committee? | The New York Times
Armed Man Traveled to Justice Kavanaugh’s Home to Kill Him, Officials Say | The New York Times
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In this episode, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the massacre of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas. How do we grapple with horrors like this? What can we do, as individuals and as a society, to reduce the likelihood that attacks like this will happen again? Are we lacking the moral language to effectively discuss such events? Then there’s the lack of response on the part of the Uvalde police. While these cops clearly failed the people they were charged with protecting, what role did the failure to properly prepare them to do their job play in this outcome? And finally, the guys examine Ilya Shapiro’s resignation from Georgetown Law School shortly after he was exonerated in regard to his offending tweets about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Will it make any difference in the cause of free speech?
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Uvalde School Shooting | The Texas Tribune
What we know, minute by minute, about how the Uvalde shooting and police response unfolded | The Texas Tribune
Ilya Shapiro Resigns from Georgetown Law School | National Review
We Got Here Because of Cowardice. We Get Out With Courage | Bari Weiss, Commentary
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In this episode of Acton Unwind, Dan Churchwell, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger focus on the crisis in evangelical Christianity, with factions within the broader evangelical community pitted one against the other. The discussion is framed by Tim Alberta’s recent piece in The Atlantic, “How Politics Poisoned Evangelicalism,” which examines the responses of several evangelical churches in Brighton, Michigan, to the presidency of Donald Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic. Just what is evangelicalism and its relationship to politics? How has evangelicals’ embrace of modern technology both widened their influence and fostered divisions within?
Also discussed is the upcoming Acton University. What is Acton University, who are some of the featured speakers, and what sorts of people attend? How does Acton University seek to foster dialog among people of diverse faiths to address the crises, both social and economic, of our time?
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How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church | The Atlantic
The “Bebbington quadrilateral” | Wikipedia
The Scopes Trial | Wikipedia
Acton University 2022
Acton University Online 2022
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In the episode of Acton Unwind, Dylan Pahman, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger focus on the war in Ukraine and its religious context. What battles over ecclesiastic authority are involved? What is the Russian Orthodox Church saying about the conflict? The discussion then turns to the economic effects of the war upon the rest of the world, with particular focus on food production and distribution. Why are some countries affected more severely than others? Also among the discussion is a focus on China and its COVID lockdowns and growing economic problems. How is China moving away from its limited economic liberalization of the past? What does this mean for America’s future relationship with China? Lastly, Nancy Pelosi has been recently barred from receiving holy communion by the Archbishop of San Francisco. What makes the Pelosi case different from instances of Roman Catholic politicians in conflict received Church teaching on abortion? What does this case say about how many Americans view the relationship between church and state?
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Everyday Saints and Other Stories Paperback – Archimandrite Tikhon
The Promise of Confucian Liberty – Law & Liberty
What the West Got Wrong About China – Law & Liberty
Full text of Archbishop Cordileone letter to Nancy Pelosi banning her from Communion – Catholic News Agency
Speaker Pelosi on Meet the Press transcript 2008 – NBC
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong on charges of violating the National Security Law and allegedly "colluding with foreign forces.” The arrest of Zen and three others comes in the wake of the arrest of other pro-democracy and human rights activists like Jimmy Lai, the subject of Acton’s most recent documentary feature film, THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI’S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. What does this arrest tell us about the state of Hong Kong? And how has the Holy See responded to this incident? Then the guys break down the latest inflation numbers and the proposed “anti-price gouging” legislation and other supposed “solutions” to inflation that have nothing to do with inflation or that would simply make matters worse.
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Hong Kong cardinal Joseph Zen arrested under China's security law | BBC
The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom
The Hong Konger movie trailer
Inflation Is Tanking the Stock Market | The Dispatch
Will-to-Power Conservatism and the Great Liberalism Schism | Stephanie Slade, Reason
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dylan Pahman, and Dan Hugger tackle the issue that’s on everyone’s mind: the leak of the Supreme Court draft option in the Dobbs case overturning both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. How monumental is the leak itself, and how does it threaten the institution of the Court? What does the draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito actually do? What do the American people actually think about abortion? What happens now? And finally, assuming the Court overturns Roe and Casey in the Dobbs decision, how will the period of time between Roe and Dobbs be remembered?
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How overturning Roe v. Wade can reset the civil order | Acton Unwind
Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows | Politico
Are children their parents’ property? | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute
How Americans Understand Abortion: A Comprehensive Interview Study of Abortion Attitudes in the U.S. | University of Notre Dame
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the case that was argued before the Supreme Court last week about whether Joseph Kennedy, a former football coach in Washington State, could pray with others at the 50-yard line after public school football games. Kennedy looks likely to win his case, but should he? Why do we have such a hard time grappling with the role of religion in public life? Will this case do anything to help that problem? Next, we already have inflation. Now we have negative GDP growth. Are the 1970s back in full force? Would a recession be the worst thing that could happen right now if we need to head off inflation? And if inflation is still a problem, why are we even talking about “canceling” $1.75 trillion in student loan debt? Finally, the Department of Homeland Security’s new Disinformation Governance Board—Orwellian nightmare or total joke?
