The World and Everything in It - May 6, 2022

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Today, the leak that flooded the political and cultural landscape: The Supreme Court draft opinion that—if it holds up—means the end of nearly 50 years of Roe vs. Wade.

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

Also summer blockbusters. We’ll tell you what Hollywood hopes will lure you back to the theater over the next few months.

And is 2022 your year to start supporting the work of WORLD, we’ll spend just a few moments today explaining why that’s so important.

BROWN: It’s Friday, May 6th. 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 has today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Ukrainian resistance holds out against long odds in Mariupol » Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels of a steel plant in Mariupol held out against Russian troops Thursday in a desperate and possibly doomed effort to deny Moscow its biggest victory so far in the war.

Some 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were holed up inside the plant, the last pocket of resistance in the now all but destroyed port city.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba says the sacrifices of so man in Mariupol will not be in vain.

KULEBA: The war, I told you, we will win. We literally have no other option but to win this war because the existence of [the] Ukrainian nation is at stake. And we are not going to surrender under any circumstances.

And the remaining troops in Mariupol have not yielded to Russian calls for their surrender.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has already declared victory in Mariupol as his forces are carrying out a new focused offensive in Ukraine’s east.

McConnell calls for standalone Ukraine aid package » Meantime in Washington, a proposed $33 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine has hit a snag on Capitol Hill. GOP lawmakers object to Democrats’ push to add COVID-19 and food insecurity funds to the same bill that addresses aid to Ukraine.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants the aid package to include only provisions related to the Russian invasion.

MCCONNELL: Obviously, there is broad bipartisan support for a robust aid package. But even a strong bipartisan vote won’t mean much if we don’t deliver on this promise soon.

The U.S. government on Thursday did announce another $387 million in additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The cash will help provide basics like drinking water, sanitation and medical supplies.

Abortion rights activists ‘doxxing’ Supreme Court justices » Abortion rights activists having resorted ‘doxxing’ conservative Supreme Court justices, publishing their home addresses online. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: A pro-abortion rights group is calling on protesters to demonstrate outside the homes of the justices they believe may back a ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

The group “Ruth Sent Us” employed a tactic known as “doxxing.” They posted a map online showing the home addresses of Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. They also revealed the address of Chief Justice John Roberts. That despite the fact that he is not believed to be in favor of reversing the 1973 Roe decision.

The group said it's organizing a “walk by” demonstration on May 11th—quote—“Where the six Christian fundamentalist Justices issue their shadow docket rulings.” End quote.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

DOJ finalizes new gun kits rule » Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department has finalized a new gun rule. The new measure makes clear that parts kits that can be assembled into guns will be treated as firearms.

GARLAND: Those who engage in the business of dealing in these guns will be required to mark every frame or receiver with a serial number so that the guns can be traced (if) they’re used in crime.

Garland says to sell gun kits, businesses will be have to be federally licensed, maintain records and run background checks, the same as any firearm retailer.

He said the new rule is part of a new anti-crime strategy aimed at bringing down rising rates of violent crime.

WHO: Nearly 15 million deaths associated with COVID-19, but deaths are falling » COVID-19 has killed nearly 15 million people, either directly or indirectly. That according to the World Health Organization. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The new WHO estimate counts not only deaths directly caused by the virus, but other pandemic-related deaths as well. That factors in COVID’s impact on health systems, such as cancer patients who were unable to seek treatment when hospital beds were full of COVID patients.

The new death toll estimate of 14.9 million is more than double the current official death toll of over 6 million.

Most of the deaths occurred in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The good news is that new cases and deaths continue to drop. Both of those tallies fell again last week worldwide.

The WHO counted 9 million cases last week, a 16 percent drop from the week before. And infections are down in all regions of the world.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Tornadoes strike Texas, Oklahoma » Several tornadoes ripped through Texas and Oklahoma, heavily damaging homes, schools, and businesses.

The twister wreaked havoc in Seminole, about 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Tiffany Coker is a schoolteacher in Seminole.

COKER: It sounded like a train, and we could also hear glass breaking. And I could hear metal coming off of the roof.

Gov. Kevin Stitt says despite the destruction, officials reported no serious injuries.

