Acton Line

In this episode, we bring you a conversation from our recent Business Matters virtual conference between Acton’s director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, and David Bahnsen, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of the Bahnsen Group. They discuss Bahnsen’s new book, Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, in which he makes the case that our understanding of work and its role in our lives is deeply flawed—we are unmoored from what he calls “created purpose.” He argues that the time has come to stop tiptoeing around the issues that matter, that separating our identity from what we do is deeply damaging, and that this era of alienation is for many a direct result of a low view of work. It is in work of every kind—effort, service, striving—that we discover our meaning and purpose, and a significant and successful life is one rooted in full-time productivity and the cultivation of God’s created world. Subscribe to our podcasts Acton On-Demand Business Matters 2024 “Full-Time: Working and the Meaning of Life” | David Bahnsen

In 1980, Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman released a 10-part documentary series on PBS called “Free to Choose,” with each hour-long episode giving his perspective on important public policy debates and social issues. The series was a hit and possessed a staying power far beyond the 1980s. Through this and much of his other work, Friedman became one of the leading public intellectuals of his time, and his ideas have influenced economics and public policy deeply. In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks to Jennifer Burns, author of a new biography, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative. In this important contribution to understanding Friedman’s legacy, Burns explores the great economist’s life, ideas, and the important women with whom he worked. Subscribe to our podcasts Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative | Jennifer Burns Milton Friedman: The Conservative Institution Builder | James M. Patterson

Managing a business is a challenge no matter the context. Talent comes and goes, supplies change, and you can’t always achieve everything you want. Every day, new constraints create roadblocks to the next goal. There may not be one solution to these problems, but co-founder and managing partner of Michigan Software Labs Mark Johnson says strong company culture is the foundation of any successful company. In this episode, Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell speaks to Mark about becoming an entrepreneur, managing the ever-changing challenges of managing a business, and why it’s important to be a good steward to both clients and colleagues. Subscribe to our podcasts Mark Johnson | Michigan Software Labs Serving Trough Technology | Cornerstone University

Anyone of a certain age will remember the massive hit that was “We Are The World,” the Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Quincy Jones produced charity single by USA for Africa. The considerable profits from the that hit song went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa and specifically to 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. Even though Africa is an enormous and diverse continent with 54 sovereign countries, many people in the United States, and the west more generally, were left with the impression of Africa as destitute and poverty-stricken. What they may not realize is the enormous amount of growth and development Africa has been seeing. To help us better understand this growth and development, particularly in the country of Nigeria, today Eric Kohn talks with Wiebe Boer and Danladi Verheijen. Wiebe Boer is the president of Calvin University, here in Grand Rapids, MI, and Danladi Verheijen is the co-founder and managing partner of Verod Capital Management, a leading West-African private equity investor. Eric talks to them about their experiences growing up in Nigeria, and what they are seeing with the booming growth that country is experiencing.

On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger sits down with Acton research fellow and Journal of Markets & Morality executive editor Dylan Pahman to talk about education. They begin with the 18th-century vision of education advanced by America’s Founders. Why did they believe education was necessary for a free society, and what kind of education did they have in mind? The discussion then turns to attempts by St. John Henry Newman, F.D. Maurice, and Abraham Kuyper to build institutions of liberal learning in 19th-century Europe. What innovations did these men introduce to education? How did their approaches differ from what came before (and each other), and where were there continuities? What can we learn from these attempts in addressing the crisis in education today? Subscribe to our podcasts Benjamin Rush Proposes a system of public schools for Pennsylvania | Monticello Discourse 5: “Knowledge Its Own End” | John Henry Newman Learning and Working | F. D. Maurice Like Bright Stars: Abraham Kuyper on the Nature and Vocation of the Scholarly Sphere | Dylan Pahman Pano Kanelos on the University of Austin | Acton Line The Next Generation of Church Leaders | Acton Line

We are living in the age of deconstruction. We are constantly bombarded online, in schools, and sometimes even in our homes by attitudes and arguments aimed at deconstructing our faith. Through this, do we know what it means to question well? Faith is not the sort of thing that endures so long as our eyes are closed. The opposite is the case: Faith helps us see, and that means not shrinking from the ambiguities and the difficulties that provoke our most profound questions. Professor Matthew Lee Anderson says we need not fear questions. By the grace of God, we have the safety and security to rush headlong into them and find ourselves better for it on the other side. In this episode, Professor Anderson joins Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell to discuss his latest book “Called into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning Within the Life of Faith”. Subscribe to our podcasts Matthew Lee Anderson Called into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning Within the Life of Faith Reality: A Post-Mortem | Jon Askonas

In this episode, we bring you a recent Acton Lecture Series event with Kevin Vallier. The 20th century featured an unusual phenomenon: global secularizing movements. In the 19th century, these movements were confined mostly to Western Europe, but in the 20th century they exploded, suppressing the influence of religion around the world. In some milder cases, as in Turkey and India, the political expression of only the great religions was throttled. In others, such as in the USSR and Mao’s China, ferocious religious persecution was an ideological necessity. In light of new political realities, however, older religious traditions are beginning to take back their influence in the public square. And they’re doing so by rejecting the “liberalism” they see as their oppressor. Dr. Vallier discusses these different anti-liberal movements, critiques them, and explains how Christian liberals can understand and engage them. Subscribe to our podcasts Acton Lecture Series

