The World and Everything in It: December 9, 2025

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Today, how the Pentagon is evaluating those drug-war strikes in the Caribbean as part of its internal review. We’ll break it down with a military JAG.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today the machine in the dark: the future of cyber attacks.

BENJAMIN: It's always going to be this cat and mouse game. That's what cybersecurity has been for decades.

only with AI, the damage can happen much faster.

And music critic Arsenio Orteza is back with two more Christmas picks.

ANDRICO: We went into the studio with the intention of making a Christmas album. And we churned out quite a bit of music.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, December 9th. 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 the news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Trump announces farm aid » President Trump is giving farmers some $12 billion in aid to help as they struggle to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs. The move comes after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war.

TRUMP:  This relief will provide much needed certainty to farmers as they get this year's harvest to market, and look ahead to next year's crops, and it'll help, uh, them continue their efforts to lower food prices.

China has since agreed to buy more U.S. soybeans, but sales have so far been slow.

Most farmers have backed Trump politically, but some in the industry have voiced concerns over his tariff policies.

Trump says his tariffs will help pay for the new program.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said farmers will get the money by the end of February.

SCOTUS on executive power, Trump firing » The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a major case testing how much power a president has to fire leaders of independent federal agencies. The dispute centers on President Trump’s removal of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause — a move that challenges a 90-year-old precedent limiting when presidents can oust agency board members.

During arguments, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the administration’s position could upend long-standing checks on presidential authority.

SOTOMAYOR: If you take away a half of this bargain, you end up with just massive, uncontrolled, unchecked power in the hands of the President, and it's really hard to affect both sides of this bargain because it's already been done.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed Solicitor General D. Dean John Sauer on whether the ruling could also threaten the independence of the Federal Reserve.

KAVANAUGH: The other side says that your position would undermine independence of the Federal Reserve… and I share those concerns. So how would you distinguish the Federal Reserve from agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission?

SAUER: We recognize and acknowledge what this Court said… which is that the Federal Reserve is a quasi-private, uniquely structured entity that follows a distinct historical tradition.

The Court’s conservative majority signaled strong support for the administration’s view, over objections from the three liberal justices.

Israel latest » In the Middle East, Israel is facing renewed criticism after the UN's Palestinian aid agency says it was raided by Israeli troops.

UNWRA -- that's the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees -- says Israeli troops broke into its East Jerusalem compound. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Israeli troops with trucks and forklifts cut communications to the compound, while seizing furniture and electronics.

DUJARRIC: The Secretary-General strongly condemns the unauthorized entry into the United Nations Sheikh Jarrah compound held by UNRWA located in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities.

But Israel has long accused the organization of having ties to terrorism. Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian:

BEDROSIAN: UNRWA has proven its enormous failures and it's time for it to be dismantled, and it's time for the world to recognize that, including journalists as well.

Meanwhile, Bedrosian says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States just days after Christmas.

BEDROSIAN: I can share with you that the prime minister will meet with president Trump on Monday December 29th. They will discuss the future steps and phases and the international stabilization force of the ceasefire plan.

That U.S.-brokered agreement calls for an international governing body in the Gaza Strip, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Hegseth, Rubio in Australia » In Washington on Monday, U.S. and Australian officials reaffirmed their security partnership amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth sat down with their Australian counterparts, to talk over regional security, and their partnership under AUKUS. That’s short for the Australia, UK, US security pact. Hegseth told reporters:

 HEGSETH: As we move, as was mentioned, full steam ahead on AUKUS we applaud Australia's upcoming delivery of an additional 1 billion to help expand US submarine reduction capacity.

Secretary Rubio said they also talked about supply chains for critical-minerals. Those minerals are key for high-tech manufacturing, both commercial and military, and China controls much of the world’s supply.

RUBIO: We have to have critical, critical mineral supplies and supply chains that are reliable and that are diverse and not overly invested in one place where they can be used as leverage against us or our partners of the world.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a critical-minerals deal with the US during a recent visit to the White House.

