The World and Everything in It - June 24, 2022

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

All eyes are on the Supreme Court this morning, anticipating a decision whether to reverse the Roe versus Wade abortion ruling.

NICK EICHER, HOST: We will talk about it today on Culture Friday.

Also today, as we await the court’s decision, WORLD book reviewer Emily Whitten has a roundup of reading recommendations for you on pro-life issues.

And WORLD arts and media editor Collin Garbarino on the new Elvis bio-pic.

BROWN: It’s Friday, June 24th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: SCOTUS gun ruling / Dobbs ruling could come today » New Yorkers will no longer have to justify their need for a firearm to get a license to carry one.

That after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state’s requirements violated the Second Amendment rights of its residents.

The 6-to-3 ruling reversed a lower court’s decision. And Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul was not happy about it.

HOCHUL: We do not need people entering our subways, our restaurants, our movie theaters with concealed weapons. We don’t need more guns on our streets.

But Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association says restricting the carry rights of law-abiding citizens doesn’t solve anything. He said criminals don’t care whether it’s illegal to carry a gun.

KING: We are not the problem. The problem is the criminals. And the politicians have to learn that because there wouldn’t be a gun problem if it wasn’t for the crime.

King’s group was among the plaintiffs in the high court case. Thursday’s decision is expected to affect gun restrictions in several other states.

The Supreme Court could release its much-anticipated Dobbs v. Jackson decision today, which could spell the end of Roe v. Wade.

Senate gun legislation » Meantime, on Capitol Hill, the Senate on Thursday advanced a bipartisan gun safety bill, clearing the way for final passage as soon as today.

The compromise legislation would expand background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. It would also fund local programs for school safety and mental health, along with so-called red flag laws.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill is not a cure for gun violence…

SCHUMER: But it is a long overdue step in the right direction it's significant it's going to save lives.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell agreed that the bill will help to save lives while also protecting the rights of gun owners.

McCONNELL: The American people want their constitutional rights protected and their kids to be safe in school.

McConnell said the bill accomplishes both objectives.

The price tag on the 80-page bill is $13 billion.

Capitol riot hearing » Hours later in the House, the panel probing last year’s Capitol riot gathered once again with cameras in the room.

Former Justice Department officials testified Thursday, including former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue.

DONOGHUE: I felt in that conversation that it was incumbent on me to make it very clear to the president what our investigations had revealed.

He said the department did not find evidence of widespread voter fraud.

The committee continues to assert that Trump’s election fraud claims triggered the Capitol riot.

Republican leaders say the hearings are a partisan witch hunt.

The panel is comprised mostly of Democratic lawmakers and entirely of ardent Trump critics.

The committee has no further public hearings planned for the time being.

Ukraine EU » Ukraine is officially a candidate to join the European Union.

The European Parliament voted Thursday to grant Ukraine candidate status.

AUDIO: The vote is closed and it is overwhelmingly adopted.

Ukraine still has a long way to go before the EU will grant membership status. But European leaders had good things to say. They noted Ukraine's electoral system is fair, its schools are well developed and its economy was strong before the war.

The EU also gave candidate status to Moldova, a tiny country that borders Ukraine.

Leaders recognized Georgia as well but did not grant it candidate status.

Many see Thursday’s announcement as largely symbolic. If the countries ultimately qualify for membership, it could take many years for that to happen.

Biden admin Title IX » The Biden administration is proposing big changes and LGBT accommodations in Title IX rules on college campuses. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Title IX of the 1972 anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination in education based on sex.

But Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wants to add protections for—quote—“sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”

He announced the proposals on Title IX’s 50th anniversary.

The new rules would also roll back Trump-era due process protections for those accused of wrongdoing. The changes remove the requirement for in-person hearings in sexual misconduct cases and loosen the definition of sexual misconduct.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Juul e-cigarettes no longer in stores » Stores across the country are pulling Juul e-cigarettes off their shelves.

They’re following orders from the FDA, which has also ordered Juul Labs to stop selling its vaping products.

The FDA says the company has likely played a big role in fueling a surge in teen vaping.

Juul faces a slew of investigations into its marketing practices, many of which involved distributing free e-cigarettes at concerts, and at parties hosted by young influencers.

John Williams stepping away from films » MUSIC: [Jaws theme]

The man responsible for some of the most iconic music in Hollywood history…

MUSIC: [Star Wars theme]

… Is stepping away from the movie business.

John Williams is currently working on the score for Indiana Jones 5, and he said it will likely be his last film. The 90-year-old composer said the pressures of scoring a movie are a bit much at this stage of life. But he will continue composing concert music.

A note of correction now regarding our Thursday report on Louisiana’s new pro-life law. We mentioned that Gov. John Bel Edwards’ objected to a provision that would have made it a punishable offense for a mother to receive an abortion illegally. That was a provision in an earlier draft of the legislation. It was not part of the bill signed into law, though our report gave the opposite impression. The error was mine, and I apologize.

