The World and Everything in It - April 29, 2022

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Today on Culture Friday, a listener question on challenges for Christian colleges and we’ll talk about the Supreme Court argument this week over public schools and public prayer.

NICK EICHER, HOST: We’ll talk about it with John Stonestreet on Culture Friday.

Also Marvel’s new, and very different, superhero.

And Ask the Editor.

BROWN: It’s Friday, April 29th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

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

BROWN: Time for today’s news. Here’s Kristen Flavin.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, NEWS ANCHOR: UN chief visit Ukraine amid increased shelling in the Donbas » U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres toured parts of war-torn Ukraine on Thursday.

GUTERRES: Ukraine is an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain. I witnessed that very vividly today around Kyiv. The senseless loss of life, the massive destruction, the unacceptable violations of human rights and the laws of war.

Before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Guterres toured areas outside the Ukrainian capital that have suffered damage during the Russian offensive.

Guterres said the UN position remains clear: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and the UN charter. He said the UN would continue to look for ways to reduce suffering and find a path to peace.

GUTERRES: I want Ukrainian people to know that the world sees you, hears you and is in awe of your resilience and resolve. I also know that words of solidarity are not enough. I am here to zero in on needs on the ground and scale up operations.

Shortly after Guterres and Zelenskyy held a joint press conference in Kyiv, two explosions rocked the city and sparked fires in at least two high-rise buildings. Kyiv has largely escaped heavy shelling as Russia moves its focus to the south and east.

Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region reported increased Russian bombardment on Thursday. Analysts say Vladimir Putin may be pushing for a major battlefield victory ahead of a Russian holiday on May 9th. Shelling was especially intense near Kharkiv. Capturing the city is seen as a key to Russia’s offense in the Donbas.

Biden asks for additional aid and sanctions » Meanwhile in Washington, President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $33 billion dollars to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion.

BIDEN: We need to contribute arms, funding, ammunition, and the economic support to make their courage and sacrifice have purpose, so they can continue this fight and do what they’re doing.

The proposal includes more than $20 billion in military assistance for Ukraine and neighboring countries, and $8.5 billion in economic aid. It also includes $3 billion for food and humanitarian programs around the world.

BIDEN: This funding’s going to help ease rising food prices at home as well, and abroad, caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. It’s going to help support American farmers produce more crops, like wheat and oil seed, which is good for rural America, good for the American consumer, and good for the world.

If approved by Congress, the new aid package would more than triple the initial U.S. investment in the conflict.

Biden also asked Congress for new powers to seize and repurpose assets like homes and luxury yachts owned by Russian oligarchs. Proceeds from the sale of those assets could help offset some U.S. aid costs.

In another strike at Putin’s supporters, Biden asked lawmakers to expand criminal penalties for activities related to evading sanctions.

Moderna asks FDA to approve vaccine for young children » Drugmaker Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for young children. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: On Thursday, Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve a low-dose, two shot course of the vaccine for babies and children up to age 6.

Although trials showed the Moderna shot does offer some protection, it’s not as high as health experts would like. Moderna says two doses were 40 to 50 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in trial participants.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, three-quarters of American children have had COVID-19 already. Since the start of the pandemic, 475 children under the age of 5 have died after catching the virus.

Health officials say young children need a vaccine, but it’s not clear how many parents agree. Less than one-third of children ages 5 to 11 have had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine since it became available late last year. Nearly 60 percent of children ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Economy shrinks in first quarter GDP report » The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year, according to a government report released Thursday. It was the first quarterly decline in gross domestic product since the initial pandemic crash in 2020.

Soaring imports and fewer exports drove the 1.4 percent decline in gross domestic product. Businesses also spent less restocking their shelves than they did at the end of 2021.

Speaking at a Brookings Institution conference, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the economic turbulence did not come as a surprise.

YELLEN: Most recently the global pandemic and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscore the likelihood of large economic shocks and disruptions that must be addressed. Downturns are likely to continue to challenge the economy.

But analysts say the drop in GDP does not signal a looming recession. Americans continue to spend at high rates, thanks in part to rising wages. And higher profits have encouraged an increase in business investment.

The job market continues to remain strong, with the unemployment rate near a 50-year low of 3.6 percent. But inflation remains a significant concern. Last month, prices jumped 8.5 percent from a year earlier, the fastest such rise in four decades.

I’m Kristen Flavin. Straight ahead: academic freedom at Christian colleges. 

Plus, WORLD’s foray into true crime podcasts.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday, April 29th, 2022. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Let’s bring in John Stonestreet. He’s the president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast and he joins us now. Good morning, John.

JOHN STONESTREET, GUEST: Good morning. 

EICHER: John, I’d like to start with a listener question. Dave in Nashville writes:

“As proud alumni of Grove City College and also parents of a daughter who is currently attending GCC, we would love to hear John Stonestreet weigh in on the claims by some alumni and faculty that the college has gone ‘woke’ and also Grove City's recent response … not just this particular situation but how Christian institutions can have academic freedom to discuss topics like race through a Christian worldview without going off the deep-end and into CRT. I am glad that college forcefully rejected CRT and took ownership for missteps in 2020, but I can also see the points of the other side who say we shouldn't be censoring conversation on the topic. Political topics have gotten so divisive in recent years that it seems we would rather shut out the opposing ideas rather than let them fail on their lack of merit. We would appreciate John's perspective.”

