The World and Everything in It: February 2, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. I am Larry Paladin. I am Phyllis Paladin, and we live in White Oak, Pennsylvania. I am a retired homeschooling mom, and I am a very recently retired attorney. We hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! Today on Culture Friday: The dramatic congressional hearing on the harms of social media.

JOSH HAWLEY: There’s families of victims here today, have you apologized to the victims? Would you like to do so now?

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Culture Friday.

Also today, a quirky spy comedy, Argylle, about an author whose works of fiction put her life in danger.

ELLY: It’s called a cliffhanger, mother.

RUTH: It’s called a cop-out.

And covering politics not politicking: Ask the Editor today.

BROWN: It’s Friday, February 2nd.

EICHER AND BROWN: GROUNDHOG DAY! 

This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher.

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Biden to attend transfer ceremony/attack response » President Biden is attending the dignified transfer ceremony today for three fallen soldiers. Their flag-draped caskets will be turned over to their families at Dover Air Force Base.

Meantime, debate continues over how the U.S. should respond to the drone attack that killed the troops. GOP Senator Tom Cotton:

COTTON: They talk about they have to go through with exquisite care to identify whether Iran knew about this or that attack. Iran has been training and arming and equipping and advising all of these militias and terrorist groups for years. Who cares if they knew about this specific attack?

But the president says he has already made up his mind about how the United States will respond. And at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin seemingly hinted that the United States will not be striking Iran.

AUSTIN: This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East, and we will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region.

But he said it’s time to further disable the capabilities of Iran-backed militias in the region to carry out deadly attacks.

Lloyd Austin apologizes » And in his first news conference since his recent hospitalization, Austin also apologized for not promptly informing the White House when he was admitted to the hospital.

AUSTIN: We did not handle this right. And I did not handle this right. I should have told the President about my cancer diagnosis.

The secretary was treated at Walter Reed military hospital due to complications following surgery for prostate cancer. But he did not tell the president for days.

Austin said of the diagnosis,

AUSTIN: It was a gut punch. And frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private.

He said he understands that serving in a top Cabinet role means surrendering some of that privacy, adding that he has learned from the experience.

Houthis target U.S. warship » The deaths of three U.S. troops on Sunday has driven some militant groups to say they were stopping hostilities. But the Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship missile Tuesday that came within one mile of a US Navy destroyer on the Red Sea.

And on Thursday, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: The Houthis, they can claim all they want that this is linked to Gaza. But two-thirds of the ships that they’re hitting have no connection to Israel whatsoever.

The U.S. military on Thursday took out as many as 10 drones the Houthis were preparing to launch in Yemen.

Biden sanctions Israeli settlers/tensions in Michigan » President Biden on Thursday imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers in the West Bank accused of attacking Palestinians and peace activists.

BIDEN: I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank. Pouring gasoline on a fire is what it’s like.

Biden’s executive order allows the U.S. government to impose financial penalties and visa bans on the accused Israelis.

The White House announced the order as President Biden campaigned in the Detroit, Michigan area Thursday which is home to the largest concentration of Arab-Americans in the country. Many there are angry with Biden over his continued support for Israel.

In suburban Detroit, Samraa Luqman, had strong words for the president. She is co-chair, Abandon Biden campaign.

LUQMAN: You are not welcome in Michigan. We would ask that you return to the White House or to Israel, where you belong, and don’t show your face in Michigan until a cease-fire is called at minimum.

Biden met in Michigan with members of the United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed his campaign.

Talib, Bush vote against anti-Hamas bill » The White House on Thursday also declined to criticize Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and fellow Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri after they voted against a bill aimed at barring members of Hamas and other terrorist groups from entering the United States.

Tlaib is the only member of Congress of Palestinian descent.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One:

PIERRE: We’ve said many times that we understand how difficult this is for many — obviously many different communities around this time, as we are seeing what is happening in the Middle East.

Tlaib and Bush said the bill was unnecessary and was just being used to incite anti-Musim hatred.

They were the only two members to vote “no” on the measure.

EU approves aid package to Ukraine » The European Union agreed to send another $54 billion in aid to Ukraine.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, says Ukrainian troops are the first line of defense for all of Europe.

NAUSEDA: So this is very important to keep this first defense line strong.

This will be economic aid, not earmarked for weapons or ammunition. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it will be very helpful and appreciated.

ZELENSKYY: This is a clear signal that Ukraine will withstand, and that Europe will withstand.

