The World and Everything in It - December 1, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Iran wants sanctions lifted as nuclear talks resume with the United States.

NICK EICHER, HOST: We’ll talk with a former defense official about that on Washington Wednesday.

Also WORLD Tour.

Plus great ideas for great books to give this Christmas.

And WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney on the troubles and joys of a vegetable garden.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday December 1st. 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: Now news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Authorities: Student kills 3, wounds 6 at Michigan school » At least three students are dead after a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at a Michigan high school Tuesday.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said authorities received more than hundred 911 calls around 1 p.m. Undersheriff Mike McCabe said deputies took a suspect into custody within 5 minutes of the first call.

MCCABE: Deputies confronted him. He had the weapon on him. They took him into custody.

They recovered a handgun at the scene inside Oxford High School in Oxford Township.

The suspect wounded at least six other people, including a teacher.

Rochester Hills Fire Department spokesman John Lyman told reporters …

LYMAN: We had about 25 agencies that responded, close to 60 ambulances. We had a couple of helicopters land also. We did transport those six patients. The number I’m not totally for sure on, but we did transport multiple patients to area hospitals.

Authorities do not yet have a motive for the attack. McCabe said the suspect invoked his right to remain silent.

Officials did not immediately release the names of the suspect or victims.

FDA panel backs first-of-a-kind COVID-19 pill from Merck » The FDA could be close to approving the first pill that Americans could take home to treat COVID-19. A group of health advisers narrowly voted on Tuesday to recommend that the FDA approve a pill from Merck. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The drug is called molnupiravir. It works by inserting tiny errors into the coronavirus’ genetic code to stop it from reproducing.

And on a vote of 13-10, the advisory panel said the drug’s benefits outweigh its risks but only for adults who test positive and are at high risk of severe illness.

Most advisers said only unvaccinated people should use the pill and that women who may be pregnant should not take it.

Last week, Merck said final study results showed molnupiravir cut hospitalizations and deaths by 30 percent.

But Merck has not specifically tested it against the new omicron variant. And that uncertainty gave some experts pause.

The FDA isn’t bound by the panel’s recommendation and will likely make a final decision later this month. Officials in the U.K. have already authorized the pill.

Rival drugmaker Pfizer also has a COVID-19 pill under review.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

White House: Current tests will likely detect omicron variant » Experts are still studying the omicron variant and trying to figure out just how well current vaccines defend against it. But White House virus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Tuesday that officials are confident that the variant does not evade current testing.

ZIENTS: Based on their preliminary review, the FDA believes the high-volume PCR and rapid antigen tests widely used in the U.S. will be effective in detecting the variant.

And while experts agree that it’s only a matter of time until omicron is detected in America, there’s no sign of it yet. That according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

WALENSKY: Right now, there’s no sign evidence of omicron in the United States. The delta variant remains the predominant circulating strain, representing 99.9 percent of all sequences sampled.

Meantime, more countries are putting more travel restrictions in place, trying to delay what they fear may be an inevitable omicron wave.

Canada on Tuesday banned all foreigners who have traveled through Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt. Canada already has a small number of omicron cases, and officials say they’ve traced all of them back to travelers from Nigeria.

Brazil and Japan reported their first detected cases of the variant on Tuesday.

New York City opens drug use safe havens » New York City has announced the formation of new drug use safe zones, which will allow people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi announced that the city has authorized so-called overdose prevention centers—OPCs for short. The locations allow people to use heroin and other narcotics under medical supervision.

De Blasio called the centers a “smarter approach” to fighting a national epidemic of overdose deaths. Two city-funded nonprofits will run the injection sites, hosted at current syringe exchange programs. Some were operational as of Tuesday.

The centers provide clean needles along with optional information on addiction treatment.

Critics say OPCs give the false impression that drug use is safe and called the program irresponsible. Federal law prohibits places from hosting illegal drug use, and de Blasio admitted that legal challenges are likely.

More than 2,000 people died of overdoses in New York City in 2020.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Space junk forces spacewalk delay, too risky for astronauts » NASA called off a spacewalk Tuesday because of menacing space junk that could rip a hole in an astronaut’s suit or damage the International Space Station.

Two U.S. astronauts were set to replace a bad antenna outside of the space station.

But late Monday night, Mission Control learned that a piece of orbiting debris might come dangerously close.

