The World and Everything in It: February 13, 2026

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

A challenge to the idea that young men are returning to church.

AUDIO: We’re not seeing Gen Z men become more religious. It’s just that they’re secularizing slower than young women are.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Katie McCoy is standing by for Culture Friday.

And an animated underdog takes to the court.

HANNAH: You’re on the actual Thorns.

DARYL: Ain’t nobody kicking our boy off the team.

HANNAH: Nope.

Collin Garbarino reviews GOAT.

And the debut of a new feature: we’ll talk about books that shaped lives with WORLD Radio’s wordsmith, George Grant.

REICHARD: It’s Friday, February 13th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MAST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: DHS funding » The federal government could shut down tonight for the third time in just four and half months.

Funding will expire at midnight for the Department of Homeland Security if Republicans and Democrats don’t strike a deal before then.

Senate Democrats shot down a funding bill Thursday aimed at funding DHS

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

SCHUMER:  This vote today asked a simple question, will you reign in ICE's, abuses, or will you vote to extend the chaos? Republicans chose chaos and the Democrats, we refused.

Democrats are withholding funding as the demand changes to immigration enforcement. But GOP Majority John Thune said the bill included much of what Democrats had asked for.

THUNE:  It was a bipartisan bill, had reforms in it. It had body cameras in it. It had deescalation, uh, training in it. It had more oversight of ICE activities in it. These were reforms that the Democrats had requested, agreed to, and then walked away from.

Republicans say they did not agree to a blank check, and argue that some of the demands would endanger federal agents, such as barring ICE agents from wearing masks. They argue that would open them to personal targeting and violent attacks.

ICE threatener arrested » Meantime, authorities have arrested an Oregon man that prosecutors allege plotted to attack and kill ICE agents in Portland.

Homeland Security officials said Rayden Coleman had a written plan they described as a manifesto, which included the use of Molotov cocktails and a semi-automatic rifle.

Police took him into custody last week during a traffic stop, after officers said they found materials for making Molotov cocktails in his car

SAVE Act passage » The house passed a bill this week, aimed at verifying that voters and federal elections are eligible to vote, but it faces long odds in the Senate WORLD’s Harrison Watters has more from Washington.

HARRISON WATTERS: Democrats in the upper chamber say they will not help to meet the 60 vote threshold needed to bring the SAVE Act to the floor for a full vote.

And a handful of Republicans are joining them.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says she plans to vote “no” fearing the bill will scramble preparations for this year’s midterm elections.

The SAVE Act would require states to launch systems to verify citizenship of voters before November, though requiring photo ID at polling locations would not apply until next year.

Utah Senator Mike Lee is pushing for a rule change to end the 60 vote threshold to bring the bill up for a vote. But Senate leaders so far are wary of changing the filibuster rule.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters, in Washington.

EPA rules rollback » President Trump has announced what he called the—quote “single largest deregulatory action in American history.”

He said that under a process just completed by the EPA:

TRUMP:  We are officially terminating the so-called endangerment, finding a disastrous Obama era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry.

The EPA rescinded the 2009 finding that classified greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare. That finding allowed the federal government to regulate carbon dioxide and other emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Trump asserts that finding drove up prices for American consumers particularly with regard to car prices.

Environmental groups call the Trump administration move reckless, saying it removes the legal basis for many crucial climate rules. Opponents have vowed to challenge the change in court.

Winding down immigration ops in Minnesota » Border czar Tom Homan says the massive immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota is winding down.

He announced that thousands of federal agents are being pulled back from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. But he also made clear:

HOMAN:    Enforcement of Title eight is not going to end. If you're in this country, legally, you're not off the table. And I think we're proving that If you look at the data.

Homan added that Operation Metro Surge was successful in getting many criminals off the streets.

HOMAN:  As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals.

He said that was thanks in part to more cooperation from Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and local authorities,

But Walz disputes that. He insists nothing has changed about the way his state addresses immigration.