I'm Kent Covington. Coming up: Culture Friday with all eyes on the Supreme Court this morning, awaiting the possible reversal of Roe v Wade.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday, June 24th, 2022. 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 Culture Friday.

Let’s bring in John Stonestreet. He’s the president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast.

Good morning!

JOHN STONESTREET, GUEST: Good morning.

EICHER: Well, this could be a significant day in the history of the pro-life movement, John, with the Supreme Court having added an opinion day for today and not releasing the Dobbs abortion decision yesterday.

The court’s going to do what the court’s going to do, of course, but it does seem it’s either today or next week.

Now, should it come today, make sure to visit WNG.org. We’ll have coverage and analysis if later this morning we receive the court’s decision.

But John, if we are in fact just hours away from a decision, what do you think pro-life people need to hear? What do you hope the reaction will be to a favorable decision?

STONESTREET: I think the most important thing is just to be clear on what this decision actually means. And what it doesn't mean, it's not the end of abortion in America, it's not some sort of handmaid's future where all women have to dress like Puritan girls, or anything like that. What we're actually dealing with is that restrictions and limits on abortion placed by states are not dead on arrival. That's literally what this means. Because Roe has been an odd way that Roe has been interpreted has meant that any sort of restrictions based on native categories, viability, women's access to abortion services, that's all it took to make something quote unquote, unconstitutional. And all that's out of the way because Roe was bad law, the interpretation and extension of Roe through these other cases, were bad law. And the court finally acknowledged that - which is great, it's a wonderful step in the right direction. Now what we have is the task of coming up with good law when it comes to abortion on the state and local level. That's what this needs to lead to. And it needs to lead to ongoing care and protection for unborn children, locally, people engaging people that are in these difficult situations, period. That's what needs to happen. I think also what will remain to be seen is what this does to us as a nation. The last time there was an issue that divided us this deeply and was also divided in terms of state by state, local law, it was slavery, there's no way around that. I don't know that the level of passion around abortion is the same as the level of passion around abortion is the same as the level of passion around slavery, but will be a nation with abortion states and life states. And I think that's unavoidable for the next little bit. So I don't know what that requires of us as citizens. But certainly pro life activism in California is gonna look different than pro life activism in Tennessee.

EICHER: What if the decision is unfavorable to pro-life? I know that’s very unlikely, but we don’t know until we know.

STONESTREET: Well, look, I'll be as disappointed as everybody else. Because this is, I think, a lot of us who have been chastened for years on placing our faith in the courts. So we may be, the lesson is we should have learned are less than the last time we were disappointed by the court. But it doesn't really change whether life is inherently valuable at every stage of development. It doesn't change that we still must be pro life, we still must stand for the inherent dignity of all life, we still must talk about it, we still must come up with scientific and cultural research, we still must, you know, do everything we can to support women in crisis pregnancies and their husbands and help people find forgiveness for past sins of abortion, and so on. Like all of that doesn't change because this is a a cultural and structural legal issue that has such incredibly dramatic personal ramifications. So none of that part of it changes. I guess I'm just reminded who holds the keys of life and death and who holds the story of history and who's writing that and who is determined for us to live here is the one who also knows how the whole thing is going to work out. And it's just an important thing to remember how something unthinkable yesterday can become completely thinkable today in both good and bad ways.

BROWN: John, let’s move away from abortion before we go.

I want to call your attention to the results of a Gallup poll out this month, showing that belief in God in this country has fallen to a new low.

It was a six percentage point overall drop from the last time Gallup polled the question five years ago.

We should note the percentage who will affirm “belief in God” is incredibly high, 81 percent, and you can’t get that kind of agreement in this polarized nation on virtually anything else, though of course it says very little about the theological content of that belief.

But I think the bigger news is the big drop, concentrated among younger people (age 18 to 29, 10 point drop from 78 to 68 in that age cohort).

So here’s my question: Is it really a sign of growing unbelief, or is it just more culturally acceptable to state unbelief? Or something else?