Paramount Warner takeover attempt » Paramount has launched a hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging the earlier offer Warner leaders accepted from Netflix. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports:

BENJAMIN EICHER: Paramount is appealing directly to shareholders with a larger, all-cash offer worth about $108 billion when debt is included. And unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to buy the entire company, including Warner’s cable-network division.

The company says it went hostile after Warner management didn’t meaningfully respond to earlier proposals. Paramount argues its bid offers more cash and may face fewer regulatory hurdles.

Critics of the Netflix proposal warn the merger could raise competition concerns across streaming and theatrical markets. But either deal would face extensive antitrust review before moving forward.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

DHS bonuses » Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered bonus checks to a number of TSA employees in Tampa on Monday.

She said it was a way of thanking them for coming into work during the recent record-setting 6-week government shutdown.

NOEM: I'm so proud of them and I'm proud of everyone in leadership who inspired them to continue to do their jobs and to do them well. Because of that hard work, I'm here to present each of them that are behind me and many, many more will also receive the $10,000 bonus checks.

She said the checks went to TSA employees nominated by their supervisors for going above and beyond during the shutdown.

Noem praised all TSA employees who she said helped keep Americans safe ... even while temporarily not receiving their paychecks.

I'm Kent Covington. 

Straight ahead: the legal arguments surrounding the military action on drug boats. Plus, more musical selections for Christmas from Arsenio Orteza.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 9th of December.

This is WORLD Radio and we’re so glad to have you along today. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

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

First up on The World and Everything in It: legal counsel and lethal force.

National security committees in Congress got a closed door briefing with top military officials last week, as critics of U.S. airstrikes on Venezuelan drug boats continue asking questions.

REICHARD: Top of the heap, did the U.S. military have legal standing to launch a second strike on remnants of a vessel with survivors hanging on?

On Saturday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth answered questions about whether his department would release video of the strikes.

TOMLINSON: So Mr. Secretary, you will be releasing that full video?

HEGSETH: We are reviewing it right now.

TOMLINSON: Is that a yes or no?

EICHER: Hegseth went on to say that departmental review is to make sure releasing it does not expose classified methods or military secrets.

Joining us now is retired Col. Greg Thompson. He served the US Air Force on the JAG Corps. He’s currently professor of criminal justice and national security at Cedarville University.

REICHARD: Colonel, good morning.

GREG THOMPSON: Good morning. It's great to be with you. Thank you for having me.

REICHARD: Let’s start with a process question. My understanding is that attacks like these in the Caribbean don’t happen without strict legal oversight. How involved are lawyers and legal analysts in military decisions on these types of missions?

THOMPSON: Very involved. And one thing I could say is I've had the opportunity throughout my career to give advice on military strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think the way this is being reported, as if one person, in this case, either Secretary Hegseth or Admiral Bradley, is making a decision in a vacuum—I would be shocked, having been in the military. All decisions are extremely well staffed, looked at by echelons of command, lawyers and people to include what I would expect in a very first strike like this September 2, to have a very robust concept of operations, detailed that would have gone all the way up to the Secretary of Defense, identifying what the proposed plan of action, where the force is going to come from, what ammunition is going to be used. Where do we expect, based on intelligence, these boats are going to come from, and I will add, based on my experience, I will also be surprised if there wasn't some consideration of a restrike or re-attack.

REICHARD: A lot of media coverage on that second strike on the same target makes it sound like the U.S. military specifically targeted the survivors. Anonymous allegations of Secretary Hegseth saying “kill them all” have been contradicted by others in the room. They say those reports are false. What are we missing here?

THOMPSON: Well, I start off with a Christian perspective, which is that we need two or more witnesses before we start accusing people of being war criminals. So that was entirely concerning when I saw or heard about the Washington Post report with two anonymous sources, I was concerned from that perspective. Now, as time has gone on, we've discovered that that was probably inaccurate.

REICHARD: Let’s talk about the second strike specifically…is it legal to hit the same target again if there are survivors?

