The World and Everything in It: April 4, 2025

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Today on Culture Friday: Planned Parenthood faces new challenges—in the courts and in the classroom

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also: A new wave of young conservative women is looking to reshape the online influencer landscape. And Narnia may be getting a Netflix rewrite. Katie McCoy is standing by.

Later…

HERB: You said there would be a hundred.

CHARLIE: No, no, no, no, no.

HERB: Well, yeah, you did.

CHARLIE: Fair is fair. I did not say there would be a hundred.

HERB: Yeah, you did.

CHARLIE: No, I didn’t. I said there would be less than a hundred.

Collin Garbarino reviews a comedy about a man who lures his favorite band into a concert for an audience of one.

And Ask the Editor

BROWN: It’s Friday, April 4th. 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: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Tariffs: Washington, market reaction » President Trump says the stock market’s negative reaction to his tariffs announcement this week … was to be expected. And he told reporters aboard Air Force One … give it time.

TRUMP:  It's gonna be a booming country, a very booming country. It's gonna be amazing actually.

The president announced tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner. That, he said, was in response to decades of unfair trade practices.

But the Trump administration says it’s also about bringing manufacturing back to the United States. White House advisor Stephen Miller:

MILLER:  We cannot have a situation where we are dependent on foreign countries for the medicine that heals us, the steel that strengthens us, the industry and commerce that powers us and keeps us safe.

Democrats are blasting the move. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

SCHUMER:  He's walking us into the dumbest and most avoidable recession probably in history.

But President Trump says global manufacturers are already pledging trillions of dollars in US investments. He also said the tariffs put the US in the driver’s seat to negotiate new trade agreements.

Rubio NATO » Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reassuring leaders in Brussels … that the United States is in NATO to stay. BUT … President Trump expects allies to pull their weight.

RUBIO:  He's not against nato. He is against a NATO that does not have the capabilities that it needs to fulfill the obligations that the treaty imposes upon each and every member state.

 Rubio said he expects to leave Brussels with a clear commitment from Allies to spend 5% of their GDP on defense and increase from the current 2%.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also said members have to step up … and added that some have begun to do so.

RUTTE:  This is probably the biggest search in defense spending We have seen in Canada and Europe since the Cold War, since the Berlin War came down. 

He said that’s “good news, but we still need to do more.”

SOUND: [Cameras flash]

Netanyahu in Hungary, Hungary rejects ICC » Cameras flashed … as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Hungarian President Tomas Sulyok in Budapest.

Netanyahu made the trip despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court.

Neither Israel nor the U.S. recognize the court’s authority. Hungary, however, has recognized it for the past two decades … but no longer.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

NETANYAHU: You've just taken a bold and principled position on the ICC. This is not only important for us, it's important for all democracies. It's important to stand up to this corrupt organization.

Upon Netanyahu’s visit, Hungary’s prime minister announced that his government is pulling out of the ICC entirely, saying the court has become too political.

Tel Aviv anti-govt protests » Meanwhile...Netanyahu faces trouble at home.

SOUND: [Police clash with protesters]

Outside Netanyahu’s party headquarters in Tel Aviv … Israeli police clashed with anti-government protesters demonstrating against Israel’s renewed military operation in Gaza.

One of those protesters also keying in on corruption allegations against Netanyahu's government …

PROTESTER: Netanyahu in Hungary? Well, it's one anti-democrat meeting another anti-democrat. Two wannabe dictators meeting each other. It's disgusting.

Some protesters also gathered at the Hungarian embassy in Tel Aviv … to denounce Netanyahu's visit.

Severe weather » Violent storms and tornadoes tore through numerous states during what could be a record-setting period of deadly weather and flooding.

At least seven people were killed in Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee says state officials requested … and President Trump granted an emergency declaration … to begin the federal aid process.

LEE:  Already have widespread flooding across the state, but uh, the river flooding will clearly follow and preparation for that's already underway.

In Indiana, an EF-2 tornado ripped through parts of suburban Indianapolis.

Forecasters say it was the opening act for a week of wild weather that could bring life-threatening flash floods across the nation’s midsection.

Female fencer refused to compete vs man » Some are expressing outrage after the USA Fencing Association disqualified a female fencer from a tournament … because she refused to compete against a man who identifies as a woman. Stefani Turner instead took a knee.

TURNER:  My opponent was a little bit confused, thinking that I was maybe hurt and I said, um, no. I am refusing to fence you because I'm a woman and you are a man. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not compete against you.

