The World and Everything in It: September 29, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. Hi, I'm Carol Shinabarger, and I live in Dayton, Ohio. As a child I looked forward to each issue of the children's news magazines from World News Group. Now with my own two little ones, I listen to The World and Everything in It while feeding my toddler lunch. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! Today on Culture Friday a German family seeking freedom to homeschool in the U.S. is getting deported. And California’s Gavin Newsom vetoes a pro-LGBT bill.

NICK EICHER, HOST: You heard that right. And we’ll talk about that college football coach who’s in hot water with some people for baptizing players.

We’ll talk it over with John Stonestreet on Culture Friday.

Also today: another movie pitting humans against super intelligent technology. The film is called The Creator.

AUDIO: We are this close to winning the war.

BROWN: It’s Friday, September 29th. 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!

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Government funding » House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to address reporters this morning to provide an update on efforts to avert a government shutdown over the weekend.

McCarthy said yesterday …

MCCARTHY: I believe we need a stopgap measure to keep the government open, and that’s what we’ll propose on Friday.

The temporary funding bill the House will consider today would largely keep current funding levels in place. It also includes measures to help strengthen border security.

The Senate, meantime, has its own funding proposal to keep the government open.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wants McCarthy to consider that bill.

JEFFRIES: Put the bipartisan continuing resolution on the floor of the House.

The speaker says the Senate bill is a nonstarter. While Democratic leaders say the proposed House bill is unacceptable.

Current funding will expire at midnight tomorrow night.

Impeach inquiry » Hours earlier on Capitol Hill …

AUDIO: The Committee on Oversight and Accountability will come to order.

House Republicans launched their first hearing as part of an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Chairman James Comer said his committee:

COMER: Has uncovered a mountain of evidence revealing how Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.

The panel’s top Democrat Jamie Raskin shot back, suggesting that Republicans are drumming up a phony scandal.

RASKIN: If Republicans had a smoking gun, or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today. But they've got nothing on Joe Biden.

Republicans say they’re not laying out their evidence yet, as the point of the inquiry is to gather more information.

Comer announced new subpoenas for Biden family banking records.

Maui hearing » Meantime, in a different House hearing room lawmakers pressed the CEO of Hawaiian Electric for answers about last month’s deadly wildfire in Maui.

Shelee Kimura told members of the Energy and Commerce Committee:

KIMURA: We are absolutely reexamining our protocols.

But what role downed power lines might have played in the tragedy is unclear.

The company has acknowledged that a power line caused an initial fire, but firefighters believed they had extinguished that blaze.

The wildfire incinerated thousands of homes and businesses, killing more than a hundred people.

Stoltenberg/Zelenskyy » NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says failure in Ukraine is not an option.

STOLTENBERG: Ukraine’s surrender would not mean peace. It would mean brutal Russian occupation. Peace at any price would be no peace at all.

The secretary-general heard there in a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the state of the war and what Ukraine’s forces need to win it.

Stoltenberg is urging NATO member nations to send more air defense systems to Ukraine to protect power plants and infrastructure.

He also condemned Russia’s recent airstrikes near the Romanian border as “reckless.”

STOLTENBERG: We are therefore significantly [stepping] up our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance with more troops, with more surveillance.

Romania is a NATO member nation.

GDP » Americans are tightening their purse strings … as the government says spending slowed down in the second quarter of this year. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: A newly revised government report said spending was weaker than originally thought in the quarter that ended in June.

Consumer spending grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 0.8%. That was the slowest pace in a year.

On the other hand … some analysts say that’s not a bad number in the face of high inflation.

Chris Zaccarelli is chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. He said he still thinks a recession is lurking. But he added, “we have been surprised by the resilience of the consumer.”

Overall, the U.S. economy grew at just over 2% in the second quarter.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Michael Gambon obit » Actor Michael Gambon has died. The British actor was best known for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in six Harry Potter movies.

AUDIO: Demontors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way.

But by that time, he had already enjoyed a storied career on screen and stage.

Queen Elizabeth II knighted Gambon in 1998 for his contributions to the film industry.

He starred in movies including “Gosford Park” and “The King’s Speech.”

Gambon died following “a bout of pneumonia” at the age of 82.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, a new sci-fi movie with an old storyline.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s the 29th 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: I’m going to rely on some rusty high-school German here to raise the story of the Romeike family, a homeschooling family from Germany who a decade and a half ago sought religious asylum in the United States for the freedom to homeschool their children.

Now, I can’t imagine essentially being in limbo for a decade and a half and constantly having to check in with immigration authorities and never really being able to feel settled.

