The World and Everything in It: October 8, 2025

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Good morning!

With multiple National Guard deployments, political fireworks fly on Capitol Hill.

BONDI: Our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Hunter Baker is standing by for Washington Wednesday.

Also today, a World Tour special report on Nigeria.

And a respite for caregivers.

CLARK: So we’re creating a culture of service, a culture of welcome, of friendship, of compassion.

And commentator Ray Hacke reflects on a bold testimony of faith.

MAST: It’s Wednesday, October 8th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

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

MAST: Time for the news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR:  Israel October 7 remembrance » This week marks two years since the horrific October 7th attacks against Israel. Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands, and took about 250 hostages, some of whom have died in Hamas captivity.

Last night in Israel, thousands gathered for a special ceremony to remember those killed and those still being held hostage. WORLD's Travis Kircher reports from Israel.

SOUND: [Concert]

TRAVIS KIRCHER: The Bereaved Families October 7th Memorial Ceremony kicked off late last night as the first day of Sukkot--a Jewish holy day--came to an end.

Those gathered in a Tel Aviv park heard performances from Israeli artists, as well as words from family members of those killed in the October 7th attacks.

Yonatan Shamriz, who founded the event, said it was broadcast live on well over 100 media channels and to Jewish communities around the world.

SHAMRIZ: I'm here to say the state of Israel and the people of Israel will stay strong and we want our hostages back and we'll do whatever it takes in order to bring them home.

KIRCHER: 18-year-old Shahar Sarfaty said she was there because she didn't want to forget what happened on that fateful day two years ago.

SAFARTY: It's a very important day for me. October 7 was a very heartbreaking day and since then we're hoping for all of the hostages come back and to finally have peace in the world.

Reporting for WORLD, I'm Travis Kircher in Tel Aviv.

Carney at White House: Middle East » At the White House Tuesday:

TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much everybody. It's an honor to have the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.

The president said the two leaders were set to talk trade once again, working to iron out differences between the U.S. and Canada.

But he also had plenty to say about peace talks in the Middle East:

TRUMP:  It's been raging for a long time, and I think there's a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It's something, uh, even beyond the Gaza situation, we want a release of the hostages immediately.

The president urged negotiators holding peace talks in Egypt to move quickly on a deal to end the war in Gaza.

Talks so far this week have focused on the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners rather than the more complicated elements of the peace proposal.

Carney at White House: Trade talks » On the topic of U.S.-Canada trade, Prime Minister Carney told reporters:

CARNEY:  There are areas where we compete and it's in those areas where we have to come to, uh, an agreement that works, but there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that's what we're focused on, and we're gonna get the right deal.

Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada are focused on several sticking points — including tariffs on trucks, steel, and aluminum, and disputes over softwood lumber and Canada’s dairy protections.

Washington is also pushing back on Canada’s new digital services tax, while both sides debate whether to tweak or replace the USMCA trade deal.

Government shutdown » The federal government shutdown now in its second week.

And  GOP leaders are warning that if a deal isn't reached soon, military members will miss their next payday, one week from today.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of caving to political pressure.

THUNE:  I think there are a lot of Democrats who are being bludgeoned by their political left.

Democrats are holding firm on demanding healthcare policy add-ons. Party leaders say they will not agree to pass temporary funding without that.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says millions of Americans could see their healthcare costs rise:

JEFFRIES:  Because of the Republicans continued refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

President Trump and GOP leaders say they’re willing to negotiate on healthcare, but only if and when Democrats agree to reopen the government.

SCOTUS conversion therapy case » The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case testing the constitutionality of a Colorado ban on what the state calls conversion therapy.

Therapist Kaley Chiles says the state law violates her free-speech rights by barring her from helping young patients who want to affirm their biological sex.

Her attorney, Jim Campbell with Alliance Defending Freedom, told the justices:

CAMPBELL: Colorado insists that its law is subject to only rational basis review, yet that would allow states to silence all kinds of speech in the counseling room.