It’s the first time a spacewalk has been canceled because of threat from space junk.

The space station and its crew have been at increased risk from space junk since Russia destroyed a satellite in a missile test two weeks ago. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the object of concern was part of that satellite wreckage.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: the Biden administration’s approach to trade policy.

Plus, the spiritual benefits of gardening.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Wednesday, the 1st day of December, 2021.

Thanks for joining us 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: reigning in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Former President Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018. But all of the other countries that signed onto that deal have not given up on reviving it.

On Monday, leaders from China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK were back at the bargaining table in Vienna. But Iran didn’t come to bargain, instead demanding an end to sanctions before it will make any concessions.

President Biden has signaled a desire to rejoin the 2015 nuclear agreement, but right now the United States is not directly involved in those talks.

With Iran drawing a hard line, will there be any salvaging the nuclear deal? Should it be salvaged? And is the White House willing to bend?

EICHER: Joining us now is Robert Wilkie. He is former secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness under Defense Secretary James Mattis. And he is still a colonel in the air force reserve as well as a visiting fellow with the Heritage Foundation.

REICHARD: Mr. Secretary, good morning!

ROBERT WILKIE, GUEST: Good morning to you. Thank you for having me.

REICHARD: Take us back to the original nuclear deal. We’ll talk about your concerns with that deal in just a moment. But let me start with this: Iran is no longer cooperating with inspectors. What verification measures were in place in the original deal to ensure Iran’s compliance? And were inspectors able to verify that they were in compliance before the U.S. withdrew?

WILKIE: That is actually the threshold question. There were not verifiable rails, guardrails in place and I'll go through that. The Iranians insisted from day one, that there would be no access to military and paramilitary facilities—facilities controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps—which meant that there were no anytime anywhere inspections. So we never knew at any time what the Iranians were doing. The second thing was that the original Obama agreement did not cover ballistic missiles. So that pipeline, that assembly line kept on going. So no anytime/anywhere inspections, no coverage of ballistic missiles, no references to Iran’s space program, which they are developing I would say in coordination with their Chinese and Russian friends. So it was what I call performative diplomacy, diplomacy for the cameras, and diplomacy for the faculty lounge, as opposed to the real world impact.

Now, the Biden administration and the Obama administration before it will say that it delayed the full production of Iranian nuclear weapons for 10 to 15 years. Well, two things. First of all, they don't know that. And two, that's a Faustian bargain that they entered into that in the meantime, we can push this off to somebody else's problem. Another component of this is that the Iranian nuclear program began to accelerate on January 20, 2021. That was when Mr. Biden came to office, because the very same people who brought you the deal in the first place are back. And that, in turn, has moved forward more rapidly since the debacle in Afghanistan. So we are not in a very strong position right now.

REICHARD: Performative diplomacy as you put it. So you would say the nuclear deal would not have prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that any new version of that deal won’t accomplish it, either. Elaborate more on that.

WILKIE: Let's take it at face value, what the Obama people said it would do. They never claimed that it would stop Iran's nuclear program. All they said was that we put it off for 10 to 15 years, leaving Iran free to expand its uranium enrichment program to an industrial scale that would facilitate that final run to nuclear capability. And that also includes the production of plutonium.

So how do we return to hard diplomacy?

Well, the first thing we do is that we don't talk to them unless they say—and they won't—that they reject the development of nuclear weapons. That means we refuse offhand to lift sanctions against the Iranians unless they agree to a stronger nuclear deal. We also refuse to reward them for their export of terrorism by lifting sanctions. And we, in the end, have to closely coordinate with our allies.

One of the great advances of the Trump administration that gets no play now is the coming together of the Arab nations and Israel, putting away centuries of hostility. Because, one, it's in their economic interest. And two, they have a common enemy.

So, the other thing that we need to do is to make sure that those nations have everything that they need to deter the Iranians. Because right now entering into negotiations where the Chinese and the Russians are buttressing the Iranians, the Iranians are the junior partner in this new axis of evil—to borrow George W. Bush's phrase—we are not going to get anywhere unless we are tough.

REICHARD: Mr. Secretary, some would say President Trump’s maximum pressure policy did not succeed. And Iran didn’t reverse course in any way—valid point or not?