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Coach’s Prayers Prompt Supreme Court Test of Religious Freedom | The New York Times
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District | SCOTUSblog
Supreme Court Hears Football Coach Prayer Case | Advisory Opinions podcast
US economy unexpectedly shrinks 1.4% in first quarter of 2022: Is a recession looming? | Fox Business
Biden considering student-loan forgiveness of at least $10,000 per borrower through executive action: report | Business Insider
Are You Ready for the DHS ‘Disinformation Governance Board’? | National Review
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger give quick takes on two developing stories previously discussed on this program: the French presidential election, in which the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, has emerged victorious over Marine Le Pen; and Twitter’s reported acceptance of Elon Musk’s purchase offer. Then they turn their attention to Florida and the recently passed legislation to strip Disney of its Reedy Creek Improvement District carveout in retaliation for Disney’s objection to the Parental Rights in Education bill. How much can the political ideas of Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt explain what’s happening in Florida right now? Finally, after a Florida judge ruled against the transportation mask mandate, acceptance of the endemic nature of COVID-19 in the U.S. became pretty much a given. China, however, is still invested in their COVID-Zero policy by completely locking down the port city of Shanghai. What does that portend for other cities in China?
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French election result: Macron defeats Le Pen and vows to unite divided France | BBC
Twitter set to accept Musk’s $43 billion offer | Reuters
Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis | Associated Press
End of Reedy Creek: Disney won’t pay more taxes, but you will | WFTV
The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman, The New York Times
A Man for All Seasons: “Give the Devil Benefit of Law”
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
What’s Wrong and What’s Right about Judge Mizelle’s Mask-Mandate Decision | Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review
Beijing COVID outbreak prompts fear of Shanghai-style lockdown | ABC News
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This week, Eric Kohn, Dylan Pahman, and Dan Hugger update the Elon Musk twitter drama. How serious should we take Musk’s attempt to purchase Twitter? And even if he did, how much would it impact people who aren’t just very, very online. How much has this episode revealed about the people who are either outraged or delighted by the story? Then the guys dive into the most recent Atlantic essay from social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, “Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid.”
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Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for $43 billion, so it can be ‘transformed as private company’ | CNBC
The 4 Most Unhinged Responses to Elon Musk’s Offer to Buy Twitter | Based Politics
Journalism Professor Roasted for Comparing Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover With the Rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany | Mediaite
Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid | Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic
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This week, Eric Kohn and Sam Gregg pilot this two-person ship through four topics. First, they tackle the first round of French presidential elections, where the incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face off in a rematch with Marine Le Pen. What does the rise of Le Pen’s right-wing populism mean for France, and why have the two major political parties lost support so dramatically? Next, Elon Musk is now the largest shareholder in Twitter, prompting a mini-freakout in the Big Tech world. Are Musk’s actions a clear example of the way the market can deal with Big Tech issues better than the heavy hand of government? And why is Musk so hated among the left for finding more effective and fun ways to address their concerns, like climate change and space travel? Next, Eric and Sam take on the continued call to cancel all student-loan debt. Who would really benefit if this happened? (It’s probably not the people you think.) And finally, the right’s fashionable new epithet to hurl at opponents is “groomer.” Maybe it’s not OK to cheapen pedophilia…
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Macron to Face Le Pen for President as French Gravitate Toward Extremes | New York Times
In major reversal, Elon Musk is not joining Twitter board | TechCrunch
Psaki: Student loan borrowers likely to have to pay debt ‘sometime’ | Politico
Biden to delay student loan repayment, again extending pause, as Dems push for forgiveness | USA Today
Student Loan Debt Statistics: 2022 | NerdWallet
The ‘Groomer’ Accusation Is Counterproductive | David Harsanyi
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger take on Florida’s HB 1557, christened by the media as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. While it doesn’t say, “Don’t say gay,” it does say several things worth discussing. And how much of a backlash could Disney be in for now that their internal conversations about adding “queerness” to its programming are public. Next, the guys consider President Joe Biden’s pledge to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Is this anything but political posturing? And finally, Ezra Klein of The New York Times had an extraordinary interview with economist Larry Summers during which Klein’s feelings ran headlong into reality. We can help him connect his good intentions to sound economics.
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HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education bill text
Breaking Down the So-Called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill | The Dispatch
Disney Executive Producer Admits to ‘Gay Agenda,’ ‘Adding Queerness’ Wherever She Could | Caroline Downey, National Review
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
Biden orders 'unprecedented' release of oil reserves | BBC
Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Larry Summers | The New York Times
Modern Economics Is Not an Illuminati Conspiracy | Stan Veuger, American Compass
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It’s a two-man show this week as Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger begin by discussing the slap heard ’round the entertainment world. In the event you haven’t heard yet, actor Will Smith stormed the Oscars stage last night to slap Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Was it staged? Was it real? Can we know? Does it matter? Speaking of blurring the lines of reality and fantasy, next Eric and Dan examine the stolen Jan. 6 text messages from Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. How much of politics now is just playacting of the kind we see in Hollywood? Finally, what is a woman? Perhaps Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson can’t define one, but Dan and Eric can.
