The World and Everything in It: May 31, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. Hi, I'm Juliana Undseth, and I'm a student at the 2024 World Journalism Institute. We are in our second week of instruction here at Dort University in Sioux Center. It's been a gift to learn alongside fellow Christians pursuing journalism. Thank you for making it possible for me to be here. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! 

Today on Culture Friday: did society fail a young woman who was euthanized, or did it push? And a highly regarded organization that promotes natural motherhood has now embraced a counterfeit.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Katie McCoy joins us this week, and she’ll be along in just a few minutes to talk about that and more.

Also today …

AUDIO: And you’re the notorious …

Classic movies celebrating an 85th anniversary this year: Stagecoach and The Wizard of Oz. Reviewer Max Belz has an appreciation.

And later, Listener Feedback.

BROWN: It’s Friday, May 31st. 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: Trump trial nuts-and-bolts » Former President Trump’s legal team is appealing his Thursday conviction on business fraud charges in New York.

TRUMP:  This was a rigged decision right from day one with a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case, never. And we will fight for our constitution. This is long from over.

After two days of deliberations, the jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, a class-E felony in New York. Prosecutors alleged that he did so to silence information about an alleged extramarital affair ahead of the 2016 election.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pushed back on Trump’s characterization of the trial.

BRAGG: We arrived at this trial, and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors, by following the facts and the law.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.Bragg did not say whether he would seek prison time.

 Trump's team has 30 days to file a notice of appeal. His lawyers can then request any sentencing penalties to be put on hold as the appeal plays out.

Many legal experts say there are several grounds Trump’s team could pursue in an effort to get the conviction overturned.

Trump verdict reaction » The verdict has, of course, drawn strong reactions in Washington and beyond.

House Speaker Mike Johnson in a statement called it a “shameful day in American history.” He called the charges, “ridiculous” and “a purely political exercise”

And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio remarked …

RUBIO:  I think it's terrible. I think what this showed today is that if they can go after a former president with a ridiculous charge like this and gain a conviction, uh, they can go after anybody and most people can't afford to fight this stuff off.

But the Biden-Harris campaign had a different take. In a statement, the campaign said, “Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain.” But it added, “in New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.”

What’s next for Trump campaign, election » So, how will Thursday’s unprecedented conviction impact the presidential race?

Cedarville University Professor Mark Caleb Smith said many Americans had already made up their minds, one way or the other about Donald Trump and the legitimacy of the trial.

SMITH: There's a very real possibility that this, this does not dramatically affect the campaign — the attitudes are so baked in that this is just another data point for most people.

But then again, even if it affects public opinion at the margins in a close race, that could make all the difference.

Republican National Committee Co-chair Lara Trump said in the event that the former president were to find himself confined to his home …

LARA: We will have him doing virtual rallies and campaign events if that is the case, and we’ll have to play the hand that we’re dealt.

The Trump campaign has launched a major fundraising blitz in the wake of the verdict.

Biden okays U.S. weapons to strike within Russia » President Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to launch limited strikes inside Russia using U.S.-provided weapons.

His Administration says the green light is solely for the purpose of defending the Kharkiv region which Moscow's forces are currently pounding near the Russian border.

The White House announced the policy shift hours after NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg called on Ukraine’s allies to boost support.

STOLTENBERG: I believe that the time has come to consider some of these restrictions to enable the Ukrainians to really defend themselves.

Some NATO allies said those restraints have effectively forced Ukraine to fight with one hand tied behind its back.

The White House still doesn’t want Ukraine firing long-range missiles across the border or using any U.S.-supplied weapons for offensive strikes on Russian soil.

Vladimir Putin has warned such moves could escalate the war.

Iran letter » Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei says college students protesting in America is a new front for the so-called Palestinian resistance. WORLD’s Christina Grube reports.

CHRISTINA GRUBE: Khamenei has penned an open letter praising American students for launching pro-Palestinan and anti-Israel protests on campus saying history is turning a new page.