WILKIE: Well, let's take a look at that. One, the Iranians were suffering. Their economy was going south fast. There was agitation in the streets. The mullahs were cracking down even more forcefully than they had. A message was sent when the second most powerful man in Iran, who was the the architect of Iran’s not only nuclear ambitions, but its terror network was killed. And in many respects, the Iranians were being knocked back by President Trump's actions against Hezbollah, and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East.
So, again, you can negotiate, but if you don't negotiate from a position of strength, and right now, the Iranians are negotiating with an administration, that because of the multitude of failures, both at the national and international level, just wants a deal. They want a deal for a photo op. The Iranians know that. They're hardened players on the international stage. And they're going to wait until this administration cries uncle and comes to the table. And they also start handing over more money. The Trump administration stopped the flow of money that was going from Washington, to Tehran. The Iranians want that money back.

REICHARD: To clarify, President Biden has made clear that he wants to rejoin the nuclear agreement. Washington is involved in these talks, just not directly involved, is that right?

WILKIE: That's right. So far. But we know that there are back channel negotiations—as there always are—through Switzerland, through the EU. The Iranians have said they're not going to talk formally to Biden unless he lifts sanctions and returns monies that we have impounded.

REICHARD: Final question, how close is Iran to a nuclear weapon right now, as far as we can tell?

WILKIE: Well, I think they have accelerated since Biden came to office. Again, I do believe they were chastised by the death of Solemani. But we now know that they have increased their production of weapons grade plutonium by 20%. They need to get to 90%, which means they're advancing at a pretty good clip. So what Obama-Biden wanted to put off by 10 to 15 years, that day is coming more rapidly and it also makes the Middle East more combustible. And you've heard it from the Israeli Prime Minister Bennett yesterday, the Israelis are not going to wait. Particularly after the announcement from the spokesman for the Iranian defense ministry, who said that they're there their goal is to destroy Zionism and the Zionist state. Golda Meir famously said, If someone tells you he wants to kill you, believe him. The Israelis believe him but also the Gulf States believe what the Iranians are about, and that makes a Middle East without U.S. pressure on the Iranians a much more dangerous place.

REICHARD: We’ve been talking to former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie. Mr. Secretary, thanks so much!

WILKIE: Great pleasure. Thank you for having me.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

You may want to check out the new World Tour newsletter from WORLD Digital. You can sign up at wng.org/newsletters. It comes out weekly, starting this Friday, and features in-depth reporting from WORLD, led by our very own Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: China pledges vaccines to Africa—We start today here in Africa.

XI: [Speaking Chinese]

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged to provide 1 billion doses of China’s COVID vaccine to African countries. He made the announcement during a China-Africa summit held Monday near Senegal's capital, Dakar.

Forty percent of the donation will come in the form of investment in local production facilities. Beijing will also send 15-00 medical professionals and public health experts to Africa to help address COVID-related issues.

African leaders have embraced Chinese investment on the continent, particularly for infrastructure and other development projects. But those projects often come with large amounts of debt. And critics say Beijing exploits that financial obligation to its advantage.

AUDIO: [Man speaking French]

During the summit, Senegalese economy minister Amadou Hott said African governments needed to seek better economic sovereignty. And he urged them to push Chinese investors to support existing African companies, creating a more equitable partnership.

Honduras elects new president—Next we go to Central America.

AUDIO: [Crowd chanting]

Left-wing opposition leader Xiomara Castro is set to become the next president of Honduras. Supporters celebrated her victory on Sunday as preliminary results came in.

Castro beat the ruling party’s candidate by a wide margin. Election observers feared an outbreak of violence after the polls closed, but the rallies that filled the streets remained peaceful.

AUDIO: [Woman speaking Spanish]

During the campaign, Castro vowed to end rampant corruption. Gang violence and economic woes have plagued the country for years. The outgoing president faces possible charges in the United States. Federal prosecutors in New York have accused him of running a narco state and fueling his own political rise with drug money.

But Castro’s government might not be much more popular than her predecessor’s in Washington. Castro is married to former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. During his time in office, he maintained close ties with Venezuelan autocrat Hugo Chavez.

Barbados cuts ties with the U.K.—And finally, we end today in the Caribbean.

AUDIO: [Sound of marching band]

Barbados cut ties with the British monarchy on Monday and became the world’s newest independent republic. A marching band welcomed Prince Charles to the island to participate in a ceremony transferring power to the nation’s first president.