So John, I’m a Grove City parent as well—for what it’s worth. How do you answer that?

STONESTREET: Oh, I think identifying, you know, in particular two areas of student life, staff development and Chapel, those are two areas that are really vulnerable for Christian schools, not just on this topic, but on any number of topics, because it's not always governed by the same sorts of things that Orthodox Christian schools would have in terms of their faculty, and what would be expected of their faculty. And I think that the things that they admitted to, you know, that there was a speaker invited who certainly has gone even further in his views into the deep end of what, you know, I think could rightfully be called CRT, and also rejected points of orthodoxy along the way. I'm not always sure that those two things go hand in hand. But in this case, it did. And I think also, this one class with assigned readings, that professor has just responded in print, and I, it wasn't a very detailed response. So I'm not sure but his pushback has to do with this idea of academic freedom. And that is something that I'm sensitive to, because Christian students, especially Christian students who are the best and Grove City tends to attract really, really talented students with lots of potential, they need to have the goods, the academic wherewithal, they need to know what's going on. A Christian college is not a sheltered experience, or at least it ought not be. And this is a hard thing, because Christian colleges have to do the Christian part, they have to do the college part. And then they have to do the Christian college part. And they're not going to hit the bull's eye every time. But part of that bull’s eye is going to have to be the ability to engage with thinkers who are outside of the fold. Now, when those things are done uncritically or when those outside the fold are brought in as if they're in the fold, I think that's where you have the problem. And I think that Christian colleges just can't have the same level of academic freedom, as if they're going to keep staying on mission, as other schools do. There has to be a different goal in mind, there has to be a different set of guidelines governing faculty and faculty orthodoxy and how that integrates in the classroom. And there needs to be some real thought given to how a Christian worldview intersects with some of these more difficult areas. The problem with CRT is not the fact that when people talk about “R”, the problem with CRT is the fact that when people talk about “R” they're talking about it from a “CT” worldview. So this stuff doesn't need to be routed out, but it needs to not be ignored. I don't know. This is hard, Nick. It's going to be really hard for Christian colleges to navigate this. So, you know, I know some of Grove City's faculty well enough to know that they do take counter ideas seriously and equip students to deal with them. But they also deal with it from the vantage point of truth. And so I think Grove City’s okay. I really do. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the school. I'm a fan of a lot of the folks there. And I appreciate how they handled this, honestly. It was a hard thing and I think eventually they handled it the right way.

EICHER: Let’s talk about the Coach Kennedy case, John. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a football coach who got in trouble with his public school district for holding prayers at the 50 yard line. Steve West, reporting for WORLD, said “during arguments [this week], the justices seemed sympathetic to the high school coach’s plight, yet they struggled to define at what point the coach’s personal, on-field prayer could be considered unconstitutional, as a lower court has ruled.” Steve reported the justices seemed conflicted during the oral argument: “Was Kennedy’s prayer government speech subject to school control?

“… [W]as it private religious expression that must receive the highest protection under the First Amendment?

“ … [I]f private expression, were school officials justified in barring him from praying on the field because it might indirectly ‘coerce’ players to join him in prayer?”

How important is the outcome of this one, do you think, John?

STONESTREET: Well, I think that we are in this kind of decades-long struggle to figure out where religion has a place, or whether religion has to be kept completely private. And you know, whether or not religious freedom means one can believe what one wants in the privacy of their own heads, homes, hearts and houses of worship, or whether religious freedom also entails some level of bringing one's faith into one's public life. And, you know, government officials also have religious freedom. It's a little bit different, I think, as opposed to say, for example, a privately owned, you know, business run and owned by a Christian who wants to integrate his or her faith top to bottom, or say, for example, a Christian school and what we would expect from the teachers and the football coaches, and the janitors and everybody else. But we do have to figure it out. You know, I think in the long run, this is one of the most important cases of this term. I think that this one's going to be an interesting one, even for a court that is, I think, clearly sympathetic to Coach Kennedy and certainly religious conviction and wants to err on the side of protecting religious freedom. I think we know that that's the case. But how far they go, will be the real question, I think.

BROWN: John, this week Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill regarded as the first of its kind, the first state explicitly prohibiting the use of so-called nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates, meaning you will only be able to select male or female on a birth certificate.

I imagine other states will follow suit and still others will go in the opposite direction. This feels like the early days of the debate over same-sex marriage. Some states for, other states against, and then eventually the federal government and courts had to get involved. Do you think we’re headed that way on this question?

STONESTREET: Oh, I think absolutely. And I think that should make us all stop and pause, and just contemplate for just a moment that this is a conversation we're actually having. We're actually having a conversation about a scenario which will lead to a legal answering of the question, “is there more than boys and girls?” Or “is there fixed categories of male and female?” You know, it's not unlike Miracle on 34th Street, where a court is asked to decide whether there's a Santa Claus or not. In other words, we're out of the realm of government purview; there's really no purpose for it, except a culture that has, you know, run ahead of reality in just really interesting and tragic ways. So every once in a while, we need to stop and go, you know, we are here. We are absolutely here.