Turner said she had made the decision when she learned that she would be competing against a so-called transgender athlete while checking the pool of players.

TURNER:  I just felt like at a loss I'd already committed so much money to it and training hours, and I was literally looking forward to this. I do this tournament every year.

USA Fencing said on Thursday its decision to disqualify Turner was aligned with the rules established by the sport’s governing body.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, this month’s Ask the Editor. 

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday the 4th of April. 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.

It’s Culture Friday. Joining us now is author and speaker Katie McCoy. Good morning!

KATIE MCCOY: Good morning Nick and Myrna. How are you both?

EICHER: At the Supreme Court this week, the justices heard arguments in a case out of South Carolina. At the center of it is a big question: Can a state cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood—not strictly money for abortions, but money for its other services, like STI testing and cancer screenings?

The case goes back to a 2018 executive order from South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. He said taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to support any group that provides abortions—even if the Medicaid dollars aren’t paying for the procedures directly.

Planned Parenthood sued, saying Medicaid patients have a federal right to choose their own qualified provider. But during oral arguments, justices focused on whether that right is enforceable in court. Justice Kagan called it a clear right; Justice Barrett seemed concerned about leaving patients with no way to appeal.

So Katie, while this may look like a technical Medicaid case, isn’t it really about whether states can draw moral lines when it comes to healthcare spending?

MCCOY: Well Nick, I’m not a lawyer and I don’t even play one on TV—but I’ll just tell you from my perspective what I have heard and gleaned about this case.

First of all, you will have to forgive me for laughing. I’m old enough to remember when this whole “you-get-to-choose-your-own-doctor” thing was a big joke. So when we’re hearing this case, wait a second. I thought individuals could choose their own doctor. Everyone who lived through Obamacare said, “Yeah, we did too.”

So I’m not sure in terms of the legal ease why this would be the one impediment. The attorney from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom, representing South Carolina, said this: “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund facilities that profit off abortion and distribute dangerous gender transition drugs to minors.”

This is the real issue, and we need only hear the testimonies from past Planned Parenthood clinic directors to understand that these lines are not clear. The line between funding abortions and funding other forms of health care are blurred at best.

In fact, there was one former Planned Parenthood center director who described how there’s just outright illegality that took place. She saw the way things were coded, the way Title X was not enforced. All of this seems to come down to whether states have the right not to be funding facilities that are performing abortions, knowing that the line between abortion services and other medical services are not clear.

I hope that what we see is a sound ruling.

I’m also old enough, by the way, to have taken a civics class and remember things like the 10th Amendment. I just don’t know if we even have that anymore on things like this—but that’s probably for another day.

EICHER: Now, Katie, before we move on from Planned Parenthood, there’s one other front in this battle, and that is public schools.

WORLD reported the state of Idaho just passed a new law that requires schools to teach students about prenatal development. This is for 5th grade all throughout high school. And we’re not talking vague textbook diagrams here. The curriculum includes high-definition ultrasound footage as well as videos showing fetal growth, week by week, from fertilization to birth.

Idaho becomes the third state to do this, following North Dakota and Tennessee, and one of the options for schools is a video from the pro-life group Live Action. Let’s hear a little bit from that video.

AUDIO: She begins to move between five and six weeks with both spontaneous and reflexive movements. At six weeks from fertilization, her brain activity can be recorded and bone-formation begins...

We will link to the “Baby Olivia” video in the transcript so the listener can have a look. But there was, of course, criticism of this, and the complaint was telling: Opponents say it’s anti-abortion propaganda that could “stigmatize” abortion.

Proponents say it’s just good science—helping kids understand what human life in the womb really looks like.

Katie, how do you see this?

MCCOY: First, like so many other things, “science” becomes politicized, according to whichever side of a partisan issue you want to be on. Sadly, as with so many other things—not least of which is, When does a baby become a human being?—it’s one of those ethical questions circulating around the issue of abortion.

I think this is one of the best stories that I have seen in so long. Here’s why, while we are keeping our eye on Washington—and well we should—state by state, county by county, community by community, if you want to see real cultural change, it’s going to happen in the hearts and minds of individuals. This law in Idaho is starting at that education level.

I’m sure it is age-appropriate, beginning in fifth grade up through middle and high school to help these students understand what gestation is, what the growth and process of a human being in those first nine months looks like. One of the things that we saw from pro-life groups was showing people what happens to a baby in an abortion procedure, and most people who are under 40 had no idea, because this is the “science” that doesn’t get taught. This is the “science” of saying abortion is totally safe, no problem. It’s not actually doing any harm.

