Listener Feedback

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, March 26th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Time now for our monthly round of Listener Feedback!

Starting of course with some corrections!

EICHER: Yes, we have a few this month. First, in the introduction to our notable speech featuring UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, we mentioned a famous matchup between his school and Villanova. For some reason we said “New York’s Villanova” and that, of course, is wrong. Quite a few Villanova Wildcats among us wrote in and kindly explained their alma mater is proudly in Pennsylvania!

And then another geography miscue for which I expect some ribbing at the next family reunion down in Arkansas—we referred to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson as governor of Arizona. Missed that one by about 13-hundred miles.

BROWN: At least we didn’t say Alabama. Then I’d hear it at my next family reunion! You know the WORLD listener is a very gentle and very attentive listener in bringing errors to our attention. Just about everyone, even in pointing out our flaws in the same messages, also expressed thanks for our work, and we certainly appreciate that encouragement!

EICHER: Yes, we do. And speaking of encouragement, a listener wrote in to thank Sarah Schweinsberg for her interview with Helen Sandvig about living through two pandemics.

Don Barber listens in Newfields, New Hampshire and he’s a high-school teacher there. He told us about the small dry-erase board that hangs over the door to his classroom. Every few days he puts a new quote on that board and asks his students to read it as they leave the room.

After hearing Sarah’s interview with Helen Sandvig … something Helen said inspired him, and it was this:

AUDIO: I am so thankful for each day and to be able to do the things I can.

BROWN: Don said that brought a tear to his eye and inspired him to post that quotation up on the board for his students. He called Helen’s words of wisdom something we should all consider every day, no matter how old we are. And Helen Sandvig is 109, so she’s had plenty of practice living that out!

EICHER: Next we have some feedback on Janie B. Cheaney’s commentary on Ravi Zacharias. Janie said it was a shame all the details in the case didn’t come out until after his death because he didn’t have the opportunity to publicly repent. But listener Phil Wade says Zacharias did have a chance when his very first accuser came forward.

AUDIO: He doubled down on his denials, refused accountability. And his ministry more or less showed him to be the idol for them as you were suggesting the ministry was for him. So we already know how he would have responded. What we would love to know is what would have happened had the ministry handled it in a Biblical manner—pressed for accountability, pressed for the truth—instead of claiming to know what they didn’t know and trusting Ravi far beyond his trustworthiness.

BROWN: Next we have an email from Rick Porter, he’s a retired pastor and teacher from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He wrote in after hearing Jenny Rough’s story about the pastor who fixes bicycles. He said,

From the starting sound of a bike chain turning to the redemptive message from that pastor’s heart, the story made me smile.

EICHER: Next we have a call from Jason Woodard, who listens in Battle Creek, Michigan.

AUDIO: I just wanted to say how much I appreciated the news and personal stories about the Texas power outages. The news coverage is exactly what I’ve come to expect: unbiased clear articulate coverage in a world where all the other coverage I’ve heard is politically biased and literally unbelievable. So really appreciate that and then the personal stories from some of the own WORLD folks who have lived through it were very interesting. And I appreciate the fact that it was presented as such, a personal story not news. So just love what you guys do. Keep up the good work. Thank you. I look forward to listening every single morning.

EICHER: Reminder, much as we appreciate your emails we also love hearing your voice. You heard Jason Woodard there. He called in to our listener feedback line at 202-709-9595. If you hear something during the next few weeks that you’d like to comment on, give it a try! It’s as easy as leaving us a voicemail. We’ll remind you again a little closer to the next time we do listener feedback.

BROWN: Right, and if you’re a little more tech savvy, you can record your comments using your smartphone and email them to feedback@worldandeverything.com. You’ll find all the instructions for that on our website: worldandeverything.org. Click on “Engage” from the top menu and then click on “Record a preroll.” The instructions are the same!

EICHER: Before we go, one last thing. Today, that’s right, today, is the application deadline for the 2021 World Journalism Institute. The course will be for two weeks in May at Dordt University and it will be an awesome opportunity for aspiring journalists in college to hone their skills.

So you’ve got until midnight. Journalism is a deadline business so if you’re not finished you’re really going to have to hustle. Hope to meet you in Iowa very soon.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.