Finally, the other shoe has dropped and after all this time, after doing things the right way, not coming in illegally, not skipping court dates, on and on, now they’ve lost and they’re going to be deported.

One of our WORLD Opinions writers saying this is the wrong priority for the government seeking the removal of the Romeikes. Daniel Suhr writing, “Asylum seekers like the Romeikes come in the best traditions of American history, seeking hope and freedom in a land that cherishes religious liberty. It would be an easy act of grace and goodwill to stop these deportation proceedings, and an example to Congress and the courts to start rethinking the standards of review for asylum seekers when neutral laws burden the free exercise of faith.”

I know you’ve followed this: what do you say, John?

STONESTREET: Well, I think it is a another data point on a really alarming trend. And it's not, first of all, it just seems bizarre, given how open our southern borders are, and the lack of concern about immigrants coming into America that you would actually target a family that's been in the country for 15 years and have actually established themselves as citizens. But you know, we also have at the same time, this is another data point, along with something that was reported on this past week, from a publication called Higher Ground looking at various Christian groups, reporting that there has been a stark decline in the number of religious refugees that were accepted into the United States. I mean, we're not anywhere close to the ceiling that has been kind of implemented for resettlement. This is something that happened also under President Obama, where the number of illegal immigrants coming in the southern border exploded. And at the same time, those who are actually going through the system are applying for refugee status based specifically on religious grounds. And this is mostly Christians. And we know for example, from the Open Doors U.S. World Watch list, that each year on record is the greatest year for persecution of Christians on record, right, it gets worse each and every year. And so the demand is huge. So we then in the context of that have a 70% decline in Christian refugees arriving in the United States. 

So you kind of go okay, well, what do we do with this? How do we put this also in the context of what we've seen, both in the state of Oregon and in the state of Massachusetts, where state officials actually say, you know, what a child is worse or more at risk in the home of someone who claims to be Christian, than they are being taken to a medical professional, who will actually permanently damage them in mind and body, whether through chemicals or through surgical intervention. 

There is now in this kind of time of critical theory mood, where we group people according to identity categories, and then assign moral superiority or moral blame. Apparently, immigrants have moral superiority unless they're Christian, unless they follow the rules unless they apply for refugee status, unless they're facing persecution. And now to be clear, it's not just Christian refugees. We've also seen a stark decline in the number of Jewish and Muslim refugees. But this should really concern everyone. This is a selection process by all indications that's discriminating specifically against people of faith. And unless there's some other part of this story with the Romeike family, and again, I don't know if we're saying that right. It's a nonsensical thing for the state to do. So what's going on? I think there's a lot more questions than answers right now.

EICHER: You mentioned this, speaking of children at risk, John, I want to turn to California now for a surprise move by the politically adventurous Governor Gavin Newsom, who so clearly putting himself out there as the eager understudy, I guess to Joe Biden, should he be unable to perform his role as presidential candidate in 2024, just an interesting guy, but also completely, up at least to now, never having met an expansion of LGBT rights he couldn't get on board with. I'm talking, of course about Governor Newsom veto of a bill that would have pushed judges during custody battles, to strip custody from parents who oppose gender ideology. He vetoed it, he vetoed the bill. Now, if that isn't a political tack to the center, honestly, though, I wonder, is this a sign that the most extreme elements of the LGBT agenda, specifically the T, specifically, where little kids are concerned, that it's just a bridge too far even for for Gavin Newsom?

STONESTREET: Oh, yeah, I think maybe is overstating it a bit. I don't think this has anything to do with kind of an ideological "too far" for Gavin Newsom. I think what this allowed him to do was claim both sides of the issue at the same time. The reason that he vetoed it is because it was really a showcase bill and judges particularly the judges in California are already considering where parents stand on gender identity questions when deciding custody. This is already in practice, they already have the dominant number of judiciary's kind of populated, so this is an unnecessary bill on the state level. So then when he gets asked about you know how he supports this, even as I do think there are cultural ones turning against the extremism of this movement he can claim Yeah, I agree, I think it was too far. And then he can also turn around and point to the fact that under his watch, this is what actually is happening and dividing homes and putting children at risk. 

But I do think this is something worth noting that it's widely accepted that Governor Newsom would be the top front runner other than the President. And we have not seen, which is saying a lot given who has stood on the stage for the Democratic primary under the last cycle. This is how far and how extreme the Democratic Party has gotten. It's not even close, like the track record this guy has. And despite the efforts of the governor of Colorado, the governor of Michigan, all who have presidential ambitions themselves, they're having a hard time keeping up with it. So that's an important thing to note in this.