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Will Smith slaps Chris Rock (Warning: NSFW language)
Sorry, but Chris Rock Had It Coming | Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
Texts Show Ginni Thomas’s Embrace of Conspiracy Theories | The New York Times
Justice Scalia Won | Dan McLaughlin, National Review
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Today, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the controversy surrounding Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer on the women’s swim team at the University of Pennsylvania, who just recently took home the NCAA Division I national championship in the women's 500-yard freestyle. What questions does this raise about the nature of the human person, and to what extent has that anthropological question gone unexamined and ignored by the people and institutions surrounding this story? Then the gang examines Pope Francis’ comments from last week that “wars are always unjust.” What is the church’s just war theory, and what did the pope mean by his comments? And finally, the guys answer the first listener question with some book recommendations to acquaint you with how they see the world.
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Watching Lia Thomas Win | Common Sense
‘I Am Lia’: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story | Sports Illustrated
‘Just war’ no more? What did Pope Francis say, and what does it mean? | The Pillar
Listener-question book recommendations:
Sam:
Treatise on Law | St. Thomas Aquinas
Natural Law and Natural Rights | John Finnis
The Wealth of Nations | Adam Smith
Dan:
Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991) | John Paul II
The Humane Economist: A Wilhelm Röpke Reader | Wilhelm Röpke (Author), Daniel J. Hugger (Editor)
Lord Acton: Historical and Moral Essays | Lord Acton (Author), Daniel J. Hugger (Author)
Eric:
The Law | Frédéric Bastiat
The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom | Robert Nisbit
The Theory of Moral Sentiments & The Wealth of Nations | Adam Smith
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Stephen Barrows discuss the latest spike in inflation, hitting 7.9% over last year. That’s the worst it’s been since 1982. What action will the Federal Reserve take? Has the Federal Reserve simply failed? If so, what’s the lesson we should learn? Then the guys discuss the sanctions regime that’s been put on Russia. Are sanctions effective? Are they moral? Are they working? And finally, would you fight for your country if it was invaded? In a new poll, an alarming number of Americans say no. What should be the takeaway from that?
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US inflation soared 7.9% in past year, a fresh 40-year high | Associated Press
Average US gas price rises 22% in two weeks to record $4.43 | Associated Press
What sanctions are being imposed on Russia over Ukraine invasion? | BBC
The Great Demographic Reversal: Ageing Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival | Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan
Yes, If America Is Ever Invaded, You Must Take Up Arms and Fight | National Review
Vast Majority of Americans Say Ban Russian Oil, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Nearly 8 in 10 Support U.S. Military Response if Putin Attacks a NATO Country | Quinnipiac University
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dylan Pahman discuss the latest on Ukraine and Russia. Should we be surprised by the unanimity of the European response? To what extent did Vladimir Putin underestimate the strength of Western institutions and alliances? Then they discuss how both the Orthodox Church and the Vatican have responded to the crisis. Finally, they close with brief reactions to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
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The Morning Dispatch: Putin Cracks Down at Home | The Dispatch
The Orthodox Response to Putin’s Invasion | Commonweal
Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery | The White House
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How will this change the rules-based, post–World War II world order? How did the West misread Vladimir Putin? How did Putin misread how the invasion would go? How surprising is the story of actor/comedian-turned-stateman Volodymyr Zelensky? And how much has this international crisis revealed about the corruption of the American political right? Then the guys turn their attention to the upcoming State of the Union address that President Joe Biden will deliver on March 1. What actually is the state of the union?
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The End of History and the Last Man | Francis Fukuyama
The Other Mr. President | This American Life
The Clash of Civilizations? | Samuel P. Huntington
The Internet of Beefs | Venkatesh Rao
Justin Trudeau’s political overreach is a greater threat to liberty than the truckers’ protest | Samuel Gregg
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the end of the Canadian trucker convoy as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act—the precursor of which was last used to respond to domestic terrorism—to clear the convoy from the capital. Boy, that escalated quickly. What will be the lasting effects of this protest, not to mention the way it ended? And how chilling are the threats to freeze bank accounts of protesters and supporters, even as donation data is leaked from the crowdfunding site that hosted a fundraiser for the convoy? Next, the Acton gang examines the recall of three members of the San Francisco school board by overwhelming margins. If a parent uprising against out-of-control public school systems can happen in San Francisco, can it happen anywhere? And finally, the guys remember the late, great writer and humorist P.J. O’Rourke, who passed away last week at the age of 74.