THOMPSON: First, when we're talking about a restrike, we're going to be looking at a couple things from a legal perspective. One is, what is the identified target? In this case, I have read that those three things have been identified. It was the ship, the narcotics on the ship, and the narco-terrorists on the ship, of which they're initially 11. Now we haven't seen the video or the footage, and this is why we need to have a full inquiry and go through detail minute by minute review. But it appears that the boat was at least damaged or disabled in some way, so an assessment would have to be made if the target and the mission is completed. I think that's accurate, having said that if there are individuals who are now defenseless on the vessel, we're going to have to look at an issue of proportionality, and that is, we're not going to kill innocent, defenseless people unless the military objective is great enough to warrant collateral damage will only be accepted as proportional here. I think that might be a hard argument, but again, I'm not in a position to say it is or isn't.

The second issue is going to be whether or not these individuals are engaged in the fight because they, in their, in their own right, are a target. As we mentioned, they're not a target if they're helpless under international law, if they're out of the fight or order combat, they may not be targeted, and that's really what we're talking about here, but if they're part of the fight. So for example, in Afghanistan, it wouldn't be unusual. Maybe someone's able to call in reinforcements or has the ability to still do other things and engage in harming our forces. They're still obviously engaged in the fight, and we can target them.

I would say also, the video is not going to be enough for me as a lawyer, because it's, as you know, Mary, the facts and circumstances are critical, and there's facts and circumstances that just can't be in that video. Where are the other forces? How far off of the coast is this vessel? Where are U.S. personnel in relation? What is our intelligence on? What these narco traffickers are likely to do if they're in the water? All of those things would be really important to read. Reaching this decision, the important thing is that we have a full investigation in Congress.

REICHARD: Before we go, can you think of any aspect of this story we may be missing?

THOMPSON: I've given advice on many strikes, and I've seen many strikes. War is ugly. People die when we engage our military forces, and it's going to be hard to watch no matter what the final conclusion is, I think this is a situation, my opinion, that would be advisable to allow representatives to do their job for their country, along with military members, watch this video and thorough review and be able to make decisions and if further action is needed. Of course, anyone who needs to see it should have a view-only opportunity to see it.

REICHARD: Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Greg Thompson…thanks for your time this morning. Really appreciate it!

THOMPSON:Absolutely. Thank you, Mary.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: the next frontier of the cyberattack.

Last month, AI developer Anthropic said it detected the first known cyber-espionage campaign … orchestrated by A-I. Here’s WORLD Radio Executive Producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER: Movies tend to portray computer hacking like this: a shadowy figure in a black hoodie taps a few code words into a computer. Within moments, the criminal accesses the secret files.

VICTOR BENJAMIN: But in reality, hacking is a very slow and just a trial and error process. So you kind of like knock on multiple doors, see what’s open, what you can crack open to get further into a system.

Victor Benjamin is an assistant professor at Arizona State University’s Department of Information Systems. He says that trial and error work has gotten easier, as artificial intelligence allows hackers to automate the manual work of hacking and scale up their attacks.

Using large language models—or LLMs—hackers can quickly research targets and spot an organization’s security gaps.

BENJAMIN: If you find something that may be a vulnerability, like it's running a outdated server side software or something, then you can use an LLM further to write code to target that vulnerability. So the LLM and how the attackers used it, it basically is a kind of like a partner in the whole cyber attack chain.

Software company Anthropic believes that China used its Claude tool to attack about 30 American targets. Hackers overrode the software’s security features, a process known as jailbreaking. They told the chatbot they belonged to a cybersecurity firm and used Claude to research the intended targets. Claude organized the information and created malware to take advantage of the weak points in each target’s systems. While hackers only successfully compromised a handful of victims, Benjamin says the attacks mark a troubling technological milestone.

BENJAMIN: So this has been a long threat against the US. What we're finding is that these attack groups are using Western technology now to help further scale and automate their attacks against western systems. I think that's that's the part where it's like, Okay, now we have solid proof other nation states are actually doing this against us.