He also said it’s notable that the aid package was approved unanimously by all 27 EU member states.

The aid package will be a combination of loans and grants.

Six pro-lifers » One of six pro-life activists convicted of federal charges earlier this week…is speaking out.

Paul Vaughn was convicted on Tuesday of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act — widely known as the FACE Act.

The conviction stems from a 2021 demonstration at an abortion facility in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.

Vaughn says the demonstration was peaceful, that he worked with police who did not arrest him.

But more than a year-and-a-half later, the FBI agents banged on his front door.

VAUGHN: And I go to the door to look out the curtain to see who's there. And I see guns drawn and pointed at me. And so I asked who they're looking for. They say, “We’re looking for you!”

He faces a maximum sentence of more than ten years in prison. He’s also facing a felony conspiracy charge which attorney Steve Crampton called unprecedented in this scenario. He said the Biden administration is trying to intimidate pro-life activists.

CRAMPTON: I have litigated FACE cases since its enactment in 1994. Never have we seen the number of prosecutions -- especially of criminal prosecutions --that we've seen since the passage of -- the announcement of -- the Dobbs decision in June 2022.

Vaughn and the other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in July.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, Ask the Editor for February.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday the 2nd of February, 2024.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher

It’s time for Culture Friday, and joining us now is author and speaker Katie McCoy. Great to see you again! Good morning, Katie.

KATIE MCCOY: Hey, good morning, Nick and Myrna. Always good to be with you guys.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Wednesday in Washington social-media executives went up to Capitol Hill for a highly charged hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

You can barely get Americans to agree on whether they want six more weeks of winter or whether they want spring right around the corner. But Americans seem divided on just about everything except, perhaps, the influence of social media on children.

There is bipartisan agreement that something needs to be done to protect children from the harms of big-tech platforms. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate ranging from Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal to Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn have cooked up the most bipartisan of bills: The Kids Online Safety Act. It has 45 cosponsors, 23 Republicans, 22 Democrats.

So that was the atmosphere the tech executives stepped into.

But it was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who saw a shadow that of grieving parents seated directly behind him whose kids were harmed by social media.

Senator Josh Hawley was at his courtroom best, peppering Zuckerberg with questions and always one step ahead of him, asking who got fired at Facebook or Instagram for the demonstrated harms.

Zuckerberg managed: “I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about that.” Hawley: “Don’t think it’s appropriate? Do you know who’s sitting behind you? Have you compensated any of these people?” 

ZUCKERBERG: Sorry? 

HAWLEY: Have you compensated any of the victims? These girls. Have you compensated them? 

ZUCKERBERG: I don’t believe so.

HAWLEY: Why not? Don’t you think they deserve some compensation for what your platform has done? Help with counseling services? Help with dealing with the issues that your services caused?

ZUCKERBERG: Our job is to make sure that we build tools …

HAWLEY: Are you going to compensate them?

Zuckerberg retreated to his stock answer: “We’re building industry-leading tools to keep our platforms safe.” Hawley didn’t let up: “Have you ever said you’re sorry?”

HAWLEY: There’s families of victims here today, have you apologized to the victims? Would you like to do so now?

They're here, you’re on national television, would you like now to apologize to the victims who have been harmed by your product?

Show him the pictures.

Would you like to apologize for what you’ve done to these good people?

Zuckerberg turned around, stood, and apologized to the audience, saying no one should have to endure what they’ve experienced.

Katie, I know you were watching too. How significant a moment do you think we saw that day?

MCCOY: Very significant, especially for Gen Z and the way that social media has been affecting them in ways that we're just still beginning to learn. You know, there's a saying about social media that says, “If it's free, you're the product.” And this has been a huge experiment on an entire generation. I think wistfully of the days before Facebook, and it came out when I was in college, I can't imagine growing up with social media just being a part of life and how it affects and forms your mind, your sense of self, even your neural pathways. I mean, we could talk about this from so many other ways, even just attention span and how that has changed.

But you know, Nick, there's a lot that is kind of a confluence in this story. I think about how tech billionaires had limited screen time for their kids. They understood what this was doing. People like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. I think about celebrities like Jennifer Garner, who said to her daughter, if you can find me one article that demonstrates that social media is good for you, then you'll be able to have it. And so you have these celebrities, very connected to culture, that are restricting their children to have access on social media, because of what they know that it's doing.