WALZ:  My take was they knew they needed to get out of here, but in very Trumpian fashion they needed to save face.

The surge of federal immigration agents drew fierce opposition from Democrats in Minnesota and fiery protests. Two people were killed in incidents with federal agents.

Ukraine latest » The head of NATO said yesterday that he's confident that the vital flow of U.S. equipment in Ukraine will continue.

He also credited the United States for jump-starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte:

RUTTE: President Trump broke the deadlock in the peace negotiations with President Putin in February last year. That was crucial. And since then, he has been consistently driving the peace process through Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are eyeing the next round of those talks.

ZELENSKYY: In Ukrainian

Speaking here, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to resume negotiations, but he's still waiting for Russian negotiators to commit.

PESKOV: In Russian

And Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, says Russia hopes to participate, but is waiting to nail down the location of the next round of talks.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, the books that shaped WordPlay creator George Grant.

This is The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s Friday, February 13th. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Joining us now is author and speaker, Katie McCoy. Good morning, Katie

KATIE MCCOY: Hey, Lindsay and Myrna, how are you doing?

BROWN: Doing great! Glad you’re here. So, I'd like to start by getting your thoughts on the rantings of podcast host Jennifer Welch. Here she is on her “I’ve Had It” podcast.

WELCH: Evangelical Christianity is a cancer. These are the worst people in our country because they use their religion two ways, as a weapon and as a shield. They weaponize it whenever they want to and say we’re on the moral highground. You’re a lesbian you deserve to die. You’re a lesbian the cops shouldn’t have revived you…and then when you call them out on it, how dare they…white Christians are so oppressed in this country and they want it both ways. Because in the religion that duplicity is taught.

So Welch has quite a following, but I want to ask you, Katie, when you see Christians caricatured or maligned in popular media like this, what does a faithful response actually look like? How do we avoid becoming what we're criticizing?

MCCOY: It’s a great question. First, let’s back up and look at who this woman is and what this podcast is all about. I will confess to you I had not heard of who this person was, and then I realized that she is in some of the top rankings of podcasts, and her guest list is like a who’s who in the Democratic Party, including, by the way, some 2028 presidential hopefuls.

So I for one would love to know whether they agree that white evangelicals are, quote, “the worst people in our country.” Now let’s consider what she actually said. She said white evangelicals are a cancer, and then she mocks how Christianity, at least conservative Christianity in its theological expression, is culturally disfavored and certainly disparaged today as a tool of cultural oppression.

Here is what is so ironic about it. The very values that she claims to want to espouse and advocate are products of Christianity’s influence in Western society. Practicing Christians, they are 40% more likely to donate to charity than non-Christians. Church-going Christians are 75% more likely to donate than non–church-going people. I mean, hospitals, schools, literacy programs, humanitarian organizations — these all go back to Christian benevolence, philanthropy, charity.

But see, what this podcaster does is something that is very common in our post-Christian society. A lot of people like some of the, maybe you might call them social virtues, but not the commands of Christianity. Well, that is considered un-Christian.

Now, with all of that in the background, Myrna, let’s ask your question. How do we respond to something like this? I have to tell you, someone who would come at me with that level of vitriol and hate, I don’t know that I’m going to be able to convince them.

But the passage that comes to mind most is First Peter 3: “Sanctify the Lord Jesus in your hearts, always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope that is in us, but with gentleness and respect.” Don’t forget that gentleness and respect part. We’re very familiar with verse 15, but then consider verse 16: “And keep a good conscience, so that the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”

And you know, Myrna, there’s a few things that stand out to me. Not to oversimplify this, but I see from this passage that my job is to keep a good conscience before the Lord and before others. It is not my job to ensure that other people who slander me are put to shame. That’s God’s business.

If we do that, we will be pleasing to the Lord, and I will say we will be effective in society. This is how Christians from generations of old have done it. We can do it too.