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Business Matters 2022 — 50% off registration with promo code PODCASTBM22
Canada invokes unprecedented emergency measures — and triggers a political firestorm | Politico
Trudeau vows to freeze anti-mandate protesters' bank accounts | BBC
Names of Canada truck convoy donors leaked after reported hack | Reuters
San Francisco Unified School District recall, California | Ballotpedia
P. J. O'Rourke, 1947-2022 | Matt Labash
P.J. O’Rourke was America’s greatest satirist and coolest conservative | John Podhoretz
Why we need more O’Rourke Conservatives | Anthony Sacramone
P.J. O’Rourke speaks at Acton’s 2013 Anniversary Dinner | Acton Vault
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This week Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger are truckin’ to the Canadian truckers’ blockade of Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor. Even if the truckers’ cause is just, are their tactics justifiable? And does it mean now that famously polite and compliant Canada has a populist uprising on its hands over overreaching COVID policy? Then they dissect The New York Times op-ed from three post-liberal conservatives on foreign policy hawkishness. Is the hesitancy to get into foreign entanglements all that novel an argument, or is it concealing something far more radical than mere retrenchment? And finally, the guys discuss Dan’s Detroit News op-ed on Joe Rogan and the problem of misinformation in the media.
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Canada Opens Blockaded Bridge, but in Ottawa, Truckers Won’t Budge | New York Times
Hawks Are Standing in the Way of a New Republican Party | Sohrab Ahmari, Patrick Deneen, and Gladden Pappin, New York Times
Public Choice Theory and the Illusion of Grand Strategy: How Generals, Weapons Manufacturers, and Foreign Governments Shape American Foreign Policy | Richard Hanania
Joe Rogan is not a problem, but a mirror | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
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National Review ISI fellow Nate Hochman joins Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger this week to discuss his recent reporting on the Ilya Shapiro controversy at Georgetown Law School. The student sit-in in the wake of Shapiro’s poorly worded tweets produced demands for cry rooms and reparations. Will they get what they want? Why do people in places of authority seem incapable of standing up to these outrage mobs? Then the group discusses the surprisingly good jobs report for January, where the economy added nearly 500,000 jobs—and all during the Omicron wave. If this is more evidence that the public is moving on from the pandemic, why do so many political leaders refuse to take the off-ramps they’re being offered and instead stand by mask mandates and other mitigation measures? And finally, should we have boycotted the Beijing Winter Olympics?
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Acton Institute announces $300,000 Beijing Olympics broadcast ad campaign advocating for the release of Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai
"The Hong Konger” 30-second Olympics ad
The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom
Georgetown Law Students Stage Sit-In, Demand Dean Fire Ilya Shapiro | Nate Hochman, National Review
Ilya Shapiro Tweets about Biden Supreme Court Nominee | FIRE
How Michigan’s Ballooning DEI Bureaucracy Stifled Speech and Divided the Campus | National Review
Companies unexpectedly cut 301,000 jobs in January as omicron slams labor market, ADP says | CNBC
Payrolls show surprisingly powerful gain of 467,000 in January despite omicron surge | CNBC
What message does NBC’s Olympics coverage send? | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute
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This week Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the retirement of Stephen Breyer from the Supreme Court. Will he have an enduring legacy, or will he be largely forgotten? How should we evaluate his jurisprudence? He is often thought of as a moderate liberal but was frequently deferential to state power. Can we expect any fireworks from the confirmation hearing of his successor, or will it be a far duller affair compared to those of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett? Then the Acton gang discuss what action the Federal Reserve is likely to take to combat inflation. How much of a shock to the economic system would an increase in interest rates be, and what’s the likely political fallout? Finally, they consider Eric’s recent Detroit News op-ed, arguing for COVID-19 risk assessment and decision making to be made on a personal and family level. How long can “COVID Zero” approaches endure? And how much longer will we continue masking kids in schools?
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Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court, paving way for Biden appointment | NBC News
Justice Breyer’s Retirement May Not Be All Bad News for Conservatives | National Review
Fed likely to hike rates in March as Powell vows sustained inflation fight | Reuters
Fed seen as hiking interest rates seven times in 2022, or once at every meeting, BofA says | MarketWatch
It’s time individuals, not the government, make choices about COVID-19 risk | Eric Kohn, Acton Institute
Maryland county school CEO suggests students will be required to wear masks until 'COVID no longer exists’ | Fox News
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Stephen Barrows discuss the “the big quit,” as more than 20 million Americans quit their jobs in the second half of 2021. With more than 10.5 million job openings right now, what does this pandemic-induced change in the labor market mean for workers and employers going forward? Next, they look at President Joe Biden’s speech in Atlanta, Ga., on voting rights, comparing anyone not in agreement with him to being on the side of George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis. So much for turning down the temperature on political rhetoric. Finally, they examine the incident at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Why is it so hard for some to identify anti-Semitism as anti-Semitism?