He also made several somewhat cryptic comments about Israel, adding that a new fate awaits the region and that readers should become familiar with the Quran.

House speaker Mike Johnson reacted on the social media platform X … saying “When you’ve won the Ayatollah, you’ve lost America.”

The U.S. considers Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

AUDIO: [Slovenian Prime Minister] 

Slovenia recognizes Palestinian state » Slovenia’s prime minister announcing his country’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.

It’s the fourth European country to do so this week, along with Ireland, Norway, and Spain.

Slovenia’s National Assembly is expected to officially approve the motion soon.

Israel says these moves reward the terrorism of Hamas.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, your Listener Feedback.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday the 31st of May, 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.

All right, today’s the deadline, last day of the triple match for all new WORLD Movers. If you’ve never given to support the program and you’ve thought, you know, I should do that, but just haven’t done it I’ll give you three good reasons to do it today: (1) every gift you make helps us do more and better journalism. (2) A generous veteran WORLD Mover will match it. And (3) another long-time WORLD Mover will also match it. So a single dollar donation becomes three. But that match is good only through the end of the day.

So if you believe in WORLD’s journalistic mission, if this program is helpful to you. if you’ve never given before, try to assign a dollar value to the value you get in return and consider a gift as a vote of confidence in WORLD. We’re grateful for whatever you’re able to do. wng.org/newdonor.

BROWN: Well, Nick, it’s so good to see you. [Oh, I think it’s better to see you than to see me!!] Usually we’re in different cities, in different studios, and only the magic of the medium makes it seem that we’re sitting across from one another.

But we are once again in Northwestern Iowa, Sioux Center, enjoying the hospitality of Dordt University … and in the company of some special students at World Journalism Institute. They’re working so hard, asking good questions, and really engaging with us to learn more about the craft of Biblically objective journalism. I’m sad that it’s the last day. It’s always a joy to watch passionate young people grow in their skills and abilities, and my pleasure to have a part in it.

EICHER: Agree with all that and looking forward to listening to their final projects later on tonight. But before we welcome Katie McCoy for Culture Friday, let’s listen in on the end of devotions a couple of days ago, Myrna, when you taught the students to sing!

STUDENTS SINGING: [HE HAS DONE MARVELOUS THINGS!]

If that doesn’t encourage you to hear aspiring Christian journalists who’ll be the future observers of God’s marvelous things and faithful reporters of the marvelous things He will do and communicate that with truth and grace.

BROWN: Yes! Well, next on The World and Everything in It: Culture Friday. Joining us is author and speaker Katie McCoy. Good morning!

KATIE MCCOY: Good morning Nick and Myrna, always great to be with you!

EICHER: All right. Well, Katie, we're starting with a sad story today, an incredibly sad story out of Holland. A writer for the Free Press told the story of Zoraya ter Beek. Tough history. At age 21 Zoraya was diagnosed with autism. She had also suffered from depression and anxiety. And about a year after that autism diagnosis, she took to wearing a tag around her neck that said, Do Not Resuscitate. Just going throughout her days wearing it like a necklace with the message Do Not Resuscitate. So by age 26, she had applied for Holland's doctor assisted suicide program. And let me read now from the Free Press directly. “Last Wednesday, her wish was finally granted. After a three year wait Zoraya ended her life through physician-assisted suicide. She had just turned 29.” So zooming out on this, the reporter wrote a very sensitive piece, and she had followed Zoraya for at least two years in her reporting on the growth of assisted suicide around the world. Let me quote the writer, she said, “I told Zoraya more than once that I understood her suffering, but I hoped that she would not go through with her decision to kill herself. It was hard to hear the news that she had died, that the society in which she lived had given up on a young person who had so much to live for and so many years ahead.” Now, Katie, I find that an interesting thought. But as I read on, as I read a few pieces about Zoraya, it seemed at least arguable that society here didn't give up on her. I'm actually seeing what I think is evidence that this euthanasia worldview seems more active than passive. In other words, the law as moral teacher, it seems more and more are being taught through the law, that killing themselves is not only the way to go, but you know, we'll help you with it. Is that too harsh on assessment?

