In this episode, Nathan Mech, program outreach project manager here at the Acton Institute, sits down with Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, to discuss his new book, Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance . In his book, Akyol dives deep into Islamic theology, shares lessons from his own life story, and reveals how Muslims lost the universalism that made them a great civilization in their earlier centuries. Values often associated with Western thought...
Aug 18, 2021•47 min•Ep. 294
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 anniversa...
Aug 16, 2021•53 min
As of May 2021, prices increased 5% over the course of one year – the sharpest increase in inflation since 2008. Inflation poses a palpable threat to the economic prosperity of America. Its prevalence is perpetuated by political institutions, corporations, and personal opinions. Big corporations and moguls will not necessarily suffer through significant change with a 5% increase in prices, the common citizen is more likely to be presented with financial hardships in their daily purchases. Guest ...
Aug 11, 2021•38 min•Ep. 293
We're thrilled to bring you a new podcast from the Acton Institute: Acton Unwind. 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. Each week I’ll be joined by Dr. Samuel Gregg and other Acton Institute experts for an exploration of news, politics, religion, and culture. This week, we discuss the extension of the CDC's unconstitutiona...
Aug 09, 2021•45 min
Genuine friendships are one of the core qualities of a great life. Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero called a friend “a second self.” British author C.S. Lewis exalted friendship as adding “value to survival.” Whether in antiquity or modernity, friendship plays an integral part in the richness of the human experience for men and women alike. However, recent studies have shown that the amount of friendships the average man has are on the decline. Daniel Cox, founder and director of the Surv...
Aug 04, 2021•29 min•Ep. 292
In the early 1900’s, the Netherlands was under the rule of a dynamic prime minister, Abraham Kuyper. A multi-faceted figure, he implemented significant change in a vast array of sectors and contributed his work to Dutch society as a statesman, a journalist, a historian, a University founder, and a Calvinist theologian, among many other things. But what can contemporary economic and political reasoning gain from the work of a man who was not a conventional economist? In this episode, Dan Hugger, ...
Jul 28, 2021•36 min•Ep. 291
Industrial policy is making a comeback in political discourse as a key issue to be tackled in maintaining America’s dominance internationally. Industry has always been a greater reflection of the trademarks of America; its efficiency, economic values, and its entrepreneurial spirit. However, in America’s current understanding of industrial policy, among other issues, it leans towards the government seizing the role of the market for itself; to control the economy in job opportunities and losses,...
Jul 21, 2021•49 min•Ep. 290
Generation Z is a demographic group born between the late 1990’s and early 2010’s and they are beginning to trickle into workplaces. The push for open mindedness to become the norm in modern society means “Gen Zers” have already been confronted with ideas like fourth wave feminism, intersectionality, the transgender movement, and wokeism throughout their upbringing. Along with receptivity for progressive ideals, Gen Z now claims the largest percent of college attendance in history. In fact, 59 p...
Jul 14, 2021•41 min•Ep. 289
Suzanne Nossel, CEO of Pen America sits down with Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of communication to discuss her new book, Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All . Nossel, a leading voice in support of free expression, delivers a vital, necessary guide to maintaining democratic debate that is open, freewheeling, but at the same time respectful of the rich diversity of backgrounds and opinions in a changing country. Centered on practical principles, Nossel’s primer equips listeners with the to...
Jul 07, 2021•45 min•Ep. 288
In this episode, we're bringing you a panel discussion featuring Betsy Devos and Sal Khan that was delivered as part of Acton University Online 2021. The Panel was moderated by Jeff Sandefer, entrepreneur and founder of the Acton School of Business. An educated citizenry is fundamental to securing a free and flourishing society. Innovation, technology, and entrepreneurial endeavors are transforming education in many ways. This panel examines common myths about learning and the provision of educa...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 287
Liberal Arts Education is a classical academic discipline that focuses on educating the whole person and is rooted in a lifelong study of transcendent, interdisciplinary knowledge. In June 2021, Dr. Margarita Mooney, an associate Professor in the Department of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and Executive Director of the Scala Foundation, published her book “The Love of Learning: Seven Dialogues on the Liberal Arts” to promote liberal arts education for the improvement of ed...
