The World and Everything in It: April 28, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. My name is Philip Coyle, and I am a husband to an amazing wife, father of six, and an air ambulance pilot in Asheville, North Carolina. I often wonder what new projects WORLD is working on as I fly over their office. I hope you enjoy today’s program.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Good morning. Tucker Carlson parts ways with Fox News at a time when public debate continues to heat up. Is this more than just a media story?

TUCKER CARLSON: When people—or crowds of people—decide that the goal is to destroy things. What you’re watching is not a political movement, it’s evil.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Myrna Brown and I will talk about that today on Culture Friday with Andrew Walker. Plus, Arts and Culture Editor Collin Garbarino has a review of a Christian movie that packs a one-two punch.

HOWARD COSELL: I’ve never seen anything like this. George Foreman is the new heavy-weight champion of the world.

And your Listener Feedback.

BUTLER: It’s Friday, April 28th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BUTLER: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Border/immigration » The White House says it's taking steps to lessen the expected flood of migrants at the southern border when the pandemic-era Title 42 rule ends just days from now.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: We are going to put forth an immigration process that is humane, that is orderly. That is how we want to move forward and do it very differently than was done in the last administration.

The administration plans to open processing centers outside the United States for migrants to apply to fly legally into the United States, Spain or Canada.

Title 42 allows the government to more easily expel migrants who cross the southern border. The rule expires on May 11th.

As many as 40,000 migrants have reportedly already gathered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, alone waiting for that date. Across the border in Texas, shelters are already overflowing statewide.

SoKo »

AUDIO: [Mr Speaker, the president of the Republic of Korea.]

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol addressed a joint meeting of Congress Thursday.

He thanked lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for America’s friendship.

YOON SUK YEOL: No matter where you sit, you stand with Korea. 

Yoon Suk Yeol spoke one day after a meeting with President Biden at the White House in which the two leaders issued stern warnings to North Korea, and agreed to step up nuclear deterrence.

YEOL: North Korea’s nuclear program and missile provocations pose a serious threat to the peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

Yoon also said the U.S. and South Korea are working to ramp up cooperation and trade in the tech sector. He said high-tech trade is creating thousands of jobs in the United States.

GDP » The U.S. economy is slowing down. It’s still growing but just barely. It grew at a 1 percent annual pace in the first quarter. Analysts had expected it to grow at almost twice that rate.

And that is a steep drop from 2.6 percent growth in the final quarter of last year.

PNC Chief Economist Gus Faucher says consumer spending remains high, but that may be bad news for the economy:

GUS FAUCHER: I think that this actually makes it a little more likely that we get a recession, both because demand remains strong and inflation remains much higher than the Federal Reserve would like.

Faucher predicts the Fed will again raise interest rates by a quarter-point as it continues to battle inflation.

DOJ sues TN over child trans protections » The Department of Justice is suing the state of Tennessee over a law that protects children from transgender medical interventions.

The law prohibits physicians from performing transgender surgeries or prescribing cross-sex hormones to minors.

State Representative Jack Johnson introduced the bill in November.

JACK JOHNSON: We love these kids, we want them to get care that they need. What we don’t want to do, though, is do irreparable damage to their body that cannot be undone.

Governor Bill Lee signed the measure into law last month. It’s set to take effect on July first.

The DOJ claims the law violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

It argues that minors who do not identify as transgender can still access similar treatments.

DeSantis–Disney » Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday shrugged off Disney's lawsuit against him.

RON DESANTIS: I don’t think the suit has merit. I think it’s political. I think they filed in Tallahassee for a reason, because they’re trying to generate some district court decision.

Disney sued the governor this week accusing him of retaliating against the company for publicly siding with LGBT activists against a parent rights law.

DeSantis and GOP lawmakers recently revoked Disney’s control over its own private local government, replacing it with a state-appointed oversight board.

DESANTIS: The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida.

He said Disney is—quote—“upset because they’re [now] having to live by the same rules as everybody else.”

DeSantis was speaking on the third leg of an international trip … ahead of a likely presidential campaign.

Springer obit » Former politician-turned-TV-ringmaster Jerry Springer has died.

Springer, who once served as the mayor of Cincinnati, launched the Jerry Springer Show in the early 90s. It gained popularity as lurid reality TV known for chair-throwing and profanity-laced shouting matches.

But Springer argued that his show was not without a redeeming message.

SPRINGER: The message that people get by watching our show is that fighting does not work.