MCCOY: This story was absolutely devastating. A young woman in her 20s who clearly needed help for most of her life, and she had multiple different issues, not only psychologically, but then also neurologically related to autism that caused her to just feel like she didn't fit. When I read her story, there was such a hopelessness in it that you cannot help but have a deeply broken heart for her. I think you're exactly right, though. Society did usher her into this, not only by making it an option, but by making it one so readily available. You know, here in the United States, we have some states that do have legalized physician assisted suicide. In the Netherlands, however, it goes even a step further. There are organizations that hand out what's called suicide kits. Where if you're denied, or delayed from the government, your desire to have a physician assisted suicide, you can do it yourself. This is horrific. And it is one of the many ways we see that in this generation, especially Generation Z that is coming up, there's such helplessness, such lack of purpose. And it is one of the ways that Satan has blinded the eyes of people to the truth of the life that is in Jesus. And if this doesn't give us motivation to be proclaiming the hope that we have in him, what more of a tee-up could we need? You know, one of the things we see with these stories is people being open about the hopelessness that they feel. How many other people do we see on just a daily basis that have this sense of emptiness and feeling like there's no way out? And you know, Nick, another thing about her story that stood out to me, she described how her psychiatrist basically looks at her and said, there's nothing more we can do. Well, how does that not affect a young 20-something who's looking at the whole rest of her life saying, it's going to be like this forever? I'm going to feel like this forever. So the responsibility that the medical community has, certainly religious community and educational community has, to help this woman look beyond her immediate circumstance to help her find a sense of purpose and meaning and significance in society, to say nothing of her spiritual need for reconciliation to God and Christ. What a magnificent wake-up call for all of us to recognize the state of the society we're living in and the hopelessness that is so common all around us.

EICHER: Well, Katie, I have a follow up, and I wonder what you think about this: when doctor-assisted suicide started to be presented to the public—whether we're talking about Canada or U.S. individual U.S. states that did it, Holland and so forth—it was always around terminally ill people a certain number of months of life likely remaining, that sort of thing. Of course, if you're pro-life even that isn't acceptable. But my point is that we're always drawing new moral lines. Here it is, don't cross that line. But then we always seem to find our way across and we've crossed it again, we've drawn a new line. And on this side of the line now it's people who are profoundly depressed. But we'll make sure there's a waiting list. There'll be some safeguards like that. But my follow up question is, isn't euthanasia fundamentally unregulatable, on the margin.

MCCOY: It's a great point. In fact, in Nancy Pearcy’s book, Love Thy Body, she has a chapter on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. She makes the point that it's actually very few people applying for this that have unbearable pain, or what we might say, is applying for it because of a mercy death. They're just living in the throes of such suffering that they are asking for a way out that is humane and controlled and medically supervised. That's actually a very small percentage of those who are applying for medically-assisted suicide. So much of it that we're seeing more and more has to do with a psychological need. People have anxiety, depression, they feel like they just can't shake the cloud that they're in, that they can't climb out of the hole. And it demonstrates how we have to be, as we talked about, especially thinking about connecting this to different technological advances that we have. I know this isn't about technological advances. But certainly this question of, can we, versus should we, applies to euthanasia, medically-assisted suicide, and a host of other things that happen in the medical community, ostensibly for the betterment of humanity in the human condition. But can easily be going awry, and be harmful to people if it's not guided by some transcendent principles of what we should do, not just what we can do.