CHARLES: From the darkest days of our past, and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude.

Barbados became a British colony in the mid 17th century. English settlers covered the island with sugar plantations, and worked them with hundreds of thousands of African slaves. Barbados gained its independence in 1966 but remained a part of the British Commonwealth, with Queen Elizabeth II as its official leader.

President Sandra Mason will serve as the new republic’s first head of state.

MASON: From this moment, every Barbadian becomes the living embodiment of the new republic. Whether fair or foul winds come our way, vessel republic Barbados has set sail on her maiden voyage. May she weather all storms and land our country and citizens safely on the horizons and shores which are ahead of us.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, December 1st. 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: presents for the book-lover on your list.

Many people enjoy giving books as gifts this time of year. If that’s you, you may want to check out the recent Books Issue of our sister publication, WORLD Magazine. You’ll find lots of great book selections there.

EICHER: Today, reviewer Emily Whitten will highlight a few more gift-book options—and she’s brought along a few friends to help out.

EMILY WHITTEN, REPORTER: A few weeks ago, I sat down with three of my colleagues at WORLD: senior correspondent Katie Gaultney, legal correspondent Steve West, and old friend but new correspondent at WORLD, Hayley Schoeppler. I asked them what makes a great gift book. How can you find that perfect book someone will really love?

We started by discussing a few pitfalls to avoid. Here’s Steve:

WEST: Any book that suggests suggests that the person receiving it needs something or is deficient in some way or needs some help. I don't, I wouldn't do that. And I wouldn't, I never give How To books, either. Because that also suggests that you, you need to do something and I don't want people to feel like they have to do something.

Steve also pointed out books don’t make good gifts for people who don’t like books. That might sound obvious, but Katie learned that lesson the hard way.

GAULTNEY: I wrapped it up and handed it to her, and she unwrapped it in front of me, and her face, just kind of like, oh, like, just kind of fell, you know. She was thinking this was like, a box of, you know, fancy truffles or something. It occurred to me in that moment that you know, some people, you really need to just give them a Starbucks gift card, and that will be a whole lot more meaningful to them than a thoughtful book.

So, assuming you know someone is a reader, what qualities make a great gift book? First, I’d say look for something engaging, a fun read. Maybe pick a topic you know they’re interested in, like horses or the first World War. Or you could reach for something more generic with wider appeal, like a book of prayers. Katie often gives one particular book in this genre.

GAULTNEY: In terms of books that have gone over well, one that I love is called Every Moment Holy. It's a book of liturgies. And there's a volume one which has everything from, you know, like, a liturgy for, for breaking bread, a liturgy for a yard sale, all kinds of just sweet liturgies. And then Volume Two is for death and grief and hope. And that just came out during the pandemic era. So very timely.

Hayley chimed in with a poetic suggestion for kids.

SCHOEPPLER: There's this amazing series called Poetry for Young People. So I love Robert Frost, that would be a great example. What they do is they pick the poet and then they take some of their most famous poems; they’re from Lewis Carroll to Kipling to Tennyson, and they'll set up a poem by explaining a little bit about the poet. But then they have the most beautiful illustrations. They pick an illustrator whose style kind of captures the poet's style. And it really works. It's just very fun.

GAULTNEY: That sounds right up my kids alley.

When it comes to gift books, sometimes the presentation can make all the difference—the size, the cover, the illustrations. Your niece and nephew may already own paperback copies of the Narnia series. But they might really appreciate a hardback set that will last for years to come.

But...what if you don’t know a child’s reading level? One solution is to buy books with illustrations that appeal to a wide range of ages.

SCHOEPPLER: ...like John Ronald's Dragons. I love that book. And it's the story of Tolkien and his creation of The Hobbit, and that is just absolutely beautiful. And an older child would appreciate it, you could read aloud to a younger child. So there's, picture books are such a good place to go.

WEST: We also use the devotional for children for Sally Lloyd Jones called Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. And that's a that's a beautiful book. It's not only good for kids, but it's good for adults. It's well illustrated. The color illustrations are really nice. It's a nice manageable size. And there's just there's just maybe a paragraph or two on a page. It could be read by some kids who are reading, but it's great for adults too.