BROWN: Katie, Welch made such a big deal about “white Christian evangelicals.” What about black evangelicals?

MCCOY: Yeah, isn’t it fascinating? This is that critical theory in action once again. We’ve talked about this countless times on this show, but can you imagine her saying black Christians are a cancer on society and the worst of our country? She would never say that. Why? Because this is an example of the way that critical theory attacks majority cultures and says that if you are in the majority, therefore you are morally evil, you are an oppressor of other groups.

It has nothing to do with what you believe, what you espouse. It is everything to do with the composition of your demographics. It was really striking to hear her call out a skin tone and a religion, knowing that no other skin tone and no other religion would be treated with such vitriol on such a public platform.

BROWN: Another striking exchange that a lot of people are talking about is what happened with Congresswoman LaMonica McIver asking pointed questions to an ICE official. Let's hear a little of that.

MCIVER: Do you think you're going to hell, Mr. Lyons, I'm not going to end of course. How many governments, gentle lady will suspend, Mister Lyons, do you consider yourself a religious man? Yes, ma'am. Oh, yes. Okay. Well, how do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands, I'm not going to entertain that question.

Katie, what do you make of that? I mean, not a lot of gentleness, not a lot of respect there.

MCCOY: Yeah, this was another thing that was just shocking to hear. I think I audibly gasped when I saw this on the news.

Now look, I’m not trying to give us all victim complexes here, but I think we need to recognize that we who are going to live in the world are going to live just as Jesus said we would. Jesus said in John 17, they hate him, so they’re going to hate his followers. And if we are living out our Christianity faithfully, it doesn’t matter the color of our skin, those who are outside of Christ will be in opposition to those who are in Christ.

And how are we to respond faithfully with that? But yes, Myrna, it was such a moment.

Oh, I have to tell you, one of the best responses came from my friend Dr. Christina Crenshaw, who has written extensively on biblical justice, and she made the point that, ah, so Christian nationalism, quote unquote, is now okay. Is this an example of it here that is now acceptable? And it just goes to show the different standards and measures that are at play in our cultural discourses on political issues.

MAST: Well, Katie, I want to ask you, over the past few years, headlines, you've seen them, I've seen them have hinted at a religious comeback, young men returning to church, Gen Z, rediscovering faith, even whispers of revival. But when you look closely at the data, that story may be more complicated. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat spoke with religion scholar Ryan Burge, and he argues the U.S. is not becoming more religious, but it has stopped, but it has stopped becoming less so key distinction there. Let's listen to a bit of that interview.

BURGE: What we’re seeing, interestingly enough, among Gen Z is that women are still leaving the church at an incredibly rapid rate. And men are still leaving, but at a slower rate. And what that ends up being is that the religiosity of Gen Z men and women is probably about the same now. It’s not that men are returning to church — this is a really important point. The data does not say—

DOUTHAT: Well, some men are.

BURGE: Some men are.

DOUTHAT: But in the aggregate—

BURGE: In the aggregate, we’re not seeing Gen Z men become more religious. It’s just that they’re secularizing slower than young women are, and that’s allowing those lines to cross when it comes to religiosity.

So Katie, a lot of attention has gone to stories about young men coming back to church. But if Burge is right and that's the wrong framing, what do you think is the right way to describe what's happening.

MCCOY: Well, let me tell you, Lindsay, there are a few researchers that I would never want to go toe to toe with on data. And Ryan Burge is one of them.

I think the big headline over this is time is going to tell the fruit of certain trends, certain movements. He brought up a very thoughtful point: men are essentially secularizing more slowly than women, but there’s still that underlying question of why.

We can analyze our young men becoming more or less religious, whatever is motivating them to come to the church. I think we can say both men and women of Gen Z, they’re searching for models of how to form their identity, how to find community, how to overcome widespread alienation and a lack of meaning and purpose.

