The World and Everything in It: September 1, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. Nathan Olweiler in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I enjoy the program every morning on my way to work, and I'd like to honor my beautiful wife Summer on our 23rd wedding anniversary, this Labor Day weekend. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! Today on Culture Friday: remembering Joe the Plumber, countering bad theology, and standing up for historical accuracy. 

NICK EICHER, HOST: John Stonestreet will be along here in just a few minutes, and we’ll talk to him about it. Plus, the next chapter of an animated Star Wars story arrives in live action.

SABINE: Do you really think Ezra’s still out there?

AHSOKA: Nothing is certain.

And Ask the Editor.

BROWN: It’s Friday, September 1st. 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: Hurricane aftermath » In Florida and Georgia many who live along Hurricane Idalia's path of destruction are stringing tarps over shredded roofs.

RESIDENT: The top of the roof just caved slap in on me and my three kids and my grandson.

Some are even picking through rubble where their homes and businesses once stood.

Aimee Firestine owns a small resort in Ceder Key, Florida on the Gulf Coast.

FIRESTINE: One our buildings is gone. One of the other buildings is missing the wall — the front unit is I don’t think savable. Maybe. I’m not sure. So it was a little heart-wrenching and depressing when you first come in and see it.

Authorities say the good news is that key bridges along the coastal Big Bend region weathered the storm. Inspectors have declared them safe for traffic.

Trump plea » Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to state charges in Georgia accusing him of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set arraignment hearings in the case for September 6th.

Trump’s court filing entered a not guilty plea and also waived arraignment. That means he will not have to show up for that, avoiding a public spectacle, which in the state of Georgia  could have been televised.

Trump’s lawyers are also pushing to sever his case from those of some other co-defendants in the case.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Kemp » Meantime, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp pushed back Thursday against efforts by some fellow Republicans in the state to go after the Democratic district attorney prosecuting the case.

KEMP: There have been calls by one individual in the general assembly, and echoed outside these walls by the former president, for a special session that would ignoreignor current Georgia law and directly interfere with the proceedings of a separate but equal branch of government.

Some are calling for a special session to oust prosecutor Fani willis. Kemp said believes that’s unfeasible and possible unconstitutional. But he said the Prosecuting Attorney Oversight Commission will have to make that call.

Oversight doc request » The House Oversight Committee is asking the National Archives to hand over documents related to Hunter Biden’s use of the official Air Force Two jetliner of then–Vice President Joe Biden for international business trips.

Committee Chairman James Comer:

COMER: Joe Biden was front and center. He met with every one of these people that he claimed he never met with and never spoke to. And we’re putting together the timeline where Hunter Biden was traveling to many of these countries on Air Force Two while Joe Biden was vice president.

President Biden maintains that he did nothing wrong. And Democrats claim the House probe is politically motivated.

Africa fire » Residents of Johannesburg, South Africa are mourning today after a fire killed at least 74 people Thursday, including 12 children.

The building was officially abandoned, but as many 200 homeless people and migrants reportedly lived in the building.

One man said he made it out alive, but …

ARAFAT: Everything is burnt. Documents, my passport, even my ID, everything.

Officials say gangs often take control of run down buildings in the city and rent the space to migrants and South Africans who can’t afford other housing.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa:

RAMAPHOSA: We've got to go to the bottom of what caused this fire and also address from now on. It's a wake up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner city.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Texas trans protections » A law protecting minors from transgender interventions takes effect in Texas today. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The Texas Supreme Court decided on Thursday to allow the law to take effect.

The court did not explain the decision which overturned a lower court ruling that had halted the law.

It is now illegal in Texas to subject children to cross-gender hormone shots, puberty blockers, and transgender surgeries.

Roughly 20 states have enacted laws protecting children from transgender procedures.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, Ask the Editor for September.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s the 1st day of September 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. It’s Culture Friday.

Joining us now is John Stonestreet, the president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. John, good morning.

JOHN STONESTREET: Good morning.