On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger speaks with lawyer and chair of Common Good Philip K. Howard about his new book: Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society. Why do so many people feel powerless today? How can people experience “everyday freedom” at work, in school, and in all of life? What forces in American life today stifle our sense of freedom and responsibility, and how can they be counteracted to ensure flourishing for all? What special role do people of faith have in empowering others in their community to realize freedom and responsibility? Subscribe to our podcasts Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society | Philip K. Howard Common Good Philip K. Howard | Common Good

After decades of trade and investment with advanced democracies, China is far richer and stronger than it otherwise would have been. Simply put, the West’s strategy of engagement with China has failed. Democracies have underestimated the resilience, resourcefulness, and ruthlessness of the Chinese Communist Party. Growth and development have not caused China’s rulers to relax their grip on political power, nor have they accepted the rules and norms of the existing international system. In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Aaron L. Friedberg, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, about the biggest misconceptions the West has about China and the current Chinese regime—and what the West should be focused on in years to come. Subscribe to our podcasts Getting China Wrong | Polity

In this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, Acton research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality, interviews Dr. Clara Piano, assistant professor of economics at Austin Peay State University, about her recent paper “Familial Liberty: Property and Family in Late Scholastic Thought,” presented at Acton’s Third Annual Academic Colloquium. Their wide-ranging discussion addresses such questions as: What is the connection between family and property? What insights do late Scholastic theologians have for us today? What does modern “pro-family” policy get wrong? Subscribe to our podcasts Alejandro Chafuen, “Faith and Liberty: The Economic Thought of the Late Scholastics” Juan de Mariana, “A Treatise on the Alteration of Money” Frank H. Knight, “Ethics and Economic Reform, I: The Ethics of Liberalism” Acton Line, “Free Enterprise and the Common Good” Pope Leo XIII, “Rerum Novarum” Victor V. Claar and Angela K. Dills, “Claudia Goldin Is the Ideal Academic Researcher”

On today’s episode, Acton, director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, speaks with AEI economic policy expert James Pethokoukis about his new book: The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. With a popular culture fixated on catastrophe, are we at risk of pushing a pro-progress future into the realm of the impossible? Pethokoukis argues there’s still hope if we choose to do more than just dream—we must act, too. Why suddenly are we threatened by change? And where are our flying cars? Can we once again turn imagination into reality? The Conservative Futurist | Hachette Book Group

In the late 1960’s as the hippie movement was shredding norms of hygiene and cleanliness in order to live more ‘authentically’, diseases emerged not seen in so long they didn’t have a latin name. The hippies, and others, were relearning why we engaged in certain hygienic practices all over again. In an essay titled “The Great Unlearning” from the January 2024 issue of National Review, senior writer Noah Rothman observes similar patterns of people persuading themselves that inherited wisdom and common knowledge no longer apply. In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Rothman about why certain people have persuaded themselves that the lessons of history, economics, and good governance don’t apply anymore. The Great Unlearning | National Review The Great Relearning | Tom Wolfe Don't Buy Stuff | Saturday Night Live What J.D. Vance Could Learn From Reading Hillbilly Elegy | Reason

On today’s episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Mike Cosper, director of podcasting for Christianity Today, about his recent trip to Israel. How has the region changed since the October 7 terrorist attacks? What do Christians in the region think? What hopes do those caught in the middle of the conflict have? The stories Mike heard, the people he talked to, and the impression left on him by the experience are all part of Christianity Today’s newest roundtable podcast, The Bulletin. The Bulletin | Christianity Today

On today’s episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), about his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind. Cancel culture appears to be pervasive, and this book is the first to examine the effect it has had—and is having—on the United States. How are both left and right using the power to “cancel” someone? Is cancel culture a relatively new phenomenon or has it always been with us in some form? And more importantly, what can we do to reclaim a free-speech culture? The Canceling of the American Mind | Simon & Schuster

On today’s episode of Acton Line, we bring you a conversation about poverty recently held on our sister podcast, Acton Unwind. Acton’s Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger are joined by their colleague Michael Matheson Miller, who discusses his essay “The Poverty Pyramid Scheme,” and AIER’s Samuel Gregg on his book review “Mistaken About Poverty.” Both pieces appear in a special poverty-themed edition of RELIGION & LIBERTY magazine (Fall 2023) that contends that there isn’t one solution to poverty, but many. Subscribe to RELIGION & LIBERTY The Prosperity Pyramid Scheme | Michael Matheson Miller Mistaken About Poverty | Samuel Gregg Poverty, Inc. Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization | Samuel Gregg Afghanistan I fought for lacks foundation for freedom | Stephen Barrows

Your strengths, relationships, and self-awareness are all essential in determining how your business will operate—and whether it will succeed or fail. But how can you optimize each of these elements? How can you set realistic goals? How can your business overcome a plateau and continue to grow? SpringGR aims to answer these questions by connecting entrepreneurs with the intellectual, social, and financial capital needed to thrive.