At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse, at one point topping “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Springer died at his suburban Chicago home on Thursday. He was 79.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Andrew Walker. Plus, a Christian boxing movie that brings faith into the ring. This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s the 28th day of April 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. It’s Culture Friday.

Joining us now is Andrew Walker. He’s a professor of Christian ethics and apologetics at Southern Seminary and managing editor of WORLD Opinions.

Good morning Andrew.

ANDREW WALKER: Hey, good morning, Nick. Good morning, Myrna.

BROWN: Andrew, a week ago today, Fox News and its highly-rated commentator Tucker Carlson parted ways. Regarded by many as the most-watched personality on cable news, Carlson’s departure rocked both media and political worlds.

Now, for me, having spent three decades in commercial broadcasting, I’m scratching my head here, because commentators, anchors, journalists are always coming and going. That’s par for the course, so to speak.

I’m wondering what is it about the demise of this particular relationship that seems to go beyond media and politics?

WALKER: Sure. So that's a great question. And you know, I'll just confess, even in my own lifetime, I've never seen a media figure on cable news, generate such controversy and generate such attention as I have Tucker Carlson. I think that the obvious answer here is that he generates a massive viewership. And I think he generates a massive viewership, because oftentimes, he'll say things that a lot of Americans are thinking, but that they don't feel comfortable saying out loud, and I should say here, I tend to like Tucker Carlson, although there are some moments where Tucker Carlson would would do some things and say some things make me a little uncomfortable. But I got the sense that Tucker Carlson as I was talking to people around the nation, even when his show was on, that there tended to be some resonance that people had with Tucker Carlson, that there was this kind of anti-establishment mentality, that Tucker Carlson is the guy who's speaking up for the everyday American. And again, how he would do so I couldn't always adopt as a Christian because he got a little bit too pugilistic and entertained some characters that I wouldn't always adopt myself, or or would welcome on myself if I were having a cable news show. But I mean, this is an absolutely huge moment, I think we'll all remember where we were when Tucker Carlson was dismissed from Fox News. And, honestly, to see the outpouring of hot takes and perspectives, pour in on social media that whole day, and then to see that his departure was the top thing that night on the nightly news on NBC. I think that speaks to the fact that you have a talking head, who had risen to a degree of cultural symbolism, because of the audience that he generates, the message that he generates, and the fact that we know he had the ear of President Trump when President Trump was in office. So it's gonna be a very fascinating few weeks as we figure out what actually unfolded that led to his departure. But I can tell you, I think it's going to be pretty tumultuous. And people who are dismissing Tucker Carlson are saying that this is going to hurt his platform. Personally, I don't think it is. I think that perhaps they may have freed up Tucker Carlson to be even more Tucker Carlson. And I don't think we've heard the last of him.

EICHER: No, I agree with you, Andrew. And it's interesting that you should say the Carlson firing was one of those. Where were you when you heard moments. I remember actually where I was, I was watching a video of him. A friend called my attention to it. This was Tucker on Friday night, after his final show, unbeknownst to him at the time, that it was his final show. He was speaking at the Heritage Foundation where he once worked as a fact checker for its policy magazine. And what he said was the days of the May the best policy when in this country, or in the past, he thinks there is no policy he said, that can explain what we're watching in America right now. He cited gender ideology specifically and the utter enthusiasm for abortion. And that is not a policy debate. He said no policy could explain it. Let me play just a few seconds here.

TUCKER CARLSON: When people or crowds of people or the largest crowd of people of all, which is the federal government decide that the goal is to destroy things, destruction for its own sake, hey, let's tear it down. What you're watching is not a political movement. It's evil. 

These things he went on to say as he concluded are “manifestations of some larger force acting upon us.” And what we should do is, one, say that, and two, pray about it. One more bite.

CARLSON: And I'm saying that to you, not as some kind of evangelist, I'm literally saying that to you as an Episcopalian. I'm coming to you from the most humble and lowly theological position you can I'm literally an Episcopalian. Okay. And even I have concluded, it might be worth taking just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to say a prayer for the future, and I hope you will.

There you go. And if you believe the story that came out this week, that idea of spiritual warfare, and I’m not saying he’s a Christian, I don’t know. But that the big boss, Mr. Murdoch, is said to be extremely uncomfortable with that and decided that was that, Tucker had to go. Do you buy that?