The law state does allow counseling that affirms homosexuality or so-called transgender interventions.

Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson argued the state can regulate licensed healthcare. But some justices questioned whether the law favors one viewpoint. Justice Elena Kagan said:

KAGAN: That seems like viewpoint discrimination in the way we would normally understand viewpoint discrimination.

Twenty-three states have similar bans.

Jack Smith investigation » Former special counsel Jack Smith is under fire after new reports that the FBI monitored phone metadata of multiple Republican senators during his Jan. 6 investigation.

The move, revealed in documents unearthed this week, drew the ire of GOP lawmakers. Sen. Eric Schmitt said the moment has come for criminal charges.

SCHMITT: Whether it's Comey, Clapper, Brennan, whoever else we know or don't know right now is a part of this. I think indictments should be coming here. We can't tolerate this.

Senator Tommy Tuberville claimed FBI agents tied to the probe were fired recently and called for legal action against Smith. Meanwhile, internal reviews at DOJ and the FBI are reportedly underway into how the surveillance was authorized—and whether it crossed constitutional lines.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hunter Baker joins us for Washington Wednesday. And later, a World Tour special report on Nigeria.

This is The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s Wednesday, the 8th of October. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Time now for Washington Wednesday.

Political scientist and WORLD Opinions contributor Hunter Baker joins us now. Hunter, good morning.

HUNTER BAKER: Good morning.

EICHER: Well, Hunter, Attorney General Pam Bondi was back on Capitol Hill yesterday for a tense oversight hearing, and I understate the tension even as I say that. The hearing was before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers on both sides pressed her over a string of controversies, from dropped investigations to the Justice Department handling of internal discipline and data collection. The session often turned combative, with Bondi declining to answer several questions and trading sharp words with senators, and I must say, giving as good as she got.

But Hunter, these hearings are supposed to be about accountability. This one sounded more like a knock-down, drag-out political brawl. What did we learn, if anything, from Bondi’s testimony?

BAKER: There are a few things. I mean, one is, we're entering into a new mode in American politics, where we have these hearings and there is less interest in developing useful information, either for the Congress or for the listening public, than there is making sure that you come out of the encounter unscathed, or that you look as though you have won. And so this was very pugilistic, I think that the Democrats wanted to push this idea that the Department of Justice has previously been non political and sort of meritocratic, and they wanted to kind of indicate that Pam Bondi has just been a political instrument of Donald Trump. And of course, that's a little bit ironic, because Donald Trump views himself as the victim of tremendous politically oriented justice. So now we have essentially both sides accusing each other of this thing. The story that comes out of this most strongly for me is the push on Tom Homan, who is in charge of this massive deportation effort, and you have Democrats asking over and over again about this $50,000 that he is said to have received before the election, and Bondi just kind of pushed back over and over again, sort of refusing to engage that inquiry.

EICHER: Hunter, I was listening to the hearing yesterday with a colleague, and I think it was when California Sen. Adam Schiff was sparring with the attorney general. I made the observation that this is precisely why the AG has the president’s confidence: unlike other administrations, you see the cabinet secretaries kind of rope-a-doping and being saved by the bell. Not Trump people: they turn tough hearings into opportunities to go on offense. I imagine you noticed the same thing.

BAKER: Yeah, I think that this is what he wants. He was tremendously frustrated with his original Attorney General, who was Jeff Sessions, when the sort of the Russian probe opened up. Sessions immediately recused himself, and Trump was furious. Trump, you know, his, his AG, is not there to kind of help him, to protect him from that seat in the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi gives no indication of being the same sort who would recuse herself in some sort of a controversy. She's got the gloves in and she is fighting.

MAST: Hunter, Republicans used their time to raise concerns about politicization of law enforcement during the Biden administration—especially the collection of lawmakers’ phone records by the special counsel’s office. How significant is that issue?