BROWN: Well, Katie, I want to take you back one year ago. It was the beginning of this so-called Pride Month, and we asked you about how LGBT activism has stepped up under the Biden administration. And here's what you said:

MCCOY (2023): I think we're seeing this come up to a new level of activism, especially corporate activism. You know, it used to be that this was about tolerance, acceptance, respect, things that every human being should be able to expect from their fellow citizen. Now, however, this isn't about tolerance. This is about recognition. I think there's a couple of things going on. First of all, this year, it seems like we're seeing so much more that specifically targeted to children. And parents all over, whether or not they are religious, some of them are atheist. And they're just saying enough. This is enough.

So one year later, Katie, is enough, still enough?

MCCOY: Well, if Target is any indication, then we may see the tide beginning to turn. Target is scaling back and changing to geographically focused locations where they are going to put pride materials out this year. So in other words, boycotts kind of do work. And we certainly saw how people just had total backlash to saying, “I'm not going to shop at Target anymore.” They were willing to change their rhythms. You had moms saying, “I'm done. I'm getting my groceries and everything else that somewhere else.” Now, interestingly, Myrna, Walmart seems ready to take up the baton, they have already rolled out quite a big campaign. But I think this past year has demonstrated a confluence of a few things. Corporations are recognizing that maybe this is not worth the risk. That the bet that they're taking on the everyday American not caring, may come back to bite them. But along with that, we're also seeing more and more research-based institutions say that, hey, this “transgender, trans affirming care,” for children has no substantial factual basis. And we also have the legal sphere of more and more detransitioners suing their medical caregivers for fraud, negligence and medical malpractice. You put all of that together, and I think corporations are doing what they do for better or for worse. They're going to read the market, and they're going to have to do business decisions that they can give an account for to their shareholders. And I think enough is enough. The temptation, however, will be to let your foot off the gas to not be mindful of the different companies that are pushing this agenda. And it's always a good time to remind people, Myrna, that you know, we can't all do everything. But each of us can do something.

BROWN: You know, it's interesting, Katie, some companies, as you say, are changing. Other organizations like the one I'm about to talk about are not. Well, La Leche is an organization started in the 50s, advocating for breastfeeding babies. And until now, there was never a need to explain who would be breastfeeding babies. I mean, that would be absurd, right? Well, now this internationally acclaimed organization is welcoming biological males into its classes and spaces. Now, Katie, I breastfed both my babies, and it is the most wonderful thing ever. And they're just messing it up.

MCCOY: Myrna, they've lost the plot. It's just insanity. But let's take a step back. And before we look at how our culture is twisting this, let's look at what God designed. God designed mothers to be able to breastfeed their babies, and in so doing have a strong psychological and emotional bond. You know, right after a baby is born, a mother's breast milk emits a scent similar to the amniotic fluid that surrounded the infant in utero. And you mentioned this European organization, there are a lot of practices in Europe very different from American maternity wards, where they just have the patience to allow the newborn to be placed on the mother's chest immediately after birth. And within a short time navigating by scent, the baby is able to latch on to its mother exclusively through scent. And then of course, in the mother's first days, her breast milk is giving antibodies, antioxidants for the newborns immune system. It is truly remarkable. And it is built into a woman's body to be able to do that for the physical and emotional health and well being of her child. That's part of what makes this story so insane, is you have biological men who, either to fulfill a fantasy or fetish, want to have a simulated experience of being a woman. And they are demanding to have a synthetic hormone cocktail that would allow them to “lactate.” Now, not only can they not produce breast milk the same way that a postpartum mother can, but because it is hormonally produced synthetically, it is passing on to the baby serious health risks, especially to the baby's heart. Again, all so that this biological male can have the experience of pretending that he is female. You know, all of these things have been headed this direction. Before it was telling conservatives and Christians to just shut up. I hope that society stands up, whether you are religious, whether you are an atheist, and say this is way too far. This is crossed the line of a trend. It is now harming infants. And I think about the organization of Katie Faust, Them Before Us. We have completely lost that in our society, whether that is family structure, decisions about divorce, abortion, hookup culture, and now transgender parents—fill in the blank. Once we get away from God's design for sex, marriage, and family, we open ourselves up to a host of distortions.