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The Great Resignation: Why more Americans are quitting their jobs than ever before | 60 Minutes
Remarks by President Biden on Protecting the Right to Vote | The White House
About That Speech … | The Dispatch
Jewish leaders react to FBI statement on Texas synagogue hostage-taker: 'The FBI got it wrong’ | Fox News
Why do some people hate the Jews? | Acton Line
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger briefly discuss the first anniversary of the January 6 capitol riot. Have we learned anything helpful in the past year? Then they examine the waves being caused by teachers unions once again forcing public schools to close in major cities. Is this enough to stir a parent revolt to change the nature of public education as we know it? Next, they take a look at the newly announced policies of the Manhattan district attorney that would effectively eliminate jail time for an array of serious offenses. What damage will this light-on-crime approach do to meaningful and serious criminal justice reform? And finally, they review the conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes on four federal counts of defrauding investors. What, if anything, does this have to say about market capitalism or Silicon Valley?
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The Chicago Teachers Union’s Priorities | Wall Street Journal
Manhattan DA to stop seeking prison sentences in slew of criminal cases | New York Post
Justice Reformers Need to Update Their Priors | The Atlantic
Elizabeth Holmes is the con artist we were all waiting for | Acton Institute
The Dropout Podcast | ABC News
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the progress of the House Select Committee on the events of January 6. Has everyone already formed their conclusions about what happened? Is there anything that could be revealed that would change anyone’s mind? Is there any civic good that could come from this? The Omicron variant appears to be more transmissible but less deadly. That’s a good development. So why is it prompting renewed talk of school shutdowns, greater lockdowns, and mask mandates that extend forever? Are we perpetually searching for a technocratic solution to a problem that has no actual solution? And finally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act to extricate wokeness from schools and businesses. Is this a problem that we can legislate away?
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The Fifth Column Podcast with Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.)
Fox News hosts urged Meadows to have Trump stop Jan. 6 violence, texts show | Washington Post
Remarks by President Biden After Meeting with Members of the COVID-19 Response Team | White House
Fauci says masks on planes will always be necessary no matter what: 'Go that extra step’ | Fox Business
Schools, classrooms close doors again in latest Covid surge | NBC News
Governor DeSantis Announces Legislative Proposal to Stop W.O.K.E. Activism and Critical Race Theory in Schools and Corporations | State of Florida
D.C. third-graders were made to reenact episodes from the Holocaust | Washington Post
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This week, Samuel Gregg, Stephen Barrows, and Michael Matheson Miller discuss two topics. The first is the ongoing rise of inflation in the United States. Whatever happened to “transitory inflation”? Who benefits and who doesn’t from inflation? What needs to be done to bring inflation under control? Then this week’s all-Catholic team weighs in on a broader topic: the state of the Catholic Church around the world today. Much of the Church seems to be in disarray, whether it’s the resignations of bishops, the state of the Church in Germany, the Synod on Synodality, disputes about Holy Communion and liturgy, or the Vatican’s deal with the Communist regime in Beijing. We discuss some of the underlying causes, but also where we can find signs of hope.
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How do you feel about inflation? The answer will help determine its longevity | Wall St Journal
El-Erian says ‘transitory’ was the ‘worst inflation call in the history’ of the Fed | CNBC
Inflation: Prices on the Rise | IMF
Inflation surged 6.8% in November, even more than expected, to fastest rate since 1982 | CNBC
Ratzinger’s Cross | Public Discourse
The Vatican Would Profit from the Views of This Jesuit | Alejandro Chafuen, Forbes
After Two Decades, Abuse Crisis Has Humbled the Catholic Church | The Wall Street Journal
China’s Catholic Leviathan: Jesuits and the Sino-Vatican Agreement | Catholic World Report
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the implications of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case involving Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, which was argued before the Supreme Court on Dec. 1. How much has the legal regime created by Roe and Casey distorted our civic and political life? And what would be likely to happen if the Supreme Court did overturn the Roe and Casey decisions in their Dobbs ruling? Would it be as incendiary as some people seem to assume? Then the guys discuss the primary theme of Blake Masters’ campaign for Senate: “In America, you should be able to raise a family on one single income.” Is it true that people can’t do that right now? Do the proponents of this vision ignore the costs associated with it? And are GDP growth and family formation really at odds?
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Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization | SCOTUSblog
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Oral Arguments
Exit poll results from the 2021 election for Virginia governor | Washington Post
The Blake Masters Vision | National Review
Why Parents Staying Home to Raise Their Kids Is a Good Thing | National Review
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This week, Eric Kohn, Stephen Barrows, and Dan Hugger discuss the emergence of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19. With so little known about it, are political leaders and public health officials getting too far ahead of themselves? Dr. Anthony Fauci says he “represent[s] science.” When did we come to have such a malformed understanding of the scientific process that we moved into an ideological understanding of science? And how unsurprised should we be that the World Health Organization skipped over the “Xi” variant name? Finally, they discuss Yuval Levin's recent essay "The changing face of social breakdown.” What's holding people back from starting their lives? Has the pandemic made these problems worse or just revealed trends already at work? And how can we learn to better deal with our changing world to establish more communion, not just communication?