STONESTREET: The answer's yes. In other words, I think there is not one thing, it's a few things, there is a sign of growing unbelief. And one of the reasons that unbelief is growing is because it's more culturally acceptable to state unbelief. Those aren't two mutually exclusive options at all. But there's also something else here. And I, I want to be really careful here how I walk through this. And I'm going to use an illustration that people are going to think is unrelated, but I think it is. So just a couple weeks ago, I had a conversation with a wonderful theologian, who, whose friend teaches in the public school system in the northeast. She asked her friend, and this I think, you know, ninth grade class, how many of the students identified as LGBTQ? The answer was from her friend, all of them do, every one of them does. Now, it's not because all of them had had a sexual experience with someone of the same sex. It's because none of them wanted to be cis. And that's short for cisgender, which, of course, is a made up word that doesn't need to exist, but does. But the idea there is that there's something else at work. Cisgender was a word created to morally equivocate all the letters of the ever growing acronym, but with a new mood that has overtaken American culture, and I'll call it the critical theory mood. It kind of reminds me back in the days when we were talking about post modernism, no one had read Derrida and Foucault. But we all had Britney Spears, Kurt Cobain and The Matrixatrix. It is very similar to that now, where very few people I've read the academic sources of critical theory, but there's a critical theory mood, there's good guys and bad guys. So being cis has moved from being one of many options to being the oppressor. And that's why no one wants to be identified not because they actually want to be identified in this classroom as LGBTQ. But to be cis is to be uncool, or to be cis, in some context is even to be the one who needs to apologize for their guilt. The same thing is true with belief in God, that there is a critical mood, where there are good guys and bad guys that have been predetermined for us without having to do any sort of hard moral deliberations. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. And the bad guys are the religious folks. The bad guys are the Christians. The bad guys are those who believe in something supernatural that comes with it some sort of moral rules, because that is a tool of oppression, that is a source of oppression. I'm not saying that's the biggest factor in this drop at all. But again, it's not one thing. It's more than a few things. But part of it being more culturally acceptable to state unbelief, is because we have a world in which the good guys and the bad guys have been predetermined. And of course, we all want to be good guys. Not bad guys. I think we're going to see more of that than less of that as we go forward.

BROWN: Well, John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thank you, John.

STONESTREET: Thank you so much.

MYNRA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, June 24th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Elvis.

This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s last concert, and it also marks the theatrical debut of a new biopic about his life and the manager who pushed him.

Arts and media editor Collin Garbarino now with his review of Elvis.

MUSIC: [Well, you can do anything but stay offa my blue suede shoes!]

COLONEL: Tomorrow all America will be talking about Elvis Presley.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Elvis covers the rise and fall of the King of Rock and Roll. But the movie focuses on Elvis’ complicated relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Austin Butler plays Elvis and Tom Hanks plays the Colonel.

COLONEL: There are some who would make me out to be the villain of this here story.

The Colonel’s narration provides a framework for the movie—An elderly man seeking to justify himself and his actions.

COLONEL: Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley.

This is a story that plays out like a Greek tragedy. Elvis and the Colonel are two men who are both great in their own way. But the things that make them great—ambition, tireless pursuit of applause, dedication to one another—these are the things that bring them low in the end. The Colonel began his career as a carny, and he brings that philosophy of showmanship to managing Elvis’ career. He doesn’t want to promote a musical act. He wants to promote the greatest show on Earth.

COLONEL: I wish to promote you Mr. Presley. Are you ready to fly?

ELVIS: I’m ready. Ready to fly.

In this movie we see Elvis fly. But just like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Elvis burns out and crashes. We get the feeling that neither the flight nor the crash would have been possible without the Colonel’s manipulation.

The movie is written and directed by Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann whose other films include Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby. Just like Luhrmann’s other movies, Elvis is visually stunning. He brings a flamboyant aesthetic saturated with color that includes surreal elements surrounding the narrative. Lurhrmann’s exaggerated approach complements the bombast of Elvis’ music and lifestyle.

ANNOUNCER: He’s a young singer from Memphis, Tennessee. Give him a warm hayride welcome—Mr. Elvis Presley.

HECKLER: Get a haircut, buttercup.

COLONEL: In that moment, I watched that skinny boy transform into a superhero.

The movie is at its best when recounting Elvis’ rise to stardom and his attempts to figure out who he is. He’s a white man from Memphis singing black rhythm and blues and gospel music. Meanwhile, the Colonel is busy both promoting Elvis’ infamous wiggling on stage and managing the fallout it provokes.

ELVIS: [singing] If you’re looking for trouble, you came to the right place. If you’re looking for trouble, just look right in my face.

COLONEL: He had no idea what he had done.

But about halfway through the two-and-a-half-hour-long running time, Elvis’ career peaks and we see things start to fall apart. At about that point, the movie also starts to fall apart. It loses focus. It tries to become a tragic love story about Priscilla, but it glosses over too much of Elvis’ problematic courtship of the teenager to understand the relationship. It alludes to our current fractured nation by mentioning how America was hurting during the 60s. But there’s no payoff for the hand wringing. These themes detract from the tension built into Elvis’ struggle against the Colonel to be his own person.

ELVIS: I need to get back to who I really am.

Austin Butler makes for an excellent Elvis. He doesn’t give off the impersonator vibe. In early scenes he sings, looking every inch a rock star—though in later scenes Luhrmann dubs audio recordings of Elvis himself. Butler gives us a sympathetic, yet flawed, Elvis. He imbues the role with both hunger and humility. By the time Elvis is playing his shows in Las Vegas, we get the sense his song “Suspicious Minds” is about his relationship with the Colonel.