STITT: We’ve got drones kind of assessing the damage, but thank the Lord nobody was hurt.

A large tornado also roared through Wilbarger County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, damaging numerous buildings.

And the same storm system knocked out power and triggered flash flooding parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: anticipating a post-Roe future.

Plus, a preview of summer blockbusters.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday, May 6th, 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.

Let’s bring in John Stonestreet. He’s the president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast and he joins us now. Good morning, John.

JOHN STONESTREET, GUEST: Ah, good morning, did, ah, anything happen since we met last week?

EICHER: Yeah, something about needing emergency plumbing in one of the government buildings, some big leak everybody’s talking about.

STONESTREET: You don’t say.

EICHER: Well, everyone knows about the leak of a Supreme Court opinion that would—assuming everything stays as-is—finally reverse Roe vs. Wade.

If anyone thought the outcome of this case is just not that big a deal, I think this leak puts that notion to rest. Whoever leaked this took an enormous risk.

I read that when someone leaked to Time magazine information on the Roe decision before the court officially released it, then Chief Justice Warren Burger instituted the “20-second rule,” meaning if a law clerk leaks, he or she is fired in 20 seconds. The current chief justice, John Roberts, says this is a “betrayal.”

Doesn’t that say the stakes are very, very high?

STONESTREET: Absolutely. If the  20-second rule applied to leaking information, leaking an entire draft of a majority opinion on the most significant court case of the most significant cultural war issue of our lifetime, yeah, this would make this a big deal.

But we know, for example, the hysterics that surround this issue and have for decades, we know the violence that has surrounded this issue with the issue itself is one of violence, life is at stake. This has the potential not only to reverse what is the central holding of the progress of the sexual revolution, which, and that's why you're hearing as people have now digested and seen this opinion, warnings that we're going to lose rights to interracial marriage, or same sex marriage or all these other things, which the rest of us are like, that's not even related.

But we forget that this whole thing for the left has been built on a right to privacy, something that was largely invented and extended into an area of taking of human life. And which created what Justice Scalia called the abortion distortion. In other parts, there's a number of ways to define the abortion distortion. I think what Scalia man is that rules don't apply when it comes to abortion or when it comes to, we've seen this with other issues of sexuality that apply in literally every other area of life. But also people just don't think right. People don't think clearly. Somebody thought this would work. What did they think would work? That part is not clear. And so it is a big deal.

And let me just say this, too. And this is something that I say with great care. We are on the verge of having a another divided country, like we haven't seen, and I mean, around state lines, that we haven't seen, since having free states and slave states. The gravity of the morality of the issue of abortion is as high for many people, the inherent right to have abortion, the inherent right that all children have to live. Are we entering a world, a country now, in which we have life states and abortion states?

And are the stakes that high? You know, I soundly reject the idea of moral evolution that somehow we're better than those who have gone before us. But I do hope, you know, we wouldn't see some of the same things. But that's what's at stake here. I mean, this is a big deal.

EICHER: Talk a bit about the opinion itself. We know it’s a genuine first draft and even though it could still receive some editorial tweaks and even though we’re assuming the majority justices who voted as they did initially don’t change at the last minute, feeling some pressure. But is this decision all you were hoping for?

STONESTREET: Well, it's everything that we wanted it to be.

I don't think anyone really thought that there would be, for example, a complete ban on abortion coming out of that or that a court could do this. I mean, the court was asked to rule on a restriction law out of the state of Mississippi, and to do it in such a way as to undermine the precedent. You know, this is why so much was made about stare decisis, this idea of overturning precedent, because essentially, most limitations were dead on arrival in the past because of this, you know, the things that Roe put in. The viability thing that was invented in 1973 has dramatically changed because of science and because of technology and because of medical care. The inconsistencies are more stark than ever. So you look at it and you're like, This is everything we hope.

Now what's, obviously what's not clear is this is a first draft and first drafts get edited. I know that as someone who does a daily commentary with a team of writers - things get edited. It's not clear how much it's edited.

It's really good news that it's Justice Alito that is writing it. I mean, that part I think we can now know for certain. That's a different opinion than if Justice Roberts writes it. And Alito is brilliant, and that part was obvious in what we have seen. So it is exciting. This is what we needed to happen. Roe has had a stranglehold on the American culture, you know, outsized, unfair, unjust way. And you know, this, this dismantles it top to bottom.