In 2007, Thales Academy was born with a simple vision: provide an excellent and affordable education through the use of Direct Instruction and a Classical Curriculum that embodies traditional American values. In The Thales Way, Robert L. Luddy, the founder of Thales Academy and several other schools, explains the rationale for the school's educational approach and elaborates on his mission to better educate students. In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Robert about the importance of a rigorous academic environment, virtuous leadership, lifelong learning, and truth seeking. Thales Academy The Thales Way | Robert L. Luddy

You’ve probably heard the phrase “America isn’t a democracy—it’s a republic.” This is typically trotted out to make a salient point about the type of government we have in fact, but is it a distinction the Founding Fathers would have recognized and made themselves? Yes and no, says Jay Cost, the Gerald R. Ford nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new book “Democracy or Republic: The People and the Constitution.” How is the system crafted by the Founders holding up in the 21st century? Is a government of the people still one for the people? Democracy or Republic? The People and the Constitution | AEI Press Jay Cost | AEI

In this episode, we present the most recent installment of the Acton Lecture Series, with Dr. Mary L. Hirschfeld. Economists investigate the workings of markets and tend to set ethical questions aside. Theologians often dismiss economics, losing insights into the influence of market incentives on individual behavior. Dr. Hirschfeld bridges this gap by showing how a humane economy can lead to the good life as outlined in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

In this episode, Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell speaks with Leah Kral, an expert facilitator and author who helps nonprofits doing the hard work of building civil society to innovate and be more effective. Good intentions alone don’t translate to impact, so why are nonprofits like the Mayo Clinic so successful when others fail? How can innovation, creativity, originality, and risk-taking be wedded to those good intentions? Innovation for Social Change: How Wildly Successful Nonprofits Inspire and Deliver Results | Wiley, 2022 To learn more, visit LeahKral.com.

Learn more about Acton UniversityOn today’s episode, we present a discussion from Acton University 2023 between director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn and North Korean defector and human rights activist Yeonmi Park. At age 13, Park and her family made a daring escape from North Korea in search of a life free of tyranny. In her viral talks, viewed online nearly 250 million times, Park urges audiences to recognize—and resist—the oppression that exists in North Korea and around the world.

In this episode, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, talks with Jonathan Greenberg, the Jack Miller Family Foundation’s director of freedom initiatives and the former Midwest director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee about the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the significance of the October 7 massacre, especially what it will mean for Israel and the region going forward. While the Gaza-Israeli dispute has been going on since at least 2006, the broader Israeli-Palestinian battle dates back decades, the contours of which are often poorly misunderstood as some subset of geopolitics or primarily about human rights or the specifics of a two-state solution. To fully grasp what’s going on, you have to understand that the conflict didn’t start in 1973 or even 1948. In fact, in some ways, it goes back millennia. Why do some people hate the jews? | Acton Line

In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Bill Courtney about coaching football, running a successful lumber business, and walking the red carpet with George Clooney and P. Diddy. In 2003, Bill began coaching the Manassas Tigers, an inner-city Memphis high school football team that had never once won a playoff game. By 2008, Courtney had helped build an award-winning football program that was chronicled in the Academy Award–winning documentary “Undefeated.” Today Bill coaches a different kind of team—an Army of Normal Folks. He’s the host of a podcast and leader of a movement that celebrates everyday people doing extraordinary things and that brings together Americans of all stripes committed to bridging our country’s divides and changing local communities for the better. Subscribe to our podcasts Coach Bill Courtney

Dr. Angela Dills is a labor economist who teaches at Western Carolina University and whose work focuses on the economics of education, crime, and health. In this episode of Acton Line, Angela and Dan Hugger discuss her research into the gender wage gap. Do women really earn only $0.83 for every $1.00 a men earn? Do the data represent a true “apples to apples” comparison? How much of the gender wage gap can be accounted for by discrimination? How do women participate in the labor market differently than men? What are promising new avenues of research that help economists understand the gender pay gap better? Angela Dills | Western Carolina University A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter | American Economic Review How to Achieve Gender Equality in Pay | Milken Institute Review Female Labor Force Intermittency and Current Earnings | SSRN The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations | Journal of Economic Literature Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads? | YouTube India: Maternity leave increase | CNBC

In this episode, Dr. John Pinheiro speaks with Dr. Joseph Stuart about the complexity of the European Enlightenments: namely, the most common misconceptions and the mistake made by Christian and secular scholars alike who see in the Enlightenments only a simplistic conflict between faith and reason. Professor Stuart argues that Christians interacted with the Enlightenments by using one of three strategies: conflict, engagement, or retreat. Along the way, Dr. Pinheiro and Dr. Stuart uncover interesting tales of a Catholic Enlightenment in Italy, consider the connection between an authentic human anthropology and genuine liberty, and draw lessons about the unintended consequences of integral Catholic states. Subscribe to our podcasts