BROWN: So John, I want to talk about college students. Here's what I understand happened on the campus of Auburn University, a worship event called Unite Auburn drew a massive crowd, one of the students wanted to be baptized, no baptismal pool in the arena where the event was held. So students began walking to a nearby lake a mile away. And by the end of the evening, more than 200 students got baptized. Here's some edited audio from that night

“Everybody give it up for Sylvester. He’s about to get baptized. Guys this is Mya. Give it up Mya! Cheers!”

In the water, helping baptize students, Hugh Freeze, the Auburn Tigers head football coach.

You can probably guess what happened next. An organization called the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the university president saying Auburn is a public university, not a religious one and it is inappropriate and unconstitutional for University employees to use their position to participate, promote or organize a religious worship event.

And so my question is, would this backlash still happen? Was it because students got baptized or 200 students got baptized or Coach Freeze and others helped students get baptized? What do you think?

STONESTREET: Well, look, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has a long history of not being constitutionally literate. They have a long history of not actually understanding what it is that the First Amendment protects, what it means to be a private citizen, where that line is between church and state and why the founders drew it. You fundamentally begin with the wrong assumption - that the purpose of the state was to protect citizens from the church and that's actually not what the First Amendment was ever about. It was to protect citizens from the state, particularly citizens of faith. Now, there's nothing unconstitutional about what this football coach has done and just wait till they start seeing the press conferences from Deion Sanders. Who knows what's going to happen next? I think way more interesting in this story, two other things. Number one is given the reports of the move of the Holy Spirit on college campuses like Asbury University, and others, to see it at a place like Auburn, what's happening, man, I think, to be open that the Holy Spirit is indeed moving is really, really exciting. Let's pray for that kind of mercy and be grateful when we see it. 

I also think - I've been talking about this for a couple years - something's happening in the world of coaching, when you kind of think back to those hardcore and they still exist, basketball, football coaches, the Bobby Knight kind of, you know, way of seeing players and seeing students and you compare that to the coaches that are deeply committed in their faith, and even changing the way others coach, where I think there's a real shift away from this animosity towards players the the tough love to real love, and encouragement and so on. And I think more journalism, not to give you guys more work, but more journalism needs to be done on the coaching philosophy shift that I think is evident in both college basketball and college football. You know, it hasn't necessarily trickled out everywhere. I'm not saying it's perfect. I'm not saying there are no exceptions. I'm not saying all these, these coaches are flawless examples. But man, I think that's interesting. I mean, obviously, this is maybe an outlier. I don't know of any of the others that are standing in the middle of a field, in the middle of the night, you know, baptizing students. But that's not something Bobby Knight would have done.

BROWN: Well, Nick, sounds like we got an assignment, a new assignment, what do you think?

EICHER: Well, yeah, I think, well, I expect Ray Hacke is probably listening and sports writer, Ray Hacke, this is right up his alley, I think.

BROWN: Alright, John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks John!

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

BROWN:  It’s the 29th 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.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, the 29th day of September. 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: artificial intelligence at the movies.

This week, Hollywood writers brought an end to their longest strike since Ronald Reagan was president. One Writers Guild demand was protection from artificial intelligence. Well, a new film titled The Creator debuts in theaters this weekend, and it poses the opposite question: whether AI needs protection from us. Here’s WORLD arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino.

COLLIN GARBARINO, ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR: What happens when the machines start to think for themselves? Hollywood has been pondering this question for decades. From 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Terminator to The Matrix to this summer’s latest Mission: Impossible installment, the consensus seems to be that artificial intelligence is a bad idea.

AUDIO: Execute her, or we go extinct.

But in his new movie The Creator, writer/director Gareth Edwards takes a different approach. The movie suggests we ought not fear technology so much as other humans.

SOUND: [Sounds of war]

The Creator takes place in a near future in which humanity has gone to war against artificial intelligence.

AI robots and simulants—androids possessing human faces—were supposed to improve the lives of humans, but after AI detonates a nuclear bomb in downtown Los Angeles, it’s time to rethink humanity’s relationship with technology. The United States outlaws artificial intelligence and launches a war to eradicate AI abroad. The country of New Asia, however, provides safe havens for their machine neighbors.

AUDIO: We are this close to winning the war.

The U.S. military sees itself locked in a battle for the survival of the species, and they convince a wounded veteran named Joshua, played by John David Washington, to help them root out the last AI resistance before it’s too late. Joshua must find “Nirmata,” the mysterious creator of artificial intelligence, and neutralize the ultimate AI weapon he’s created.

COLONEL: Did you locate the weapon?

JOSHUA: Yes, it’s here. I’m with it.

COLONEL: Describe it.

JOSHUA: It’s a kid. A kid. They made it into some kind of kid. That’s the weapon.