Men, especially in this next generation, are looking for positive visions of masculinity. Now there are some correlations here, I think we can say, between younger men trending more conservative politically, which sociologically speaking lends itself to being more religious.

So time may tell that this was kind of a cultural flash in the pan, but I really do want to have reason for hope that if young men are secularizing at a slower pace, why? What is it that perhaps they are finding in the message of the gospel, in the biblical vision for what it means to be a man, that they’re not finding out in society, that they’re not finding in the manosphere?

And so whether or not Dr. Burge is correct, I think we still have an opportunity to be leaning into the conversations that Gen Z is having, and that centers so much on identity, community, meaning, purpose, isolation, and how we as representatives of Christ have that vision for what it means to live as an embodied being in community and in relationship with others.

MAST: Well, last question here, and another one, a little bit about numbers. The Human Rights Campaign is reporting a dip in its numbers. Once described as the largest and loudest LGBT organization, it appears to be losing momentum and influence now back in the early 2000s 1000s, the HRC began ranking companies on how well they aligned with their pro gay agenda. They used a tool called the Corporate Equality Index, and employers were graded on their willingness to make certain concessions, offering to cover the cost for gender transition procedures for workers and their families, or introducing pronoun guides to employees, things along those lines. But it appears the bullying is crumbling. This year's index reveals the HRC lost 65% of its Fortune 500 participants. It went from 377

MCCOY: This is big news, Lindsay, and here’s why this is signifying the cultural moment that we’re in.

First of all, the Corporate Equality Index is now just so 2020. People are totally over it. And what’s happening is we’re seeing that corporations are going to do what is in the best interest of their bottom line.

At the core of why we saw so many businesses just falling over themselves to incorporate LGBTQ advertising and messaging and friendly policies like providing gender transitions for employees, it’s that they believe that this was good for business. And what they are finding from just kind of, if you want to call it the revenge of the normies out there, is that no, they don’t want to have these ideological messages put in their face all the time.

That doesn’t mean that we’re going to be disrespectful. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be ugly or unloving to other people. But businesses are waking up to the fact that if their job is to make a profit, then they should not be doing stupidly unprofitable things like we have seen many businesses try to do.

So the HRC, the Corporate Equality Index that has been held up as this gold standard that businesses were racing to try to achieve, and now over 50% of the Fortune 500 companies just don’t care anymore. That signals a shift that is driven by the consumer.

So we vote with our dollars, the things that we approve and disapprove of in corporations, and at the core of it, they’re listening. So hey, all you soccer moms who just took a different route on your grocery path instead of going to Target, congratulations.

MAST: Author and speaker Katie McCoy. Katie, thanks!

MCCOY: Thank you!

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Friday, the 13th of February. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning, I’m Lindsay Mast.

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

MYRNA BROWN: Before we move on, I want to bring in a colleague from WORLD Watch. That’s our daily TV news for students. I smile big when I think of my time reporting for WORLD Watch, and I want to say good morning to one of our on-air reporters, Tatton Strassheim. Morning, Tatton.

TATTON STRASSHEIM: Happy to be here Myrna, and it's hard not to love WORLD Watch, but then again I'm a little biased. We had a great show this morning!

MYRNA: Mmhmm, you know, I know a lot of our listeners already tune in to WORLD Watch — but if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s a really practical way to walk kids through the news. Ten minutes, thoughtfully done, and designed for families. 

Tatton, tell us about the special offer.

TATTON: Well, if it were up to me, I wouldn't be waiting to try out WORLD Watch, because we're offering 90 days free to new subscribers. Think about it, that's like a quarter of the year and it is literally free. That's 3 months of current events from around the world, all covered by Christian journalists with a passion for telling true stories. 

It's super easy to sign up, we could not make it easier if we tried. Just go to WNG.org/LOVE90. Once again, that’s WNG.org/LOVE90. It is as easy as watching the show itself, which—this is why I love WORLD Watch—each show is only 10 minutes. So it doesn't waste your time. You can have it with breakfast. Personally, I recommend eggs and bacon.