BAKER: I'm interested in seeing what else we find out here. I mean, on the one hand, to imagine a government lawyer actually sort of tapping the phones or tracking calls to major senators. I mean, there are some big names on this list. Ron Johnson being one, Bill Haggerty being another, Lindsey Graham being another. The idea that one of them, or all of them, are somehow involved in some sort. A criminal conspiracy to capture the election, wrongly, something like that. So we'll see what happens. The question is, did Jack Smith have any kind of a valid basis for doing this, or was this more of just a political form of targeting? We'll find out more, I think.

MAST: Well, before we leave the hearing room, I do want to listen to one exchange in particular, because it does lead in to what we want to talk about next. It was when Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois spoke, and this was really a moment. Have a listen.

DURBIN (D-IL): The American people don't know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops in my state. The word is, and I think it's been confirmed by the White House, they are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale for that?

BONDI: Yeah, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here. Our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.

MAST: That’s the kind of thing I think that prompted Senator Schiff to say something about Pam Bondi’s “canned criticisms.” Obviously one person’s preparation is another person’s canned statement, but clearly she was ready for that one.

BAKER: Yeah, this goes back to what we've talked about before, on the law and order message Trump calculates, as did Richard Nixon in the past, that law and order is a winning issue with the American people, and I think it is. I just want to remind everybody that when Richard Nixon ran for his second term on that law and order message, he won massively, one of the biggest election wins in American history. And so Trump is on kind of firm ground pushing this law and order message. That's the politics of it. Now the legal issues are kind of a separate matter.

EICHER: Well, and let's get to that hunter. I think it's important. And we'll kind of ask you to put on your lawyer hat—and I guess they give those out in law school— But Hunter, help us to understand the relationship between a federal deployment and, for example, the power of the state to call out the National Guard. I'd like to get a sense of what's at stake here, what the President's powers are what the local officials powers are. So when the National Guard is sent into a city who's in charge, the president, the governor, the local authorities?

BAKER: We need to keep in mind that what we're looking at with places like Chicago or Portland or Los Angeles or Memphis, this is different than a Washington, DC issue. When the President is stepping in to help out in Washington, DC, he is on awfully firm ground, because Washington, DC is largely a sort of something associated with the federal government, where the seat of government is located, but with regard to the states. Typically, crime is something that belongs to the States and to the local governments. However, if we are talking about federal law, then the President can absolutely make sure that the federal law is enforced. So what kinds of things does that entail? Well, immigration is the big one right now, but we could be thinking about things like drug laws or bank robberies, that's a matter of federal law, or kidnapping. You know, there are a number of different things that have a federal basis, and the federal government is free to operate when that happens. Now, we've had this controversy in Chicago, where you had ICE agents actually being put in danger for their lives, with local people surrounding them, attacking them, and we'll find out more about what exactly has happened. I think Chicago is playing for time, but it seems as though for a while, those ICE agents were left without any help, and that maybe they had been ordered not to be helped, that you know that the police had been held back for a time. But whatever happens, police officers are not free from their obligation to protect those ICE agents are doing their job sent there by the federal government, and if they are put in physical danger, the police have the obligation to protect them, just like they would anybody else.

EICHER: Well, Hunter, I wonder if that's where the Insurrection Act comes in. Is that what would govern something like this, or is this a routine deployment that's more political than it is legal. How do you analyze that?

BAKER: Well, the Insurrection Act is designed to allow the federal government to come in to an area during times of great civil unrest. Now, typically, I think that a governor would be requesting that that help come in. But. But again, this gets down to that federal and state sort of a breakdown, and I think that probably the last time I can think of the insurrection act being used is probably with regard to some of those civil rights sort of cases where maybe you have students who are supposed to be allowed into a school or a university, and the local officials are resisting that the insurrection Act would allow a president to send in the National Guard or someone like that to break that log jam and enforce the federal law.