Our own Surgeon General last year, last spring, came out saying that there is a warning for parents on social media. Now he stopped short of drawing the correlation between social media use and this widespread gender confusion among Gen Z, especially how it is affecting teen girls. But time will tell in the form of policy changes.

Zuckerberg stopped short of saying that social media was directly to blame. He had a moment of compassion and empathy for these parents, but he still wasn't really owning the fact that these algorithms that they have created have led to not only an addiction among so many young people, but the incredible harm to their mental health.

MYRNA BROWN: So, where do we go from here Katie? Nick mentioned that bipartisan legislation. Is that the answer? More government? More legislation? Leave it with moms and dads? What do you say?

MCCOY: Well, that gets into even some bigger questions of the role of government versus the role of families and our society. Our government is designed for self-governance, of people to be connected to their churches and their families and have parents that are active in parenting them and parents that are monitoring social media use. So you know, the conservative in me tends to shy away from regulation. But at the same time, it seems like regulation happens when we don't have some of these other structures and relationships and safeguards in place.

I'll tell you this, I'm still amazed we have Tik-Tok. And that's not as a regulation of mental health, but my word what we're learning about just Tik-Tok's international security and all these other elements. So yeah, that's hard to predict. I do think we're going to find some legislation, but I wonder how much of that legislation would be necessary if we had a society that also emphasized strong families and involved parents.

BROWN: They certainly need our support. One last question about what we heard in that hearing. As you travel around the country speaking to groups, meeting moms and dads and their children, What are you hearing from them?

MCCOY: One of the most memorable stories came from a pastor's wife who described a couple in her church. These are both medical doctors, highly educated, highly intelligent people and they have done everything right by their children in giving them a strong biblical foundation, strong church experiences, except for this one thing.

These very educated, very intelligent parents gave their teenage daughter her smartphone without any limitation. So she was able to be on social media without any type of monitoring. And within a few months, she told her parents that she was trans and an atheist.

Someone is forming your child's sense of self, their worldview, their gender identity, their source of happiness and meaning. The only question is who, and parents have an incredible opportunity. They might think that in these teenage years that they are somehow obsolete and unwanted. Oh, no, your kids are still listening to you, you are still the primary formative influence in your child's worldview and sense of identity. And it's those relationships that have the greatest predictor of how your child will see those different messages that they encounter in social media and in the culture at large.

EICHER: Katie, here’s a tough one. Not the issue so much, not for me.

But I know you’ve heard about the esteemed pastor Alistair Begg who’s under fire for recommending on a podcast that a grandmother, who’d sought Begg’s advice, should attend a grandson’s wedding to a “transgender person.” He said she should. Adding, you should buy a gift.

Begg’s preaching program Truth for Life was pulled from the American Family Radio. It’s really blown up on social media, oddly enough.

Personally, Katie, I’m with my friend Rosaria Butterfield, who would argue Biblically the exact opposite of Pastor Begg. I love Alistair Begg and benefit from his ministry, so I hate this. But where do you come down on this?

MCCOY: You and I share a love for Pastor Alistair Begg. He is not only one of the best preachers, but he's been very formative in my own spiritual growth. And so I say everything that I might say here with great reverence. So there's a couple of passages that come to mind, as we're talking about this issue.

The first is Romans 14. And Romans 14 is kind of our go-to passage when we're talking about what do I do in a situation where I can't discern from the Bible explicitly what to do, but I'm trying to walk with a consistent and faithful witness. And Paul tells the Corinthian Christians who, by the way, lived in a morally decadent culture just like we do, that there are things that they're going to have to come to a place of personal conviction on. And these are questions that we have to think through searching scripture, asking the spirit for wisdom, and also doing that in community with other believers.

By the way, Nick, there's another passage that comes to mind with all of this just sort of as a background for all of it. And it's 1 Timothy 5:1, and it talks about not rebuking an older man, but encouraging him as you would a father. So I think, as we're talking about this controversy, this debate, to make sure we don't lose our Christian witness, as we're talking about how to be effective Christian witnesses.

So all of that is background to this: Scripture tells us that a wedding is a covenant. This is a covenant between two people and the Lord. When you come to a wedding, you are not just celebrating. You are a witness to this covenant. And our culture, in a place of no-fault divorce, and of course, gay marriage has diluted the meaning of what a wedding truly is. We don't get to define what a marriage is, because we don't get to define what this covenant is. The Lord gave it to us. And he gave it to us to display who he is.

