The World and Everything in It: August 5, 2025

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

President Trump counters Russia with American nuclear muscle.

NICK EICHER, HOST: We’ll talk with a former adviser to U.S. CentCom.

Also today, new laws on crypto-currency.

Later Chinese immigrants in New Zealand are learning the Bible and how to speak up.

HOYT: In this class, I want you to feel very free to ask questions. This is like an American school, not a Chinese school.

And why writing still matters in an age of AI.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, August 5th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

REICHARD: Time for news now with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Texas governor threatens to remove Dem lawmakers who left  »  Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he may take steps to remove Democratic lawmakers from office after they fled the state, flying to New York and Chicago to block a vote on a new Congressional map.

Democratic state Representative Gene Wu slammed Republican lawmakers:

WU:  They have spent their entire time playing dirty political games that only help themselves.

Abbott countered, noting the Wu was speaking from Chicago.

ABBOTT:  It's kinda like running to Wisconsin to protest cheese. Those are, uh, New York and Illinois to Hallmark states and they've already done redistricting to eliminate Republicans.

Abbott said the dozens of Democrats who fled—his words forfeited “their seats in the state legislature because they're not doing the job they were elected to do.”

As for the governor’s threat, Democrats say he lacks the legal authority to remove them or enforce subpoenas across state lines.

Meanwhile, the walkout has delayed votes on disaster relief tied to recent flooding in Texas.

The redistricting plan could add five Republican-leaning districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Russia hoax intel grand jury  »  The Department of Justice is reportedly taking evidence to a grand jury that could eventually result in criminal indictments of members of the Obama administration potentially even the former president himself.

This is all tied to what the current White House calls the Russia hoax.

Fox News reporters that Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a federal prosecutor to start legal proceedings. No comment from the DOJ on that report.

This comes after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced last month:

GABBARD:  The evidence that we have, uh, found and that we have released, uh, directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.

She said the Obama administration manipulated intelligence to craft a false narrative that Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in 2016.

And she referred former President Obama and several aides to the DOJ for prosecution.

The Justice Department says it is taking those referrals very seriously.

White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller remarked:

MILLER:  The new information that has been revealed by the Director of National Intelligence and by the FBI eliminates any scintilla of doubt about the intention, the premeditation, the planning and orchestration of this conspiracy. It meets all of the criminal elements.

There are currently no indictments and no charges have yet been filed. It is very early in the process.

 A spokesperson for the former president has dismissed the accusations, is bizarre, and a weak attempt at a distraction.

Witkoff to Russia  »  Speaking of Russia, President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected in Moscow midweek. The president has set a Friday deadline for Russia to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face severe economic penalties.

Trump told reporters:

TRUMP: He may be going Wednesday or Thursday, he may be going to Russia. They would like to see him. They’ve asked that he meet.

PESKOV: [Speaking Russian]

And Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his government welcomes the visit…

PESKOV: [Speaking Russian]

…adding that he considers the talks “substantive” and “useful”, and that negotiations continue toward finding a settlement to end the war.

But U.S. officials have seen no evidence yet that Russia is willing to do anything more than talk.

As for those economic penalties, President Trump said while Washington is readying new sanctions, but admits, he’s not sure it will change anything.

TRUMP: They’re wiley characters, and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions.

The diplomatic stalemate remains with Ukraine losing territory but showing no signs of a defense collapse or a loss of resolve.

The UN estimates that more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed so far in the war.

Israeli hostage release rallies  »  Protesters in the streets of Tel Aviv calling for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages still held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

That comes after Hamas released graphic, taunting videos of emaciated Israeli hostages.

Shai Moses, nephew of Hamas hostage survivor Gadi Moses joined the demonstrators:

SHAI: Yesterday we saw the videos of our hostages in captivity after 666 days, looking like skeletons and we just couldn't stay home. We want to shout and remind the Israeli public and the whole world that these, our brothers, these hostages need to come home as fast as possible

Some protesters voiced anger at the Israeli government, demanding a ceasefire, and accusing Israeli leaders of not doing enough to bring the hostages home.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said the latest Hamas videos are further evidence that the terror group does not want peace.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

He said—quote—“They want to break us using these horror videos, and through the false horror propaganda … but we will not break.”