But what’s Joshua supposed to do when the ultimate AI weapon turns out to be an innocent simulant child?

JOSHUA: Police are everywhere. I don’t know how I’m getting out right now.

COLONEL: Then you know what you have to do. Kill it.

JOSHUA: What?

Joshua isn’t interested in killing a child, whether human or simulant. Besides, he thinks this child might hold the key to unraveling a mystery from his own past.

JOSHUA: Come on. Come on, little sim. Get in the car. Hey, it’ll be fun, like cartoons. It’ll be fun.

The Creator is rated PG-13 for some language and intense war violence. But it’s also a stunningly beautiful movie. Edwards, who previously directed 20-16’s Star Wars movie Rogue One, proves he has an eye for aesthetics. His visuals echo classic films like Apocalypse Now (1979) and Blade Runner (1982). He filmed much of the movie on location in southeast Asia. The gorgeous setting provides an elegant counterpoint to the violence of war. And seamlessly layered atop this realistic world is some amazing computer generated imagery.

But while the movie has plenty of style, it falls short in human emotion. Edwards’ script ultimately fails to tell a compelling story—those visual echoes to better movies end up calling attention to how derivative the movie’s plot is.

ALPHIE: Are you going to Heaven?

JOSHUA: Nah, you’ve got to be a good person to go to Heaven.

ALPHIE: Then, we’re the same. We can’t go to Heaven because you’re not good, and I’m not a person.

The Creator purports to be about the relationship between humanity and robots, but it stays pretty superficial when it wrestles with questions about what it means to be human or whether human exceptionalism can ever be imputed to a sophisticated simulacrum of human consciousness.

Fundamentally The Creator isn’t about AI or technology. The movie attacks perceived American imperialism and warmongering. And it steals most of its thin plot from James Cameron’s Avatar. Edwards replaces Cameron’s Pandora with Thailand and blue-skinned Na'vi with orange-robed Buddhist robots seeking harmony. And just like Jake Sully, John David Washington’s Joshua goes native, disavowing the scorched-earth military that pursues him.

ALPHIE: They’ve come for me. I have to help.

JOSHUA: There’s nothing we can do.

ALPHIE: I have to help!

JOSHUA: Alphie, we have to go.

Edwards obviously doesn’t like America’s military intervention abroad, and anyone who’s familiar with the Vietnam War will see in the film a condemnation of the United States’ attempts to contain communism. Edwards also rolls in America’s war on terror. It’s been more than 20 years since 9/11, but it feels a little tasteless for Edwards to imply the tragedy was America’s fault.

But the political agenda isn’t really the worst part of the movie. The script simply includes too many nonsensical plot devices and contrivances. Why is the child a weapon? Edwards suggests Nirmata had some loving intention, but there’s nothing loving about turning a child into a weapon. It’s just stupid, and the third act offers a lazy final set piece that rehashes the climax of many a Marvel movie.

The Creator serves as an unintentional metaphor for an android. There’s stunning technological wizardry, but just like an android lifelessly mimics a person, The Creator is merely a hollow copy of much better movies.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Next up on The World and Everything in It: a few corrections.

First of all, in yesterday’s story about the Bob Ross painting up for sale. I misspoke when I reported on how much each of the five happy trees in the picture were worth. I said one million, nine hundred and seventy dollars each, when I meant to say one million, nine hundred seventy THOUSAND dollars. That’s a big difference.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Still out of the price range, which I know was the point!

Next, a couple corrections from Monday’s History Book. First, in the entry about the 100th anniversary of Bambi, A Life in the Woods, we misquoted from Isaiah chapter 11. We have listener Mark Newell to thank for pointing out the error. It’s not the lion that will dwell with the lamb, but the wolf. The lion mentioned in the passage eats straw like an ox.

BROWN: Also during Monday’s History Book, we highlighted the Concorde jet. Aviation professor Laura Laster is a faithful listener and had this correction for us:

LAURA LASTER: You mentioned the “transcontinental flights” of the Concorde. Really, those would be transatlantic flights because the Concorde never saw transcontinental flying because of sonic boom noise restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.

Secondly, the Concorde really stopped flying, not just due to that accident, but it was really economic reasons after September 11th that caused Concorde to stop revenue service.

Anyway, thank you so much for making an amazing podcast. I love it. I have told many people about it. Thank you guys for what you do. Bye.

EICHER: We have the most well-informed, intelligent audience of any podcast, I’m sure of it! By the way, when she sent in her correction, she also told us that her former boss introduced her to the program a few years ago. And you know what, that’s actually the best way to get the word out. If you enjoy the podcast, tell a friend!