EICHER: All right. Author and speaker Katie McCoy. Thanks so much, Katie. Have a great weekend.

MCCOY: Thank you. So good to see you all. Happy Friday.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, May 30th. 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: Some classic films that turn 85 this year … and they’re worth another look. Here’s reviewer Max Belz.

MUSIC: [The Jazz Singer]

Movies first crackled with sound in 1927's The Jazz Singer. In the following years, movie dialogue was intricate and rapidfire, in part to make up for a mostly static camera: movies looked more like filmed plays. But by 1939, a spate of movies showed what moving pictures could really do, whether blasting forth in color or capturing long outdoor takes.

Five movies from that year are on the American Film Institute's top 100. Most famous may be the historical epic Gone With the Wind, lush with its vast sets and sparked by its flinty characters.

RHETT: There’s one thing I do know and that is that I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces, I love you.

But two other movies expanded the art form through their use of the camera and storytelling.

GARLAND: Somewhere over the rainbow … 

According to the Library of Congress, The Wizard of Oz is the most watched movie of all time.

And it’s a movie so ingrained into American culture, it's almost hard to notice. Everyday speech includes phrases like "the man behind the curtain” and “we're not in Kansas any more.” We remember the movie for its characters, but also its brilliant colors–still a brand new innovation–in Dorothy’s red shoes or the yellow brick road.

MUSIC: [Follow the Yellow Brick Road]

When the sepia tones give way to dewy full color in the land of Oz, Dorothy is set on a magical course and assembles a ragtag group of friends along her journey.

DOROTHY: How can you talk if you haven’t got a brain?

SCARECROW: I don’t know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.

She is pure of heart, brimming with love and courage and lifted by Judy Garland's bell-like voice. Dorothy is a true hero on a journey to something better, something more complete. This is a classic story that we see all through world literature: a hero on a quest.

GOOD WITCH OF THE NORTH: It’s always best to start with the beginning. And all you do is follow the yellow, brick road.

The Wizard of Oz also uses sound in a remarkable way. My own children used to listen to the whole movie without images, unfolding like a radio play. This expert use of sound to tell the story cues the audience to fear and delight, enlarging the moviegoing experience.

NARRATOR: Yet, well within the span of our memory, the screenwriter of its day, the American stagecoach across the uncharted, rugged west.

1939 was also the year that John Ford's western Stagecoach was released. It may seem stodgy by today's standards, but it also broke new ground.

DALLAS: Well, you gotta live no matter what happens.

RINGO: Yeah, that’s it.

It tells the story of a group of strangers looking for a second chance as they trek across Apache territory in Arizona. How will they set aside their differences to survive and start over?

Orson Welles once quipped that he watched Stagecoach 40 times as he prepared to make Citizen Kane, a movie that came out soon thereafter and is celebrated by many as the greatest movie of all time. But it was the economy of storytelling that Welles admired in this western.

CURLY: Well folks that settles it.

A young John Wayne plays the part of the Ringo Kid, and he arrives on the scene to accompany this nearly doomed party.

GATEWOOD: So you're the notorious Ringo Kid?

RINGO: My friends just call me Ringo. Nickname I had as a kid. My name’s Henry.

Again, we are on a journey with a group of motley characters flung together: the Virginia gentleman, the drunken doctor, the preacher, the ex-con, the prostitute. These hardened characters are trying to find their way to something new and they won’t find it unless they work together.

RINGO: Looks like I got the plague, don’t it?

DALLAS: No, no it’s not you.

RINGO: Well, I guess you can’t break out of prison and into society in the same week.

DALLAS: Please! Please.

The movie casts its characters in a compassionate light, showing them on the outs and pitying them in their struggle. They are battling the outlaws, the elements, but battling themselves most of all.

GATEWOOD: Well, we’ll soon be in Lordsburg. Sorry if I flew off the handle, Hatfield. My apologies, doctor. No hard feelings, I hope.