MAST: Since we talked last, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General, Jay Jones, took lots of heat, and I think you would say justifiably. He sent a string of text messages a few years back to a former colleague in the state legislature.

His rationale: “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

Since then, Jones has apologized–here’s audio from WRIC-TV:

JONES: I want the people of Virginia to know that I am so deeply, deeply embarrassed and that I understand the gravity of what I said, and I am so apologetic for it from the bottom of my heart.

MAST: We’ve been talking for weeks about language and its impact … and I’m especially struck by that line “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.” That’s really something: Are we pedalling backwards on the road to civil civic discourse? Where are we?

BAKER: We're in a really bad place. We have Charlie Kirk murdered by a person who disagreed with him significantly about politics and saw that as a way to exterminate the hate that he saw within Charlie Kirk. And now we have this former Virginia Assemblyman and now candidate for attorney general in the state, openly fantasizing about killing a Virginia Republican, saying that if he had two bullets, and standing next to him were Paul Pott and Adolf Hitler. He would reserve both bullets for that Virginia Republican, and adding to that that he thought it would be fitting if that Virginia Republicans children died in their mother's arms. So no, this is not good. We have reached some extremes of irrationality and hatred, and we just need to learn how to disagree about politics in a manner befitting of citizens. We are citizens. We are not children. We are not ruled the way subjects are ruled, and that means that we're responsible, and that means that we inform ourselves, and then we talk it out, and then we vote, and then we abide by the results of those elections. Right now, it feels like we're pretty far away from that.

EICHER: Hunter Baker is a political scientist and provost at North Greenville University. Hunter, thanks so much.

BAKER: Thank you.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: a World Tour special report.

Last month, Nigeria’s Supreme Court granted an appeal to a minority Muslim facing the death penalty for blasphemy allegations.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Legal advocates say the outcome of the case could potentially overturn blasphemy laws and mob violence in a country where persecution targeting Christians remains high.

Here’s WORLD Africa reporter Onize Oduah.

ONIZE ODUAH: Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician from the Sufi minority Muslim sect, recorded an audio message five years ago and shared it on WhatsApp.

In the audio file, he praised an imam from his sect. But some devout Muslims accused him of elevating the leader over the prophet Muhammed.

NELSON: A mob began to form after his message was circulated. His home was burned down. People immediately called for his arrest.

Sean Nelson is the legal counsel for global religious freedom at the Alliance Defending Freedom International.

Shortly after Sharif-Aminu's arrest in 2020 in northern Kano state, a Sharia court in the state found him guilty of blasphemy and sentenced him to death by hanging. He appealed the ruling.

NELSON: A few months later, Yahaya’s conviction was overturned because you can’t convict somebody of a capital offense without a lawyer present during their trial. But he was ordered to go back to a retrial so he would face the exact same death penalty.

In 2022, Sharif-Aminu appealed to the Supreme Court, which finally agreed to hear his case last month. But his state government is still backing the guilty verdict.

Lamido Abba Sorondinki is the lawyer for the Kano state government.

SORONDINKI: We will not condone it. Anybody that has uttered any word that touches the integrity of the Holy Prophet, we will punish him.

He says the state will punish anyone who touches the integrity of the prophet. He vowed Sharif-Aminu will face a public execution if the court affirms the earlier ruling.

Nelson says Sorondinki’s comments highlight the urgency behind Sharif-Aminu’s case.

States in Nigeria’s Muslim majority north implement both constitutional and Sharia law, unlike the majority Christian south, which does not follow Sharia law.

Sharia law officially applies only to Muslims, but Christians can be tried for blasphemy under Nigeria’s criminal law. And non-Muslims can face pressure to abide by mandates from Sharia morality police. Blasphemy allegations also trigger mob violence.

NELSON: That area of Nigeria is one of only seven places in the world that you can receive the death penalty for blasphemy, and the law actually mandates the death penalty for blasphemy against the Quran or any of its prophets.

