The World and Everything in It — February 17, 2020

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The U.S. Supreme Court considers a recurring dispute that has justices raising an eyebrow at facts that just seem implausible.

ALITO: He is in a strange situation, because he keeps selling a substance, which he thinks is legal and cheap, and, darn it, every single time it turns out actually to be something that is expensive and illegal.

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Legal Docket. 

Also on the Monday Moneybeat, more new records on Wall Street—and in Washington, record high tax collection brought about by lower tax rates and a growing economy—but yet, we’re looking at trillion-dollar deficits. Hey, big spender, we’re talking about you.

Plus the WORLD Radio History Book, today, the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. A great day for American hockey!

MICHAELS: Do you believe in miracles? YES!

REICHARD: It’s Monday, February 17th. 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, Kent Covington with the news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Historic flood waters from Pearl River swamp Mississippi » The Pearl River is still overflowing into nearby neighborhoods in Mississippi. And Governor Tate Reeves warned on Sunday that despite two days of sunshine, the danger remains very real.  

REEVES: We do not anticipate this situation to end anytime soon. It will be days before we are out of the woods and the waters start to recede. 

Reeves warned of possible catastrophic flooding in and around the state capital of Jackson.

Rescuers performed several assisted evacuations over the weekend. And law enforcement officials have been going door to door telling people in affected areas to leave. 

REEVES: We do not want to lose anyone as we respond to what is expected to continue to be historic flood levels. 

The National Weather Service said it expects the river to crest in the Jackson area at nearly 38 feet sometime today. 

Reeves said once the river crests, the flood risk will remain for three or four days. Forecasters are expecting several inches of rain between midday Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Conway responds to Barr controversy » Presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out Sunday on a controversy surrounding Attorney General William Barr. Last week Barr reversed the sentence recommendation of prosecutors in the Roger Stone case, who in turn revolted. 

They recommended seven to nine years behind bars for longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone. After Barr sought a lighter sentence, Democrats accused him of deferring to President Trump and some called on him to resign. But Conway told Fox News Sunday that Democrats are trying to “bully” the attorney general. 

CONWAY: The president of the United States has not asked or directed his attorney general privately to do anything in any criminal matter, including Roger Stone. 

The Department of Justice said it made its decision on Monday—the day before Trump tweeted his disgust with the original sentence recommendation. 

On Thursday, Barr said the president’s constant remarks on DOJ matters was making it—quote—“impossible for me to do my job.”

Barr has received support from some Republicans, including Louisiana Senator John Kennedy:

KENNEDY: Does the president have a right to tweet about a case? Of course. Just because you can sing, though, doesn’t mean you should sing. 

That in response to Trump’s insistence that he has a right to involve himself in Justice Department matters. 

Many American passengers aboard quarantined cruise ship trading returning home » Many of the Americans who have been quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan flew home on Sunday. But for now, they’re merely trading one quarantine for another. They’ll spend an additional two weeks in isolation at U.S. military bases to ensure they have not contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institutes for Health said Sunday… 

FAUCI: The reason for that is that the degree of transmissibility on that cruise ship is essentially akin to being in a hotspot, a lot of transmissibility on that cruise ship.  

More than 350 passengers on the ship were diagnosed with the virus. 

The New York Times reported Sunday that an American woman who left the cruise ship in Cambodia last week and flew to Malaysia has also tested positive. 

COVID-19 has now infected nearly 70,000 people worldwide. And more than 16-hundred people have died from the virus.

Education Dept. probing Harvard, Yale over foreign gifts » The U.S. Education Department is investigating foreign gifts made to Harvard and Yale.  Officials say the probe is part of a broader review of international money flowing to American universities. 

The department said it is reviewing whether the Ivy League schools failed to report hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts and donations from countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and China.

Federal law requires U.S. colleges to report contracts and donations from foreign sources totaling $250,000 or more. The Education Department said some of the donors are countries known to be hostile to the United States and may be seeking to steal proprietary research and spread propaganda.

Rocket carries supplies to International Space Station » AUDIO: [Sound of launch] 5, 4, 3…

A cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station over the weekend.