MUSIC: “Suspicious Minds”

I hate to say it, but Tom Hank’s portrayal of Colonel Tom Parker is probably the weakest aspect of this film. The fat suit and facial prosthetics distract from his performance. He still looks like Tom Hanks, not the real Colonel. It’s just enough makeup to remind you Tom Hanks is in there somewhere. And Hanks affects an inexplicable accent for the Dutch-born Tom Parker. In reality, the Colonel’s accent wasn’t pronounced, but half the time Hanks sounds German and half the time he sounds Irish.

COLONEL: We are the same, you and I. We are two odd, lonely children reaching for eternity.

Elvis is rated PG-13. The movie contains some strong language and depicts Elvis’ adultery and prescription drug abuse. The lifestyle of a rock star isn’t family friendly. But considering this subject matter, I found Luhrmann’s interpretation of Elvis’ unsavory side restrained. Still, I wouldn’t take children to see it.

Elvis gives us a picture of a man who, despite his gospel roots, doesn’t understand the gospel. Elvis is talented and loyal, and he desperately wants to be loved. But he’s afraid that he’ll never be able to work hard enough to achieve immortality. He fears in the end nothing he’s ever done will matter. It’s a beautiful, flawed, tragic movie about a beautiful, flawed, tragic human being.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

ANNOUNCER: Elvis has left the building.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, June 24th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. With the Supreme Court’s expected ruling on the Dobbs case, the fight for the unborn is again center stage–and perhaps, once again, America’s hottest battle in the culture war.

Emily Whitten reminds us that Christians have produced great books to help that fight from the beginning and the best pro-life books may still be yet to come.

EMILY WHITTEN, COMMENTATOR: Since Roe v. Wade, Christians have used the written word to fight against abortion in remarkable ways. One landmark book in 1979 was Francis Schaeffer’s and C. Everett Koop’s work, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?

CLIP: The fully developed view of the sanctity of human life didn’t come out of nowhere, but the Judeo-Christian consensus that was the framework for centuries.

That book and its 5-part film adaptation rallied many evangelicals to the pro-life cause.

In the 80s and 90s, pro-life authors like George Grant brought more evangelicals on board. In my recent interview with Grant, he said getting published back in those early days wasn’t always easy.

GRANT: The big publishers did steer clear, and a lot of the big ministries steered clear of the issue. There were a handful of really courageous evangelical leaders—D. James Kennedy, R.C. Sproul, great heroes of the faith.  I was involved in the publication of R.C.’s book and wrote the foreword to the 20th anniversary edition of it. He was incredibly courageous in stepping out.

Grant still recommends Sproul’s 1990 book, as well as Randy Alcorn’s 1992 book, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments. I recommended Alcorn’s book as my January Classic Book of the Month, so check out that review to hear more about the “swiss army knife of the pro-life movement.”

In more recent decades, I think of the impact of former Planned Parenthood director, Abby Johnson. The book version of her story, Unplanned, continues to rate highly on Amazon and Goodreads. Here’s a clip from the 2019 movie version.

CLIP: I can’t be a part of this anymore. Everything they told us is a lie.

One book that can inspire and educate a new generation–Dr. Patti Giebink’s 2021 autobiography, Unexpected Choice. Giebink didn’t just work at a Planned Parenthood clinic, she actually performed abortions there.

CLIP:  We’d turn the machine on, and I would go around suctioning out of the uterus…

But through the faithful prayers of Christians, God intervened. Eventually, Dr. Giebink found saving faith in Christ. She also became a pro-life activist and life-saving OBGYN. In her book, Giebink powerfully takes on the top myths of abortion and prompts readers to join her in this prayer.

CLIP: Give me the words that support life, while loving those who would sooner take that life. Help me to make a lasting difference in the women around me who might be struggling with that decision. In Your name, Amen.

In many ways, 2022 marks a new era in the fight against abortion. And with the 50th anniversary of Roe this January, Christians may see a tidal wave of repackaged classics and innovative new books on the topic.

In short, Christian, the arsenal is full. Time to fight…by His strength and for His truth.

I’m Emily Whitten.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Well, it’s time to say thanks to the team who with your support put this week’s programs together:

Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Mary Jackson, Amy Lewis, Whitney Williams, Lauren Dunn, Jill Nelson, Jenny Rough, Cal Thomas, Kent Covington, Josh Schumacher, Kristen Flavin, Anna Johansen Brown, Emily Whitten, Onize Ohikere, Bonnie Pritchett, Janie B. Cheaney, John Stonestreet, and Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz are the audio engineers who stay up late to get the program to you early! Paul Butler is our executive producer.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6 ESV)

Remember to worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ this weekend, and God willing, we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

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