Nelson believes that Sharif-Aminu’s case could affect the fate of thousands of Christians also facing persecution in Nigeria.

According to the Nigeria-based nonprofit InterSociety, Islamists murdered more than 7,000 Christians in Nigeria during the first seven months of this year. That’s an average of 30 Christians dying each day.

Three years ago, a mob in northern Sokoto state beat and burned Christian student Deborah Samuel to death.

NELSON: She had just shared in her classroom chat that she thanked Jesus for helping her pass some exams after a student asked her, Why did she do so well? And so other people within her class did not like that.

Back in December, a High Court in northern Bauchi state acquitted Christian nurse Rhoda Jatau of blasphemy allegations. She had shared in a WhatsApp group a video that criticized Samuel’s killing.

In August, a mob stoned and burned a food vendor to death in northcentral Niger state.

And last week, more than 5,000 Nigerians fled to bordering Cameroon after Boko Haram insurgents captured their town in northeast Borno state.

These cases are now drawing more international attention.

Sam Brownback is the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. He recently told Fox News that Nigeria’s insurgency is growing.

BROWNBACK: You’ve got more terrorist groups in the area, you’ve got more weapons coming in, you’ve got more Christians being killed. And it’s spreading throughout the region. You could have a caliphate, an Islamic radical caliphate throughout the middle of Africa that would have 500 million people if you don’t get on top of this.

Last month, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas introduced a bill called the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. It targets Nigerian officials who enable jihadist violence or enforce blasphemy laws.

Nelson believes the outcome of Sharif-Aminu’s case could also pressure officials to act, both in Nigeria and elsewhere.

NELSON: There's a real chance that that could overturn all of the similar death penalty blasphemy laws within the north. And this would also be of world significance as well, because again, only seven countries in the world have this kind of a law, but all of the other countries are specifically Islamic republics or Sharia-based countries.

That’s this week’s World Tour. I’m Onize Oduah.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Every day around 11 at the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola, Florida, the door would swing open and in walked a loyal customer for his usual: a cup of gumbo. Cook Donnell Stallworth, as usual, happy to oblige. Audio from WEAR-TV News:

STALLWORTH: Order up! He said he don’t want no green onions on that, right? That’s how we do it.

But one week, the old man didn’t show up. So Stallworth thought he’d better check in. He drove to the man’s house, knocked on the door, and heard a faint call for help.

Inside he found the man had fallen and was in bad shape.

Thankfully, now the old man is recovering, and Stallworth plans to check in more:

STALLWORTH: …and see how he doing, put that smile back on his face and probably bring him a thing of gumbo. (laughs)

Just what the doctor ordered.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, October 8th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: caring for caregivers.

Raising a child with an intellectual disability can be all-consuming. Caregivers often feel like they don’t have a moment to themselves.

MAST: But when someone sees that need and steps in to give a weary parent a night out? Wow, is that a blessing!

WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson has the story.

KIM HENDERSON: Kemp Patterson has a 9-year-old son named Evan.

PATTERSON: He was diagnosed with autism at 36 months. He's still nonverbal. He's not potty trained. He's a great kid. He's a loving kid.

Patterson is a single dad.

PATTERSON: I get up with him in the morning. I get him ready for school, get him on the bus, and I go to work.

After school, a sitter keeps Evan until Patterson returns. Then the dad and son hit the backyard.

PATTERSON: He loves to jump on the trampoline, likes to play in the pool or a sandbox. Then we have supper, and it's bath time and a little bit of free time, and then he goes to bed.

Bedtime can be really hard. Evan has abnormal sleep patterns.

PATTERSON: Some nights it takes him hours to go to sleep. Some nights he goes right to sleep. And then there are other nights he'll get up at one, two o'clock in the morning, and he's ready to go for the day.

That can wear on a parent. But tonight, Patterson is getting a break.