Dr. Bradley J. Birzer, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College, discusses his new book, Mythic Realms: The Moral Imagination in Literature & Film with Dan Hugger. How does Mythic Realms extend the author’s prior work on Christian humanism? What is the role of the moral imagination in navigating popular culture? What do the pulps have to do with romanticism? How did the Inklings seek to promote Christian humanism through genre fiction? How can the moral imagination be employed to answer life’s biggest questions and deepen religious faith? Subscribe to our podcasts Bradley Birzer | Hillsdale College Bradley J. Birzer’s Substack Mythic Realms, Bradley Birzer | Angelico Press Beyond Tenebrae, Bradley Birzer | Angelico Press Bradley J. Birzer, Author at The Imaginative Conservative Cronyism vs. free markets in ‘Stranger Things’ | Religion & Liberty Online Supernatural thriller Stranger Things shows the all-too-human evil of communism | Religion & Liberty Online The Western Heritage to 1600 | Hillsdale College The Rediscovery of Mystery by Russell Kirk | Imprimis (hillsdale.edu) The Science Fiction Novel — Imagination and Social Criticism | Internet Archive A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard (Volume 1) The Dark Virtues of Robert E. Howard | Modern Age De Descriptione Temporum by C. S. Lewis | Internet Archive Christian Humanism and the Imaginative Mysteries | Religion & Liberty Online

Joseph Lemoine, deputy director of the Freedom and Prosperity Center at the Atlantic Council, joins Stephen Barrows, Acton’s COO, to discuss the Atlantic Council’s recently released 2023 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes. The Freedom and Prosperity Center created these indexes to provide a snapshot of the current distribution of freedom and prosperity around the world; gain a sense of the evolution of both over the past 28 years at global, regional, and national levels; and facilitate an exploration of the relationship between freedom and prosperity. Lemoine and Barrows explore the Freedom and Prosperity Center’s expansive understanding of what constitutes a free and prosperous society. Subscribe to our podcasts. Prosperity that Lasts: The 2023 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes | Atlantic Council

Better WAY Detroit engages, pays, feeds, and counsels homeless persons, and connects them to services for housing, medical and mental health care, and stable employment opportunities. Through their efforts, participants inspire community spirit, pride of ownership, and confidence in the dignity of work. While serving as participants, we also mentor them so that they can best help them find permanent employment after their service. Subscribe to our podcasts Better Way Detroit

Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America, shares his thoughts on “Organizational Culture” with Sarah Negri, Research Project Coordinator at the Acton Institute, at Acton University 2023. They discuss how culture affects us as humans without our being aware of it and how we in turn can affect culture through our free choices and actions. Conversation topics include the Competing Values Framework of evaluating a company’s culture; “culture drivers” including what Dr. Vaidyanathan calls scripts, models and habits; the role of virtue in forming company culture; the principle of subsidiarity as a guidepost for good organizational culture; and the importance of integration in harmonizing the various social environments encountered by the individual. Subscribe to our podcasts “Organization Culture”, lecture at Acton University 2023 Competing Values Framework explanation Mercenaries and Missionaries: Capitalism and Catholicism in the Global South by Brandon Vaidyanathan NUMMI plant GM vs. Toyota culture example Brunello Cucinelli fashion company story Beauty at Work National Study of Catholic Priests

In this episode, Dylan Pahman interviews Dr. Rachel Ferguson about her lecture at Acton University on the problem of political polarization. From social media to cable news to tribalism to racial injustice to transgender activism, Dr. Ferguson gets at the deeper roots of the problem and offers a path of hope grounded in her Christian faith and philosophical expertise. Subscribe to our podcasts Black Liberation Through the Marketplace | Amazon

The law of conservation of mass dates from Antoine Lavoisier's 1789 discovery that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. Evidence of the past three decades leads Marvin Olasky to suggest a parallel Law of Conservation of Welfare regarding political reactions. In 1995-1996 the first GOP-majority House of Representatives in four decades changed AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) into TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) but left alone dozens of other programs. As work requirements and time limits reduced the number of AFDC/TANF recipients, programs such as SNAP, SSI, and SSDI expanded. The conservation of welfare is not good for many recipients who would be much better off with challenging, personal, and spiritual help, but changing the law requires a charge from outside current chemical configurations.

In this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality, and a research fellow here at Acton, interviews Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley about her lecture at Acton University on “Corporate Welfare and Inequality.” In this conversation, this discuss why the prices of some goods, like education and healthcare, risen at astronomical rates while others, such as video games, remain fairly unchanged in price despite monumental improvements in quality and steady inflation over the decades. Also, what happens when companies use government privilege to secure special favors that push would-be competitors out of markets? What can be done about the unjust inequalities created by corporate welfare? Subscribe to our podcasts Cronyism, Corporate Welfare and Inequality | Acton University 2023