AUDIO: [Sound of launch]

The rocket blasted off on a resupply mission, carrying candy and cheese to satisfy the astronauts’ cravings.

The aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman launched its Cygnus capsule from the Virginia seashore. The nearly 4-ton shipment should arrive at the orbiting lab tomorrow. 

Besides the usual experiments and gear, the capsule holds an assortment of goodies: fresh fruit and vegetables, cheeses, chocolate, skittles and gummy candy. 

Periodic supply runs by Russia, Japan and NASA’s two private shippers, usually provide more than experiments, equipment, clothes and freeze-dried meals. The capsules also bring family care packages, as well as fresh food.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: Legal Docket—the Supreme Court considers a seemingly plausible case.

Plus, Les Sillars on what happens when we sing in church.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD: It’s Monday morning and time to get back to work for The World and Everything in It. Today is the 17th of February, 2020. Good morning to you, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Real quick, before we get going, two bits of housekeeping.

You heard at the beginning of the program one of my star students two years ago at World Journalism Institute. Let that be a reminder that enrollment is now open for our May WJI course. Deadline’s coming up: March 27th. So a little over a month, and this application will take some doing, so don’t put it off. Maybe you’re an aspiring journalist. Maybe you know an aspiring journalist. We want to help. Go to wji.world for the particulars. It’s a great program.

REICHARD: Housekeeping No. 2. Two months of WORLD Magazine for free! If you are a subscriber and you have a friend, colleague, or family member who might really benefit from WORLD as you have, tell us who it is (or who they are—there’s no limit on the number) and where to send this free trial. Visit getworldnow.org. Very simple. No credit card. This is on the house, two months free.

EICHER: Right and let me add, because this question’s come up before: what if I’m not a subscriber and I’m the one who’s interested? That’s great. Sign yourself up. We just want to get WORLD into your hands. This is a limited-time deal: you have until the end of this month to take advantage, so I recommend not putting it off. Getworldnow.org.

REICHARD: All right. Good deal.

Well, we are midway through the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court. So far, the court’s accepted 69 cases for review of the merits of each. It’s heard arguments in 39 of those cases, and issued four decisions. 

The court returns next week after having taken a month-long break from hearing oral arguments. All of which tells me we’re on the brink of decisions starting to come in fast and furious.

EICHER: Now, while the court’s been on break, you’ve not been, and we’ve used the past several weeks to get caught up on arguments to this point. So after today’s Legal Docket and next week’s, if you’ve followed along with us since the current term began in October, you’ll have heard something about every single case argued so far.

REICHARD: Yeah, and that’s the goal of Legal Docket: to help you become conversant with the workings of the judicial branch of our government. We live in a Republic, the saying goes, if you can keep it. Meaning, it’s up to the citizens to keep it, and you can’t keep what you don’t understand.

EICHER: And as journalists in a republic, we have constitutionally protected freedoms because the founders thought it crucial to the maintenance of the republic to promote a well-informed public. 

So how about we get at the task?

REICHARD: Let’s! 

I’m doing just one case today, because it’s both complicated and interesting: It’s about repeat offenders, recidivists. And the statute in question is itself a bit of a repeat offender at the high court, in that it comes up again and again.

The federal law is called ACCA, The Armed Career Criminal Act. 

What ACCA does is apply a longer prison sentence to felons who repeatedly commit crimes with a firearm. And by “repeatedly” I mean three or more prior convictions for certain crimes.

One of those crimes is a “serious drug offense.” Felons keep challenging this part of ACCA because the terminology is, well, loosey-goosey, or maybe to quote the late Justice Scalia: legalistic argle-bargle.

EICHER: You can’t argue with Justice Scalia. Well, you can. You’re just likely to lose.

How about I try to paraphrase the pertinent language of ACCA. Listen carefully to identify the loosey-goosey part. 

ACCA says a “serious drug offense” includes, quoting here from the statute: “an offense under state law, involving the manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance … for which a maximum term of prison of 10 years or more is prescribed by law.”

As often happens, it’s one word causing the trouble in this case: the word “involving.” Meaning that, under ACCA, a serious drug offense is one that “involves” all of these verbs: make, distribute, possess.