SOUND: [Sound of basketballs bouncing]

He’s dropping Evan off at a Parents Night Out event. It’s for families of those affected by intellectual disabilities—autism, Down Syndrome, traumatic brain injuries. Evan can’t wait.

PATTERSON: I think he just loves being with all the kids. He has a buddy that stays with him the entire time…

An assigned volunteer buddy. Just for him. And while Evan enjoys activities designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Patterson will be joining his sister for dinner.

PATTERSON: I think we're going to go to the Sunset Bar and Grill out on the reservoir.

For two and half hours, volunteers at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church open their gym to take care of anyone ages 1-70 with intellectual disabilities. And boy, are their caregivers grateful.

CLARK: They may go home and take a nap. They may go to the grocery store without having to deal with, is my child going to bolt this way and I need to go get frozen broccoli, you know, over here?

That’s Daphne Clark. She heads up the event.

DAPHNE: So this side is more games and puzzles and tossing things and bingo. Basketballs are over there. They'll get name tags. If they have an allergy or something like that, you'll see it in red, so that the buddy will know.

Clark says one of her biggest challenges in organizing Parents Night Out is getting volunteers. They need lots of them.

CLARK: You can't invite your community to come if you don't have the support. We're creating a culture of service, a culture of welcome, of friendship, of compassion, of seeing people, it just takes a while to build that.

Tonight, volunteers have filled the bleachers. This 11-year-old can’t wait to be someone’s assigned buddy.

KID: Whatever he needs me to do, I'm gonna do for him, and I'm not gonna leave him. If he wants to play a game, I'll help him. If he wants to color a picture, I'm gonna help him color a picture.

Volunteers have to be ready for anything. Kids with medical devices. Kids who can’t stay still. Kids who can’t talk.

Nathanael Kwasny is a college student who has volunteered with this ministry for more than a decade.

NATHANAEL: I'm never happier than when I'm here. This is the happiest place for me.

I asked him why he’s chosen this way of serving.

NATHANAEL: The story of a lot of families that have been touched by disabilities is that they're rejected by the Church, and they get sent out from these churches because their kids are too noisy, or things like that, and there's a lot of church hurt.

That’s why Parents Night Out is open to the whole community.

A long line has formed by the time participants sign in.

PARTICIPANT: My name is J-E-R-R-Y . . .

It’s a happy reunion-like scene.

But Daphne Clark points out another challenge. It’s not always easy for parents to leave their children.

CLARK: You're wondering, are they going to know how to care for my child? Will they know what to do if my child has a seizure or something? So we do have medical staff here to take care of all that.

Kemp Patterson has no qualms about leaving Evan.

KEMP: This program is just amazing. I can't believe what I walked into two years ago. I mean this, this is phenomenal. You see all the people here?

Patterson says he eventually became a member of this church because they have a special program for Evan on Sunday mornings.

KEMP: Before that I couldn't really sit through a service with him.

And that’s what often happens with caregivers, according to Pear Orchard Presbyterian’s pastor, Caleb Cangelosi.

CANGELOSI: They realize, like, Oh, here's a church that's going to let me bring my child to worship—whether they're loud, whether they're disruptive.

Or want to hide because of sensory overload. Or have a feeding tube. Or flap their hands uncontrollably.

The church has become known for its outreach to individuals with special needs. This summer they had 30 kids with special needs at their total-inclusion VBS.

Evan Patterson was one of them.

His father Kemp says activities like that make his role as a parent and caregiver easier. And now he’s ready to get back to his routine with his son.

KEMP: Having Evan has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, October 8th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next, a Major League Baseball superstar is pitching his final innings , as he’s planning to hang up his cleats after the current playoff chase. Here’s WORLD’s Ray Hacke.

RAY HACKE: On September 18th, LA Dodgers fans were shocked when veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement, after 18 seasons with the ballclub where he started.