EICHER: John, let’s pick up where we left off last week. We were talking about the artist Oliver Anthony and his hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” a working-class anthem, well known for that.

Well, before there was an Oliver Anthony, there was “Joe the plumber.” Propelled to renown by this exchange with Senator Barack Obama who was running for president on a platform of spreading the wealth around.

OBAMA: What’s your name?

WURZELBACHER: Name’s Joe Wurzelbacher. I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes 250, 270, $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?

OBAMA: Well, here's what's gonna happen.

EICHER: He’d go on to call Obama’s tax plan “socialism” and make the rounds on cable news and on the campaign trail.

Sad to say that Joe the Plumber, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, died on Sunday of pancreatic cancer at age 49.

Some say his story was the story of culture and class. His critics said he stoked division.

How do you think history will remember him?

STONESTREET: Well, you know, I'm not sure that he will be remembered in the history books. I think it's ian all of our collective memories, just because it really wasn't that long ago, in many ways. And the candidacy of Barack Obama was such a juggernaut in the American culture at that time, and then being willing to really ask the real hard policy questions. And, and that's really, I think what he was able to do is get out of the candidate at the time, a real taste of his worldview. You know, I think this was the "you didn't build that" kind of part of President, well, not-yet-President Obama's way of thinking about the world and what belongs to individuals, what are people capable of, what brings dignity and so on to their lives, and how does that relate to the government?

And you go back to that, and certainly the media portrayed that story as one of division, but there was nothing in that exchange, other than an honest question. It wasn't a gotcha moment. It wasn't anything like that, it was an opportunity to ask a question. And it actually shed a lot of light on the issue. And, you know, grateful to find out later where these beliefs for Joe the Plumber came from.

I will say, though, that even the thought that, you know, he was some sort of overly divisive figure, you know, what really bothers me when that sort of narrative just gets repeated by Christians who are embarrassed. And it always seems like there's a group of evangelical that is really embarrassed by everybody on the right and not embarrassed by anyone on the left. So we're really embarrassed by a Joe the Plumber sort of guy who's hardworking, loves his family, does his thing and he gets kind of portrayed as a certain kind of American, you know, along with a whole lot of others, but, you know, someone who is, you know, on the political left on certain issues, even if they've abandoned all kinds of historic teachings, suddenly, you know, they're not an embarrassment at all. And I just think that's a really weird factor. And, you know, I'm not even sure that there's that many people in the Christian world talking about Joe the Plumber now, but you know, I did see the story and, and that was actually a notable exchange. And, you know, and we can at least say that he asked a better question than just about all the reporters did in that same event.

BROWN: Ouch. Yeah. As we're talking about, you know, the Christian world, I want to pivot to a question about a recent LifeWay Research study, the results of this study. And John, just over half of Protestant church-goers say God will bless them if they give money. Now we know that prosperity gospel is alive and well, but apparently it's bigger than we thought. Other than being bad theology, and believe me that that's you know, that's not good. But why else are these results troubling?

STONESTREET: Well, I mean, look, bad theology is bad and it is bad enough because yeah, what you believe about God shapes what you believe about everything else. I think it was A. W. Tozer who said that what comes into our minds, when we think about God is the most important thing about us. And that's because our basic theology is what philosophers call a controlling belief. There's beliefs that we have that are important to us, but they don't necessarily shape anything else. Like I had a real strong belief last March that Duke was really having a resurgence in their season, they had everybody back, they were going into the March Madness tournament, and they had a legit shot really, of being really hard to beat. And that belief was very important to me as a Duke fan, but it ended up not going the way that I wanted. But it didn't control the rest of my life other than, you know, some TV viewing habits. What you believe about God really is something that's both informed by other beliefs and informs other beliefs. It's kind of what kind of world do you think it is.

So for example, if you think of God more as a force, as an energy that you tap into, which many Americans do - in fact, I wonder how these two beliefs would align if we did them together - it's not even so much that they bought into some sophisticated prosperity gospel that's been formulated by some theologians. Most people, I think that believe this, they believe it really because they think of God less as a person, and more as a energy or as a force, they think of God less as the creator, and more like a genie in the bottle. Because it's not just this, I mean, if you expand, for example, the definition of the prosperity gospel to include, for example, one of my former colleagues used to talk about this.