The United Nations responded to the Hamas videos, demanding the immediate release of the hostages. But the UN and other world leaders also continue to pressure Israel to end its offensive against Hamas in Gaza amid a humanitarian crisis there.

Abortion pill reversal  »   A Catholic clinic in Colorado will continue to provide abortion pill reversal treatments after a ruling in federal court. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: State lawmakers passed a law in 2023 that banned hormone treatments aimed at counteracting the effects of abortion drugs.

Pro-life care providers say that treatment has saved the lives of numerous unborn babies.

But pro-abortion groups claim it is not backed by science, and state lawmakers used the same argument in banning the treatments.

But U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Domenico said no one has been harmed by the treatment. Therefore, he ruled that the state has not shown a compelling reason for regulating it, or for burdening the plaintiffs’ First Amendment religious rights.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the operators of the Bella Health and Wellness clinic in Denver.

The decision only applies to this case, not other clinics in the state.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Loni Anderson obituary  »   Actress Loni Anderson has died, just days before her 80th birthday.

CLIP (WKRP Cincinnati): Mr. Carlson,  Mr. Travis is here to see you. … Travis. … I don’t know, he claims to be the new program director.

Anderson heard there as receptionist Jennifer at a struggling radio station in “WKRP in Cincinnati” from 1978 to 1982. She earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performance in that role.

Anderson starred on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983 comedy “Stroker Ace.” The two later married, but a divorce years later became constant tabloid fodder.

Her longtime publicist says Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the latest on Russian and U.S. relations. Plus, federal legislation regulating cryptocurrency and what it might mean for the US dollar.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Tuesday, the 5th of August.

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Up first, strategy below the surface.

Last week, President Trump reacted strongly to online jabs from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, threatening to move two nuclear submarines.

Medvedev is a key figure in Russia’s security council, and has recently mocked Trump with posts about Russia’s nuclear power. Here’s the president outside the White House:

TRUMP: He was talking about nuclear. When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared. And we're totally prepared.

EICHER: This comes as the U.S. increases pressure on Russia to agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine, or face new sanctions later this week.

Joining us now is Retired Navy Lieutenant Commander James Drennan. He served four years as a strategic adviser to U.S. Central Command , ending his service last year.

REICHARD: Good morning, sir.

JAMES DRENNAN: Hi, good morning. Thanks for having me, Mary.

REICHARD: I’m glad you’re here. Commander Drennan, why do you think President Trump responded to the former Russian president’s comments by promising to move nuclear submarines? Why submarines as opposed to say destroyers or aircraft carriers?

DRENNAN: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, one of the inherent advantages of a submarine is that you never know quite where they are, and so by doing that, there's some strategic ambiguity, which I think is something that President Trump does very well. There's a couple pieces to it. I think choosing submarines allows him some flexibility. In terms of, it's not visible, so he can't really be fact checked. Now I'm not, of course, I'm not saying that he's bluffing, but in terms of people would, might be watching the progress of destroyers or cruisers or an aircraft carrier versus you don't know exactly where submarines are, and that's by design. Also, the fact that he even said it in the first place is noteworthy, because these kinds of movements are happening all the time. I think that's something as a key point is that naval movements are sort of always happening, and they are being shifted from one region to another. They're just happening behind the scenes or under the surface, if you will. So it's important, I think, to note that we're moving the submarines, but also that he announced that we're moving the submarines. It adds a little bit of extra, extra element of deterrence to put it that way.

REICHARD: Well, we see the political aspects of calling Russia’s bluff on willingness to use nuclear weapons if things in Ukraine go south. But how could moving these subs help the U.S. be more prepared, as President Trump says?

DRENNAN: Right, that's a good question. Anytime you have four deployed naval forces, it allows you some flexibility in your in terms of your operations. If you have operations in, for example, in the Middle East, which is sort of my area of expertise, you always, even if you have operations on land or in the air, you always want to have naval forces nearby in case of contingencies. The fact that these are nuclear submarines, it's important to distinguish between a ballistic missile submarine and a nuclear powered submarine. All of the US Navy submarines are nuclear powered. Only a fraction are ballistic missile submarines. He didn't specify. And I also think that was probably by design, with no need to and why would you so leave it to the Russians to sort of determine what he's really talking about, but it's possible, again, I'm not currently in the know, but it's possible that he's referring to fast attack nuclear powered submarines which do not carry nuclear missiles. Or he could be referring to ballistic missile submarines, which I think would be even more remarkable, because those are very closely guarded state secrets in terms of the location of those submarines.