Now, I do think we are here, I do think that this is going to have to be something that the court weighs in on because this is a conflict not going away. Here we are, with 25% of young people identifying as LGBTQ. And the Democratic Party platform, essentially including it, and from the highest forces of the government, including the president, the president's administration, and maybe the Department of Justice, there were some rumblings out of there basically saying this is what we need to do, basically, government mandated embrace of gender dysphoria and surgical interventions, medical and surgical interventions. We just need to stop and say guys, we're here - so that we don't think this is normal. And that's the problem when culture changes is that the new normal becomes normal and sometimes the new normal is so far over the line, it shouldn't feel normal at all. This is quickly becoming one of those things. This is not normal. It's not normal that the court should have to weigh in and decide that birth certificate shouldn't lie, but that's what they're doing, so there you go.

BROWN: John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks, John.

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, April 29th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new streaming series from Marvel Studios.

Don’t like superheroes? That’s okay. Reviewer Collin Garbarino says, this one’s different enough, he just might capture your attention.

COLLIN GARBARINO, REVIEWER: Moon Knight is Marvel’s latest superhero to make the transition from comics to screen. I won’t hold it against you if you’ve never heard of him. He’s not one of Marvel’s top tier heroes—he’s certainly no Captain America. In the comics, he’s like Marvel’s version of Batman, except he’s a Jewish superhero who fights crime using superpowers gifted to him by the Egyptian god of the moon. While that might sound like a complicated identity, the new series streaming on Disney+ focuses on the character’s psychological turmoil.

Oscar Isaac plays Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift shop attendant working at a London museum. Steven might not be a reliable worker, but he loves Egyptian history.

Steven: Oh, Donna, that reminds me. When I was coming in this morning, I saw the banners outside.

Donna: And that’s what made you late for work again, was it?

Steven: No. Sorry about that. The bus came early…

Donna: Third time this week you’ve shuffled in like a lazy zombie.

Steven: I know.

Donna: That’s why you’ll be on inventory this week. Well done.

Steven: All right. Aye, aye, Captain. But no. I wanted to tell you that the banners and the posters of the Ennead…

Donna: The what?

Steven: The Ennead? You know, like, the super group of Egyptian gods? You know, you got Horus, Osiris, Tefnut…

Donna: Stop, please. If this is some weird audition to tour guide here, the answer’s still no.

Steven: No. What I’m trying… That’s actually crushing to hear. But what I’m trying to point out… I’m not trying to slag off marketing, but there’s been a major blunder because they’ve got seven gods here, and the Ennead has nine.

Donna: I fired two of them for being late.

Steven’s troubles with his boss are the least of his problems. At night he chains himself to his bed and he’s afraid to go to sleep because he never knows where he’ll wake up.

Steven: Honestly, it’s like my body wants to get up and wander about, you know, like it has to get the 10,000 steps in. You know? I don’t even know about it until I wake up wherever. That’s why I try to stay awake at night. What do you think?

Steven loses track of time, and many things in his life don’t make sense. He finds a cell phone in his apartment. It’s not his, but when it rings, the person on the other end of the line sure seems convinced she knows him.

Layla: I’ve been texting and calling you for months. You couldn’t give me any sign that you were okay? I thought something happened to you. Where are you? Where’ve you been?

Steven: Uh...

Layla: Hello? You…

Steven: Sorry, I just found this phone in my flat, and I’m just trying to figure out whose it is.

Layla: What’s with this accent?

Steven: What?

Layla: What is happening right now?

Steven: Sorry. Who do you think I am?

Layla: What do you mean “who”? What’s wrong with you, Marc?

Who’s Marc? It turns out Steven’s not the only person using his body. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder—you know, he has a split personality. That other personality, named Marc, is everything Steven isn’t. Steven’s clumsy and kind and can’t seem to find his place in the world. Marc’s a no-nonsense man of action who’s on a mission given to him by the Egyptian god Khonshu.

While Steven’s just trying to get to work on time, Marc and Khonshu are trying to save the world from a villain played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke’s character follows a different Egyptian god who wants to punish people before they’ve had the opportunity to perform their evil acts.

Arthur: I’m sorry.

Old Woman: I’ve been good my entire life.

Arthur: I believe you. But the scales see everything. Perhaps it’s something that lies ahead. Well… I wish you could live to see the world we make. Yet, Ammit has decided.

Moon Knight isn’t for young kids. It contains a few instances of PG-13 language, a good bit of action, and some scary scenes. But Moon Knight has turned out to be one of the better Marvel series, mostly because it feels different. Sure, the show’s supposedly set in the same universe as the Avengers and the Asgardians, but viewers can watch it as a standalone six-part series. The last episode airs Wednesday.

Moon Knight is also different in tone. It includes surprisingly little costumed-superhero action. Mostly we see Steven—or Marc—run around dusty tombs solving cryptic puzzles, which makes the show feel more like an archeological adventure.

Marc: Steven, I need you to listen to me very carefully.

Steven: Marc? There he is. Here he comes. Hello, man in the mirror. I was wondering if you’d pop up again.