But when they see what the procedure entails, they go: “I don’t know if I’m for that after all.” So this is laying that foundation to help students understand in age-appropriate ways, but beginning in childhood, that a baby actually is a human person. They will be able to identify different points in human development that can contradict the rhetoric that we hear from the pro-abortion advocacy group that, you know, this is just a clump of cells.

BROWN: This article highlighting young conservative female voices: Brett Cooper,  former Daily Wire contributor and current YouTube sensation, Alex Clark, Turning Point USA influencer. Clark calls her followers “cuteservatives.”

The article suggests that these young conservative, female voices are building alternatives to what has been a conservative media space traditionally built by and for older men.

Here’s what really caught my eye: while these young women are addressing politics on their platforms, they say they’re more interested in the personalities behind politics and its influence on culture. They want to talk about the social scene rather than the nuts and bolts of policy.

Is it possible to pursue both?

MCCOY: Well, first, Myrna, cute-servatives? Oh my word.

This kind of reminds me of kind of the new generation’s Oprah culture.

When I was young, we had Oprah—and she really ruled daytime television. Now, of course, we have social media and we have media decentralization. I mean, you have a lot of personalities that come up to the top, but the market is so saturated.

I think this is just what women do—whether it’s on Instagram, YouTube, whether it’s a podcast or TV. Women are wired to relationally connect. So it doesn’t surprise me that they may say, “Oh, we want to talk about this topic and not that topic.”

That soft influence, you’re listening to someone, you feel like you know them, that’s where a lot of social power comes in—and this is what we saw in the Oprah generation. So I think it’s something to watch for, Myrna. I would be entirely unsurprised if they started wading into issues of the nuts and bolts of policy, because policy, culture, real life, it all blends together.

EICHER: Well Katie, before we go, one more story I’d love to get your thoughts on. And I have to admit—when I saw the date on this piece, April 1st, I had to double-check it wasn’t a joke. But sure enough, the UK Telegraph is reporting on the rumor that Meryl Streep may voice Aslan in the upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew.

Now, some folks are upset over the idea of an actress, a female, portraying a Christ figure. But beyond casting, I think there’s another concern here: Will the spiritual heart of Narnia survive the Netflix treatment? They’ve said they “understand” that Lewis’s books are based in Christianity—but understanding that is not the same as embracing it.

And given how hard Disney’s Snow White remake flopped when it tampered with the heart of the original, do you think secular studios like Netflix can—or even want to—carry forward the Christian imagination of someone like Lewis? Or is that just asking too much?

MCCOY: I really hope that ends up being an April Fool’s joke, Nick. I hope that the next time we do this, we’re like, “Oh, whew, crisis averted.”

We did not actually have to take this one seriously, but given the number of outlets reporting it, it seems like this is at least being floated, that there’s going to be kind of this gender bending of the casting of a Netflix treatment of The Chronicles of Narnia.

I try to stay away from the word woke, mainly because when you hear it, you’re just importing your definitions of it and not really hearing anything else. So I try not to use that. But all I can say is, “Go woke, go broke.” I think that will be what we see if indeed Netflix decides to go this route.

You’re exactly right. The Snow White movie completely flopped. It was just riddled with controversy that came from its star who wanted to make these progressive political statements.

I think people will vote with their dollars again. If there is some gender bending version of this C.S. Lewis classic, you might have some people watch it out of curiosity. You might have some people “hate-watch” it. But I have a feeling it’s going to flop.

I think people are tired of these classic things that we should be able to just enjoy in our culture, especially something as enduring as The Chronicles of Narnia, being tampered with and infused with these progressive ideas.

I’m not going to go so far as to say that they’re feminist theorizing it. I don’t know enough yet to be able to say that, but it certainly sounds like that, and I think it will flop.

I think people are just really fed up. Like for crying out loud, leave Aslan alone.

EICHER: Author and speaker Katie McCoy enjoyed the visit. Thanks!

MCCOY: Always good to be with you.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 4th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Later this afternoon on The World and Everything in It feed, we’re releasing an interview with Cam Lee Small. He’s the counselor we interviewed earlier this week in our story about Korean adoptions. He’s written a book about adoption grief and trauma, and we talk to him more about how Christians–adopted or not– view and talk about adoption. Here’s an excerpt:

CAM LEE SMALL: You know, imagine there's an adoptee right now feeling curious, or layers of lament or sorrow or grief, and that can be included in the conversation. It can be included in the way that we pray for one another, carry one another's burdens, and even create resources, because if we don't include that in the in the range of what it means to be relinquished and placed into the care of another, if we don't include that in there, then we can't develop person-specific, God-honoring resources to speak to and walk with that individual.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new British movie explores regret and moving forward, and makes use of plenty of awkward humor.