And I, when I first heard it, I was like, you've really identified something important where, you know, we told a generation of youth group students 15 years ago that if they play by the rules, then God will bring along their Prince Charming, or Princess Charming. And we talk about things like when God writes your love story, which God does write our love stories, but he also wrote Hosea's love story. But if you again align that belief up with this belief about God that you've identified from this Lifeway study, it just becomes clear that we think less about God in the way that Aslan is described, you know, Is he safe, of course, he's not safe, he's a lion, but he's good. And Lewis seemed really intent in portraying this Christ-like figure in his stories, to make sure that we got that part of it right, that this is someone who acts on his own. He's not to be manipulated. We can't make him do what we want. We can't dare him into it. We can't pray him into it. We can't woo him into it. We can't, you know, this God is independent. He is the necessary being, goes the apologetics argument and the rest of us are unnecessary. You can imagine the entire realm of existence without any of us. You can't imagine the entire realm of existence without God, God is necessary for everything else to exist. And that just changes where you start. And so that leads me to my recommendation which is read Idea of the Holy from A.W. Tozer.

BROWN: Alright, John, last question, John. A 12-year-old boy in your neck of the woods was kicked out of class this week for having a Gadsden flag patch on the back of his bookbag.

For those who are unfamiliar, that’s a historical American flag with a yellow field, depicting a timber rattlesnake that’s coiled and ready to strike. Beneath the snake are the words, “Don’t Tread On Me.”

The school said the patch had origins with slavery and was disruptive to the classroom environment. The boy’s name is Jaiden. His mom recorded part of a conversation with the school counselor. We pulled some of that sound for you to hear.

MOTHER: I mean, we teach him to always stick up for your beliefs. And I mean, you're going over the Revolution for 7th grade. I mean, the Founding Fathers stood up for what they believed in against unjust laws. This is unjust.

COUNSELOR: Okay, I, like I said, we're upholding a policy that was provided to us, which we have to uphold.

BROWN: So after being kicked out of the class, Jaden and his mom headed over to their local NBC affiliate, to try to get the word out. But the gatekeepers in that TV newsroom declined the interview.

Now, in the end, justice prevailed, the school board held an emergency meeting and backtracked, allowing Jaden and his Gadsden flag patch back in the classroom. So John, what bothers you most that the school kicked the kid out in the first place? Or that the media turned a blind eye?

STONESTREET: Well, you know, it is a school in my neighborhood. It's one of the most prominent schools in the state, which is another factor in this, which I found really interesting. And so you know, whether there was an intent where the media realized how bizarre it was that this teacher was standing beside this claim, which was observably, historically, you know, a quick search of Wikipedia tells you that what she's saying is not true about this symbol and about this patch. I mean, just go back and watch the John Adams mini series. I mean, all those flags were at the beginning of that thing. It's really an odd, odd thing. So I'm trying to give the media the benefit of the doubt. Okay, I know that I insulted reporters at the beginning of the program, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt at the end of the program. Yeah, there you go. But the teacher part really bothers me. And when being repeatedly told in that interview with a student, that this wasn't connected with slavery, and it's so easily rectified; the inability or the unwillingness for this teacher to admit that she was wrong. There's just so many so much about it.

First, that she believed that in the first place, which means that her beliefs are not historically informed. Hey, newsflash, education programs and most colleges do not do a great job teaching subject matter. I just gotta tell you, unless you've gone beyond that what you're getting as an education major, and most college programs that are turning out education majors are a whole lot of education theory, a whole lot of pedagogy, which is influenced by a whole lot of ideas about learning and not learning itself.