Marc: I know you’re scared.

Steven: A bit, yeah.

Marc: I know you’re confused. You weren’t supposed to see any of this.

Steven: No, well, a bit late for that, innit?

But the heart of the show is the Steven-Marc dichotomy. I’ve loved watching Oscar Isaac in both these roles, playing them off each other. He’s a talented physical actor—you always know which personality he’s playing just from the expression on his face. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention F. Murray Abraham who voices Khonshu—the other personality that plagues Steven. Abraham really nails it.

Khonshu: See how you fare against Harrow without the protection of my healing armor.

Marc: Alright. So what? You have any good ideas?

Khonshu: I have a bad one.

Marc: Khonshu?

Fans of superhero shows, or tomb-raider movies, or psychological drama, will find a lot to enjoy here. Despite all the action, the series explores the nature of justice and righting wrongs. The villain wants to punish people before they commit inevitable sins. Khonshu isn’t much better. He represents a cold, hard justice that seeks vengeance rather than restoration. Steven and Marc are caught in the middle of it all, trying to fix a brokenness that’s both societal and deeply personal.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 29th. 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. Up next our monthly segment: Ask the Editor.

On March 31st we launched our latest podcast: Lawless.

CLIP: In court, it’s not always hard data that sways a jury…sometimes it’s which lawyer has the more compelling story. Deacon represented an insurance company. And Woodworth? He was fighting for a tragic young couple in love.

Four weeks into the project, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. But a few listeners have offered some constructive criticism.

Here’s WORLD Radio executive producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: One week ago I received the following email from a listener named Jason:

In March, I began listening to The World and Everything in It after a considerable absence (nothing personal)…[so] I was unaware of…Lawless...

I nearly deleted…[it] without listening—as the overabundance of “true crime” and “real crime” dramas inundate television and audiobooks. But I listened. And then I was disgusted. This isn’t a program a Christian organization should be affiliated with, let alone produce...A straight-forward documentary sans the dramatic re-enactments would…better…serve the memory of Terri Schiavo.

Jason is right that there is an overabundance of true crime TV series, podcast serials, and audio books. It’s hard to say just how many, but they’re everywhere. A recent marketing survey found that “True Crime” is the third most popular podcast genre—just behind news.

With hundreds—if not thousands—of new offerings every year, do listeners really need another one? I happen to think we do. Why? Because what’s missing in most True Crime series is “Biblical objectivity.” That’s what we believe makes Lawless unique.

We’re driven by Ephesians 5:11-13—exposing the deeds of darkness and manifesting the light.

Most True Crime podcasts out there are good at exposing the sinfulness of our world. But we’re committed to something more. You can hear it in this line from our theme music:

“The devil’s at the door trying to take control, but the Lord’s going to scatter his bones.”

Despite living in a fallen world, God is at work. He’s in the business of redeeming and restoring. Even as we struggle to see it.

So when Jason writes: “This isn’t a program a Christian organization should be affiliated with, let alone produce…” I must respectfully disagree.

I like how Andi Gillis, our Digital Content Coordinator at WORLD recently put it: “Lawless brings to light stories of injustice”—and she says it’s our duty, as Christians, to expose them. Additionally, “Lawless serves to insert truth into a narrative shaped by media misinformation and bias.”

That media bias and misinformation continues to this day about the Terri Schiavo case. And that’s what moved us to tackle this story. In this way.

We live in a world of Tweets and soundbites. So we’re taking our time in telling the story methodically, laying out the facts, and doing what we can to set the record straight as we do so. And we feel that the best way to do that is to wrestle through conflicting testimony. To explore the complexity of the law. And to get to know the people in the story…as people—and not just a means to an ideological end.

Could we tell the story quicker? Sure. Could our pacing be faster? At times. But we’re going to err on the side of taking our time—letting you hear from multiple sides and giving you lots of context. And that’s because we don’t see ourselves as the only investigators…you are too. You’re working through arguments. Weighing the facts. Making up your mind.

Back to Jason’s note, he ends by saying that a “a straight-forward documentary” without the “dramatic reenactments” would better serve the memory of Terri Schiavo. That may be true, but I think it illustrates a possible misunderstanding of our purpose. We’re not serving the memory of Terri Schiavo. Instead, we want listeners—particularly those who think they know the whole story—to examine all the evidence, and ultimately re-evaluate their own beliefs about the value of life and how to protect it.

So if Lawless isn’t your cup of tea, we understand, but we do invite you to pray with us that God would multiply our five loaves and two fish. We hope that Lawless can reach a whole new audience with Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires—not just by exposing the deeds of darkness, but manifesting the light.

I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Time to thank the team that helped make this week’s programs possible:

Mary Reichard, Kristen Flavin, Jenny Rough, David Bahnsen, Harrison Watters, Bonnie Pritchett, Amy Lewis, Lauren Dunn, Whitney Williams, Onize Ohikere, Caleb Bailey, Janie B. Cheaney, Josh Schumacher, Steve West, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, and Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz are the audio engineers who stay up late to get the program to you early! Leigh Jones is managing editor, and Paul Butler is our executive producer.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

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

Go now in grace and peace.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Today on Culture Friday, a listener question on challenges for Christian colleges and we’ll talk about the Supreme Court argument this week over public schools and public prayer.