KERSHAW: Today, I’m going to keep it short and sweet. Yeah, I’m going to call it…I’m going to retire…

The left-hander then went out and pitched four and a third innings in his final regular-season home game against the San Francisco Giants, one of major league baseball’s oldest rivalries.

BROADCAST AUDIO: What a moment at Dodgers Stadium tonight. It was just sort of thrust on everyone…

Kershaw’s final season isn’t over. The Dodgers won the National League West division title for the 12th time in 13 years and are competing in the playoffs. Kershaw will factor heavily into the Dodgers’ efforts to repeat as the World Series champion for the first time in team history.

POST GAME AUDIO: It’s unbelievable, and what you said, where we’ve come from…

Throughout his tenure in the major leagues, the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader has exuded humility, quietly dominating on the mound and letting his numbers and accolades testify to his greatness.

ESPN COVERAGE: Strikeout for Kershaw! The 20th pitcher in major league history…to record 3000 strikeouts…

His accomplishments are indeed quite impressive: Kershaw’s career earned run average is 2.54, meaning he’s been downright stingy when it comes to letting opponents score.

He’ll likely be one of the last pitchers to reach 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in his career, that’s not to mention Kershaw’s 11 All-Star selections, three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League Most Valuable Player award, and two World Series rings.

KERSHAW COURTESY OF CBN: When I think about Jesus, the first word that comes to mind is hope…he’s my hope…

Though Major League Baseball has never had a shortage of Christian ballplayers, Clayton Kershaw stands out from the rest.

KERSHAW COURTESY OF CBN: What anchors you? What gives you hope past this world? For us that’s Jesus. Jesus is our eternal hope.

In post-game interviews, he did much more than thank God for his success on the field. He used the platform his success created to advance the gospel and take a stand for his faith when the situation called for it.

He ended last month’s retirement announcement press conference by quoting his favorite Bible verse.

KERSHAW: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as you’re working for the Lord, not for men. That’s Colossians 3:23. That’s what I’ve tried to do—just work at it. Just work at it, and love it.”

Kershaw certainly did that. But it isn’t the only thing that made him a shining example for other Christian ballplayers to follow.

Sometimes, it meant publicly pushing back against his employer: In 2023, the Dodgers honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The sisters are an LGBTQ group whose members dress like nuns and openly mock Christian values. The ball-club honored them with a Community Hero Award. Kershaw denounced the decision:

KERSHAW: There’s a little bit more of a culture war these days…and there’s a lot more people with opinions on social media…

At Kershaw’s urging, the Dodgers hosted a Faith and Family Day later that season.

And earlier this year at the Dodgers’ Pride Night in June, Kershaw scrawled Genesis 9:12-16 in white ink to the right of the rainbow-colored version of the Dodgers’ “LA” logo on his cap. He did it to remind fans of what the rainbow truly stands for. Kershaw was truly—in the words of Jesus—as “wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.” In the process he avoided the backlash many Christian athletes experience when they refuse to celebrate what the Bible condemns.

I AM SECOND: For me, it’s about the legacy you leave off the field. It’s about how many people I can effect with the platform He gave me…

Off the field, Kershaw used his MLB earnings to support missions work in Africa and transform at-risk children and communities through his charity, Kershaw’s Challenge.

Even in retirement, Kershaw is modeling Christian principles: His focus will be on being a more present father to his five kids—counting the baby he and his wife Ellen now eagerly await.

KERSHAW: I’m excited to not miss another game and watch all the baseball, volleyball, dance, soccer… I’m gonna do that for a while, for sure.

For every ballplayer, there comes a time to move on to his next chapter. Kershaw’s time is now. And while there will never be another Kershaw, I pray there will be another Christian ballplayer in MLB that will follow his example in boldness and humility.

I’m Ray Hacke.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Tomorrow: The U.S. military ramps up strikes on Venezuelan drug boats, is war brewing? And some women are being coerced into abortions — made easier now by mail-order abortion drugs. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

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, “The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.” —Isaiah 33:5, 6

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.