We know that in Ephesians 5, when it talks about the marriage being a reflection of Christ and His Church, that's not just some type of poetic metaphor. This is something that speaks to the witness of God in creation, in physical creation, which is the external witness of the reality of God and then, in our moral conscience, the internal witness of the reality of God.

And so, as we're thinking through this question, I'll tell you where I would land on it is to advise that we should not participate in going to a gay wedding, because of the statement that it makes that we are giving a tacit approval to something that is a distortion of the covenant that God created. Now, please know I say with the utmost respect and reverence for Pastor Begg, and also recognizing that there are godly believers who disagree with my conclusion on that question.

BROWN: Katie McCoy is an author and speaker. Her most recent book is titled To Be a Woman: The Confusion Over Female Identity and How Christians Can Respond.

Thanks so much, Katie. Great to talk with you!

MCCOY: Great to talk to you all as well. Happy Friday.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, February 2nd, 2024. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new spy comedy hits theaters this weekend. Here’s arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino to talk about Argylle.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Movie fans sometimes call the months of January and February “Dumpuary.” It’s the time of year that Hollywood dumps bad movies into theaters hoping they’ll disappear without attracting too much attention. January lived up to the nickname this year, but will Argylle, the new spy movie debuting today, buck the trend?

LAGRANGE: You and I. We’re not so different.

ARGYLLE: You’re a terrorist.

LAGRANGE: Then what, Agent Argylle, does that make you?

Argylle, spelled with two Ls, is a bit of a meta movie. You see, the movie’s namesake, Agent Argylle, isn’t a real spy. He’s the fictional creation of the film’s heroine, Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Elly’s first four books featuring the omnicompetent Argylle turned into bestsellers, and her fans are eagerly waiting for book five. But the timid and high-strung Elly is having trouble coming up with an ending for her latest installment.

RUTH: The book is phenomenal, sweetie, but what happens next?

ELLY: It’s called a cliffhanger, mother.

RUTH: Elly, it’s called a cop-out.

The ending to that story will have to wait because Elly’s writing gets put on hold, when real-life spies attack her on a train. A friendly spy, played by Sam Rockwell, rescues her, and tells her she’s spooked the spooks. It turns out, the plots of her novels sound too much like the real-life goings on of a shadowy spy network called the Division.

AIDAN: What you wrote in your new book actually happened, and you kicked a hornet’s nest you didn’t even know existed.

Elly’s adventure into the world of espionage keeps getting interrupted by mental flashes of her fictional world, in which Argylle and his best friend Wyatt attempt to solve similar problems. Henry Cavill and John Cena ham it up as Argylle and Wyatt.

ARGYLLE: Who told you that we were coming? Who?

WYATT: You don’t answer, you’re going to be the same temperature as my coffee right now, which thanks to you is ice cold.

It’s hard not to compare this action-comedy spy-thriller with The Lost City, Sandra Bullock’s action-comedy romance from 2022. Both feature meta stories involving reclusive authors who write adventure novels that turn out to be too close to the truth. Both are very silly. And they both involve recurring gags involving accessory items. Sandra Bullock spends much of her film worrying about a borrowed sequin jumpsuit. Bryce Dallas Howard is preoccupied with her cat who spends most of the movie in a custom-made backpack.

AIDAN: Had to bring the cat.

ELLY: What did you expect me to do? Leave him to fend for himself? Come on.

AIDAN: He’d be fine. Cat ladies always die alone. Cats figure it out.

ELLY: I am not a cat lady. I’m not!

Argylle is directed by Matthew Vaughn. He’s the same guy responsible for the Kingsman franchise, another series of spy comedies. And you can see his fingerprints all over this film. Argylle has Vaughn’s signature silliness coupled with overly stylish action sequences. But though the Kingsman movies were all rated R, Vaughn restrains himself in this PG-13 film. The bodycount starts to pile up by the end, but Vaughn doesn’t revel in the violence this time, and the bad language sticks to the middle of the road for a PG-13 movie.

Argylle might be stylish and have plenty of funny scenes, but the movie never really comes together. Vaughn wants to subvert and poke fun at the classic spy movie, but the script he’s working from isn’t quite clever enough to pull it off. The film starts out strong, and it contains some pretty surprising plot twists. But after a while, you realize these twists and turns aren’t going anywhere.

AUDIO: [Fighting sounds]

The overly choreographed fight scenes might distract you from the plot holes at first, but once you stop to think about it, you’ll realize none of this story makes much sense.