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Omicron Rises, but Our Fears Should Not | National Review
Fauci: Republican detractors are "criticizing science” | Axios
In Naming Omicron Variant, Authorities Skipped ‘Xi’ and ‘Nu’ | Wall Street Journal
A ‘Simpsons’ Episode Lampooned Chinese Censorship. In Hong Kong, It Vanished. | New York Times
The changing face of social breakdown | The Dispatch
For first time, India’s fertility rate below replacement level | Times of India
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali | B. K. S. Iyengar
National Economic Planning: What Is Left?| Don Lavoie
The Use of Knowledge in Society | Friedrich A. Hayek
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Today on Acton Unwind, Stephen Barrows, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman join Michael Matheson Miller—guest editor of the new double issue of Religion & Liberty, Acton’s quarterly journal of religion, economics, and culture—to discuss the issue’s theme: the challenges of thinking clearly in an age dominated by ideology. How can we function in a time when the pursuit of truth, and even the meaning of “truth” itself, is subservient to a suffocating ideology that makes real dialogue between opposing viewpoints difficult if not impossible? What are the risks that come with the adoption of a rigid ideology? What is the difference between ideology and worldview? And how do we resist the temptation of adopting ideological thinking ourselves?
Religion & liberty Summer/Fall 2021
Carter Snead at the Acton Lecture Series: What it means to be human
The History of Freedom in Antiquity
Bastiat’s Theory of Class: The Plunderers vs. the Plundered
Biblical Worldview Crucial for the New Millennium
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Today Eric Kohn, Stephen Barrows, and Dan Hugger discuss all things inflation. What makes the inflation we’re seeing now different from the experience of the 1970s? What does it mean that we have a contracting labor force along with high inflation? How long will inflation be with us, and is there anything that can be done about it? The discussion then turns to mission creep and masking guidance from the CDC, with the agency head suggesting we keep wearing masks to combat, not only COVID-19, but the flu and the common cold as well. And finally, the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the accused killers of Ahmaud Arbery are both underway, but only the Rittenhouse proceeding is getting much attention, thanks largely to people using it as a political cudgel. What would happen if we lost faith in our legal system the way we’ve lost faith in so many other American institutions?
Fastest Inflation in 31 Years Puts More Heat on Washington | New York Times
The number of U.S. workers quitting their jobs in September was the highest on record | New York Times
Labor force participation is static, a conundrum for the Fed | New York Times
Inflation Will Make or Break the Next Spending Bill | New York Times
The CDC's Director Implies That Face Masks Are More Effective Than Vaccines at Preventing COVID-19 Infection | Reason
The Rittenhouse Trial Is a Master Class in Media Bias | National Review
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This week, Eric Kohn, Michael Matheson Miller, and Dan Hugger discuss the National Conservatism convention, from which Dan just recently returned. What do the national conservatives want? Should we think about this as an intellectual movement or as a political movement? Have they achieved a consensus about their own identity? And how much of a force will they prove to be within conservative intellectual circles and conservative politics going forward?
National Conservatism Convention agenda
The biggest problems of national conservatism | Acton Line
A healthy conservative nationalism? Not without classical liberalism | Joseph Sunde, Acton Institute
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In this episode, Eric, Sam, and Dylan discuss the potential for upheavals in public education. Will fights over the curriculum and the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (and the behavior of the teachers union during it) open up the possibility of wholesale changes in public schools? Next, Joe Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis goes very, very well. At least according to Joe Biden. Is the president to be believed when he says Pope Francis assured him he's a Catholic in good standing? Is this something he should even be saying out loud? Finally, Eric and Dylan discuss Dune and explore the important themes related to human nature at play in Frank Herbert’s book and Denis Villeneuve’s film--and in all good science fiction.
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Virginia governor's race now hinges on education, and one candidate has a clear edge: poll | Fox News
Critiquing the 1619 Project with Phil Magness | Acton Line
Capitalism in the 1619 Project | Heritage Foundation, Samuel Gregg
Biden: Pope told me that I should ‘keep receiving Communion’ | Associated Press
Discovering human dignity in Villeneuve’s Dune | Dylan Pahman
Dune trailer
Acton’s 31st Annual Dinner
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This week, Eric and Sam discuss the growing threat from China. First, Sam recaps a talk he gave in Houston last week entitled, "China: Enigma and Challenge for the World." In the wake of China’s test of a hypersonic missile that could carry a nuclear warhead, how should we think about the military, economic, and cultural threat that China poses to the United States and to the world?