REICHARD: Alright, from submarines to American ships, then. President Trump has called attention to building American ships. Back in March, he visited a Wisconsin shipyard where a new generation of Navy frigates are years behind schedule and way over budget, by hundreds of millions of dollars. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. has fallen behind allies and adversaries in building warships.

Commander, talk about some of the challenges facing the U.S. Navy in building and maintaining the American fleet?

DRENNAN: It’s a problem that's decades in the making, and one of the big problems that we have generation or more of a workforce that it is not ready to jump in and start building more ships, both merchant and naval. Of course, we've always, we've always built our own warships, but we haven't really been building our own merchant ships. And so when you talk about ship building, and some of the attention that he's called to it, which is a good thing, and there's the executive order that he put out sort of trying to revitalize our maritime industry. A big part of that is our merchant ship building and in our merchant fleet, and very, very little U.S. goods sail on U.S. flagged merchants. We have, over decades, sort of offloaded that outsourced it to other countries in terms of ships built in other countries, ships owned and operated by companies in other countries, and ships flagged in other countries, and a lot of that is in China, in terms of the building and the operating of the companies. And so I think President Trump and even the administration before him have started to come to realize that we've maybe put a little bit too much reliance, in terms of our maritime industry, on a potential competitor or adversary in China, under global power, for sure, and I'll just call out real quickly, the LCS, the littoral combat ship program is. Not the reason, but I would say it's one of several reasons, if you look back on where we had maybe as a Navy, got off track in terms of building a ship that really never panned out for us, and I think that contributed to some lost time and atrophy in our ability to build ships.

REICHARD: Alright, let’s talk more about China then. What do we know about China’s navy development, and how it compares to the U.S.?

DRENNAN: By the numbers, I think they have more ships in their navy than we do, but that doesn't mean that they're more powerful or more capable Navy, but it is certainly something that a lot of naval experts have been sounding the alarm bells in at least the past decade, that they are building ships at a break neck rate. They used to not be an aircraft carrier Navy, and now they are, you know, they have, they have really caught up to us in terms of capability, or at least gotten closer to us. I don't want to sit here and proclaim that they are as capable as as we are in terms of a navy, but that by the numbers, they have a lot of ships. They are moving fast. I think, as a nation, they understand the importance of the maritime and in terms of their national power, because you look at things just outside of their true Navy, there's things like the maritime militia, which is sort of a pseudo military fishing civilian fleet that does a lot of reconnaissance and other pseudo military activities in the South China Sea just occupying the territorial waters of neighboring nations. You've got the distant water fishing fleet, which is 1000s of large offshore fishing vessels that go all over the world, and they fish inside of the economic exclusion zones of countries all around the world. And I think that country it's not just naval power, it's maritime power for them, and they understand how important the sea is for their national power. So they they're looking at it from a holistic perspective, and they're moving fast.

REICHARD: James Drennan is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Commander, thanks so much!

DRENNAN: Thank you.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Congress and crypto.

For the first time the U.S. government has passed a law regulating the crypto-currency market.

NICK EICHER, HOST: When the president signed that sweeping crypto bill into law, advocates praised it as a way to help American business compete. But critics fear it hands too much power to the wrong players.

WORLD’s Mary Muncy reports.

CSPAN, DONALD TRUMP: This could be perhaps the greatest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the internet itself.

MARY MUNCY: Last month, President Donald Trump signed legislation on stablecoins that’s a form of cryptocurrency that’s backed by a stable currency like the U.S. dollar.

TRUMP: The GENIUS Act provides banks, businesses, and financial institutions a framework for issuing crypto assets backed one-for-one with real U.S. dollars, treasury bills, and other cash equivalents.

The bill says any company that issues stablecoins must hold enough assets in reserve to cover the digital currency. It also clarifies which financial laws they’re subject to.

It passed with bipartisan support. Lawmakers were worried other countries were beating the U.S. in regulating stablecoins, and that international businesses might start using other country’s currencies to back their transactions instead of the dollar.

TRUMP: It’s really strengthening the dollar and giving the dollar great prominence.