WALKER: I still think that there's a lot of facts to learn about what led to the to the dismissal. I read that Vanity Fair article that I think you're alluding to that said that his kind of overt increased religiosity, particularly on that Friday night address at the Heritage Foundation really kind of was the thing that put him over the top or over the ledge with Fox executives. But to the speech itself. It's a speech that went pretty viral over the weekend, because he was doing something that I think, again, is speaking up for a lot of people in America, particularly Christians. We’re understanding that the old days of debating Keynesian economics versus Austrian economics are really over. We're debating far more fundamental moral issues, that politics on their own, can't really explain. One of my, the deepest influences and kind of my political and even theological worldview, in some sense is Russell Kirk. And Russell Kirk, once said that all political problems at root are a spiritual and religious and moral crisis. And I think that Tucker Carlson captured that energy and he and he communicated it in a way that obviously, if you are watching Tucker Carlson, you can't help but like his down to earthness in his approach, and he really can resonate with audiences in being disarming. And so I, you know, again, I think that people can have a wide array of opinions on Tucker Carlson. But what we saw in that clip, I shared it on social media myself, because, you know, we find ourselves in this place in American culture right now, where we seem to be finding ever more creative ways to harm ourselves and to uninvent ourselves. And to kind of see how much lower we can go to scrape at the bottom of the barrel as far as kind of the moral decadence and debauchery of our society. And so sometimes, you just want those top tier cultural figures to say, You know what, I've had enough we need to call a spade a spade, and we saw that, in that address of his at the Heritage Foundation.

EICHER: All that said, I don’t think we can leave today without addressing the irony of Tucker Carlson talking about a crisis of truth when his employer Fox News chose to fork over nearly 800-million dollars to settle a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems concerning the 20-20 election. This was the biggest publicly known payout ever made by an American media company evidently to avoid even more embarrassment in trial testimony. It was ugly enough to go by the filings with the court. Imagine how much worse it might’ve been that paying that close to a billion dollars was preferable to proceeding. So it’s a little ironic to be talking about truth here.

WALKER: Yes, certainly. And that's, that's the great tension with someone like Tucker Carlson. You can really admire some of his convictions, as I as I do, but then also recognize that there is sometimes an entertainment aspect to how he conducts himself that as a Christian who's interested in truth, and reason and kind of making sure we understand the facts on the ground in order to make informed decisions, that he wasn't always super helpful and clear on that. And you're right, and particularly with this Dominion lawsuit. He was at the center of this, and between Uh, you know, calling executives foul names which, you know, general wisdom to never insult your bosses. And then also the fact that, you know, he was privately not believing in the idea that the election was so called stolen, but then would bring guests on to the program where he wouldn't necessarily agree that the election was stolen, but he would stoke the idea that this is a very legitimate thing to, to consider. And so that just shows, we need to be discerning that who we are in private is who we are in public. And fundamentally, Christians should be lovers of truth that falsehood should be no place near us. And so I think again, there are lessons in this particular situation and lessons to learn from Tucker Carlson. That no one's perfect. A lot of people can speak truth. But we need to speak truth even when it isn't convenient for our audience and for our bottom line. And that's the call of what it means to be a Christian.

EICHER: Well, Andrew, we’ve come to the end of our time. I do want to note that WORLD Opinions has published something different from its regular fare: a special point-counterpoint for pro-life Americans on the question of pursuing protections for the unborn at the nationwide level versus the more federalist approach of pursuing protections state-by-state. It is a debate among pro-lifers right now and so WORLD Opinions has a helpful point-counterpoint with an introductory column by Albert Mohler. And, Andrew, that’s all published and up on the site right now?

WALKER: It is, yes sir.

EICHER: Great.

BROWN: Andrew Walker is a professor of Christian ethics and apologetics at Southern Seminary. He is managing editor of WORLD Opinions.

WALKER: Thanks Nick and Myrna.

NICK EICHER, HOST: In case you missed it: Wednesday night, President Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife for a dinner party. It was an official state dinner marking 70 years of alliance between the U.S. and South Korea.

The menu was an expertly planned mix of Korean and American delicacies, but the entertainment included a surprise performance.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: We know this is, one of your favorite songs, "American Pie."

YOON TRANSLATOR: Yes, that's true.

BIDEN: Well, we wanted to hear you sing it.

This kind of stuff is where Biden really shines. All politics aside, it was a nice moment.

Biden offered the mic to the President, and Yoon hesitated ever so slightly, but then gripped it and immediately you could feel the crowd’s excitement.

YOON: I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride. But something touched me deep inside the day the music died.

Well, to ensure the music didn’t die, Biden presented Yoon with a gift from the singer and songwriter of “American Pie,” Don McLean: a signed acoustic Gibson guitar.