BROWN: Finally this morning, a couple weeks ago, we asked you to rate this podcast on Apple iTunes and leave a comment. We received almost 300 reviews in just a few weeks! Thanks so much. We thought you might like to hear a few of those encouraging comments:

A listener who identified herself in her iTunes review as Katee T writes: I love that the podcast begins with a news update, but then explores more deeply financial, legal, cultural, and historical topics. It is my first thing in the morning go to!

EICHER: Another review from TribePurdon says the Tribe’s only been listening for a year or two, but have grown to love each voice that helps them learn about the world for God’s glory. The Purdons write: “Thank you WORLD for keeping our eyes focused on the NewsRuler and opening our ears to hear His design so clearly.”

BROWN: That’s great. Here’s one from someone who takes the title “Lord of the Rings Freek.” This reviewer says the podcast is a great way to start the day: “WORLD isn’t focused on sensationalism, they focus on the news. The World and Everything in It covers both the bad news and the good news in a clear and professional format.”

EICHER: The reviewer Isebe rhymes with busy-bee, (hope I’ve got that right) is a daily listener.

BROWN: And one more. Coach Jody comments: “I enjoy starting my day with WORLD podcast. It shapes how I hear the news throughout my day.”

EICHER: Thank you so much to everyone for your ratings and reviews. Such an encouragement to the whole team.

We really are grateful for that you take the time to do these. As we understand it, it’s those ratings and reviews that help boost the visibility of the program in the store. And that’s good, but what’s even better is when you share the program with others. Thanks so much!

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, September 29th. 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: fences.

It’s almost October, which means you’ll likely be out in the yard raking leaves pretty soon. World’s Steve West now with some ruminations about the boundaries that define our yards and our lives

STEVE WEST, COMMENTATOR: When we moved into our home over 40 years ago, there was no fence enclosing our backyard. The forest from which our subdivision was hewed lapped up nearly to our back door. With only woods and a country lane behind us, our existence and identity dribbled out into the world that preceded us, one of forest life and piney woods. Our claim was staked by orange-tasseled wooden posts in the corners of our lot. An invisible and imaginary line ran between them and the street in front of our home, a trapezoid imposed on an unruly Creation. With that, our lives were bounded.

Later, we erected a fence only because of the arrival of our faithful German Shepherd, to contain her. We needn’t have bothered. Given her interest in what was going on in the home and not out, she lingered near, her longing face framed by the doors. She died over 20 years ago, and our children who, but for the fence, may have wandered off into the dark woods now live outside these lines—and yet, surely, they remain tethered here.

There’s not much need for a fence now. The deer easily vault the fence’s four feet, bed down in our pine straw, and purloin our bird seed from the feeders. Our neighbor’s malleable, near liquid cat glides through its rungs effortlessly, melting into the leafy ether of the diminished woodland. He unfailingly returns under cover of darkness, admitting nothing. Squirrels chatter over its heights. And birds, they have another universe, a sky unbounded.

Walking along the fence today, I run a stick across its wire mesh. It makes a kind of music, dull but resonant, and I recall the clang of other fences, like the one I occasionally slammed into playing dodgeball on an elementary school court; or the oversize bars fencing the zoo elephant–when I whacked that one, it went thunk-thunk-thunk as in don’t-even-think-about-it.

Or, I think of the tapping of my wedding ring on the fence behind which we waited for a train to take us away - the sound of bliss bounded by vow.

Fences help define us. Without a fence we may forget who we are; with a fence we are free to become more of who we are. I remember the Psalmist’s words, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places,” “indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

Those ancient words resonate as I look at the only home my wife and I have ever owned, at the place where we raised our children, at the land where beloved pets roamed and where several are buried. It has been a pleasant place.

I let go of the fence. I go inside. I look out the unshuttered windows and sing along with Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers, “Lord be a fence around me everyday, Lord be a fence today.”

I’m Steve West.

MUSIC: ["JESUS BE A FENCE AROUND ME"]

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

Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Mary Muncy, Bonnie Pritchett, Bethel McGrew, Carolina Lumetta, Hunter Baker, Onize Ohikere, Kim Henderson, Cal Thomas, Leo Briceno, Clara York, Grace Snell, Calvin Robinson, John Stonestreet, Collin Garbarino, and Steve West.

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

And, breaking news interns Tobin Jacobson, Johanna Huebscher, and Alex Carmanaty

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, Lillian Hamman, Bekah McCallum, 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 the word of the Lord continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." —Acts 6:7

The Lord is worthy to be praised. Be sure and worship Him with your brothers and sisters in Christ, in church this weekend. And Lord willing we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

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