Large banks like Citigroup and Bank of America are planning to launch their own stablecoins, and companies like Uber and Amazon are considering integrating them into their systems.

ARI REDBORD: US businesses have been looking for legal clarity and regulatory clarity for a long time in this space.

Ari Redbord is the head of TRM, a blockchain intelligence company.

Cryptocurrency is not like putting money on a debit card or accessing money electronically. It’s more like mining for precious minerals or metals.

A person or group will tell a computer to solve a complex math problem and record the solutions in a digital ledger called a blockchain. Then the company can trade those blocks like a less stable version of gold or silver.

In other words, crypto itself is the thing of value and is not backed by anything. Stablecoins, on the other hand, are created in the same way but are backed by a stable asset.

REDBORD: The real key to stablecoins, and why we've seen this enormous growth in the stablecoin ecosystem over the last couple of years, is they take out the volatility of Bitcoin and other digital assets and allow us to really use them.

Proponents say stablecoins can be transferred quicker than cash and are easier to send across borders. So, Redbord says the GENIUS Act will have a stabilizing effect that grows the industry. He also sees it as necessary for national security.

REDBORD: We need to leverage this technology in order to continue to have the dollar as the reserve currency. If 90-plus percent of all stablecoins are US-dollar-based, then anyone using a stablecoin today in the world is using US dollars.

Plus, some people in countries without a stable banking system are starting to use crypto. The United Nations and the International Rescue Committee also started sending stablecoins to people in Ukraine.

But not everyone believes the new U.S. regulation covers the risks.

HILLARY ALLEN: It doesn't take into take into consideration the fact that these can lose their peg and that people might panic.

Hilary Allen is a law professor at the American University, Washington College of Law.

ALLEN: Another thing we should be worried about with the GENIUS Act is that it allows the largest tech platforms to launch their own stablecoins.

She thinks this is one of the most likely outcomes of this legislation, that companies like Apple and Amazon create a stablecoin that customers can use in-app to make their lives simpler. That in itself isn’t bad. But she worries these companies will become “too big to fail.”

ALLEN And where I think that leaves us is that even if we never use stablecoins, we’ll probably be on the hook to bail them out.

The Federal Reserve says about seven percent of Americans hold any crypto, and only two percent have used it for transactions.

Allen thinks that legislators are not concerned about crypto because everyday Americans are, but because their donors are.

ALLEN: The crypto lobby is very strong with its political spending.

In the 2024 election cycle, the cryptocurrency political action committee, Fairshake PAC, contributed over half of the corporate PAC spending. That’s just under $200 million dollars, a drop in the bucket of the $15 billion dollars raised by PACs as a whole, but still it’s more than big pharma or defense.

Then last fall, Trump started his own digital assets company that distributes stablecoins. Now, his sons run it.

JENNIFER SCHULP: These types of conflicts of interest issues shouldn't be dealt with in kind of a one-off situation.

Jennifer Schulp is the Director of Financial Regulation Studies with the CATO Institute. These questions have come up with stock trading too.

SCHULP: How do we handle conflicts of interest in our both executive and legislative branches.

Schulp says these questions are important to answer, but she’s more worried that the law opens the door for the government to track crypto transactions.

SCHULP: Unlike when we use cash, and it's very difficult to tell where cash goes once you withdraw it from the bank, stablecoins live on the blockchain, and you can kind of pseudonymously track the instances of stablecoin movement from kind of cradle to grave.

Under current law, banks have an obligation to report any suspicious activity, and the GENIUS Act puts stablecoin issuers under that law as well.

Schulp says what you spend your money on says a lot about who you are, which charities and political groups you donate to, or what kinds of things you buy.

SCHULP: Having financial privacy is key for us to be able to live our lives freely, even if we're not doing anything at all that implicates illicit activity.

Schulp thinks the bill could provide the start of a framework for the market. But it’s such a new industry that it will take several tries to get it right, at the moment, there are two more bills moving through Congress that are intended to give more clarity to anyone trying to use crypto.

In the short term, Schulp thinks allowing stablecoins and crypto into the digital transactions space could be helpful. They add more competition to the market which could bring down costs overall.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

NICK EICHER, HOST: In South Central Pennsylvania, the Friday morning commute was no picnic … though you could be forgiven for thinking it was—given the cause of the traffic jam.