PEACOCK: All in all, it’s been exciting, very interesting trip. Has it not?

Even though much of the story is confined to the coach, the audience is treated to Ansel Adams-like shots of Monument Valley, including a harrowing chase on horseback near the movie's end. The camera captures it all.

SOUND: [Gunfire and horses racing]

This was the first of director John Ford's westerns on location, a trademark of his that helped him explore the theme of men and women in conflict with a harsh landscape.

[SPANISH MUSIC]

1939 showed that people could make movies in a more powerful way, and excellent stories like these distill what is true about the human experience: as we quest, as we battle, and as we hope to go home again.

I’m Max Belz.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, May 31st. 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.

And now Listener Feedback for the month of May.

Let’s begin with a good word or two from Matt Brown, Tucson, Arizona:

BROWN: I’m remiss in just encouraging the staff of The World and Everything in It, in terms of just a deep appreciation for the credibility of those that you’re interviewing these days. The cast is just getting better and better, the content is getting deeper. And it’s also getting more challenging and I appreciate the counterpoints that are being brought up and I would urge you to continue that course of challenging the listener not to a monolithic stand, but rather to consider wisely and carefully what we’re facing in politics and in events and in perspective … I think it is important for us as believers to consider and we want to be found as the Bereans who are clearly and seriously considering all aspects of a story and event…it’s what’s setting you really apart.

Like the late, great ballplayer Ernie Banks used to say, let’s play two. Matt Brown chose to send two messages, and I’ll just convey his other thought, which was that he found it especially useful, a few weeks back, to hear a couple of different pro-life perspectives on politics.

BROWN: We interviewed the former abortion clinic director turned pro-life activist Abby Johnson and our Culture Friday guest today Katie McCoy, and the two of them offered different views on the value of incremental progress on abortion laws.

That and covering Israel fairly without forgetting some of the struggles of Christians caught in the middle of the conflict.

EICHER: And then this call …

CALLER: I want to thank you for acknowledging the Sherman Brothers…probably the most famous songwriters that nobody’s ever heard of…And at the end of that acknowledgement, it was mentioned that they wrote the most played song on earth…It’s a Small World After All…I don’t want to be picky…but I think that honor may go to the Hill Sisters…wrote happy birthday…

And she phoned us back a few minutes later …

CALLER: Patty and Mildred Hill did not write “Happy Birthday to You.” They wrote the tune for a song that became Happy Birthday to you. … And so I want to correct my correction, but it’s still probably the most famous tune played even though the words over time have been changed by who knows who? Thank you so much. Bye…

On the theme of multiples, this is way more than two. Many, many listeners responded to Janie B. Cheaney’s commentary on the need to fight till victory is won—citing the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.

BROWN: Let’s just do one, but there is a baseball theme. We got this note from Mary Peters who said that Janie:

… hit [it] … out of the park. I wish every person, every politician, every protester, every pollster could've heard her succinct and provocative message.

EICHER: Next, listener Tori Carle … she likes the listener engagement and offers a tip of the cap to those who take the time to send in pre-rolls, as do we.

BROWN: And she says:

CARLE: You're in my car or on my phone every morning. My kids hear you, my husband hears you, and you have just become a part of our daily routine and our family. So thank you for, for everything that you do to put this program together because your work is just so meaningful and helps us to be informed and educated and inspired…in a biblically based way so that I can feel intelligent when I'm talking about the news of today from my Christian worldview with potential non-christians.

EICHER: Thank you all for writing, calling, and sending files.

That’s this month’s Listener Feedback.

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, Emma Perley, Travis Kircher, Mary Jackson, Daniel Suhr, Carolina Lumetta, Onize Ohikere, Caleb Welde, Janie B. Cheaney, Mary Muncy, Jenny Rough, Cal Thomas, Katie McCoy, and Max Belz.

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

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, 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 Apostle Paul wrote, “to this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” —2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12

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.

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.