BROWN: John, you’ve often said if Roe is overturned, it’s not the end, the work is just beginning.

I've heard pro-lifers say if there is a reversal, we need to temper our joy in front of our pro-abortion neighbors.

Conversely, other pro lifers insist it is absolutely ok to joyfully celebrate this victory for the unborn. If you want to shout, do a little happy dance, go for it and make no apologies.

What do you think our posture should be as Christians?

STONESTREET: Well, as a real Christian, I'm morally opposed to dancing, so I won't be doing that. [Laughter]

Look, we should celebrate! This is good news. This is not a celebration of the win. It's a celebration of God's kindness. There's so much that brought us to this point. And it's not the end of the pro life movement in any stretch of the imagination.

And, and the whole thing reminds us, the Supreme Court, if this is the decision that comes out, then the Supreme Court has done its job. The Supreme Court was able to do its job because the rest of us did our jobs. Showing up day in and day out at pregnancy Resource Center's distributing ultrasound technology in very creative ways, coming alongside of women in crisis situations and their husbands, pointing people to forgiveness and redemption in the cases of those who came to regret and understand the sin of their choice of having an abortion. And being able to have the conversations, as Chuck Colson used to say, across the backyard fence, and around the barbecue grill, being able to answer some of these slogans.

And I do worry that we are hearing you know, some people basically say, “Okay, we you got what you wanted. Now, calm down.” We haven't gotten what we wanted. If this is what we wanted, then we wanted the wrong thing. The point is not that abortion is not fully legal. And then by the way, that's all this decision will do. This decision doesn't make abortion illegal, it makes abortion not unquestionably legal in every situation across 50 states. Now, the mistake then would also be to turn around and say that the state legislature needs to do our job. We came to realize that the Supreme Court couldn't do our job, we had to do our job, therefore, the Supreme Court could do its job. State legislatures everywhere now have a very important job to do.

And we need to pray for them. We need to support them, we need to do everything we can. And I'm grateful for all the wonderful work that's being done on the ground in these states. There's a lot more to be done. And you're going to have this division of free states and slave states now in this new chapter of life states and abortion states. I mean, California is now promoting legislation in which they will pay women to fly to their state in order to have an abortion. This is going to take what Roe allowed to a new level in these quote unquote, sanctuary states or whatever they're calling themselves. State legislatures will be able to do their job if we do our job.

And our job remains that the church's job now is more important than ever when it comes to this issue. So do your happy dance and then put the boots on and get to work.

BROWN: We won't see you next week because it's Wilberforce Weekend, but we'll see you in two weeks. Hope it goes well for you!

STONESTREET: Thanks so much!

EICHER: John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks, John.

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

NICK EICHER, HOST: The World Video Game Hall of Fame in New York just announced a few new inductees.

There’s a good chance you’ve played at least one of these games, depending on when you were born and what games were big during your prime video game playing years.

The first title is a legendary 1980s video game. We’ll give you a hint:

AUDIO: [Ms Pac-Man sound effects]

That is of course Ms. Pac-Man, released in 1981. That was back in the days of pinball and the video arcades.

The other new inductees are The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Dance Dance Revolution, and Sid Meier’s Civilization.

Now, this is more my speed. 

AUDIO: [Pong sound effects]

Hear that scintillating game play? This is my own personal video game hall of fame short list: the unmistakable sound of Pong. Yes, I’m old enough to have been had an old picture-tube TV and my very own copy of Pong.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, May 6th. 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: summer movies.

Hollywood hopes to wow audiences with big-screen blockbusters this year. Their biggest draw? Familiarity. Here’s reviewer Collin Garbarino.

COLLIN GARBARINO, REVIEWER: Today marks the beginning of the summer movie season, the time of year when studios offer up their biggest films. The industry’s hoping 2022 proves to be the year audiences return to theaters.

This year things are starting off with a bang. Debuting in theaters this weekend is perhaps the most anticipated release, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Strange: I did what I had to do to protect our world.

Wong: You cannot control everything, Strange. You opened the doorway between universes, and we don’t know who or what will walk through it.