And the audience is already asking for an encore.

BIDEN: Now, the, the, the next state dinner we're gonna have, you're looking at the entertainment.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 28th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new faith-based sports bio-pic. Arts and Culture editor Collin Garbarino now has a review of Big George Foreman.

COLLIN GARBARINO: So far, 2023 has set a new standard for faith-based films. I’ve found myself saying over and over again that this or that Christian movie has improved on the filmmaking quality of the faith-based genre. Last weekend was the first time since Jesus Revolution came out in February that a Christian movie didn’t make it into the top ten at the box office. But debuting today, the faith-based film Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion plans to pack a punch at theaters.

GEORGE FOREMAN: My life started in the Fifth Ward in Houston. Those were some of the toughest streets in all of Texas.

Big George Foreman tells the story of the boxing legend, beginning with his impoverished youth when his mother Nancy struggled to get enough food on the table. But in spite of the family’s poverty and George’s tendency to get in trouble, Nancy has faith that her son can make something of himself.

NANCY FOREMAN: Look at me. You got more inside than what you’re showin’.

GEORGE FOREMAN: I know it, Mom.

While in a government job training program, George meets Doc Broadus, played by the fantastic Forest Whitaker. Doc introduces George to boxing, becoming his trainer and mentor.

DOC BROADUS: See what I just did there? The mind controls the body, not the other way around. In every battle, the greatest foe we will combat is in here.

Doc knows George will make a great fighter one day, and he’s got a plan for turning George into a champion.

BROADUS: Listen to me, George. You’ve got a punch like I’ve never seen. But even if you train harder than any man has ever trained, there is no way you can make it to the Olympics next year.

But of course George does make it to the Olympics and he becomes the fastest rising star in the boxing world, leading to a shot at the title.

HOWARD COSELL: Here we are for the heavy-weight championship fight between Joe Frazier and George Foreman.

Boxing success doesn’t necessarily solve George’s problems. The movie shows George’s pride and fear and anger with the world. We see someone who’s made something of himself, but still hungers for worldly approval that will never satisfy.

Throughout the first half of the movie, we see George struggle against his mother’s faith in God.

NANCY FOREMAN: Let’s thank God for the food first, y’all.

GEORGE FOREMAN: God? I bought the food, Mama. Not God. [laughs]

But George’s attitude and his life change after a near-death experience in the locker room after a fight. George becomes convinced of the truth of Christianity. He starts attending church. And he turns his life around.

GEORGE FOREMAN: I want to give my life to God. 

No more boxing for George Foreman. In 1977, at the age of 28, he retires from fighting, and focuses on his church work and community outreach.

But that’s not the end of George Foreman’s pretty crazy story. Ten years later, a decidedly older and more rotund Foreman mounts a boxing comeback that would be too difficult to believe if it weren’t true.

Big George Foreman is an engaging sports biopic about a larger than life character. Khris Davis gives a credible performance as Big George. He’s especially good in the first half of the movie when playing angry George. Davis’s joyful Christian George comes across as a bit of a caricature, but to be fair, the real-life George Foreman sometimes seems a little bit like a caricature.

Big George Foreman is rated PG-13 for sports violence, and there are allusions to Foreman’s sins as he lives a worldly life. But the changed life brought about by Christian faith is definitely at the center of this film. And I give the movie bonus points for actually focusing on Jesus rather than offering vague notions of God that we sometimes get in faith-based films.

GEORGE FOREMAN: I was in the dressing room, and Jesus Christ came alive in me.

Sometimes, however, the Christian message didn’t feel integrated into the whole narrative. The movie attempts to portray Foreman’s return to the ring as God’s calling on his life, but I was never totally convinced. Sure I was pulling for Big George, but I never felt the intimate connection between religious experience and sporting spirit that I do in say Chariots of Fire. Also, I noticed the movie conveniently omits the three failed marriages Foreman went through after his conversion.

Despite these minor quibbles, I enjoyed Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion. The title’s a bit of a mouthful, so I’ll just call it a winner.

HOWARD COSELL: George Foreman is the new heavy-weight champion of the world.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 28th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next, listener feedback for the month April. We begin today with a handful of corrections:

EICHER: During April 4th’s Classic Book of the Month we featured Andrew Murray’s book on humility. During the interview our guest said this:

CURLES: The famous line from Lewis is ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.’ 