If you asked people to describe our current cast of politicians in America right now, they might say that some, if not most, are slyly taking advantage of the system. They are hoping no one is savvy enough to notice. Matt Lewis, senior columnist at The Daily Beast, believes that today’s politicians are an unsavory lot—a hybrid of plutocrats and hypocrites. And it’s worse (and more laughable) than you can imagine. In his new book, Filthy Rich Politicians: The Swamp Creatures, Latte Liberals, and Ruling-Class Elites Cashing in on America, Lewis introduces you to a crop of ivy league populists, insider traders, trust-fund babies, and swamp creatures as he exposes how truly ludicrous money in politics has gotten. In Filthy Rich Politicians, Lewis embarks on an investigative deep dive into the ridiculous state of modern American democracy—a system where the rich get elected and the elected get rich. Lewis doesn’t just complain: he articulates how Americans can achieve accountability from their elected leaders through radically commonsense reforms. But many of these ruling-class elites have a vested financial interest in rejecting the reforms so desperately needed to rebuild Americans’ trust in the institutions that once made our nation great. Subscribe to our podcasts Filthy Rich Politicians | Amazon

Kevin Vallier, political philosopher and associate professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University, joins Dan Hugger to discuss Catholic Integralism and his forthcoming book All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism, which publishes with Oxford University Press in September. What is Catholic Integralism and what is its relation to Catholic Social Teaching? What is its history and the story of its contemporary rise? How has it caused controversy in the broader Church and world? What is the American Integralist theory of social change?How concerned should ordinary people be about this movement? What fuels this sort of deep discontent with liberalism and modernity? The conversation then turns what a constructive political-theological vision would look like and Kevin’s future plans. Trust in a Polarized Age | Acton Line Immortale Dei DIGNITATIS HUMANAE They Have Uncrowned Him | Amazon The Josias Adrian Vermeule | Harvard Vatican II's Declaration on Religious Freedom: Revision, Reform, or Continuity? | Youtube Selections from Three Works | Liberty Fund Non Possumus | First Things The Church's Once-Notorious Seizure of a Jewish Child Is Back. Why? | Mosaic Against David French-ism | First Things Integration from Within | American Affairs Liberalism and the Invisible Hand | American Affairs Patrick Deneen’s Otherworldly Regime | Religion & Liberty Patrick Deneen and Our Otherworldly Postliberal “Future” | Acton Unwind Replace the Elite | First Things What Is To Be Done? | Wikipedia All The Kingdoms of the World | Oxford University Press All The Kingdoms of the World | kevinvallier.com The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millenium | Amazon

In this episode, Father Roger J. Landry, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Catholic Chaplain to Columbia University in New York City sits down with Sarah Negri, Research Project Coordinator at the Acton Institute, to discuss the social teaching of Pope John Paul II and especially his emphasis on the vocation of the Christian entrepreneur. Father Landry shares some history on John Paul II’s three most famous social encyclicals and elucidates their importance for the ordinary Christian worker. The discussion centers around the Christian vocation to work as a divine injunction, the subjective and objective elements of work, and how the Christian worker imitates both God as creator and Christ as the perfect human model of holy labor. It also touches on the challenges faced by the human worker, including the possibility of alienation, workaholisim, and the toil that accompanies hard labor, as well as solutions to these challenges. Subscribe to our podcasts The Entrepreneurial Vocation (recorded lecture) – Acton University 2023 The Social Teaching of John Paul II (recorded lecture) – Acton University 2023 Laborem Exercens by Pope John Paul II Sollicitudo Rei Socialis by Pope John Paul II Centesimus Annus by Pope John Paul II The Entrepreneurial Vocation by Fr. Robert Sirico

This week, we’re bringing you one of the plenary lectures from this year’s Acton University, featuring Bishop Robert Barron speaking on “The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism.” "Wokeism” is arguably the most influential public philosophy in our country today. It has worked its way into the minds and hearts of our young people, into the world of entertainment, and into the boardrooms of powerful corporations. But what is it precisely, and where did it come from? I will argue in my presentation that “wokeism” is a popularization of critical theory, a farrago of ideas coming out of the French and German academies in the mid-twentieth century. Until we understand its origins in the thinking of Adorno, Horkheimer, Derrida, Marcuse, and Foucault, we will not know how critically to engage this dangerous philosophy. Subscribe to our podcasts Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