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China tests new space capability with hypersonic missile | Financial Times
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, October 18, 2021 | White House
China has won AI battle with U.S., Pentagon's ex-software chief says | Reuters
What to Do About China? | Sam Gregg, Law & Liberty
Decline Is a Choice | Charles Krauthammer, Manhattan Institute
Acton’s 31st Annual Dinner
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss Netflix standing up to the woke mob coming after Dave Chappelle for his new comedy special, The Closer, in which he makes jokes about the trans-rights movement. Can we view this as a watershed moment in the culture wars? Or is Netflix just defending their $60 million investment in the legendary comedian? Then, the supply chain has problems. Between that, high energy prices, employment problems, and inflation, are we staring down the barrel of a repeat of the 1970s? Next, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been out for two months on paternity leave. Setting aside the political-football aspect, how should we think about paternity leave in the modern culture and economy? And finally, we end with a new segment called Recommendable, where the crew will recommend articles, books, podcasts, or anything else they found important and recommendable throughout the week.
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Defending Dave Chappelle | National Review
Jews in Space | History of the World Part 1, Mel Brooks
Jon Gruden emails, explained: Raiders coach resigns following release of damning messages | Sporting News
Pete Buttigieg defends being on paternity leave amid supply-chain crisis | New York Post
Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek | EconStories
Recommendable:
Eric - We Got Here Because of Cowardice. We Get Out With Courage | Bari Weiss, Commentary
Sam - Abusing the Power of the Purse, with Philip Hamburger | Law & Liberty
Dan -India Before Modi: How the BJP Came to Power | Vinay Sitapati
Acton’s 31st Annual Dinner
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dylan Pahman discuss the possibility that objection to Southwest Airlines’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate was behind the cancelation of more than 1,000 flights over the weekend. Even if it wasn’t, there is clearly resistance to vaccine mandates out there, whether coming from the government or private businesses. And why is resistance to mandates, for some people at least, turning into resistance or rejection of the vaccine itself? A University of Michigan professor is under fire for showing his class Lawrence Oliver's black-face film portrayal of Othello. Is the biggest culprit in situations like these the people in authority who cave to the mob? And finally, Sam Gregg discusses his review of Vivek Ramaswamy’s new book Woke, Inc. and how the behavior we're seeing in big corporations is similar to that on display in the University of Michigan story.
Southwest cancels more than a thousand flights, cites air-traffic control issues | Fox Business
Southwest Airlines denies that pilot "sick out" drove weekend of delays | Axios
Michigan Students Accuse Celebrated Music Professor of Racism for Screening Othello | Robby Soave, Reason
The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium | Martin Gurri
Why I Am Suing UCLA | Gordon Klein, Common Sense with Bari Weiss
The Distorted Market for Woke Capitalism | Sam Gregg, Law & Liberty
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On this week’s episode, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Michael Matheson Miller discuss U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance’s comments about the Ford Foundation--namely, that we should “seize the assets of the Ford Foundation, tax their assets, and give it to the people who've had their lives destroyed by their radical open borders agenda.” When did it become acceptable for the right to abandon concepts like constitutionality and the rule of law? Why is this kind of rhetoric constantly escalating? Is it really what the polity wants? Then, have we thrown open the Overton window on spending with the trillion-dollar infrastructure deal? When Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is still cool with spending $1.5 trillion on a reconciliation bill on top of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, is the “conservative” in the conversation, have words lost their meaning entirely? And how long before we’re talking about quadrillion-dollar spending bills?
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J.D. Vance's latest Fox News stunt is a far-left fantasy | Noah Rothman, MSNBC
Ford Foundation’s aim to ‘change philanthropy’ warps the true meaning of ‘justice’ and ‘generosity’ | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute
The Conservatives Dreading—And Preparing for—Civil War | Emma Green, The Atlantic
A Whiff of Civil War in the Air | David French, The Dispatch
Terry McAuliffe’s War on Parents | National Review
Attack Ads, Circa 1800 | Reason
Manchin proposed $1.5T top-line number to Schumer this summer | Politico
Related:
Digital Contagion: 10 Steps to Protect your Family & Business from Intrusion, Cancel Culture, and Surveillance Capitalism | Michael Matheson Miller
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On this week’s episode, Eric Kohn, Dan Churchwell, and Dan Hugger discuss America’s dueling refugee crises: one on the southern border manifesting in around 14,000 migrants descending on Del Rio, Texas, and the refugees fleeing the Taliban rule in Afghanistan following the American exit from that country. How should we approach these problems as Americans, and as Christians? Crime has been rising in American cities. How should we understand the problem, and how important is it to truly understand the nature of the problem and how it’s different in different places before we attempt to pick and choose policies to solve the problem? And finally, Brookings senior fellow and Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan says our constitutional crisis is already here. When they’re subject both to erosion and attack, how long can our American institutions hold up?
Welcoming the stranger: The dignity and promise of Afghan refugees | Joseph Sunde
National Review Special Issue in Crime: Law and Disorder
The Mistakes We Cannot Make Again | David French
Our constitutional crisis is already here | Robert Kagan
Trump's 'Eastman Memo' Proposed an Unconstitutional Power Grab by the Vice President | Damon Root
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes’ Met Gala tax-the-rich dress stunt says about the current state of our elites and of elite culture. Are our elites so frivolous because we’ve become frivolous? Or is it the other way around? And why are we so preoccupied with identifying hypocrisy rather than observing and highlighting the underlying implications of that hypocrisy, and the tributes that vice are paying to virtue when we find them? Then, they discuss the email sent to observant Jews at Barnard College in New York City, in effect demanding that they violate their Shabbat obligations to utilize technology for Covid-19 symptoms and to participate in contact tracing. Why is religious freedom so often an afterthought?