SOUND: [Truckload of hot dogs]

Truckload of hot dogs, that’s right. On Interstate-83, a tractor-trailer blew a tire and tipped over and emptied a thousand pounds of frozen franks North and South.

AUDIO: Look at ’em all! If you want a pack of hot dogs, guys—come to South 83, got a bunch of ’em just for free!

State troopers had to shut the road for several hours...

SOUND: [Workers shoveling up hot dogs]

...and PennDOT workers used snow shovels to contend with the franken-spill.

The local fire chief was on-scene. He told a reporter, “I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery.”

Now, that would seem to go without saying , slippery does seem to be a key feature of the uncooked hot dog. And they don’t stand a chance in highway traffic.

AUDIO: We’re just destroying all this pork product. They’re everywhere. That is insane.

The carnage was clear by dinnertime, but may have spoiled some appetites.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 5th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: teaching English as a second language, and using the Bible to do it.

New Zealand has one of the world’s highest concentrations of foreign-born residents—with more than a third coming from overseas. Increasingly, they’re coming from China.

EICHER: It’s a steep learning curve for them—new language, new food, new climate, new culture. New everything all at once.

WORLD Correspondent Amy Lewis recently met a retired pastor helping these Chinese-speaking immigrants start their new lives.

LESSON: OK, let’s begin. Hebrews Chapter 1, the first three verses.

AMY LEWIS: Bruce Hoyt is tackling the book of Hebrews with a group of Chinese immigrants.

HOYT: Remember, in this class, I want you to feel very free to ask questions. This is like an American school, not a Chinese school.

His Sunday evening Bible class is filled with 30- and 40-something university grads. They’re not used to asking questions. In China, it’s discouraged. But some of the students who have been in his classes for a few years jump in.

HOYT: They know the kinds of questions that the other Chinese people probably have and don't ask, and so they'll ask a question for, you know, other people in the class.

One student wonders if what was written so long ago is still true.

STUDENT: My question may be a little bit naive. My question is that, how can we make sure Jesus is the only Son of God?

Another student’s English is not yet strong enough for the theological truths she wants to convey.

AMY: I have to speak in Chinese…[speaks in Chinese]

So, a translator steps in to help.

TRANSLATOR: She was sharing a question she's already struggled with about the Trinity of God, and she said that she read an article from Pastor Steven Tong from Indonesia. So anyway, the article’s about why Jesus is the only son of God…

HOYT: Okay, thank you for sharing. I respect Steven Tong, and he's taught many people the truth of God.

Hoyt and his family moved from the United States to New Zealand in 1981 so he could pastor a small church. He’s retired now, but he still spends most of his week living and teaching the gospel to Chinese-speaking immigrants.

HOYT: It's a new culture, very new, very different from China. And it's, it's a new language, which for them, is quite difficult, because Chinese is nothing like English.

It all started eight years ago with three Chinese women in his congregation who faithfully attended services every Sunday.

HOYT: But they didn’t really understand very much.

So the pastor would send Hoyt his sermon on Saturday. Hoyt would then go over it carefully with the women. He defined words that were new to them. He explained ideas. He patiently taught them from God’s Word.

HOYT: And we did that for six months or so, and then they said, ‘We would like to have more teaching.’ So that's when I started a very small class.

His few students told others.

HOYT: And it just grew by word of mouth.

Now he has a class of 70 or so. Twenty to 25 people show up in person.

HOYT: And then there are a few families that have small children, and we minister to them on Zoom at the same time. There are a couple also in China that come in on the Zoom link.

Hoyt grew up in a Christian family.

HOYT: Here come these Chinese people. They have been taught from primary school right on through from an atheistic, communistic, Chinese communism now, worldview.

He doesn’t always understand where they’re coming from. So he asks them lots of questions.

HOYT: And they're usually happy to tell me on a personal level, and so that's helped me understand where they're coming from…But of course, the shoe is on the other foot for them. They don't understand me, and they don't know my background or the way I think. So, that's one of the reasons why it's important to encourage them to ask questions.

When he first started the class, he spoke simple English. When they found an interpreter, he could use more challenging vocabulary and sentences. But he had to chop his thoughts into small pieces for translation. Now they use real-time translation for those who are still working on their English skills.

HOYT: We have an automatic translation system using AI, but the person will sit beside me and make sure that it's working properly, and if it's not, interrupt me and make some corrections to the AI procedure.