REICHARD: That’s the law part of this case. 

Now for the facts. 

A man in Florida named Eddie Lee Shular racked up six convictions for possession and sale of cocaine. His lawyer argues none of those count as a “serious drug offense” under ACCA. That’s because Florida law and federal law differ on an element of the crime. 

Federal law requires that criminal intent be found. In legal parlance, mens rea. Latin for “guilty mind.” 

But Florida law doesn’t require a court to find Shular had mens rea. 

Now, follow Shular’s thinking here. ACCA’s use of the word “involve” implies a “guilty mind.” But because Florida courts didn’t find that he had a guilty mind, didn’t have to, then his convictions can’t count for purposes of ACCA. 

So, the lawyer argues his client can’t be hit with that enhanced prison term.

Justice Samuel Alito wasn’t buying it. This is quite an exchange:

ALITO: In these cases where  your client was previously convicted of a Florida drug offense, did he go to trial or did he plead guilty?

SUMMA: No, he pled guilty, Your Honor. 


ALITO: All right. So in all those cases, he pled guilty. He could have raised an affirmative defense — I didn’t know  what this was, I didn’t know that it was cocaine — but he didn’t do that. 


SUMMA: No, he didn’t. But as far as the categorical approach is concerned, it is not universal in the Florida law that convictions require a — a  finding of guilty knowledge. 


ALITO: I — I look forward to every new ACCA case because the — the distance between the law and the reality gets bigger and bigger. So here we have somebody who has, what, six prior convictions of either distribution or possession with intent to distribute? 


SUMMA: Yes, sir — yes, Your Honor.

ALITO: He is in a strange situation, because he keeps selling a substance, which he thinks is legal and cheap, and, darn it, every single time it turns out actually to be something that is expensive and illegal. He just keeps — How does this happen to him?

SUMMA: I don’t know how it happens to him …

… Summa going on to argue that he isn’t trying to convince anyone that his client acted without guilty knowledge. The point is that Florida courts did not find that he knowingly handled a controlled substance.

It’s not appropriate, then, for the Supreme Court to presume he did, just to fit his crime under ACCA rules and impose more prison time.

Some unusual alliances seemed to become apparent during the argument. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed to align with Justice Alito.

GINSBURG: What about knowing what you’re selling? In other words, doesn’t the state have to prove that it was cocaine that was being sold, not sugar?

SUMMA: No, Your Honor. The Florida law is so broad that even the defendant who does not know the substance that was delivered or sold is still guilty.

GINSBURG: … I’m  talking about the actuality of the situation. People in other states who did exactly what this defendant did would get the ACCA enhancement. 


SUMMA: But the Florida statute does not involve the same conduct because the the conduct in the Florida statute does not include a guilty knowledge.

On the other side, the federal government says that’s the wrong analysis.

Here’s Jonathan Bond, assistant to the Solicitor General, laying out how Summa’s approach would drag down the entire system.

BOND: Petitioner’s contrary approach would require courts to construct a complete generic version of each offense based on a 50-state survey of laws from three decades ago and then compare that generic analogue to a particular state’s offense at a particular moment in time to see if they match in every respect.

Bond argued the ACCA plainly encompasses state law offenses. 

That’s the way courts analyze other sorts of crimes for ACCA purposes. So why not apply that same analysis to serious drug offenses?  That’d be the end of these constant challenges on this aspect of ACCA. 

Listen to this exchange with Justice Alito and Bond, again for the government. He mentions the term “recidivist statute.” Meaning, as we said earlier, a law designed to punish repeat offenders.

BOND: It’s very unlikely that in a recidivist statute like this, where Congress is only imposing this enhancement for those who have multiple past convictions, the Congress was worried about the unlikely scenario where a person repeatedly sells an illicit substance believing it to be innocent or believing it not to be a controlled substance.  We think that’s just not a plausible understanding of what Congress was getting at here. 


ALITO: … under the federal scheme the knowledge of the illegal nature of the substance is almost always inferred from the defendant’s conduct? It’s not generally based on direct evidence; isn’t that right? 


BOND: Yes, that’s right. 