MYRNA: Sounds like a better alternative to all the Valentine's day candy going around, and you're making me hungry. Three months free, 90 days. But Tatton, did I hear it right? WNG.org/LOVE90. Love 90?

TATTON: That's correct. And you'll love it for all 90 days.

MYRNA: Thanks Tatton. Nice Valentine’s offer. We’ll link it in the program transcript and in the program notes.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new animated sports film for the family arrives in theaters this weekend.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: The movie’s called GOAT, and it’s inspired by superstar Stephen Curry’s journey to the NBA where he revolutionized the sport of basketball.

Here’s arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino to let us know whether GOAT is a slam dunk.

WILL: I’m a small in a world of bigs.

COLLIN GARBARINO: In a world where anthropomorphized animals rule, Will Harris, voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, is a small teenage goat, who dreams of playing the animal world’s most popular sport, roarball. It’s essentially basketball played on a volatile court. The problem is roarball is dominated by massive animals like rhinos, bears, and horses. No one but Will believes he’s big enough to play.

ROARBALL PLAYERS: Smalls can’t ball.

WILL: Wanna bet?

Gabrielle Union voices Jett Fillmore, a black panther who’s the star of the Vineland Thorns.

WILL: Whoo! Let’s go!

ANNOUNCER: Introducing Vineland’s very own hometown hero… Five-time all-star, Jett Filmore.

Most consider Jett the G.O.A.T., aka “greatest of all time.” But despite all her success, she’s never won a championship. She’s getting long in the tooth, and she desperately wants to bag that last accolade before her career ends.

Then the team owner engages in a publicity stunt adding little Will to the roster.

WILL: I never lost the dream to play professional roarball where the fiercest animals compete in the most dangerous stadiums.

Jett is not amused.

After making it to the big leagues, Will still must overcome plenty of prejudice about his size before winning the respect of his teammates. At least his friends believe in him.

DARYL: What do you mean, “If you’re going to be on the team next week”?

HANNAH: You’re on the actual Thorns.

DARYL: Ain’t nobody kicking our boy off the team.

HANNAH: Nope.

The story of this little goat mirrors NBA star Steph Curry’s, because little Will, like Curry who’s only 6-foot-2, changes the game with his uncanny ability to hit insanely deep shots. Curry also serves as a producer for the film, and he voices one of Will’s teammates. Given this pedigree, it would be easy to dismiss GOAT as a vanity project for an aging basketball legend. But the truth is GOAT actually delivers.

WILL: Yeah, baby! We chillin’ in the penthouse. [singing] We chillin’ in the penthouse, we chillin’ in the penthouse, we chillin’ in the penthouse.

This movie from Sony Pictures Animation is rated PG for “some rude humor and brief mild language.” But I felt like the crudities were much fewer than what you might expect. However, a couple of the characters are quite, let’s say, rambunctious.

RHINO DAUGHTER: Make him bleed!

For fans of classic sports movies, GOAT hits all the familiar beats. The little guy gets his big shot. The team he ends up on is full of misfits. The leader begins as an antagonist, but comes around after seeing how the new kid can bring everyone together. It’s a story we’ve seen over and over, yet GOAT pulls it off with such flair and emotion that everything feels fresh.

Will is likable in his optimism. Jett is likable in her self-doubt. Their other teammates are likable in their own strange ways. Some of the haters need silencing, but this movie isn’t primarily about defeating enemies. It’s more about working hard, creating new possibilities, and having fun with friends.

While the story itself might not revolutionize the kids sports movie genre, the quality of the animation might. Sony has given us some visually innovative films in the last couple of years and the studio keeps its streak alive with this one. They rendered the film’s scenery and backgrounds in an impressionistic animation style that I found captivating. It really expressed the organic lived-in feeling of the animal world. On top of that, the action sequences have plenty of energy and sparkle. The beauty of this visual storytelling is making me more excited to see Sony’s third Spider-verse movie next year.