Jun 23, 2021•45 min•Ep. 286
Along with more than half a million American deaths, lockdowns and federal mandates, the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it unprecedented government spending and economic disruption. In this episode, Acton Institute’s research fellows, Dan Hugger and Dylan Pahman evaluate the economic and moral implications of the COVID relief bill. In March 2021, the Biden administration passed a 1.9 trillion dollar COVID stimulus package to provide monetary aid for the American people under the guise of a “COVI...
Jun 16, 2021•43 min•Ep. 285
Cultural American ideologies, which were historically influenced by Christian beliefs, have continued to deteriorate throughout the years. Faith in politics, rather than having a theological perspective, continues to grow aggressively. While our country is greatly divided, American culture turns to ideological politics for a solution. Shadi Hamid, senior fellow at the center of middle east policy at the Brookings Institution calls it, “religion without religion” in an article titled, "America wi...
Jun 09, 2021•46 min•Ep. 284
We bring you a conversation between Acton’s Director of Communications, Eric Kohn, and the Jack Miller Family Foundation’s Director of Freedom Initiatives, Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg. In this episode, they discuss a new surge in antisemitic violence in America as tensions between Israel and Gaza continue to grow. Jews have been beaten in broad daylight, synagogues have been vandalized, pro-Israel demonstrations have resulted in riots, and major cities across the Unites States have experienced expl...
Jun 02, 2021•53 min•Ep. 283
We bring you a conversation between Acton’s Director of Communications Eric Kohn and Congressman Peter Meijer, who took office in January as the representative for Michigan’s 3rd congressional district, and recently visited the Acton Building. They discuss bipartisanship, leadership, the often counterintuitive incentive structure that exists in the US Congress and much more. Representative Peter Meijer Subscribe to Acton Institute Events podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...
May 26, 2021•38 min•Ep. 282
Does hard work pay off? Do workers enjoy the fruits of their labor? Can a child living in poverty grow up to be financially successful? These are the questions Dr. Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, answers in his new book, The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It) . Populists on both sides of the political aisle routinely announce that the American Dream is dead. According to them, the game has been rigged by elites, w...
May 19, 2021•47 min•Ep. 281
Police reform, police training, foot pursuit policy, how to comply, lack of parenthood, and why we are so preoccupied with race. It’s been a year since the death of George Floyd and a lot has changed and a lot hasn’t. Dr. Anthony Bradley from King’s College presents effective solutions on how we can promote human flourishing in black communities. Acton Line podcast: Anthony Bradley on George Floyd, police reform, and riots When police get it wrong (repeatedly): The rule of law and police reform ...
May 12, 2021•42 min•Ep. 280
Acton Line brings you a conversation with Dylan Pahman and Alexander Salter. Pahman is a research fellow here at Acton Institute and serves as executive editor of our Journal of Markets and Morality. Salter is an associate professor of economics at Texas Tech University, and research fellow of the university's Free Market Institute. In this episode they discuss the relationship between money and liberty. In his article, The American Tradition of Ordered Liberty , Salter writes that “The United S...
May 05, 2021•34 min•Ep. 279
Today, we’re bringing you a conversation between our director of communications, Eric Kohn, and Nate Hochman about young conservatives and what’s happening today on the young right. Nate is a Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute, a previous contributor to Acton’s Religion & Liberty magazine, and, in my opinion, one of the sharpest and most interesting voices among the young conservatives out there. This episode is a little different from previous episodes of Acton Line in that it’s much...
Apr 28, 2021•51 min•Ep. 278
In this episode we speak with Helen Raleigh on her new book, Backlash: How China’s Aggression has Backfired . This book sets out to provide a comprehensive overview of China’s domestic and international aggressions and how they overplayed their hand. We discuss China’s actions in the South China Sea, their cultural tyranny with their social credit system, oppressive international trade, and their handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. Raleigh was born and raised in communist China, and has 1st hand ...
Apr 21, 2021•34 min•Ep. 277
Adam Smith once said, “Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man.” In this episode, Acton brings you a conversation with political scientist and scholar, Dr. Donald Devine and Eric Kohn, director of communications here at the Acton Institute. Devine’s new book, The Enduring Tension: Capitalism and the Moral Order , is a muc...