NICK EICHER, HOST: We’ll talk about it with John Stonestreet on Culture Friday.

Also Marvel’s new, and very different, superhero.

And Ask the Editor.

BROWN: It’s Friday, April 29th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

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

BROWN: Time for today’s news. Here’s Kristen Flavin.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, NEWS ANCHOR: UN chief visit Ukraine amid increased shelling in the Donbas » U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres toured parts of war-torn Ukraine on Thursday.

GUTERRES: Ukraine is an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain. I witnessed that very vividly today around Kyiv. The senseless loss of life, the massive destruction, the unacceptable violations of human rights and the laws of war.

Before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Guterres toured areas outside the Ukrainian capital that have suffered damage during the Russian offensive.

Guterres said the UN position remains clear: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and the UN charter. He said the UN would continue to look for ways to reduce suffering and find a path to peace.

GUTERRES: I want Ukrainian people to know that the world sees you, hears you and is in awe of your resilience and resolve. I also know that words of solidarity are not enough. I am here to zero in on needs on the ground and scale up operations.

Shortly after Guterres and Zelenskyy held a joint press conference in Kyiv, two explosions rocked the city and sparked fires in at least two high-rise buildings. Kyiv has largely escaped heavy shelling as Russia moves its focus to the south and east.

Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region reported increased Russian bombardment on Thursday. Analysts say Vladimir Putin may be pushing for a major battlefield victory ahead of a Russian holiday on May 9th. Shelling was especially intense near Kharkiv. Capturing the city is seen as a key to Russia’s offense in the Donbas.

Biden asks for additional aid and sanctions » Meanwhile in Washington, President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $33 billion dollars to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion.

BIDEN: We need to contribute arms, funding, ammunition, and the economic support to make their courage and sacrifice have purpose, so they can continue this fight and do what they’re doing.

The proposal includes more than $20 billion in military assistance for Ukraine and neighboring countries, and $8.5 billion in economic aid. It also includes $3 billion for food and humanitarian programs around the world.

BIDEN: This funding’s going to help ease rising food prices at home as well, and abroad, caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. It’s going to help support American farmers produce more crops, like wheat and oil seed, which is good for rural America, good for the American consumer, and good for the world.

If approved by Congress, the new aid package would more than triple the initial U.S. investment in the conflict.

Biden also asked Congress for new powers to seize and repurpose assets like homes and luxury yachts owned by Russian oligarchs. Proceeds from the sale of those assets could help offset some U.S. aid costs.

In another strike at Putin’s supporters, Biden asked lawmakers to expand criminal penalties for activities related to evading sanctions.

Moderna asks FDA to approve vaccine for young children » Drugmaker Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for young children. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: On Thursday, Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve a low-dose, two shot course of the vaccine for babies and children up to age 6.

Although trials showed the Moderna shot does offer some protection, it’s not as high as health experts would like. Moderna says two doses were 40 to 50 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in trial participants.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, three-quarters of American children have had COVID-19 already. Since the start of the pandemic, 475 children under the age of 5 have died after catching the virus.

Health officials say young children need a vaccine, but it’s not clear how many parents agree. Less than one-third of children ages 5 to 11 have had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine since it became available late last year. Nearly 60 percent of children ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Economy shrinks in first quarter GDP report » The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year, according to a government report released Thursday. It was the first quarterly decline in gross domestic product since the initial pandemic crash in 2020.

Soaring imports and fewer exports drove the 1.4 percent decline in gross domestic product. Businesses also spent less restocking their shelves than they did at the end of 2021.

Speaking at a Brookings Institution conference, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the economic turbulence did not come as a surprise.

YELLEN: Most recently the global pandemic and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscore the likelihood of large economic shocks and disruptions that must be addressed. Downturns are likely to continue to challenge the economy.

But analysts say the drop in GDP does not signal a looming recession. Americans continue to spend at high rates, thanks in part to rising wages. And higher profits have encouraged an increase in business investment.

The job market continues to remain strong, with the unemployment rate near a 50-year low of 3.6 percent. But inflation remains a significant concern. Last month, prices jumped 8.5 percent from a year earlier, the fastest such rise in four decades.

I’m Kristen Flavin. Straight ahead: academic freedom at Christian colleges. 

Plus, WORLD’s foray into true crime podcasts.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday, April 29th, 2022. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Let’s bring in John Stonestreet. He’s the president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast and he joins us now. Good morning, John.

JOHN STONESTREET, GUEST: Good morning. 

EICHER: John, I’d like to start with a listener question. Dave in Nashville writes:

“As proud alumni of Grove City College and also parents of a daughter who is currently attending GCC, we would love to hear John Stonestreet weigh in on the claims by some alumni and faculty that the college has gone ‘woke’ and also Grove City's recent response … not just this particular situation but how Christian institutions can have academic freedom to discuss topics like race through a Christian worldview without going off the deep-end and into CRT. I am glad that college forcefully rejected CRT and took ownership for missteps in 2020, but I can also see the points of the other side who say we shouldn't be censoring conversation on the topic. Political topics have gotten so divisive in recent years that it seems we would rather shut out the opposing ideas rather than let them fail on their lack of merit. We would appreciate John's perspective.”