In the film, Doctor Strange travels through multiple dimensions, and it’s being billed as one of those must-see crossover events. But before you rush out to buy your ticket, you might want to make sure you're up to speed on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You don’t need to watch all 27 previous movies. You just need to have seen the original Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Oh, and you’ll need to watch the series WandaVision, Loki, and What If… ? If you need to get caught up, it should only take about 24 hours.

[Top Gun music]

If superheroes aren’t your thing, maybe you’re interested in seeing Tom Cruise return to one of his iconic roles. Top Gun: Maverick—which was supposed to debut in the summer of 2020—finally comes out on May 27th.

Warlock: Your reputation precedes you.

Maverick: I have to admit I wasn’t expecting an invitation back.

Warlock: They’re called orders, Maverick.

This time the loose-cannon student has become a loose-cannon teacher. I don’t know if the story will be any good, but I’m looking forward to this movie. Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer eschewed computer-generated imagery, sticking to practical effects filmed with IMAX cameras. The movie features real flight sequences, and the actors underwent aviation training to prepare. They experience real G’s while filming cockpit scenes in real F-18 Super Hornets launched from a real aircraft carrier. Cool.

[Jurassic Park theme]

On June 10th, Universal Pictures releases Jurassic World Dominion. Supposedly, this film will conclude the franchise.

Alan and Owen: Don’t move.

Ian: Bigger. Why do they always have to go bigger?

That’s Jeff Goldblum you just heard. Universal’s doubling down on the nostalgia by bringing back the characters from the 1993 movie. In addition to Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprise their roles alongside the newer generation of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The movie looks like it will feature nonstop chase scenes in which dinosaurs try to eat humans. No surprise there, but that doesn’t mean it won’t entertain.

On June 17th, Pixar releases its Toy Story spinoff, Lightyear.

Buzz: Buzz Lightyear mission log. Star date 3901. After a full year of being marooned, our first hyper-speed test flight is a go.

Alisha: Who are you talking to?

Buzz: Uh. No one.

Alisha: You were narrating again.

Buzz: I was not. Just doing the mission log.

Alisha: You do know, no one ever listens to those.

Buzz: I know that! Narrating helps me focus.

Chris Evans voices Buzz in this story about the real Buzz Lightyear—as opposed to the child’s toy. Buzz and his friends are trapped on an alien planet, and the plot involves time travel and killer robots. Sounds fun, but many parents will want to skip this one. After the LGBT uproar surrounding Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, Disney allowed the studio to put a lesbian kiss in the movie.

The biggest movie of July will be another Marvel superhero film, Thor: Love and Thunder.

Thor: These hands were once used for battle. Now they’re but humble tools for peace. I need to figure out exactly who I am.

Thor is once again played by Chris Hemsworth, and this time he’s trying to sort out his life after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The very funny Taika Waititi directs Love and Thunder. He previously directed the delightfully silly romp Thor: Ragnarok, so I have high hopes for Love and Thunder. Fans also get to see Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster pick up Thor’s hammer, taking on the mantle of the god of thunder.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, the studios are playing it safe in this first post-pandemic summer. All the biggest movies are sequels and spinoffs of stories we’ve seen many, many times before. The average age of these franchises is more than 25 years.

But if you’re looking for something different from the typical summer fare, keep your eyes open for Family Camp. It debuts in select theaters next weekend.

Pastor: Family camp is the highlight of our year. If you ask our family, it’s the greatest place on earth.

Tommy: Sorry I was late.

Grace: Again.

Tommy: What do I gotta do to make it up to you.

Grace: How about we go to that camp?

Tommy: Church camp?

Tommy Woodard and Eddie James, also known as the Skit Guys, created and star in Family Camp. They produce drama for churches. In the movie, the Ackerman family hopes going to church camp will solve their problems.

Tommy: I’m stuck here with Dr. Phil’s demented twin brother when I should be back at the camp singing Kumbaya with my family.

Eddie: It’s okay mi amigo. When God closes a door, he opens a Chick-fil-A.

I’m hoping Family Camp proves to be a zany comedy about embracing faith, family, and friendship despite the fact none of us are perfect. It might turn out to be the most original film of the summer.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, May 6th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: I’m Mary Reichard.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: And I’m Paul Butler! We’re all here today to kick off our new donor drive for this spring.