But the China angle is only one troubling aspect of the report. Anthropic described the cyberattacks as being almost fully autonomous. AI carried out up to 90% of the cyberattacks. Each hacking campaign only needed about six human prompts. Anthropic detected the attacks in September and notified the affected companies. They also hardened their own security measures.

Artificial Intelligence may be sophisticated, but it isn’t at the level of carrying out attacks without human prompts along the way. Amar Singh is CEO of security consulting firm Cyber Management Alliance, gives an example of what AI can’t do, at least not yet:

SINGH: Go and hack this bank and withdraw 1 million full stop and AI will do everything that it takes to think and rethink and rethink and rethink until it succeeds and withdraws 1 million and comes back to you and gives you that million. I think the good news is we're not there yet.

He adds that humans will always be needed to give the initial hacking command. But Victor Benjamin believes it won’t be long before AI can do the rest of the work, without prompts.

BENJAMIN: So the whole concept of prompt engineering will probably go away in the near future as LLMs, you know, you won't have to manipulate the LLM to give you the output you're seeking for. It's going to better understand the nature of your request. So so it will require less prompting in the future. As far as being completely autonomous, I don't, I don't see why not.

More intuitive cyberattacks are concerning because the world is becoming what Benjamin calls “cyberphysical.” Computers have become integrated into just about everything from cars to dishwashers. Meaning everyday tools are suddenly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

BENJAMIN: The security issues aren’t just attacking a server and like stealing your credit card. Now they can attack autonomous vehicles or traffic lights and cause chaos in the real world, right?

Benjamin thinks it’s too late to scale back reliance on AI. Instead, he recommends fighting fire with fire.

BENJAMIN: Just like AI is being used to attack systems, we can have AI based defenders. So I think at some point, cybersecurity will become less managed by humans and more managed just directly by AI. You know, it's always going to be this cat and mouse game. That's what cybersecurity has been for decades. There's always new defenses. The attackers circumvent them and then back and forth. AI is kind of just a new frontier of it.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler. Bekah Bernhardt wrote and reported this story.

NICK EICHER, HOST: More than five thousand cheeses went head-to-head this month at the World Cheese Awards in Switzerland. Judges say the first test wasn’t flavor — it was smell. The culprit? A tiny microbe called Brevibacterium linens. It’s famous for two things: one, making world-class cheese and, two, making feet smell so — memorable.

AUDIO: This was one of my bucket list ambitions, to be judging at the World Cheese Awards. I’m just pinching myself. I can’t believe it’s real.

Oh, it’s real—and the judges needed real courage to push on through. One said a certain entry opened like a teenager’s gym bag—but the taste was the payoff. Call it the B. linens paradox: the stinkier the start, the better the finish.

This year’s first-place finisher: a Swiss Gruyère. So in case you ever doubt the power of humble bacteria, just remember: in the cheese world, there’s a limit to what the nose knows.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 9th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Just a quick reminder about WORLD Watch—our 10-minute daily video news for students. Every daily episode is packed with thoughtful, fact-based reporting that helps kids build discernment— and maybe even brightens their outlook on the world.

And right now, you can try WORLD Watch free for 90 days. Just visit worldwatch.news and look for that purple button that says “Get 90 Days Free.” Find it and click it. That’s worldwatch.news—10 minutes we think the whole family will agree on.

REICHARD: Coming next on The World and Everything in It: part two of 2025 Christmas albums to season your holidays. And WORLD’s Arsenio Orteza is back with two Christmas albums you probably have not heard — but might end up loving.

ARSENIO ORTEZA: The lutenist Ron Andrico and his wife, the mezzo-soprano Donna Stewart, met in the early 2000s in a small choir that sang for a weekly Latin Mass in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, under the name Mignarda, they’ve released 19 albums of early music. It’s 20 if you count Stewart’s stunning 2022 a cappella solo disc Veni, Sancte Spiritus: Gregorian Chant Hymns & Sequences. Of those recordings, over a third comprise the kind of Renaissance-era sacred music in which the couple is steeped.