A bit of additional background on ACCA: Congress enacted it in 1984 during the Reagan administration. The concern was that a very small percentage of repeat offenders were committing a disproportionate number crimes. So to deter that behavior, it made sense to lengthen penalties for those people who commit “violent felonies.”

That phrase has been challenged repeatedly in court. The Supreme Court decided it doesn’t include drunk driving, or purse snatching that involves only “slight offensive touching.” 

Yet other aspects of ACCA have been struck down as too vague. And now the courts are working out what “serious drug offense” means.  

Justice Brett Kavanaugh got down to basics and reminded everyone of the original purpose of ACCA.

KAVANAUGH: The point of the statute is to tell people who have these prior convictions not to possess firearms?

BOND: Exactly.

Still, several justices of different ideologies worried about government overreach. That theme comes up often at the Supreme Court, a thought that lurks in the background of many different legal disputes. 

Listen to Justice Neil Gorsuch:

GORSUCH: … forget about Florida law for a moment. The word “involves.” I think we would both agree is a pretty broad word.  Right? Everything in the world pretty much involves everything else, at some level of connection … what do we do about the fact that this statute would, at least possibly, capture a state law that had a draconian penalty for delivering a drug without knowing what it is? “Involves” would seem to capture that.

Bond answered the way around that is for a defendant to raise an affirmative defense. Such as, “I did this, but I didn’t know the substance was illegal.” Then a jury could decide whether that’s plausible.

I think the government will score a win here, if the questions inform which way at least five justices lean. The Armed Career Criminals Act may well expand in scope.

And I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of ACCA with this case.

And that’s this week’s Legal Docket.

MARY REICHARD: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: The Monday Moneybeat.

NICK EICHER: Make it two winning weeks in a row for Wall Street, with gains ranging from one to 2.2 percentage points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq set new record highs each day except Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrials hit its new high-water mark on Wednesday. Two of the major indexes now sit about three percentage points shy of hitting major milestones: The Dow is nearing the 30,000 mark and the Nasdaq is even closer to the 10,000 mark. It was three years ago, the Dow had just crossed 20,000 and the Nasdaq was below 6,000. The markets are closed today for the President’s Day holiday.

REICHARD: Retail sales in January were in line with economists’ expectations, rising three-tenths of a percent. Year-on-year, retail sales are up 4.3 percent and that figure is an important one because retail makes up about a quarter of Gross Domestic Product.

EICHER: Meantime, the prices consumers pay ticked up one-tenth of a percent in January. But the year-on-year rise is now the highest since October 2018, 2.5 percent. This consumer-inflation gauge has been above 2 percent year-on-year now for three months in a row. That’s about the level the Federal Reserve is comfortable with. If it starts trending higher, that will get the Fed’s attention and you may start hearing talk of higher interest rates to combat it.

REICHARD: Manufacturing in this country may be up or it may be down, depending upon how you count it. If you back out the volatile aircraft sector, American manufacturing grew slightly in January. But Boeing’s ongoing troubles with the grounded 737 Max helped to drive overall factory output down one-tenth of a percent. A warmer winter so far has meant 4 percent less demand for utilities, and so overall industrial production declined three-tenths. 

The private Institute for Supply Management, though, sees a bright spot: its purchasing-managers index is up over 50 for the first time since last July, and that’s a sign of manufacturing growth.

EICHER: We are on track for our first trillion-dollar deficit since 2012. The Treasury Department reported last week that for the first four months of the federal fiscal year, the deficit is nearly 20 percent higher than last year. Overall, government spending outpaced revenue 10.3 percent to 6.1 percent.

The government has raked in $1.2 trillion for the fiscal year-to-date, and it’s never collected that much in the first four months. Federal spending, though, has also set a record-high $1.6 trillion. Medicare, Social Security, and interest payments on the national debt make up nearly half of all federal spending so far this year.

Historically speaking, this is a large deficit, about 4-1/2 percent of gross domestic product. The average deficit since World War II has been a little over 2 percent of GDP. The worst period followed the great recession of 2008: for three years, the deficit as a fraction of GDP exceeded 8 percent. 

What’s worrying about this 4 percent deficit is it comes during the longest-ever period of economic expansion.

And that is today’s Monday Moneybeat.