Secondly, she was educated by someone else, someone who was historically wrong, which basically locates any old symbols like that. And I think I was talking about this with a colleague today. And I think they were right, when they said, you know, probably what happened was, this is a flag that has been resurrected and shows up in conservative places. And so that probably was a guilt by association, not with slave owners, but with conservatives today, which of course, most educators that are educated in certain places believer are slave, pro slavery anyway, with, you know, no evidence, you know, this is reflected again, and how we saw the media handle Governor DeSantis's response to the shootings in Jacksonville, I mean, he came out as strong as possible, quickly declared what it was supported an institution that had been threatened by an historically black college. And he still basically said, Oh, no, no, this was because of your your racist policies, which, by the way, weren't enacted long enough ago for this shooter who was 20, some years old to ever have gone to those classes, that if it's the it's the, if it's the fault of the curriculum, it's the fault of the old curriculum, not the new curriculum. And then, of course, the inconsistency here and how everything else was, was covered. And so that's what bothers me. It's not even so much the teacher is that what the teacher did and how the teacher then acted reveals something much deeper in the educational process, which is that we're not educating anymore. And I know that's a general statement, and I apologize for all the mail that you'll get at World Magazine and World News Group for what I just said. But listen, the educational project in America is in dreadful shape, which is why we need as much disruption as possible, and may God raise up his people to do it.

EICHER: Alright, John Stonestreet, the president of the Colson Center. That's jstonestreet@.... We'll forward this stuff on to you, John, happily. John, I love these conversations. It's great to talk with you. I hope you have a terrific week and we will talk to you next time, alright?

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, September 1st. 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: a new chapter in the Star Wars saga.

The character Ahsoka Tano first appeared in the 2008 show, The Clone Wars. She has since appeared in several other shows and now is the protagonist of the new show on Disney Plus, Ahsoka.

Disney is hoping for a hit to rival its last big fan favorite—The Mandalorian after Disney canceled the star of the show Gina Carano for having politically incorrect views. And with slumping revenue at its parks and the box office, the company could use a win.

BROWN: WORLD Features Editor Leigh Jones is a big Star Wars fan. But she has her doubts about whether this new show has the force Disney needs.

LEIGH JONES, REVIEWER: Ahsoka is the series die-hard Star Wars fans have been waiting for. It brings to life, or at least to live action, one of the franchise’s most popular animated series—Rebels.

BAYLAN: War is inevitable. One must destroy in order to create. We are no Jedi.

Rebels aired on television between 2015 and 2018. It followed the adventures of a group of friends who fought on the fringes of the early rebellion against the Empire.

Ahsoka picks up where Rebels left off, after the Rebel Alliance’s final victory over the Empire.

AHSOKA: General Syndulla. It’s good to see you.

SYNDULLA: And you. Though I wish it were under better circumstances. I’m afraid we lost your prisoner. I’ve prepared a briefing to get you caught up.

AHSOKA: Just like old times.

SYNDULLA: Unfortunately.

Rebels ended with the disappearance of its main character, the budding Jedi Ezra Bridger. And in the final scene, Ahsoka and Sabine Wren, another member of the Rebels team, head out to find him.

Ezra: Hey, Sabine. I’m sorry for disappearing on you. I made this recording because more than the others I need you to understand. As a Jedi, sometimes you have to make the decision no one else can. So, that’s what I did to defeat Thrawn.

This new series opens several years later. Ahsoka is still on the hunt, but Sabine has returned to Ezra’s home planet, Lothal. When not brooding in the outpost where Ezra used to live, she’s dodging recognition of her past victory.

Governor: On this day several years ago, the empire was defeated thanks to the heroic efforts of Commander Ezra Bridger, who sacrificed himself to liberate our world. This monument we dedicate here today stands in recognition of Commander Bridger and the rebel leaders who fought so valiantly on our behalf. May their courage and commitment never be forgotten. Here to say a few words is one of those rebel leaders: Commander Sabine Wren.

Sabine Wren.

Toward the end of the first episode we learn the reason for Sabine’s angst. While on their quest to find Ezra, Ahsoka began to train her in the ways of the force, and it didn’t go well. That caused a rift, and they haven’t spoken since.