WILL: My mom told me that if anyone could change the game, it was me, and I want her to be right.

So all in all, GOAT is a great addition to the genre. In fact, I hate to say it to all the millennials who grew up loving Space Jam, but GOAT might be the greatest animated basketball movie of all time.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

It’s time now for a new occasional feature that’s built off of the same concept we publish each month in WORLD Magazine. It’s called Quest—conversations with thoughtful leaders about the books that shaped their thinking. Today, we begin with pastor, teacher, author, and the creator of our regular feature, Word Play: George Grant.

George, good morning.

GEORGE GRANT: Good morning.

MAST: George, before we dive into the books themselves, I want to ask: When did you first realize that books could shape a life?

GRANT:  You know, I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember. I lived in a pretty fractured, broken home, and books became sort of my refuge. So at first, books were more of an escape, while the chaos was swirling around me. I would go off, find a book, and pour myself in. But it wasn’t long before I started to realize that all of that reading was helping me with school, and every time there was an assigned book to read, I’d already read it.

And I started to realize, okay, there is something here that is shaping me and shaping my world in a peculiar way, long before I ever discovered Tolkien, Lewis, Sayers, Francis Schaeffer, Colin Thubron, Paul Johnson, all of my great literary heroes. I was already starting to soak in this richness, and I discovered worlds. I began to be discipled by the best minds with the greatest ideas.

MAST: Well, let’s get into your specific books. Let’s start with the first one on your list. Tell us what book you chose to talk about and what was going on in your life when you first read it.

GRANT: Well, the first thing I have to say is to narrow this down to just three books has been torture.

But I’m going to start with Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s The Soul Winner. I read it in 1971, and it was the day after I had made a profession of faith.

I’d gone to a stadium crusade and made a profession of faith. I had no Christian background at all. And so on my way to swim practice the next day — I was a competitive swimmer in high school and college — on my way to swim practice, I went by this little Pentecostal bookstore and thought, you know, I need to find out what it is that I’m supposed to believe now.

That night before, I’d read the whole Gospel of John in a little pamphlet that I was given in follow-up materials. So I walked into this bookstore, and being a broke high school student, I went straight to the sale table. And lo and behold, someone at this Pentecostal bookstore had made a terrible mistake and ordered a bunch of Banner of Truth books, and they were all on the sale table.

So I picked up Spurgeon’s The Soul Winner. I picked up Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor. And I picked up the Geneva Commentary on the Book of Judges, because I was interested in politics, and I thought, “Oh, Judges, here’s a book about Christian politics!” [laughs] I knew nothing.

But as I got into Spurgeon’s The Soul Winner, I was smitten by the comprehensiveness of the gospel. It was my introduction.

There’s this one passage right in the second chapter that has stuck with me since Day One:

“True conversion is in all men attended by a sense of sin, by a sorrow for sin, or a holy grief at having committed it, by a hatred of sin which proves that its dominion is ended, and by a practical turning from sin which shows that the life within the soul is operating upon the life without. True belief and true repentance become twins. No sinner looks to the Savior with a dry eye or a hard heart.”

That just sang right to my soul as a young, really a brand new believer. And I’ve gone back to this book over and over again

MAST: We could talk longer about that one, but time beckons, so let’s move on, painful as it may be, to Book Two.

I want to know — what second book did you choose, and how did this one — it sounds like you had a time of widening and deepening — how did this one do that for you?

GRANT: Yeah, the second book is — and this one was actually easy to pick. When I told my wife Karen that I had to pick three books, she guessed this one first. It’s G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. I read this about eight years after I was first converted, so eight years after I read Spurgeon’s The Soul Winner, and it was mind-boggling to me, for several reasons.

One is the writing is so incredibly beautiful and pungent.