That prompted listener William O'Flaherty to write in. O’Flaherty is a C.S. Lewis expert. In fact he’s published a whole book of quotes misattributed to Lewis, and this is one of them. O’Flaherty says this on his website:

This sounds like a Lewis quote, but it’s not. Some cite it as coming from Mere Christianity, but it is not actually found there…it appears to come from Rick Warren’s book: The Purpose Driven Life. So credit him, not Lewis.

Here’s what Lewis did write about humility in Mere Christianity:

“It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”

Good advice from C.S. Lewis, and a helpful correction from William O’Flaherty. Thank you.

BUTLER: Next, during my April 10th History Book segment on the anniversary of the Boston marathon bombing, I played a newscast clip from WQAD. I then referred to it as a Boston television station, but Brian Edwards of Dracut, Massachusetts, sent me a detailed list of all the local stations—pointing out that WQAD is not from Beantown. After doing a little digging, I found out it hails from my neck of the woods—Moline, IL. We have removed the reference from our program transcript.

EICHER: Next, to one of our newscast items: Andrew and Betty Harpur from Glensdale, Pennsylvania, sent in this reminder: Ireland and Northern Ireland are two different countries. When we reported on President Biden’s visit to Belfast during our April 11th program we said he was in Ireland instead of Northern Ireland. We should have caught that before airing the story.

BUTLER: One more correction this morning, in last week’s History Book on the life and ministry of missionary pioneer George Verwer, I said that he stepped down from leading Operation Mobilization in 2013. It was in fact, 2003. We have updated the story and transcript.

EICHER: Now to some feedback on recent segments. Sophia Elliot lives on the West Coast and she left us this voicemail after Cal Thomas highlighted the failed state of California in a recent commentary.

SOPHIA ELLIOTT: I fully appreciate all of his comments. We are in trouble. But even while it’s easy to criticize our state I really would covet the prayers and remembrances of other believers. We really want to be bright lights. And I ask that you would pray that we would be bold witnesses in the places that God has placed us, that we would be quick to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we would not get discouraged in where we live even as it’s hard to be a Conservative voter. Please pray that we remain steadfast, and that we would put our hope and trust in God alone for the future of our state and our country. Thank you very much.

Thanks Sophia. Cal’s criticism of California is of those who govern it. We are all grateful for the testimony of the millions of Christians around the world that live in difficult places and under ungodly officials. Thank you for the reminder to pray for all who bring the light of the gospel in the everyday circumstances of life.

BUTLER: And finally this morning, we end with this voicemail from Tim Cox:

TIM COX: Long time listener and I just love how WORLD is diversifying its podcast portfolio. And thank you especially for Les Sillars’ Doubletake podcast and the Singletake episode that released on April 1st. I think every listener should listen to this and just how it reveals the evil of euthanasia in Canada. And how in the home of this elderly woman, Joanne, her helper was enabling this physician assisted suicide request. Thank you for revealing this. What starts in Canada won't necessarily stay in Canada. So we need to be alert and aware of what is happening in the medical community. So thank you again for your work. God bless.

Good news Tim, Les and his team are back this weekend with another Singletake episode. Not quite as serious, but just as hard-hitting, as we feature the harrowing story of a skydiver whose parachute fails. Also this weekend, the second episode of Effective Compassion, Season 4—this time highlighting “open adoption.”

EICHER: Well that’s it for this month’s Listener Feedback. Thanks to everyone who wrote and called in. If you have comments to share with us you can send them to editor@wng.org. And if you’re writing, why not take a moment and record your comments on your phone and send those along as well. We’ve included instructions on how to do that on our website: wng.org/podcasts. Or you can phone in your feedback. Our listener line is ‪(202) 709-9595.

NICK ECHER, HOST: Well, it’s time to say thanks to the team members who helped put the program together this week: Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Leah Savas, Anna Johansen Brown, Onize Ohikere, Janie B. Cheaney, Amy Lewis, Cal Thomas, William Inboden, Andrew Walker, and Collin Garbarino.

And two new voices on the program this week: Juliana Chan Erikson and John Wilsey.

Thanks also to our breaking news team: Kent Covington, Lynde Langdon, Steve Kloosterman, Mary Muncy, Lauren Canterberry, and Josh Schumacher.

And our guys who stay up late to get the program to you early, Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Our producer is Harrison Watters with production assistance from Benj Eicher, Emily Whitten, Lillian Hamman, and Bekah McCallum.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

“For [God] says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” Romans chapter 9, verses 15 and 16.

Remember to worship the Lord this weekend with your brothers and sisters in Christ! Lord willing, we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

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