SABINE: So, where do you call home these days?

AHSOKA: This ship serves me fine.

SABINE: Still? Don’t you ever get tired of moving from one place to another?

AHSOKA: I go where I’m needed.

SABINE: Not always.

AHSOKA: You never make things easy.

SABINE: Why should I? You never made things easy for me, Master.

When Ahsoka discovers a map that could give them another shot at finding Ezra, Sabine can’t resist rejoining the hunt.

SABINE: Do you really think Ezra’s still out there?

AHSOKA: Nothing is certain. However, our enemy is actively seeking Thrawn, which is what led me to the map.

Sabine’s main goal is to find her friend. But Ahsoka is focused on a bigger prize: Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was the ultimate bad guy in Rebels, and he disappeared along with Ezra. But his followers are plotting his return. And they hope he’ll gather together the shreds of the empire for a galactic comeback.

SHIN: Master, What happens when we find Thrawn?

BAYLAN: For some, war. For others, a new beginning.

SHIN: And for us?

BAYLAN: Power, such as you’ve never dreamed.

Ahsoka knows exactly where those kinds of grandiose designs lead. After all, Anakin Skywalker—the man who would become Darth Vadar—was her master.

So, Ahsoka is determined to keep Thrawn out of power.

Along the way, she’ll have to defeat two new enemies: former Jedi who have turned to the dark side. That promises to deliver some epic lightsaber battles featuring Ahsoka’s signature, two-blade fighting style.

SOUND: [Two lightsabers igniting]

Ahsoka’s first few episodes set up what promises to be a grand adventure in the best quest tradition. And the cast, led by Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka, delivers solid performances. But fans have raised objections about how some of their favorite characters differ from their portrayals in Rebels. That could be a problem for Star Wars executives, who are desperate for a big win to reinvigorate the franchise. Ahsoka marks their first attempt to bring an animated series to live action, which could prove even more risky than introducing a completely new cast of characters.

That formula worked well for the last Star Wars hit—The Mandalorian. It was so successful in part because anyone could jump in and enjoy it, even if they had never heard of Luke, Leia, or Darth Vadar. By contrast, Ahsoka relies heavily on a detailed backstory that most people won’t know. And at least in the first few episodes, the show doesn’t do much to catch audiences up. You can find short synopsis videos on YouTube that condense four seasons of Rebels into a few minutes. But I’m not sure many viewers will bother.

And that’s a shame because Rebels, and now Ahsoka, features some of the most compelling characters—and interesting storylines—in the Star Wars universe.

I’m Leigh Jones.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday September 1st. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next, Ask the Editor. WORLD Radio Executive Producer Paul Butler now with a couple clarifications and a request.

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: A couple weeks ago I got an email from California listener Elena Westmoreland after our news coverage of Hurricane Hilary on August 21st and 22nd:

KENT COVINGTON: Hillary is the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.

Elena wrote in to let us know that’s simply not true. She writes:

“Look up Hurricane/Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976 and Doreen in 1977. Both brought heavy flooding and damage to the Imperial Valley in the southeast part of California. My father-in-law even made the front page of the San Diego Union on their report of tropical storm Doreen as he was a farmer here that had field/crop damage.”

I clarified with our breaking news team and they confirmed that tropical systems do indeed affect Southern California regularly. In fact, just last year, Tropical Storm Kay featured 100 mile an hour wind gusts and severe flooding in Southern California. However, the distinction is that particular storm didn’t come ashore in Southern California.

As you rightly points out, Tropical Storms Kathleen and Doreen wreaked havoc on Southern California in the 1970s. But as with Tropical Storm Kay, both Kathleen and Doreen came ashore in Northern Mexico and then moved into Southern California. According to the Washington Post, only two tropical systems have made direct landfall in Southern California in the last 155 years. One in 1858, and the other 1939. That’s where the 84 year factoid comes from.

Having said that, our coverage could have acknowledged California frequently experiences the results from tropical storms. And we should have said that Hurricane Hilary was the first hurricane to directly hit Southern California in 84 years. That would have been more accurate. Sorry for the confusion.