So John, I’m a Grove City parent as well—for what it’s worth. How do you answer that?

STONESTREET: Oh, I think identifying, you know, in particular to areas of student life, staff development and Chapel, those are two areas that are really vulnerable for Christian schools, not just on this topic, but on any number of topics. Because it's not always governed by the same sorts of things that Orthodox Christian schools would have in terms of their faculty, and what would be expected of their faculty. And I think that the things that they admitted to, you know, that there was a speaker invited who certainly has gone even further in his views into the deep end of what you know, I think could rightfully be called CRT, and also rejected points of orthodoxy along the way, I'm not always sure that those two things go hand in hand. But in this case, it did. And I think also, this one class with assigned readings, that professor has just responded in print, and I, it wasn't a very detailed response. So I'm not sure but his pushback has to do with this idea of academic freedom. And that is something that I'm sensitive to, because Christian students, especially Christian students, who are the best and Grove City tends to attract really, really talented students with lots of potential. They need to have the goods, the academic wherewithal, they need to know what's going on. A Christian college is not a sheltered experience, or at least it ought not be. And this is a hard thing, because Christian colleges have to do the Christian part, they have to do the college part. And then they have to do the Christian college part. And they're not going to hit the bull's eye every time. But part of that Bullseye is going to have to be the ability to engage with thinkers who are outside of the fold. Now, when those things are done uncritically or when those outside the fold are brought in as if they're in the fold. I think that's where you have the problem. And I think that in Christian colleges just can't have the same level of academic freedom, as if they're going to keep staying on mission as other schools do. There has to be a different goal in mind, there has to be a different set of guidelines governing your faculty and faculty orthodoxy and how that integrates in the classroom. And there needs to be some real thought given to how a Christian worldview intersects with some of these more difficult areas. The problem with CRT is the fact that when people talk about art, they're talking about it from a CRT worldview. So this stuff doesn't need to be routed out, but it needs to not be ignored. I don't know. This is hard, Nick. It's going to be really hard for Christian colleges to navigate this. So, you know, I know some of Grove City's faculty well enough to know that they do take counter ideas seriously and equip students to deal with them. But they also deal with it from the vantage point of truth. And so I think Grove City’s okay. I really do. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the school. I'm a fan of a lot of the folks there. And I appreciate how they handled this. Honestly, it was a hard thing and I think eventually they handled it the right way.

EICHER: Let’s talk about the Coach Kennedy case, John. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a football coach who got in trouble with his public school district for holding prayers at the 50 yard line. Steve West, reporting for WORLD, said “during arguments [this week], the justices seemed sympathetic to the high school coach’s plight, yet they struggled to define at what point the coach’s personal, on-field prayer could be considered unconstitutional, as a lower court has ruled.” Steve reported the justices seemed conflicted during the oral argument: “Was Kennedy’s prayer government speech subject to school control?

“… [W]as it private religious expression that must receive the highest protection under the First Amendment?

“ … [I]f private expression, were school officials justified in barring him from praying on the field because it might indirectly ‘coerce’ players to join him in prayer?”

How important is the outcome of this one, do you think, John?

STONESTREET: Well, I think that we are in this kind of decades-long struggle to figure out where religion has a place or whether religion has to be kept completely private. And you know, whether or not religious freedom means one can believe what one wants in the privacy of their own heads, homes, hearts and houses of worship, or whether religious freedom also entails some level of bringing one's faith into one's public life. And, you know, government officials also have religious freedom. It's a little bit different, I think, as opposed to say, for example, a privately owned, you know, business run and owned by a Christian who wants to integrate his or her fate top to bottom, or say, for example, a Christian school and what we would expect from the teachers and the football coaches, and the janitors and everybody else. But we do have to figure it out. You know, I think in the long run, this is one of the most important cases of this term. I think that this one's going to be an interesting one, even for a court that is, I think, clearly sympathetic to Coach Kennedy and certainly religious conviction and wants to err on the side of protecting religious freedom. I think we know that that's the case. But how far they go, will be the real question. I think.

BROWN: John, this week Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill regarded as the first of its kind, the first state explicitly prohibiting the use of so-called nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates, meaning you will only be able to select male or female on a birth certificate.

I imagine other states will follow suit and still others will go in the opposite direction. This feels like the early days of the debate over same-sex marriage. Some states for, other states against, and then eventually the federal government and courts had to get involved. Do you think we’re headed that way on this question?