Many of the people in the study come with little or no background in the Bible. About 10 of them are not yet believers. Others have been baptized in a church in China where the teaching was very weak, so they don’t understand much doctrine. Despite their limited background, they’re all hungry for the truth.

HOYT: It's been interesting to me to work with this Chinese community that are largely quite academic and they appreciate an in-depth, logical presentation of what the Bible is all about. They lap it up, even though they're not Christians.

He says there would be even more interest among the immigrant community if he chose to teach straight ESL classes.

HOYT: But I didn't feel I wanted to give my energies to that. I wanted to teach the Bible. That's what they need: to know God and to know His Word. And so I've just made it clear that this is a Bible class.

The class grew. And so did his church.

HOYT: Over the last five years or so, we've added 20 or so members to the church that are Chinese, and we have another 25 or so that are regularly attending who aren't yet members. So a quarter of our congregation now is Chinese.

The growth is phenomenal! But it comes with growing pains.

HOYT: I think the biggest challenge, however, is to help the pastor and elders to understand the particular needs that the Chinese people have, needs that involve family life, marriage. There are quite a few divorces.

But Hoyt is committed to helping his church grow in that by meeting regularly with the elders and being a bridge with the Chinese believers. He has seen people find Jesus when people in their newly adopted country love them and help them. And teach them God’s Word. In season and out. Even in retirement.

HOYT: It’s been a great opportunity that the Lord has just dropped in my lap.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Amy Lewis in Hanmer Springs, New Zealand.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 5th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Long before AI could write a paragraph, students had to figure things out one sentence at a time.

WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney now on what we’ve gained and what we’re at risk of losing.

JANIE B. CHEANEY: While sorting through papers last week, I came across exam questions dating back to my sophomore year in college. The class was New Testament Epistles and the teacher, Mr. Kendrick, was known for short finals. Short, that is, in the number of questions. Long in the execution, because they were all essay questions. Printed on one mimeographed sheet—which will give you a hint how long ago this was—they were:

• Develop Paul’s major ideas as presented in the Doctrinal Section of the Ephesian Letter, chapters 1-3.

• Comment on the nature of the Colossian heresy and relate this to the person and work of Christ as developed in 1:15-20 .

• Compare and elaborate upon the teaching of Paul on the social order of the Christian household as developed in both Ephesians and Colossians.

The essays I wrote are long gone, along with the grade. Even if it wasn’t an A, I’m still rather impressed that I could tackle those topics in some logical fashion at the age of 19. Writing was my strong suit, but I’ll bet most of my classmates were able to turn in something more or less coherent, even if light on content. Essay writing was just something you did in college, because you’d already done lots of it in high school.

Over the last few decades, college instructors have noted a decline in the quality of student composition, along with a rise in plagiarism and online essay peddling. Now, with easy access to ChatGPT and other large language models in the classroom, many teachers are rethinking the academic writing process altogether. Maybe essays aren’t that important. Maybe they’re an outmoded relic from the days of hardcover books and print journalism. Maybe they showcase skills that aren’t needed as much in the age of AI.

National Review intern Moira Gleason interviewed a handful of humanities professors on the use of generative AI in the classroom—“generative” referring to using large language models to create new content from scraps of information. Answers ranged from no tolerance to cautious incorporation, but all agreed on the importance of writing as thinking. And that the real purpose of a writing assignment, such as a formal essay, is not the finished product but the process of discovering what you think about a topic. An essay should make sense first of all to the writer, who has come to certain conclusions based on facts and logic rather than memes and TikTok videos.

Teachers know AI is here to stay. The challenge is teaching students what it’s for. But what is it for? The technology is so new there’s no consensus on that, only individual preferences. Should it be used as a research assistant or a first edit? Is it best for generating ideas or testing them?

As it turns out, the bottom line is the same bottom line it’s always been: students must be convinced of the importance of thinking. That’s always been a hard sell for kids who are maneuvering to get through school as painlessly as possible. AI just makes it a lot harder.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Hunter Baker is back for Washington Wednesday. Also, a special World Tour on the surge in violence in Colombia. And a report on helping victims of the Texas floods. That’s tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

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 Bible says: “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.” Psalm 32:10

Go now in grace and peace.

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