One of the campaign themes that launchd Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992 was, “it’s the economy, stupid.” While much of our politics is focused today on the culture war, the economy is the one issue that touches everyone. Much of the last few years have been spent concerned about the crushing effects of inflation. Previously on Acton Line, we’ve discussed the causes of the inflation we’ve experienced over the last few years with David Bahnsen — founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group. Today, David returns as we take a survey of the current state American and global economy, examine what’s happening now with inflation, discuss the housing and rental market, and then explore the economic effectiveness of conservative culture war boycotts. Subscribe to our podcasts Bahnsen.com There's No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths | Amazon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode starts with a clip from the trailer for 2009 comedy/drama “The Informant!,” directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, and Melanie Lynskey. It’s a wild based-on-a-true-story film about Mark Whitacre. In the early-1990s, Whitacre was the corporate vice president and President of the BioProducts Division of the agro-business giant Archer Daniels Midland. Whitacre would go on to become an informant in the FBI investigation into a conspiracy to price-fix lysine, an essential amino acid. At the same time he was informing on his employer to the FBI, Whitacre was embezzling $9 million from ADM in a kickbacks and money laundering scheme. It all came to an end a few years later when ADM settled federal charges for more than $100 million and paid hundreds of millions of dollars more to plaintiffs and customers to settle class-action lawsuits. In 1998, Whitacre pled guilty to tax evasion and fraud and was sentenced to nine years in prison. But what marked the end of this tumultuous period in Mark Whitacre’s life also marked the beginning of his journey to his Christian faith, redemption, and a series of second chances. Today, Eric Kohn talks with Mark Whitacre about his time as a corporate executive, his time as an FBI informant, his time in federal prison, and how all of this brought him to his Christian faith that he now integrates into his corporate work. Subscribe to our podcasts The Informant! Trailer MarkWhitacre.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 2007. Spider-Man 3 is the top grossing film at the box office. Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” is the biggest hit song. American Idol is the most watched TV show. It was also the last time that the United States was at replacement level fertility, which is 2.1 children born per woman. In the years following, through the ups and downs of the great recession, the 2016 election, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate has fallen to 1.66 children per woman. When you zoom out, you’ll see that American birth rates have been falling for decades. But this is far from the phenomenon isolated to the United States. The 2020 fertility rate in the U.K. was 1.6. In Germany it was 1.5. Finland hit 1.4. Denmark and Sweden were both at 1.7. In South Korea, it’s a shocking 0.81. In response to these long-run trends, some have advocated pro-natalist government policies to incentivize more reproduction, or to at least smooth the way for people who want to have more kids. But are the policies effective? Elizabeth Nolan Brown, senior editor at Reason magazine, says “no.” In the cover story for the June 2023 issue of Reason, Brown surveys the flagging international reproductive landscape and the government policies that have been enacted to address that problem. In the end, she advocates, at a minimum, not panicking. Today, Eric Kohn talks to Elizabeth Nolan Brown about the falling birthrates, failing pro-natalist policies, and how we should think about a world when fewer and fewer people are expecting. Subscribe to our podcasts Storks Don't Take Orders From the State | Reason Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anyone of a certain age will remember the massive hit that was “We Are The World,” the Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Quincy Jones produced charity single by USA for Africa. The considerable profits from the that hit song went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa and specifically to 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. Even though Africa is an enormous and diverse continent with 54 sovereign countries, many people in the United States, and the west more generally, were left with the impression of Africa as destitute and poverty-stricken. What they may not realize is the enormous amount of growth and development Africa has been seeing. To help us better understand this growth and development, particularly in the country of Nigeria, today Eric Kohn talks with Wiebe Boer and Danladi Verheijen. Wiebe Boer is the president of Calvin University, here in Grand Rapids, MI, and Danladi Verheijen is the co-founder and managing partner of Verod Capital Management, a leading West-African private equity investor. Eric talks to them about their experiences growing up in Nigeria, and what they are seeing with the booming growth that country is experiencing. Subscribe to our podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 4 marked the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in which the Chinese Communist Party put down a pro-democracy protest movement that had bubbled up in Tiananmen Square and throughout mainland China. For many, it served as a stark reminder the brutality of the country that, under the autocratic leadership of Mao Zedong killed between 40 and 80 million of its own people, could still be just as brutal. Tiananmen happened just three years before Benedict Rogers moved to China to begin teaching English. For Rogers, this marked the beginning of a professional career focused on issues in and around China and Hong Kong that saw him work as a journalist in Hong Kong for the first five years after the handover to traveling to China’s borders with Myanmar/Burma and North Korea to document the plight of refugees escaping from Beijing-backed satellite dictatorships and then campaigning for human rights in China, especially for Uyghurs, Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents, and the people of Hong Kong. Rogers, who today runs the organization Hong Kong Watch, a watchdog organization which researches and monitors threats to Hong Kong’s basic freedoms, the rule of law and autonomy as promised under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle which is enshrined in the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, is the author of the new book, “The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny.” In the book, Rogers takes the readers on a journey through some of the leaders and participants in the Human rights activities that China has suppressed since its inception in 1949. He goes on to dispute and lays to rest all of the specious claims by the tyrants in Beijing that all Chinese citizens are equal and are afforded human and civil rights. Currently, the regime is engaged in re-education, cultural assimilation, and multiple genocides, leading to better citizens for China and the world if one believes Chinese officials. Today, Eric Kohn talks with Benedict Rogers about his book, China’s history, its rise as a global power, its record on human rights, and what the future holds the Chinese Communist Party and the people under it’s thumb. Subscribe to our podcasts The China Nexus | Amazon Are Artists Really Free to Express Themselves? | Acton Line freejimmylai.com Hong Kong Watch chinanexusbook.