NICK EICHER: Mary, you’re a proud dog owner: has Moxie ever fetched and brought something unexpected to you?

MARY REICHARD: Well, we had another dog who once brought a goose egg and didn’t break it!

EICHER: We pretty regularly receive a box turtle from our dobie—unharmed.

But here’s something really unexpected.

Dog owners in Bristol, Virginia, were surprised when their pooch brought them an orphaned bear cub, about two-to-three weeks old!

And the dog actually saved this little guy’s life. He was dehydrated and mama bear was nowhere to be found. The pet owners took the cub to the Virginia Wildlife Center for treatment, and eventual resettlement.

Wildlife biologist Bill Bassinger says the protocol is to place orphaned cubs outside the dens of mama bears … because it’s typical that they’ll accept the little ones and care for them as their own.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER: Today is Monday, February 17th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the WORLD Radio History Book. Four decades ago, an Olympic underdog “brings home the gold.” Plus, a disgruntled private takes an Army helicopter for a joy ride.

But first, 95 years ago, the birth of an influential American magazine. Here’s Paul Butler.

[FLAPPER JAZZ MUSIC]

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: We begin today in the roaring ’20s. Harold Ross is an editor for the weekly satirical magazine Judge. He, along with his journalist wife Jane Grant, begin dreaming of a humor magazine for more “sophisticated” readers—like themselves. 

And on February 21st, 1925, they release the first issue of their brain-child: The New Yorker magazine. 

The front cover features the fictional Eustace Tilley. He’s a dandy—or a flamboyant, fashionable, man devoted to leisure. He’s dressed in a Victorian-era suit, wearing an extremely high collar and ostentatious top hat. He’s holding a monocle while studying a butterfly. Every February, the magazine pays homage to that first cover. The illustration is by graphic artist Rea Irvin. It sets the standard for the more than 4,400 covers that follow. 

MOULY: I’m often asked which one is my favorite, but I can’t pick one. 

In 2017, art director Françoise Mouly hosted a TedTalk, where she spoke of the powerful commentary often captured in a single, front cover image. 

MOULY: You know, a free press, is essential to our democracy. And we can see from the sublime to the ridiculous..in a way that an artist armed with just india ink and watercolor can capture and enter the cultural dialog.

A quick scan of past covers illustrate The New Yorker’s editorial decisions that highly favor the left, and liberal causes, yet they usually maintain high reporting ethics and standards.

Next, February 17th, 1974. A fatigue green, Huey helicopter speeds toward Washington, D.C. In pursuit, two State Police JetRangers and a couple officers on the ground. 

Using a dogfight maneuver, the stolen Army helicopter evades one of the police choppers and then races on toward the White House. The pilot unexpectedly stops near the Washington Monument. Trooper Don Swell alerts the control tower and secret service. Audio here from an NBC television news report: 

NEWS CLIP: After hovering there for about a minute and a half, the aircraft started a forward movement toward the White House…

As the Army helicopter clears the White House fence, the Secret Service suddenly turn on security floodlights and fire more than 300 rounds at the intruder. The pilot sustains minor injuries and sets the chopper down on the lawn.

NEWS CLIP: The joy riding pilot was identified as 20-year old PFC Robert Preston, a flight mechanic unhappy about flunking out of flight school. 

Private Preston is charged with “unlawful entry to Whitehouse grounds” and serves one year in prison for the stunt. After the scare, the Secret Service increase the restricted airspace around the White House. There’s been at least one other similar instance, when twenty years later, a pilot crashes a Cesena 150 on the south lawn. After 9-11, the military install an Avenger missile system near the residence, capable of taking out an incoming plane or drone. 

And finally, 40 years ago this week, in Lake Placid, New York:

ANNOUNCER: The excitement, the tension is building. The Olympic Center filling to capacity. Hello again everybody I’m Al Michaels…

On February 22nd, 1980, an under-rated American hockey team faces-off against what many believe to be the best ice hockey team in the world—ever—the Russians. 

ANNOUNCER: What we have at hand is the rarest of sporting events, an event that needs no buildup, no superfluous adjectives… 

Going into the winter games, no one expected the American hockey team to medal. In fact, team captain Mike Eruzione said he thought they’d end up somewhere between 7th and 10th place—if they were lucky. 