EICHER: The movie premieres in select theaters this weekend.

It casts an eccentric millionaire who invites estranged bandmates to reunite for a private—and very personal—concert.

WORLD arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino on The Ballad of Wallis Island.

COLLIN GARBARINO: I’ve seen about two-dozen films this year, and so far, I think The Ballad of Wallis Island might be my favorite. It’s a beautiful, quirky little movie that proves to be a little bit funny, a little bit sad, and a little bit sweet, all at the same time. It also features some nice acoustic music.

MUSIC: [Herb and Nell singing]

This movie revolves around an affable lottery winner named Charlie. He’s living by himself on an exceedingly rustic island off the coast of Britain. To enliven his lonely existence, Charlie decides to use some of his money to lure his favorite folk duo, McGwyer Mortimer, into performing a private concert just for him.

The problem is that 10 years ago Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer broke up—both musically and romantically. So getting them to play along proves to be a bit of a challenge.

NELL: Oh wait. I thought you didn’t want to do that one.

HERB: Well, I mean, he requested it.

The Ballad of Wallis Island is the brainchild of British comedians Tim Key and Tom Basden. They wrote the script, and they also play the roles of Charlie and Herb respectively. Carey Mulligan rounds out the main cast as Nell.

Fans of awkward British humor will enjoy this movie. Charlie brings a good-natured absurdity to the story. He’s friendly to a fault. He’s a bit too talkative. And he often fails to pick up on important social cues. But his open honesty leaves you wishing there were more people like him in the world.

Next to Charlie, Herb plays the straight man, trying to navigate an unexpected situation without losing his patience.

HERB: This isn’t where the gig is.

CHARLIE: Well, you’re half right. This is where the gig is.

HERB: Where will the audience be?

Herb serves as a sort of emotional stand-in for the audience. He’s the one who can’t believe that he’s gotten himself into this wacky situation.

HERB: You said there would be a hundred.

CHARLIE: No. No, no, no, no, no.

HERB: Well, yeah, you did.

CHARLIE: Fair is fair. I did not say there would be a hundred.

HERB: Yeah, you did.

CHARLIE: No, I didn’t. I said there would be less than a hundred.

Herb also ends up being the character who’s most transformed by coming into contact with irrepressible Charlie.

The Ballad of Wallis Island isn’t merely a series of comedic gags built on misaligned expectations. As we get to know these characters, we start to feel sympathy, and even pity for each of them. Everyone on the island needs something, but no one can quite get it on their own. And some people don’t even know what they really need.

HERB: Is that true?

NELL: Yeah, 100 percent.

[Crosstalk]

CHARLIE: This is brilliant. I’m loving this. I’m absolutely loving this.

The eccentric Charlie might be the one living alone, consumed with thoughts of a lost love, but it’s the cool musician Herb who needs the most help. After the duo went their separate ways, he had plenty of worldly success as a solo musician. But there’s a sense that he’s wrestling with aching regret. Seeing that Nell has moved on with her life doesn’t make things easier for him.

MUSIC: [Herb and Nell singing together]

The Ballad of Wallis Island is rated PG-13 for some infrequent foul language and smoking, but I would say it’s a pretty mild PG-13. The dialogue is oh so clever, and the writing doesn’t resort to crudites in its punchlines. Seeing Key and Basden play off one another is a joy. And the movie, which was filmed in Wales, features gorgeous cinematography that perfectly captures the damp green countryside.

HERB: Morning Haze… as an album…

NELL: [crosstalk] No… What I mean is that is the first time you could see where we were going.

HERB: No.

In addition to its many charms, one of the reasons this movie resonates with me is that I have the same dream Charlie does. I wish I could see my favorite folk duo play together one last time. I’m still heartbroken that The Civil Wars broke up 13 years ago due to “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.”

But besides offering the bitter-sweet melancholy of retreading past joys and regrets, The Ballad of Wallis Island also depicts the kind of relationship that’s becoming increasingly rare in films. The movie industry hasn’t had a great track record lately of depicting male friendships that are founded on something other than dispensing violence. This story suggests that the kind of unconditional love formed in the bonds of friendship can help us understand who we are and who we need to be.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, April 4th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

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

On Monday, WORLD’s Lynn Vincent told the story of the slow-motion death of Terri Schiavo. In 2005, her case sparked a furious national debate about the so-called “right to die” and the value of human life—a debate that continues today.