Did I phrase that right? I don’t mean this is a donor drive that is new.

I mean, new-hyphen-donor drive. In other words, if you’ve never given before to support our efforts here at WORLD, we’re talking to you about making this month the month you get involved with us for the first time.

BROWN: Right, maybe a good friend of yours told you about The World and Everything in It and you’ve been listening for awhile—every day you hear the intro to the program, what we call the “preroll”—that starts with a variation of this: “The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me.” And you, no doubt, hear us refer to ourselves as “listener-supported” WORLD Radio.

EICHER: Yes, and it means exactly that. Namely, that faithful listeners who value the program and include WORLD in their giving, they are the ones who make The World and Everything in It possible. Listener support powers all of our journalism here at WORLD.

REICHARD: And listener support allows us to tackle exciting new projects like our Lawless podcast, for example. Long-form journalistic storytelling. Your support helped start WORLD Watch—10 minutes of daily TV news for students. It’s the fuel we need to power The Sift, breaking news online and in your email inbox.

BUTLER: Right, when you support WORLD, you’re supporting the next generation of Christian journalists. Several of us even now are preparing to head up to Sioux Center, Iowa, to the campus of Dordt College, for our annual World Journalism Institute college course. That’s two weeks of intensive, hands-on training by WORLD staff with a competitive paid internship program and more first-hand experience in our newsroom.

BROWN: The journalism and the journalism training that we do here at WORLD all flows from your generosity. We cannot do what we do without you. And that means we need to come to you a few times a year, for a few minutes a day, to remind you of the need and to ask whether we’ve earned your support.

EICHER: And if we have, we’re asking you to visit WNG.org/donate and make a gift of any amount. That’s WNG.org/donate.

Now, let me emphasize if you’re already one of the more than ten-thousand people who’ve given in the past—our June Giving Drive is still a few weeks away. This month, we’re calling on you if you’ve never given before to WORLD.

We’re so pleased to know that about 250,000 people listen to this program each month,  and the number just keeps growing.

So far more listen than give financial support. And we understand that. If you give, you understand that, too. You give because you want more listeners and readers and viewers getting their news from WORLD, but it’s such an encouragement each year to see hundreds, even thousands of brand-new supporters coming online and helping to carry the load and expand the work.

So if you’ve been a longtime listener, please consider this month becoming “longtime listener, first-time donor” at WNG.org/donate. It’s safe and secure and tax deductible. WORLD is a recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It all goes to supporting and expanding biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

REICHARD: Paul mentioned WJI, World Journalism Institute. Interesting to think of that. You know, I was working as an attorney when I learned about WJI Mid-Career. Always wanted to do journalism but never really knew how. One of our senior writers at WORLD Janie B. Cheaney encouraged me and I applied to WJI. Went through the program where I recall you Nick, talking about the long hours, I said something about vacation and you just laughed. Ha! And now after eleven years, ah, I understand why you laughed!

But seriously I love this work and while the hours are long, I experience joy by taking legal stories and breaking them down in a way that’s understandable to non-lawyers.

Despite the problems with our legal system, it’s important that Christians understand and appreciate how it works.

And that comes right back to our supporters. In fact, Season Three of the Legal Docket podcast is almost here. None of it possible without financial support.

So thank you if you’ve given a gift. I also encourage you if you haven’t ever done so, would you consider doing so now? Just go to WNG.org/donate.

EICHER: May is our New Donor Drive—thank you, team, and thank you, listener for considering supporting our work here at WORLD. WNG.org/donate.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Time now to thank and recognize the rest of our team who helped provide our programs this week:

Kent Covington, Kristen Flavin, Jenny Rough, David Bahnsen, Josh Schumacher, Lauren Dunn, Emily Whitten, Kim Henderson, Onize Ohikere, Whitney Williams, Joel Belz, Carolina Lumetta, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, and Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Carl Peetz and Johnny Franklin are the audio engineers who stay up late to get the program to you early! Leigh Jones is managing editor, and 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, If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you. (John 15:19 ESV)

Remember to worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ this weekend, and Lord willing, we’ll meet you 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.