The Russians had won five of the six previous Olympic gold medals. And just two weeks before the Olympics began—the two teams played an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden. The Russians won 10 to 3. 

GAME SOUND/ANNOUNCER: They’ll be playing a much better team, a team better than they are… 

Throughout the Winter Games, the U.S. hockey team surpassed those expectations. With a record of 4 wins, 1 tie, and no losses, they advanced to the semifinals where they faced the undefeated Russians. 

GAME SOUND/ANNOUNCER: Here we go as the game is underway, the Soviet Union in red, the Americans in white…

The U.S. fell behind early, but fought back to end the first period tied at 2 to 2. During the second period, the Russians scored once. In the final period, the Americans tied it up after a Russian penalty. Then, with 10 minutes left to play, Mike Eruzione put the biscuit in the basket, putting the U.S. up 4 to 3. 

GAME SOUND/ANNOUNCER: Here’s Eruzione using the defenseman as a screen, a good low shot. There’s bedlam! 

The Russians increased their attack, but couldn’t score. As time ran out, ABC announcer Al Michaels uttered the now famous call. 

GAME SOUND: [CROWD CHEERING] The countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles? YES!

In 2016, Sports Illustrated declared the Miracle on Ice the “greatest moment in sporting history.” The United States team advanced to the final match with Finland, where the Americans won 4 to 2, earning Olympic gold.

That’s this week’s WORLD Radio History Book, I’m Paul Butler.

MARY REICAHRD: Today is Monday, February 17th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Church is one of the few places left in our culture where people regularly sing together. And WORLD Radio’s Les Sillars says that’s why it’s easy to overlook the astonishing thing that happens when we do.

SINGING: When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast …

LES SILLARS, COMMENTATOR: This is congregational singing at a recent Sunday service at my church. It’s a big church, but I was near the front so you can’t hear many people. But if you listen carefully you can hear a male voice that is definitely not worship leader quality. That’s me.

SINGING: I could never keep my hold, through life’s fearful path / For my love is often cold / He must hold me fast …

I never learned to play an instrument or took voice lessons. I just like to sing.

That’s probably why I had never heard of “overtones” until recently. You see, each string of a piano or tube of a trumpet resonates at a particular frequency called the “fundamental.” And each string or tube also resonates at the same time at a series of frequencies called the overtones.

The varying volumes of the different overtones give each instrument its particular sound. It’s how we tell a guitar from a piano from a trumpet. It’s also how we tell the difference between human voices. And that is why some voices and instruments just seem to go together. Their overtones combine and even amplify each other in pleasing ways.

Rose Lauck is one of our staffers at Fellowship Bible Church. Here she is in a video that explains all this, and a little bit more.

LAUCK: You see, when our hearts are resonating at the same frequency as God and His Word, we emit overtones of grace that glorify Him in ways that we cannot fully understand, overtones that allow each individual to reflect God’s glory.

In recent years some evangelicals, especially younger ones, have turned to liturgical denominations. Many are looking for worship that involves the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. They want to smell the incense. They want to kneel when they pray and genuflect at the Eucharist.

Our church doesn’t do that, and that’s OK with me. Partly that’s my personality. You know when you’re about to sing sitting down, all nice and comfortable, and then that guy in the front row pops up and everybody has to stand? I’m not that guy. I don’t even like to clap in church.

But ever since I heard about overtones, I don’t worry that I’m missing something in worship. My voice is my instrument. When I sing, I can feel my voice in my ears and how it blends with the voices of my brothers and sisters around me. Together, we become something more than the sum of our voices.

SINGING: He will hold me fast / He will hold me fast / For my Savior loves me so / He will hold me fast

For WORLD Radio, I’m Les Sillars.

NICK EICHER: Tomorrow: a startup company is taking photos off the internet to create a database for police investigations. We’ll tell you why that has privacy advocates and tech giants concerned.

And, Marvin Olasky talks to economist Vito Tanzi about the parallels between Argentina and the United States.

That and more tomorrow. 

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: 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.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly—singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

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.