So far this year, they’ve released one album but will soon release another. The album Christe Redemptor: Polyphonic Motets for Lute, came out in June. It’s a program of 10 selections from the 15th and 16th centuries, and, among other things, it’s a fitting introduction to the Mignarda sound.

MUSIC: [“Hodie Christus natus est” by Mignarda]

The duo’s second 2025 release, called In Dulci Jubilo: Ancient Music for Christmastide, comes out on December 18. As its subtitle makes clear, it’s an album of Christmas music. What its subtitle doesn’t make clear is that Christe Redemptor, the Mignarda album that came out in June, was an album of Christmas music too. I asked the couple where they got the idea to do what no recording artist has ever done before: release two Christmas albums in the same year.

ANDRICO: We went into the studio with the intention of making a Christmas album. And we churned out quite a bit of music. And we got in touch with Edgardo, our producer, the owner of the label, and he said, “This is too much music.” And he said, “Why don't we just break them into two albums?” And, you know, that's sort of like a good commercial fix for the idea that we have too much music.

“Edgardo” is Edgardo Vertanessian, the founder of Prima Classic, the label for whom Mignarda has been recording for the past two years. Before entering the classical-music scene, Vertanessian spent a quarter of a century handling live sound for the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Madonna, the Killers, the Who, Lollapalooza, and South by Southwest. In other words, he knows a good thing when he hears it.

STEWART: The real challenge was to figure out what to do, when the first Christmas album came out in March, you know, during Lent. So that was a bit of a challenge to spin. But it's done well. So, you know, Edgardo knows what he's doing.

ANDRICO: The way we approached it was Christmas all year long.

And if Vertanessian’s decision to divide Mignarda’s latest Christmas recordings into two albums is a “good commercial fix,” it makes aesthetic sense as well. Andrico and Stewart placed the 15th and 16th-century Latin motets onto Christe Redemptor and devoted In Dulci Jubilo to more familiar Christmas melodies.

MUSIC: [“Un flambeau Jeanette Isabella” by Mignarda]

ANDRICO: We had a lot of Latin motets that we we loved to perform, but we wanted to couch them in more familiar Christmas songs or Christmas carols so it wouldn't be all one intense experience of, you know, all this polyphony that’s actually quite engaging, but too much of anything is a little—a little wearing. So we wanted to mix it up a bit.

For listeners who’d like to “mix it up” even more this year, there’s a noteworthy new Christmas album that’s not only not by Mignarda but that’s also about as far from the Mignarda sound as possible. It’s Evergreen Melodie: The Christmas Recordings, the latest release by the synth-pop maestro and Evangelical Free Church of America pastor, Ronnie Martin. Evergreen Melodie contains neither Latin polyphonic motets nor familiar Christmas songs. But what it does contain is eight original Christmas-themed compositions featuring Martin’s trademark bouncy pop textures.

MUSIC: [“Evergreen Melodie” by Ronnie Martin]

That’s the title cut, and it’s representative of the album as a whole. The lyrics aren’t theologically oriented. Rather, they focus on the “good will toward men” component of the holiday, with an emphasis on good will among friends and family who depend on Christmas to rekindle their mutual affection. There’s an emphasis on letting nostalgia put one in the “Christmas mood.” One song is even called “Christmas Nostalgia.”

MUSIC: [“The Sound of Snowflakes” by Ronnie Martin]

And this song, “The Sound of Snowflakes,” refers to listening to Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby. When I spoke to Martin earlier this year, I asked him how he manages to write and record so much music in addition to being an author and full-time pastor.

MARTIN: Making music is just part of my routine. So yeah, it kind of fits itself in the midst of everything else I do, and it sort of has to at this stage of life. But it really is something that is constantly kind of pouring out of me. I don’t watch sports. I’m not a handyman, so I do no home projects. I only pay people to do those things. So I think I may have just mentioned 30 hours a week right there that most people spend doing those types of things.