STONESTREET: Oh, I think absolutely. And I think that should make us all stop and pause, and just contemplate for just a moment that this is a conversation we're actually having. We're actually having a conversation about a scenario which will lead to a legal answering of the question, is there more than boys and girls? Or is there fixed categories of male and female? You know, it's not unlike Miracle on 34th Street, where a court is asked to decide whether there's a Santa Claus or not. In other words, we're out of the realm of government purview, there's really no purpose for it, except a culture that has, you know, run ahead of reality in just really interesting and tragic ways. So it's there, every once in a while, we need to stop and go, you know, we are here. We are absolutely here. Now, I do think we are here, I do think that this is going to have to be something that the court weighs in on because this is a conflict not going away. Here we are, with 25% of young people identifying as LGBTQ. And the Democratic Party platform, essentially including and from the highest forces of the government, including the president, the president's administration, and maybe the Department of Justice, there were some rumblings out of there basically saying this is what we need to do, basically, government mandated embrace of gender dysphoria and surgical interventions, medical and surgical interventions. We just need to stop and say guys, we're here. And so that we don't think this is normal. And that's the problem when culture changes is that the new normal becomes normal and sometimes the new normal is so far over the line, it shouldn't feel normal at all. This is quickly becoming one of those things. This is not normal. It's not normal that the court should have to weigh in and just aside that birth certificate shouldn't lie but that's what they're doing so there you go.

BROWN: John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks, John.

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, April 29th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new streaming series from Marvel Studios.

Don’t like superheroes? That’s okay. Reviewer Collin Garbarino says, this one’s different enough, he just might capture your attention.

COLLIN GARBARINO, REVIEWER: Moon Knight is Marvel’s latest superhero to make the transition from comics to screen. I won’t hold it against you if you’ve never heard of him. He’s not one of Marvel’s top tier heroes—he’s certainly no Captain America. In the comics, he’s like Marvel’s version of Batman, except he’s a Jewish superhero who fights crime using superpowers gifted to him by the Egyptian god of the moon. While that might sound like a complicated identity, the new series streaming on Disney+ focuses on the character’s psychological turmoil.

Oscar Isaac plays Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift shop attendant working at a London museum. Steven might not be a reliable worker, but he loves Egyptian history.

Steven: Oh, Donna, that reminds me. When I was coming in this morning, I saw the banners outside.

Donna: And that’s what made you late for work again, was it?

Steven: No. Sorry about that. The bus came early…

Donna: Third time this week you’ve shuffled in like a lazy zombie.

Steven: I know.

Donna: That’s why you’ll be on inventory this week. Well done.

Steven: All right. Aye, aye, Captain. But no. I wanted to tell you that the banners and the posters of the Ennead…

Donna: The what?

Steven: The Ennead? You know, like, the super group of Egyptian gods? You know, you got Horus, Osiris, Tefnut…

Donna: Stop, please. If this is some weird audition to tour guide here, the answer’s still no.

Steven: No. What I’m trying… That’s actually crushing to hear. But what I’m trying to point out… I’m not trying to slag off marketing, but there’s been a major blunder because they’ve got seven gods here, and the Ennead has nine.

Donna: I fired two of them for being late.

Steven’s troubles with his boss are the least of his problems. At night he chains himself to his bed and he’s afraid to go to sleep because he never knows where he’ll wake up.

Steven: Honestly, it’s like my body wants to get up and wander about, you know, like it has to get the 10,000 steps in. You know? I don’t even know about it until I wake up wherever. That’s why I try to stay awake at night. What do you think?

Steven loses track of time, and many things in his life don’t make sense. He finds a cell phone in his apartment. It’s not his, but when it rings, the person on the other end of the line sure seems convinced she knows him.

Layla: I’ve been texting and calling you for months. You couldn’t give me any sign that you were okay? I thought something happened to you. Where are you? Where’ve you been?

Steven: Uh...

Layla: Hello? You…

Steven: Sorry, I just found this phone in my flat, and I’m just trying to figure out whose it is.

Layla: What’s with this accent?

Steven: What?

Layla: What is happening right now?

Steven: Sorry. Who do you think I am?

Layla: What do you mean “who”? What’s wrong with you, Marc?

Steven: What did you just call me?

Who’s Marc? It turns out Steven’s not the only person using his body. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder—you know, he has a split personality. That other personality, named Marc, is everything Steven isn’t. Steven’s clumsy and kind and can’t seem to find his place in the world. Marc’s a no-nonsense man of action who’s on a mission given to him by the Egyptian god Khonshu.

While Steven’s just trying to get to work on time, Marc and Khonshu are trying to save the world from a villain played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke’s character follows a different Egyptian god who wants to punish people before they’ve had the opportunity to perform their evil acts.

Arthur: I’m sorry.

Old Woman: I’ve been good my entire life.

Arthur: I believe you. But the scales see everything. Perhaps it’s something that lies ahead. Well… I wish you could live to see the world we make. Yet, Ammit has decided.

Moon Knight isn’t for young kids. It contains a few instances of PG-13 language, a good bit of action, and some scary scenes. But Moon Knight has turned out to be one of the better Marvel series, mostly because it feels different. Sure, the show’s supposedly set in the same universe as the Avengers and the Asgardians, but viewers can enjoy it as a standalone six-part series. The last episode airs Wednesday.

Moon Knight is also different in tone. It includes surprisingly little costumed-superhero action. Mostly we see Steven—or Marc—run around dusty tombs solving cryptic puzzles, which makes the show feel more like an archeological adventure.

Marc: Steven, I need you to listen to me very carefully.

Steven: Marc? There he is. Here he comes. Hello, man in the mirror. I was wondering if you’d pop up again.

Marc: I know you’re scared.