Chesterton is one of the most quotable people in the world. The thing that struck me most about this book, though, was: Here is a book confronting unbelief and paganism in modern culture and the dangers of losing our way in Christendom. So it’s an early book in the culture wars, and yet it is filled with gladness and joy. There’s none of this baptized-in-vinegar sort of stuff that you run into all the time with culture warriors. Instead, you have this sort of warrior poet that is full of gladness and joy. It’s funny at times.

And one of the things that I learned from Chesterton is that it is possible to stand in the hardest fights that we have in our culture today with gospel hope and gospel joy. One of the — there are so many great quotations in this book — but the one that just hits me every time I read it is:

“Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian.”

MAST: Well, Book Three. Tell us about that one. What does that add to this picture of you that we’re getting?

GRANT: Now, the book three was the hardest one to select, but it shouldn’t have been, because this is a book that I have been giving to graduating seniors at our classical Christian school every single year for the last 30 years. I scour the internet. I used to have to scour the world for antiquarian copies of Arthur Quiller-Couch’s The Oxford Book of English Verse.

I’ve often described this as a classical education between two pieces of cardboard. This is a survey. It’s an anthology that surveys the greatest poetry in the English language from the year 1226 all the way up to 1918. And so you’ve got everything from Wordsworth and Keats and Coleridge backwards to Milton, forwards to Hilaire Belloc, and G.K. Chesterton.

And it is a constant companion. And it is full of riches.

And so for me, this was a way to hone my English skills, to discover words that I’d never seen before and never thought about before, to begin to discover the cadence and the rhythm and the music of the English language. Reading poetry taught me how to read aloud. It changes the way I read Scripture. It changes the way I tell stories to my grandchildren. It changes the way I do “Word Play” on WORLD Radio.

So I find myself going back to those poems that I loved as a child.

“The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,

And the highwayman came riding — riding — riding,

The highwayman came riding up to the old inn door.”

It was just stuff like that that just sticks with you and becomes a part of the way you think about the world. I needed poetry because I am someone who deals in nonfiction, someone who preaches, someone who teaches. And so I’m around a lot of prose, and I’m around a lot of arguments and history. So poetry puts the song back in my heart.

MAST: Well, quickly, in looking back — we’ll get a little bit classical here and maybe integrate — when you look at these three together, what patterns do you see?

GRANT: Well, I see, first of all, all three are deeply rooted in the rich traditions of Christendom. So Spurgeon, evangelism. Chesterton, apologetics. Q, the beauty of God’s created world and the great diversity of God’s people across all time. So there’s that.

The other thing is that all three are incredibly picturesque writers.

And the fact that it is rooted in that great Christian notion of beauty, goodness, and truth bound together as a threefold cord — to me, that is the perfect package.

MAST: George Grant, our resident World Radio wordsmith. George, this was a lot of fun. I’m eager to hear what our listeners thought of this.

GRANT: It has been my delight. I could, as you can probably tell, talk about books all day long.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s time to name the crew who contributed to this week’s programs:

Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Emma Eicher, Lauren Canterberry, Emma Friere, Mary Muncy, Albert Mohler, Hunter Baker, Onize Oduah, Bekah Bernhardt, Cal Thomas, Josh Goneia, Arsenio Orteza, Katie McCoy, Collin Garbarino, and George Grant.

Thanks also to our breaking news crew: Kent Covington, Steve Kloosterman, Travis Kircher, Daniel Devine, and Christina Grube.

And thanks to the Twilight Techs, the Moonlight Maestros—making those evening edits to serve up the program each week-day bright and early: Benj Eicher and Carl Peetz.

Harrison Watters is Washington producer, Kristen Flavin is features editor, Nick Eicher is Executive Producer.

I’m Producer Lindsay Mast.

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

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes:

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.” —Psalm 40:1-3

This weekend, hear the Word, be doers of the Word, and sing praises to the Lord together. And Lord willing, we’ll be back with you on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.