Apr 14, 2021•41 min•Ep. 276
Acton Line brings you a conversation with theologians Darrell Bock and Jonathan Armstrong, and Dan Churchwell -- Acton’s director of program outreach. In this episode, they discuss the pros and cons of virtual reality and its impact on Christian worship. Bock and Armstrong recognize that the world is changing faster each day as we discover new ways of navigating this seemingly infinite digital space. According to the World Economic Forum, we are entering into a Fourth Industrial Age. This age is...
Apr 07, 2021•51 min•Ep. 275
What is the difference between propriety and virtue, and how does this relate to the constant abuse of free speech we see today? According to economist and philosopher, Adam Smith, propriety is the extent to which our actions accord with social expectations; which themselves are subjective and you could say are relationally determined. Virtue, on the other hand, is the extent to which an action is well-intended and the extent to which it produces that intended result. Acton Line brings you a con...
Mar 31, 2021•42 min•Ep. 274
We are bringing you a conversation with Trent Horn, staff apologist for Catholic Answers, and Eric Kohn, the director of communications here at Acton. In this episode, they discuss Horn’s new book, Can a Catholic be a Socialist? Horn explains that, “Societal injustices are the result of deeper moral evils like greed, envy, indifference, and selfishness. However, simply reordering society so people aren’t poor can’t eliminate these vices (and doesn’t solve poverty, either).” Some Catholics who cl...
Mar 24, 2021•44 min•Ep. 273
In this episode, Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico joins John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, to discuss Mackey’s new book, “Conscious Leadership.” This conversation was part of Acton Institute’s Business Matters online conference. Leading experts and CEOs discussed the current challenges, and ethical principles needed for businesses to thrive in the midst of COVID-19, civil unrest, and political turmoil. A conscious leader, as Mackey defines it, is one who’s more conscious...
Mar 17, 2021•42 min•Ep. 272
In this episode, we are bringing you a conversation with Stephanie Slade, the managing editor of Reason Magazine, and Eric Kohn, the director of communications here at Acton. In this episode they discuss the philosophy of fusionism. Slade writes that Fusionism is the marriage of two value sets: liberty & virtue. “Liberty - in the classical sense of freedom from aggression, coercion, and fraud; and virtue - in the Judeo-Christian sense of submission to God's commands.” In this unifying value ...
Mar 10, 2021•34 min•Ep. 271
To listen to economic nationalists, national conservatives and certain politicians, you would believe that we’re in a period of mass deindustrialization. Employment in American manufacturing has been declining since the early 1980s. And manufacturing’s share of the economy has been declining since 1970. These trends, they argue, pose not just social and economic challenges to the country, but national security challenges, as well. The response from some political leaders in Washington is argumen...
Mar 03, 2021•46 min•Ep. 270
On February 17, 2021, conservative radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh passed away at the age of 70. From his humble origins as a rock music DJ in Cape Girardeau, MO, Rush rose to become one of the most recognizable names and voices in radio history, media history and of the modern American political scene. Enabled by the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, The Rush Limbaugh Show went national in 1988, bringing Rush and his “Excellence in Broadcasting” network to radios from coast to coast. At ...
Feb 24, 2021•34 min•Ep. 269
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and governments across the country ordered most businesses closed, people have increasingly turned to online services like Amazon to meet their needs. As a result, Amazon’s sales soared as the company reported a 37% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2020, with total revenues north of $96 billion. This, in turn, has led to some increased scrutiny on people like outgoing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose personal net worth increased by at least $28 billion sin...
Feb 17, 2021•47 min•Ep. 268
As we look around the country and the world, we see towering barriers are holding millions of people back, and institutions that should help everyone rise that are not doing the job. We see crumbling communities and one-size fits all education. Businesses rig the economy. Public policy stifles opportunity and emboldens the extremes. As a result, this country is quickly heading toward a two-tiered society. People are looking for a better way. In the new book, “Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutio...
Feb 10, 2021•48 min•Ep. 267