What about boys or reluctant readers? If you know a kid who’s outgrown the Action Bible, he might enjoy the more mature The Epic Bible. Younger boys might enjoy Shirley Raye Redmond’s book of Christian biographies, Brave Heroes and Bold Defenders:

GAULTNEY: It's about one or two page biographies of each person, someone could read four pages a night and not feel like Oh, I'm never gonna get through this, you know. So a child who might be an earlier reader or maybe not as an enthusiastic reader can get through a book with short stories or brief biography entries, a lot easier than maybe a whole novel.

Hayley’s final book picks would be great for growing families or those with little ones on the way.

SCHOEPPLER: Something that I've discovered recently that I love giving in the board books is Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Helen Oxenbury. That one is just so sweet, such a good board book. And when you have children that are a little bit older, and starting to get into the story stage, Shirley Hughes is a wonderful author. Her Alfie and Rose stories are classics that not everyone knows about in America.

We talked about too many books to fit them all in here. For young girls who love mysteries, Katie recently did a number of reviews at WORLD Magazine. We’ll link to those reviews in the transcript. We’ll also link to our reviews of other books mentioned today. I recommend you read our reviews before buying just in case we forgot to mention any important cautions.

For our final gift option, I’ll pass the mic back to Steve.

WEST: Our community group at church has been reading is called Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. And it's really, really good. It makes a point that, you know, we know a lot about what Christ did. But we don't necessarily know about who Christ is, you know, his heart for us. It has some chapter titles like, you know, the happiness of Christ, Christ is our advocate, Christ is our friend. And so it really draws you in sort of a meditative sort of way into thinking, to thinking more about Jesus.

Any gift that does that is a winner in my book.

I’m Emily Whitten.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, December 1st! 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. WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney on finding benefits to gardening that are beyond the harvest.

JANIE B. CHEANEY, COMMENTATOR: Serious gardening was never my ambition, but when circumstances made it impractical to sell our five acres in the country, I decided to enhance what we had. That meant clearing our neglected garden space, buying an old pickup, hauling dirt and compost, laying out rows, and watching the weather.

The truck marked a point of no return, especially after sinking too much money into it. Two loads of compost and one of horse manure got us off to a promising start, but an over-abundance of rain this spring rotted the tomatoes and the first row of corn. Then the problem was too little rain, along with some minor regrets. I could have made better placement decisions. I could have planted more peas and less okra. I could have been ahead of pest control instead of fighting rear-guard actions. Gardening always holds its share of disappointments—and sometimes, in a cursed season, heartbreak.

And yet. To cut into a beautifully ripe watermelon I planted was a celebration. The cantaloupes were not uniformly sweet, but some were perfect. I had enough pole beans to can, and extra corn for the freezer. Cost-effective it was not. But there were, and are, other rewards.

One is acting out the goodness of God. He planted the first garden, but gave Adam the responsibility for it, along with the ability to imagine and develop ways to feed the whole earth and its eventual billions. God packs life into the seed, but we get to nurture its growth—just as we get to cultivate the life he gives to our children, our churches, and our own faith.

Another reward, though it might not seem rewarding, is practical perseverance and humility. Soaring hope at the first batch of tender green beans sinks when leafhoppers nibble the leaves to sieves. Neglecting the strawberry rows for a week reinforces the text about thorns and thistles, sweat and struggle. The dirt on my hands reminds me of where I came from and where I’ll return. (If our elites were required to dig before they were allowed to lead, they might be more realistic, not to mention competent.)

Gardening sometimes represents retrenchment after failure. In the musical version of Voltaire’s satirical novel Candide, the title character rejects naïve idealism by going back to basics:

We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good;/ We’ll do the best we know.

We’ll build our house and chop our wood/ and make our gardens grow.

Jeremiah’s letter to the Babylonian captives in Jeremiah 29 reflects a similar idea.

Gardening is more than sweet resignation, though. It’s the creation mandate at ground level while rejoicing in (and struggling with) sun, soil, wind, and rain. It’s the wonder of a tiny, mighty seed and being a front-row witness to our God’s prodigal abundance. It’s making all things new, even while growing old.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Moscow’s saber-rattling. We’ll tell you why Ukraine is worried about a buildup of Russian troops on its borders.

And, the omicron variant of Covid. We’ll find out what’s different, and what’s not, about the new strain.

That and more 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.

Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

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.