Steven: A bit, yeah.

Marc: I know you’re confused. You weren’t supposed to see any of this.

Steven: No, well, a bit late for that, innit?

But the heart of the show is the Steven-Marc dichotomy. I’ve loved watching Oscar Isaac in both these roles, playing them off each other. He’s a talented physical actor—you always know which personality he’s playing just from the expression on his face. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention F. Murray Abraham who voices Khonshu—the other personality that plagues Steven. Abraham really nails it.

Khonshu: See how you fare against Harrow without the protection of my healing armor.

Marc: Alright. So what? You have any good ideas?

Khonshu: I have a bad one.

Marc: Khonshu?

Fans of superhero shows, or tomb-raider movies, or psychological drama, will find a lot to enjoy here. Despite all the action, the series explores the nature of justice and righting wrongs. The villain wants to punish people before they commit inevitable sins. Khonshu isn’t much better. He represents a cold, hard justice that seeks vengeance rather than restoration. Steven and Marc are caught in the middle of it all, trying to restore a brokenness that’s both societal and deeply personal.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 29th. 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. Up next our monthly segment: Ask the Editor.

On March 31st we launched our latest podcast: Lawless.

CLIP: But in court, it’s not always hard data that sways a jury…sometimes it’s which lawyer has the more compelling story. Deacon represented an insurance company. And Woodworth? He was fighting for a tragic young couple in love.

Four weeks into the project, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. But a few listeners have offered some constructive criticism.

Here’s WORLD Radio executive producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: One week ago I received the following email from a listener named Jason:

In March, I began listening to The World and Everything in It after a considerable absence (nothing personal)…[so] I was unaware of…Lawless...

I nearly deleted…[it] without listening—as the overabundance of “true crime” and “real crime” dramas inundate television and audiobooks. But I listened. And then I was disgusted. This isn’t a program a Christian organization should be affiliated with, let alone produce...A straight-forward documentary sans the dramatic re-enactments would…better…serve the memory of Terri Shiavo.

Jason is right that there is an overabundance of true crime TV series, podcast serials, and audio books. It’s hard to say just how many, but they’re everywhere. A recent marketing survey found that “True Crime” is the third most popular podcast genre—just behind news.

With hundreds—if not thousands—of new offerings every year, do listeners really need another one? I happen to think we do. Why? Because what’s missing in most True Crime series is “Biblical objectivity.” That’s what we believe makes Lawless unique.

We’re driven by Ephesians 5:11-13—exposing the deeds of darkness and manifesting the light.

Most True Crime podcasts out there are good at exposing the sinfulness of our world. But we’re committed to something more. You can hear it in this line from our theme music:

“The devil’s at the door trying to take control, but the Lord’s going to scatter his bones.”

We acknowledge the world is fallen, but we know ultimately the gates of hell will not prevail.

So when Jason writes: “This isn’t a program a Christian organization should be affiliated with, let alone produce…” I must respectfully disagree.

I like how Andi Gillis, our Digital Content Coordinator at WORLD recently put it: “Lawless brings to light stories of injustice—and that is our duty, as Christians, to expose. Additionally, Lawless serves to insert truth into a narrative shaped by media misinformation and bias.”

That media bias and misinformation continues today about the Terri Shiavo case decades later. And that’s what moved us to tackle this story.

A couple online reviewers feel the podcast provides too much detail. I get it. We live in a world of Tweets and soundbites. So why are we taking so much time to tell the story? We’re methodically laying out a series of facts—and doing what we can to set the record straight while we do so—so that over the 14 episode season you'll be able to make up your own mind. And we feel that the best way to do that is to wrestle through conflicting testimony. To explore the complexity of the law. And to get to know the people in the story…as people—and not just means to an ideological end.

Could we tell the story quicker? Sure. Could our pacing be faster? At times. But we’re going to err on the side of taking our time—letting you hear from multiple sides and giving you lots of context. We don’t see ourselves as the only investigators…you are too. You’re working through arguments. Weighing the facts.

Back to Jason’s note, he ends by saying that a “a straight-forward documentary” without the “dramatic reenactments” would better serve the memory of Terri Shiavo. That may be true, but I think it illustrates a possible misunderstanding of our purpose. We’re not serving the memory of Terri Shiavo. Instead, we want listeners—particularly those who think they know the whole story—to examine all the evidence, and ultimately re-evaluate their own beliefs about the value of life and how to protect it.

So if Lawless isn’t your cup of tea, we understand, but we do invite you to pray with us that God would multiply our five loaves and two fish. We hope that Lawless can reach a whole new audience with Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires—not just by exposing the deeds of darkness, but manifesting the light.

I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Time to thank the team that helped make this week’s programs possible:

Mary Reichard, Kristen Flavin, Jenny Rough, David Bahnsen, Harrison Watters, Bonnie Pritchett, Amy Lewis, Lauren Dunn, Whitney Williams, Onize Ohikere, Caleb Bailey, Janie B. Cheaney, Josh Schumacher, Steve West, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, and Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz are the audio engineers who stay up late to get the program to you early! Leigh Jones is managing editor, and Paul Butler is our executive producer.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

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

Go now in grace and peace.

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.