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we dive into some of the profound changes occurring in American society. Back in the day, social scientist Robert Putnam observed a concerning trend—he called it "bowling alone"—where Americans were becoming increasingly disconnected from community bonds and support systems. Fast forward to the present, and we see not only a retreat from these vital sources of communal life but also a rise in loneliness, anxiety, depression, and overall mental and physical distress. Marriage and parenthood are also being delayed or foregone altogether. These developments have far-reaching implications for both American politics and civil life, as well as for the individual's well-being and fulfillment. Taking us back to the roots of democratic thought, we turn to Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America." Tocqueville recognized the unique nature of the democratic social state and the need for a "new political science" to navigate its strengths and weaknesses. He explored how the principles of democratic equality would transform our intellect, sentiments, and social norms, painting vivid images of democracy and the dangers of soft despotism that still resonate today. While Tocqueville's masterpiece provides a comprehensive view of American democracy, there are areas he did not directly address. One such topic is friendship—a central element in Tocqueville's own life. Although seemingly absent from his work, we can draw upon Tocqueville's theories, as well as insights from Aristotle and C.S. Lewis, to ask: How does democratic equality transform friendship, a fundamental association crucial to human flourishing? Today, Dan Churchwell, Director of Program & Education, talks with Sarah Gustafson, as they exploring how democratic equality opens up new possibilities for meaningful connections while also introducing habits and trends that can erode genuine companionship and push individuals into the "solitude of their own hearts." Sarah H. Gustafson is a PhD Candidate in Government (Political Theory) at Harvard University where she is completing her dissertation on the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville. She graduated from Davidson College, and earned a MA in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where she won the Quentin Skinner Prize for Excellence in the History of Political Thought. In her years at Harvard, she has had the opportunity to work closely with Professors Harvey Mansfield, Michael Sandel, Richard Tuck, and Eric Nelson, among others, and is a Fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. In her free time, she has authored reviews for publications such as Law and Liberty and The University Bookman. Subscribe to our podcasts Aristocrats in a Democratic Age | Law & Liberty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you the remarks by Rev. Timothy J. Keller at the Acton Institute’s Annual Dinner in 2018, in which he spoke on identity, business, and the Christian gospel. Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, New York Times bestselling author, teacher, and arguably the most influential evangelical preacher of his generation died May 19, 2023, after a three-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72. He leaves behind his wife of 48 years, Kathy, and three sons: David, Michael, and Jonathan. Keller’s winsome appeal and professorial demeanor grew an exploratory prayer group in 1989 to a 5,000-plus-member megachurch in the heart of the Big Apple, a supposed desert wasteland for spirituality. His impact on urban church planting, his ability to speak in a forthright and non-condescending manner to skeptics, and his deliberate avoidance of political partisanship were just a few qualities that made him stand out in a world of so-called celebrity preachers and would-be chaplains to the rich and famous. His intellectual curiosity wedded to a personal humility were also hallmarks of his unique ministry. Through such books as The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, Generous Justice, and Making Sense of God, Keller argued for the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his all-sufficient sacrifice in a world of idols and “self-made” men and women. As he liked to sum it up: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Taped just a few weeks before his death, he left behind one final message for Redeemer Presbyterian Church and any who would wish to follow in his footsteps. “Forget about your reputation. Jeremiah 45:5: ‘Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.’ … Ministers, don’t make your ministry success your identity… People, don’t make getting a big name in New York City your main thing. Lift up Jesus’ name. Hallowed be thy name. Forget yourself.” For those who had the honor to hear him, to be counseled by him, to be challenged by him—he will never be forgotten. Subscribe to our podcasts Died: Tim Keller, New York City Pastor Who Modeled Winsome Witness | Christianity Today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s been much discussion of how “wokeness,” for lack of a better term, operates as a form of civic religion for the political left. Less discussed, according to Jack Butler of National Review, is the emerging form or forms of paganism on the political right. Most prominent among them is Costin Alamariu, a Romanian political-science Ph.D. from Yale, who goes by the moniker “Bronze Age Pervert.” Alamariu is the author of Bronze Age Mindset, which Butler describes as “an intentionally provocative, discursive, and ungrammatical “exhortation” outlining his thought.” In it, Alamariu laments the diminution of the authentic expression of masculinity and the masculine virtues, and the failures of political conservatism to preserve those virtues and whatever else is good about civil society. In ideas reminiscent of Frederich Nietzsche, Alamariu castigates the “bug men” or “human cockroaches” for their weakening of men and of society, and the need for a league of neo-ubermenches to rise up and reshape the world in their image. Butler contents that, wild as this all sounds, we should take the Bronze Age phenomenon and the rising new paganism seriously. Today, Eric Kohn talks with Jack Butler about the rise of this new paganism on the left and on the right, and how he contends that only a reinvigorated Christianity in the public square can adequately contend with these new “pretender faiths of our time.” Subscribe to our podcasts Against the New Paganism | National Review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in what appears at first glance to be a highly skeptical age, one characterized by moral relativism in public discourse and ‘value-freedom’ in science. But is this really the case? Hadley Arkes believes that, despite many people’s protest to the contrary, what they do is informed–perhaps unwittingly–by an understanding of natural law. In this wide-ranging conversation, the founding director of the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding unpacks this paradox as explored in his new book, Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution. -What is natural law and what sort of alternative does it provide to skepticism? -Why is there hostility or disinterest in natural law today among both self-styled progressive and conservative jurists? -Why do contemporary criticisms of natural law fall flat? -Where can natural law principles