Next, I want to tell you a bit about an internal debate going on around here. It concerns a segment from Thursday’s program this week. In Aidan Johnston’s profile of KathyGrace, the woman who tried to live as a man, about halfway through that feature she mentions how she had been asked by her church to leave when they found out she had been born a woman. At that point, KathyGrace didn’t want to change her lifestyle, so she just moved to another church.

At that church she worked harder to keep her secret. Yet after years of being involved in youth ministry, leading Bible studies, and even leading men’s programs, the truth eventually did come out. This time she voluntarily stepped down from leadership and embraced the long process of returning to her biological sex. That loving confrontation led to a change of heart.

At the end of Aidan’s story, KathyGrace says this:

KATHYGRACE: The church approach needs to be “we love you and we love you so much that we don’t want you to stay this way.” And loving them. Truly loving them. And knowing it’s the kindness that leads to repentance.

Some of our staff heard this conclusion as an endorsement of the earlier church’s response to kick out people who struggle with gender dysphoria. But that’s far from KathyGrace’s position, and it’s not what we intended to communicate. KathyGrace, and many like her, believe that the church needs to intervene, but lovingly, gently, and kindly, in her experience, that’s what helped lead her to repentance and full healing.

And finally this morning, a request. As faithful listeners you know that we begin every program with what we call a pre-roll:

CLIP: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me…

In recent weeks we’ve gotten a lot of listener pre-rolls that wish family members a happy birthday, anniversary, or mark some other family milestone. We enjoy hearing about your families, and wish you well in those special seasons of life. That said, we would like to move away from these sorts of pre-rolls. Part of the reason is because we can’t always air them on the day you want. But it’s also because while it’s meaningful for you and your family, the rest of our audience can’t enter into the celebration.. Birthdays and anniversaries matter, but there are a few other areas we think your fellow listeners would be more interested in hearing about. Here are some suggestions.

First, introduce us to some interesting places where you listen to the program. Perhaps you live in Antarctica and watch penguins out your backdoor. Maybe you’re doing short term missions work in Zimbabwe, or a medical internship in Poland. Or maybe like the rest of us, you’re just out in your garden or mowing the lawn. Let us know!

Second, give a shout out to the person who introduced you to the program. It could be a parent, a pastor, or a local sheriff who told you about it after pulling you over for a broken tail light.

Third, what sorts of interesting things do you do while you listen? Are you walking across America? Working the 3am shift at the local bakery getting donuts ready for the day? Perhaps you're listening right now instead of doing your homework or housework, you might want to get back to that.

Finally, perhaps there’s a favorite story or segment that you’re a fan of. Tell us about it. The sky's the limit. Be creative. Have fun. Bring some variety to our program. The biggest challenge will be keeping it less than 20 seconds long. But I’m confident you can do it, so give it your best shot. And if you’ve already sent us a preroll, but it’s been awhile. We’d love to get another.

You can send your pre-rolls to editor@wng.org. Further instructions are available on our website, and we’ve also included a link in today’s show notes.

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

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

Mary Reichard, Jeff Palomino, David Bahnsen, Leo Briceno, Onize Ohikere, Amy Lewis, Joel Belz, Mary Muncy, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, and Leigh Jones.

And two new voices on the program this week: WORLD Opinions commentator Ericka Andersen, and WORLD intern Aidan Johnston.

Thanks also to our breaking news team: Kent Covington, Lynde Langdon, Steve Kloosterman, Lauren Canterberry, Christina Grube, and Josh Schumacher.

Plus, breaking news interns Tobin Jacobson, Johanna Huebscher, and Jeremy Abegg-Guzman.

And thanks to 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 production team includes Kristen Flavin, Benj Eicher, and Emily Whitten.

Anna Johansen Brown is features editor, and Paul Butler is 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: "And he withdrew from them with a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done."

Luke chapter 22 verses 41 and 42.

Be sure and worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ in church this weekend. Lord willing we will 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.