The actions of the bad guys—and really the good guys, for that matter—don’t quite add up. There’s also a lack of moral clarity. You could argue that’s a typical feature of the spy genre, but in this case it doesn’t feel intentional. It just feels like bad writing.

To make matters worse, at 2 hours and 20 minutes, the movie goes on much too long. And the longer the movie goes, the more preposterous it gets. One particularly silly action sequence toward the end should have never made the final cut. This light-weight action comedy needs to be at least 40 minutes shorter.

With this fragile plot, it’s no wonder the marketing campaign is relying on celebrity cameos that take up just a few minutes of screentime. Fans of Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson certainly won’t feel like they got their money’s worth.

ALFIE: It’s time for you to meet the real Agent Argylle.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, February 2nd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. This year’s election cycle began a lot earlier than most in recent memory. And after just one caucus and one primary, the Republican field is already down to two in theory.

On the other side, an incumbent Democrat having built up decades of political machinery and a deep war chest. And then a handful of colorful independents or third party candidates just trying to break through.

BROWN: Politics is challenging enough to cover, but this year’s election politics is in a category all its own, even if it’s likely deja vu all over again. WORLD Radio Executive Producer Paul Butler now answers a recent letter to the editor about how we plan to approach things this time around.

PAUL BUTLER: We’ve received a handful of critical emails in recent months on political coverage. Few things provoke passion like politics! We’ve been accused of everything from being in the tank for Donald Trump, to trying to re-elect Joe Biden. Thankfully, these are the exceptions. Most of the feedback we receive is earnest and thoughtful, trying to figure out the best way forward.

One recent inquiry comes from Sterling Hill—a listener in Waco, Texas. He was dissatisfied with a commentary he felt wasn’t critical enough of former President Donald Trump. He included a question I thought would be helpful to answer here:

“How will [WORLD] cover Trump during this election cycle and into a potential second term?”

Our editorial policies are set with the help of a nine-member Editorial Council. That council is made up of leaders from our various editorial platforms. Knowing that we were heading into yet another contentious political season, the council laid out clear guidelines for our coverage that we hope will honor God and serve our different audiences well.

Let me tell you some of those guidelines, and bear in mind they’re largely aspirational. We may sometimes fall short.

We ought to be fair observers and, at least in our professional capacities, not participants. When we come to work, we come to inform, educate, and inspire, practicing sound journalism, grounded in facts and biblical truth. So let's begin with some biblical truth:

In Psalm 9, David praises the LORD—commiting to tell of all God’s wonderful deeds. In Romans 13 we learn that those deeds include how He establishes earthly governments created for our good. So as Christian journalists we must report on government.

But as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, WORLD does not endorse political candidates, thus we do not have an editorial “position” on any candidate. Our staff, readers, and listeners hold diverse views on candidates and parties. Our job as journalists is not to decide, but to report. When there are competing views, we try to report them all.

We will report election-related developments without respect for persons, treating all people fairly.

We will avoid inflammatory or hyperbolic language.

The 2024 election cycle will heat up, and it’s sure to be exciting and full of twists and turns. But we can report exciting stories without becoming excitable, for our faith is not in princes but in God. For as Augustine said, “nothing can happen but what He intends.”

This election will come and go, but our conduct as believers—especially as believing journalists—can leave an indelible mark for good.

That’s this month’s Ask the Editor. I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Well, now it’s time to thank the team who helped to put the program together this week:

Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Steve West, Carolina Lumetta, Onize Ohikere, Kim Henderson, Jerry Bowyer, Mary Muncy, Emma Freire, Cal Thomas, Katie McCoy, and Collin Garbarino.

Also, a new voice on the program this week: World Opinions commentator Hans Fiene.

Special thanks to our breaking news team: Lynde Langdon, Steve Kloosterman, Kent Covington, Travis Kircher, Lauren Canterberry, Christina Grube, and Josh Schumacher.

Thanks also to our breaking news interns: Tobin Jacobson, Johanna Huebscher, and Alex Carmenaty.

And the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Our producer is Harrison Watters.

Our Senior producer is Kristen Flavin and Paul Butler is Executive producer.

Additional production assistance from Benj Eicher, Lillian Hamman, Emily Whitten, and Bekah McCallum.

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, “Sing Praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” —Psalm 30: 4, 5

Worship with brothers and sisters in Christ in Church this weekend, and Lord willing we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

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