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A lady and her dress, &c. | Jay Nordlinger, National Review
Barnard College Bureaucrat Apologizes After Using COVID-19 Protocols To Target Jewish Students | Daniella Greenbaum Davis, The Federalist
Norm MacDonald on Bill Cosby
How 'elite overproduction' and 'lawyer glut' could ruin the U.S. | Peter Turchin, Bloomberg
Congress Is Weak Because Its Members Want It to Be Weak | Yuval Levin, Commentary
The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium | Martin Gurri
Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 | Charles Murray
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This week, Eric Kohn, Stephen Barrows, and Dan Churchwell discuss the new vaccine mandate President Joe Biden has announced for businesses larger than 100 employees, to be administered by OSHA. In what ways are they failing to consider the role of incentives, and what unintended consequences might this effort have? Will it just drive people further into their political corners and continue to undermine faith in our institutions? Then, they discuss a new piece in Wired from Azeen Azhar about the concept of exponential growth. Are we prepared for a time when technological growth happens at a blinding pace? Can we even effectively prepare for it? Are we at all prepared to cope with the unrest that it will create?
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The Exponential Age will transform economics forever | Wired
The Way Amazon Uses Tech to Squeeze Performance Out of Workers Deserves Its Own Name: Bezosism | WSJ
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger | Marc Levinson
The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation | Carl Benedikt Frey
Ezra Klein Interviews L.M. Sacasas | New York Times
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This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Stephen Barrows discuss the corporate reactions to SB 8, the new abortion law in Texas, including the pledge from the rideshare company Lyft to pay for any potential legal fees for drivers, as well as to make a $1 million contribution to Planned Parenthood. Is this just responding to the market and what their customers want? Or are politics overwhelming corporate decision making and leading them astray? Then, they discuss the strict Covid-19 lockdown measures in Australia. Will political leaders experience any kind of comeuppance for over-promising and under-delivering on dealing with the pandemic? And finally, Eric, Sam, and Steve all reflect on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
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Defending drivers and women’s access to healthcare | Lyft
Josh Szeps tweet thread
Gray Connolly tweet thread
Australia’s Crazy Covid Response | City Journal
20 for 20 podcast: 20 Stories for 20 Years Since 9/11
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This week on Acton Unwind, Sam Gregg, and special guests Dan Hugger and Michael Miller discuss the ongoing developments in Afghanistan as we approach the 31st deadline. Then, they discuss the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill and how we can look to C.S. Lewis for guidance on how to respond. What is human infrastructure? Is the United States a civilization-building nation? Is all truth subjective?
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Biden’s ‘stimulus’ for a growing economy is all about central control
Afghanistan I fought for lacks foundation for freedom
A Taliban 9/11 - William McGurn
Bio | Michael Miller
Bio | Dan Hugger
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This week on Acton Unwind, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and special guest Mustafa Akyol discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan, as the United States works feverishly to get Americans out of the country. How many refugees should the United States accept? What will rule by the Taliban look like? Have they changed at all, as some people have suggested? Then, Eric and Sam discuss the FDA’s final approval of the COVID vaccines, the lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand and the resistance they have produced, and whether our elites and civic leaders are more incompetent than they were in the past, or whether the velocity and availability of information just makes it seem that way.
Mustafa Akyol
Reopening Muslim Minds with Mustafa Akyol - Acton Line
Welcoming the stranger: The dignity and promise of Afghan refugees - Joseph Sunde
This week on Acton Unwind, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the collapse of the Afghanistan government as the United States withdraws from the country nearly 20 years after September 11th and the beginning of combat operations there. We were told a collapse might happen in a year. Instead, it took days. What lessons should be learned from this? And how are we to trust our institutions when they’re constantly shown to be either wrong or lying to us? August 15 marked the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon taking the United States off the gold standard. How much of the economic turbulence in the decades since can be blamed on this decision? And, what role can cryptocurrencies play in the future of monetary policy?
“Why, as a Muslim, I Defend Liberty” by Mustafa Akyol
“Islam and Economics: A Primer on Markets, Morality, and Justice” by Ali Salman
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In this, the inaugural edition of Acton Unwind, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Stephen Barrows discuss the extension of the CDC's unconstitutional eviction moratorium, the Biden administration's economically problematic proposal for free community college, and the New Right's infatuation with Viktor Orbán's Hungary.
‘Small-Time Landlords “Hanging on By Their Fingernails” as Eviction Moratorium Drags On’ - National Review
A Landlord Says Her Tenants Are Terrorizing Her. She Can’t Evict Them. - New York Times
Making community college free has hidden costs - Detroit News
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