contribute to clarifying and answering contentious moral and legal debates of our time? - Why are comedians the best expositors of natural law principles? Subscribe to our podcasts Mere Natural Law | Amazon About Hadley Arkes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time you took a commercial airline flight, odds are that you were on a plane that was manufactured by one of two companies: American-based Boeing, or French-based Airbus. Together, these two companies have almost the entire market for commercial airplanes. A piece published recently at the website American Compass makes the argument that Airbus is a success story for industrial policy: European government decided they needed to compete with foreign manufacturers of airplanes, they made the public-money backed investments, and propelled Airbus past Boeing and others to be the world leader. As American Compass said when publishing the piece: “According to free-market dogma, state-backed Airbus shouldn't have been able to compete with Boeing. Instead, Airbus surpassed Boeing as leading aircraft manufacturer, gaining a reputation for cutting-edge innovation. U.S. policymakers should take note.” The American Compass piece really took off. But is really describing reality for Airbus and Boeing? Economist and Mercatus Center research fellow Veronique de Rugy says those claims need some serious grounding. In a response to the American Compass piece published at National Review, de Rugy flies into the industrial policy headwinds and argues that while crony capitalism certainly works for the companies it benefits, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for the country. Buckle your safety belts and secure your deployed oxygen masks, because today, Eric Kohn talks with Veronqiue de Rugy about the turbulent claim that European industrial policy to boost Airbus “worked,” the reality of massive American public subsidies to Boeing, and whether advocates industrial policy can actually bring their goals into a safe landing. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply Now for Acton University 2023 Airbus’s Industrial Flight Plan | American Compass A Closer Look at Aircraft Industrial Policy | National Review When ‘Success’ Breeds (Even Bigger) Failure | The Dispatch View From The Wing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, the editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality and a research fellow here at Acton, speaks with Alexander Salter. Salter is the author of the recent article "Free Enterprise and the Common Good,“ published at the Heritage Foundation. The article has generated a lot of buzz, particularly online, where the Salter’s ideas have been the subject of much debate. Before delving into specific questions about the article and its reception, we start with some definitions to clear the air: What is common-good capitalism? What is the common good? And what is the difference between the "science" of economics and the "art" of political economy? They then explore how the author's article has been perceived within the context of the Heritage Foundation's recent changes, as well as how their ideas diverge from those of other national conservative economic proposals. They also discuss the influence of Roman Catholic social thought on the author's ideas, and the ways in which the Swiss German ordoliberal economist Wilhelm Röpke has shaped their thinking. Finally, we look at the concept of industrial policy and how it fits into the author's vision of common-good capitalism. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply Now for Acton University 2023 Free Enterprise and the Common Good: Economic Science and Political–Economic Art as Complements | The Heritage Foundation Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you a panel discussion from the Grand Rapids edition of the Free Market Road Show, an event the Acton Institue recently co-hosted along with the Austrian Economics Center. In this conversation, entitled “Unleashing the Entrepreneur,” the panelists explore the theme of entrepreneurship and how it can be a key driver of economic growth and prosperity, as well as examine the challenges that entrepreneurs face, such as regulatory barriers and access to capital, and how these challenges can be overcome to unleash the full potential of a market economy. The panelists discuss how entrepreneurs can play a crucial role in addressing societal issues and creating positive change through innovation and entrepreneurship, and on the importance of empowering individuals to take control of their own economic destinies and how this can lead to greater prosperity for all. This panel features John Chisholm, has three decades of experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, and investor. A pioneer in online marketing research, he founded and served as CEO/Chairman of Decisive Technology (now part of Google), publisher of the first desktop and client-server software for online surveys, and Dylan Pahman, a research fellow here at Acton, where he also serves as executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply Now for Acton University 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karl Marx. If you’re listening to this podcast, it’s unlikely that I need to explain to you who Karl Marx is. You know he’s the author of The Communist Manifesto, and the father of one of the most significant and impactful philosophical and economic theories of the late 19th and the 20th century. It would be fair for you to assume that Marx was always celebrated in the way he was throughout the 20th century, as numerous countries, like the Soviet Union, sought to put his theory into practice. But a new research paper from Phillip W. Magness and Michael Makovi says that this common, popular understanding of Marx’s significance is wrong. They contend, and seek in the paper to demonstrate empirically, that Marx was largely dismissed as a scholar in his own time, and that he owes is outsized influence today to historical and political events, in particular the success of the Russian Revolution. Today, Eric Kohn talks with Phil Magness about the findings in his paper, how we should properly understand the influence of Karl Marx, and what it means that his ideas seem to again be ascendent in the modern world. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply Now for Acton University Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of the last year here at the Acton Institute, we’ve been bringing in local social providers so that our staff can gain a better understanding of the critical work that they do here in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, metro region to help alleviate poverty. Today, Eric Kohn sits down to talk with the leader of one of those social service providers, Trevor Rubingh of New City Kids. New City Kids offers after school programming for local low-income youth. Children and teens get a chance to explore music and academics in a creative and fun environment. Though there are many challenges of urban life, especially for youth, these programs give children a safe place to feel and hear that they are valued and loved. New City Kids aims to draw children into hope by developing in them skills, talents, and desires for their future. By surrounding them with a community of love and development, we strive to set youth on a path of transformation that will carry them forward for the rest of their lives. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply Now for Acton University New City Kids Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.