BROWN: To mark the twentieth anniversary of Schiavo’s death, we’re re-releasing Lawless, WORLD’s two-season podcast series about the case. That starts tomorrow.

Today, WORLD editor in chief Les Sillars will discuss some of the feedback we’ve received already. Here is Ask the Editor.

LES SILLARS: The last episode of Lawless aired in 2023, and listeners were still commenting on it a year later. One called the series “thoughtful and professional journalism.” He added that the story helped him value life, be a better citizen, and in his words “glorify God in how I think about and respond to these issues.”

Thank you. That’s so encouraging.

But one young listener let us know this week that she wasn’t comfortable with Monday’s account of Schiavo’s death in History Book. 

JOSIE: Hi, my name is Josie and I’m nine years old, and the segment about Terri Schiavo scared me a bit.

Well, yes, I can see how Josie found it a little scary. We described Schiavo in her last moments as resembling an Auschwitz prisoner, and included some physical details.

As a grandfather myself, I understand. We know kids often listen with their parents. We’ll continue to offer warnings at the start of segments about difficult subjects.

And we are certainly not trying to frighten small children on this program. But we are here to tell compelling stories. I often quote to my journalism students a line from a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer: “If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips your heart out—that’s a good picture.”

I love the quote, but it’s not exactly right. Truly great stories are much more than emotionally compelling. But they’re not less.

At WORLD we don’t sensationalize and we avoid explicit details. But details matter. Schiavo’s death was horrible, and if our story doesn’t show our listeners that reality, then we have failed as storytellers. Her death might shock us. It might make us angry or sad. But we’re not afraid, because we know God is sovereign and Christ will one day return to set everything right.

And while we wait, we will keep telling stories. They’re incredibly important. Stories help us figure out who we are, where we came from, and where we’re going. We all experience life as a story. So we make choices, that lead to consequences, that lead to more choices.

We live out our stories in the context of the stories going on around us. The stories of our family. Our community. Our nation. Our culture. And ultimately God’s Great Story: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.

The job of the storyteller, then, is to tell the stories that help people orient themselves to these larger stories. They give our lives context. Meaning. Purpose. They tell us what kind of a people we are and what kind of a culture we live in. We know who we are because we hear and tell stories.

Stories don’t tell us what to do. But we need them to know how to live. As the philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre observed, and I paraphrase, you can’t know what you’re supposed to do until you know what stories you’re part of.

And that’s why, Lord willing, we intend to keep telling stories like Terri Schiavo’s. They won’t always be hard, like Terri’s. Some will be inspiring. Or tragic or joyful or infuriating or sad. I hope at least a few will be hilarious. We’ll be careful, and we’ll let you know in advance if it’s unsuitable for kids. We want to help you, as our Lawless listener put it, “glorify God in how I think about and respond to these issues.”

If you have a question for Ask the Editor, I’d love to hear from you. Send an email or voice message to Les@wng.org That’s L-E-S @wng.org

And one more favor: if you hear a good story on this program, would you mind sharing it with a friend or two? If you’ve never tried, it’s really easy to do on your podcast app.

Thanks for listening. I’m Les Sillars.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Well, it’s time to say thanks to the team members who helped put the program together this week:

Mary Reichard, Jenny Rough, David Bahnsen, Emma Eicher, Lynn Vincent, Leah Savas, Lindsay Mast, Mary Jackson, Hunter Baker, Carolina Lumetta, Leo Briceno, Onize Oduah, Mary Muncy, Janie B Cheaney, Josh Schumacher, Anna Johansen Brown, Bekah McCallum, Grace Snell, Cal Thomas, Katie McCoy, and Collin Garbarino.

Thanks also to our breaking news team: Kent Covington, Lynde Langdon, Steve Kloosterman, Travis Kircher, Lauren Canterbury, and Christina Grube.

And thanks to the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early: Carl Peetz, Benj Eicher with assistance this week from Johnny Franklin.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Harrison Watters is Washington producer, senior producer Kristen Flavin is features editor, Paul Butler executive producer, and Les Sillars editor-in-chief.

The World and Everything in It is a production of WORLD Radio—where we bring you Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible records Moses telling the new generation entering Israel: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” —Deuteronomy 11:26-28

When you gather with your brothers and sisters in Christ this weekend, don’t just attend a service together, but show up ready to encourage one another with an uplifting word.

And Lord willing, we’ll meet you right 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.