Thirty hours per week times 52 weeks equals 1,560 hours—or 65 days—per year. Martin’s 2025 musical output is a clear example of how much one can accomplish when he sets out to redeem the time.

MUSIC: [“On Christmas Morning” by Ronnie Martin]

I’m Arsenio Orteza.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Millions of Americans are not healthy. About three in four American adults are overweight or obese. For children, the numbers aren’t much better. And almost half of all Americans have one or more preventable chronic diseases, many related to what people eat and how often they eat it.

EICHER: WORLD Opinions contributor Seth Troutt says it’s a warning call we need to heed, but he argues the real battle isn’t on the plate—it’s in the heart.

SETH TROUTT: Recently I received this message from a member of my congregation: “When are you going to teach on gluttony? You couldn’t pay me to have sex out of marriage or steal, but [I’ll] eat a bag of chips and a box of cookies at the same time in my living room watching TV. The guilt? It’s horrible.”

I appreciate her self-awareness, honesty, and courage. She’s not alone. Especially during this holiday season. It raises the perennial question: what are the eating patterns that represent a problem?

Gluttony is thankless, mindless overeating. It’s rooted in comfort-seeking and incubated in entitlement; acting as though every bite of food is salvific. Gluttony is the Standard American Die. High carbs, high fat, accompanied by low fiber and low protein. Can someone gluttonously eat broccoli and beef? Unlikely, as the fiber and protein naturally satiate. Yet ultra-processed foods, mechanistically stripped of their fiber and protein in order to make them more immediately gratifying and addicting, serve as the foundation for the way many Americans eat.

Government food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical subsidies incentivize unhealthy eating patterns in multiple directions: doing things like underwriting weight loss drugs and allowing $23 billion dollars in SNAP benefits to be spent on sugary drinks, desserts, salty snacks, candy, and sugar.

Proverbs 28:7 says: “A companion of gluttons shames his father.” Why? The glutton doesn’t delay gratification. His god is literally his belly, and he’s unwilling to steward the good gifts of his body and food. Unable to stop scratching the itch, he is on the trajectory of prematurely ending his life.

So how is gluttony different from feasting? To begin with, feasting is more than just overeating. It’s indulgence with a conscious purpose…giving thanks. If entitlement is the soil in which gluttony grows; gratitude is the environment in which feasting flourishes.

We raise our glasses “to the King.” We give honor where honor is due. Celebrate victories, and appreciate friends and family when we feast. There are toasts, speeches, prayers, and shared stories. History is remembered, blessings are counted, and hope is spread like too much butter on warm toast.

If you add up all the feast days that were prescribed in the Old Testament, it accounted for about 19% of the annual calendar. It wasn’t mindless indulgence. It was a time focused on remembering the works of the Lord and reminding one another of His promises.

Surprisingly, proper feasting, not just fasting, is the antidote America needs to address its gluttony problem. The age of cynicism has begotten the age of gluttony. When you lack thankfulness and embrace spirits of negativity, you start to feel entitled to foolish pleasure seeking…after all, who cares? Likewise, the spirit of nihilism begets gluttony; if there’s no life after death, then your only hope is to maximize your return on every moment, one morsel of pleasure after another. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

It’s harder than ever to be mentally and physically fit. Billions of dollars are invested every month to make you envious, entitled, engorged, and enraged. America needs the holiday feasts now more than ever. So plan a feast, attend or host, make speeches, sing a hymn, drink to the King, and wear your stretchy pants. Feast in rebellious resistance to gluttonous, entitled, and cynical culture.

I’m reminded of the dying words of a dwarf-king filled with regret, Thorin, near the end of The Hobbit: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

The Psalmist put it this way: “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders”

I’m Seth Troutt.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow: More on the war on drugs and rules of engagement with Hunter Baker on Washington Wednesday. Also, World Tour and an interview with apologist and former journalist Lee Strobel. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Mary Reichard.

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

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: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” —Hebrews 8:10

Go now in grace and peace.

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