Podcast
Acton Line
Hosted by Acton Institute · EN
Dedicated to the promotion of a free and virtuous society, Acton Line brings together writers, economists, religious leaders, and more to bridge the gap between good intentions and sound economics.
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Caleb Whitmer on Fraud and the Flood of Cataclysmic Money in Minneapolis
2w ago00:50:49Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Caleb Whitmer, project manager at the Center for Social Flourishing at the Acton Institute. They discuss Caleb’s essay on the long-developing welfare-fraud scandal in Minnesota, titled “After the Flood in Minnesota,” published at Law & Liberty. The nature and scope of the fraud is unpacked along with some of the underlying approaches to policy and community dynamics that made it so lucrative. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here After the Flood in Minnesota | Caleb Whitmer Putting Clan over Country Will Ruin America | Ayaan Hirsi Ali The Death and Life of Great American Cities | Jane Jacobs The tip at the opening of this podcast is informational and educational in nature. It is not offering professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. For specific advice about the effect of any planning concept on your tax or financial situation or with your estate, please consult a qualified professional advisor.
Transcribe →
Acton Rundown | May 2026
2w ago00:10:26Tap to summarizeThis month on the Acton Rundown, Dan and Dylan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. The Christian Roots of American Liberty | Pahman and Pinheiro Essays: Persuasion and Propaganda: How Poetry Helps Navigate Politics | J.C. Scharl “Only a Digger”: The Misunderstood Story of the First Christian Socialist | Dylan Pahman Did Anti-Federalists Pass the Religious Test? | John Pinheiro Video content: Molly Worthen Refines the Definition of “Charisma” Jason Sorens Builds a Case for Reforming American Housing Policy Jeffrey Polet on the Philosophy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal Dylan Pahman and John Pinheiro Are Documenting the Christian Roots of American Liberty Dylan Pahman and John C. Pinheiro on Christian Roots of American Liberty | The IRD Upcoming events: Chicago Thinker’s American Identity Summit & Gala 2026: America at 250May 15–16, 2026 Acton University 2026 | Acton InstituteJune 22–26, 2026 Acton Experience Brasil August 7–8, Belo Horizonte Acton’s 36th Annual DinnerNovember 10, 2026
Transcribe →
Dylan Pahman and John Pinheiro Are Documenting the Christian Roots of American Liberty
3w ago01:01:20Tap to summarizeIn this episode Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, and Dylan Pahman, research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas Institute, about their new book, The Christian Roots of American Liberty: A Reader. The book is a response to new movements on the right and old prejudices on the left that dismiss the American founding as hopelessly secular. The book builds the case for enduring principles of natural rights, the rule of law, religious liberty, private property, limited government, and representation and consent by bringing together sources in the Christian tradition—ancient, medieval, and modern—that informed America’s founding. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here The Christian Roots of American Liberty: A Reader If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org. The tip at the opening of this podcast is informational and educational in nature. It is not offering professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. For specific advice about the effect of any planning concept on your tax or financial situation or with your estate, please consult a qualified professional advisor.
Transcribe →Jeffrey Polet on the Philosophy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal
4w ago00:48:41Tap to summarizeIn this episode Dan Hugger speaks with Jeffrey Polet, professor emeritus of political science at Hope College and director of the Ford Leadership Forum at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. They discuss his review of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's book On Character: Choices That Define a Life, “The Honor of General Stanley McChrystal,” which was published at Religion & Liberty Online. The conversation explores the nature of honor, the distinction between conviction and discipline, and what philosophy for soldiers looks like in practice. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here The Honor of General Stanley McChrystal | Jeffrey Polet On Character: Choices That Define a Life | General Stanley McChrystal If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org. The tip at the opening of this podcast is informational and educational in nature. It is not offering professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. For specific advice about the effect of any planning concept on your tax or financial situation or with your estate, please consult a qualified professional advisor.
Transcribe →
Jason Sorens Builds a Case for Reforming American Housing Policy
Apr 1500:49:02Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Jason Sorens, senior research fellow at the American Institute of Economic Research. They discuss the American housing market, the role of institutional investors in single family housing, the 21st century ROAD to Housing Act, and the path to a future of housing abundance. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Jason Sorens Are Institutions Buying Up Single-Family Homes? | Jason Sorens H.R.6644 - 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act National Zoning Atlas Housing Reform in the States: A Menu of Options for 2026 | Salim Furth, Emily Hamilton, Charles Gardner If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org. The tip at the opening of this podcast is informational and educational in nature. It is not offering professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. For specific advice about the effect of any planning concept on your tax or financial situation or with your estate, please consult a qualified professional advisor.
Transcribe →Molly Worthen Refines the Definition of “Charisma”
Apr 801:00:17Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director for programs and education, talks to Molly Worthen about her new book: “Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump.” Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Acton Lecture Series Who Do We Trust Now? Charisma, Expertise, and the Future of Leadership | Acton Lecture Series Spellbound | Molly Worthen If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org. The tip at the opening of this podcast is informational and educational in nature. It is not offering professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. For specific advice about the effect of any planning concept on your tax or financial situation or with your estate, please consult a qualified professional advisor.
Transcribe →Acton Rundown | April 2026
Apr 600:17:45Tap to summarizeThis month on the Acton Rundown Dan & Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. At the Frontiers of Scholasticism: Scientific Method, Innovation, and Economic Reasoning The Christian Roots of American Liberty Essays: Rescuing Souls from the Totalitarian Temptation The Consolation of the Cross When Hitler Was a Moral Compass After the Flood in Minnesota Video content: Jordan Ballor Expounds How Christ Is King John Pinheiro on Alexander Hamilton’s and Thomas Jefferson's Conflicting Visions Fr. Robert Sirico and Kris Mauren on Richard DeVos A Conversation on the History and Future of The Acton Institute | The Freedom Series Josh Herring Finds the Gender Theory We Need in C.S. Lewis Poverty Trap First Impressions: Houston Who Do We Trust Now? Charisma, Expertise, and the Future of Leadership | Acton Lecture Series Daniel Darling Is Defending Christian Patriotism Upcoming events: Free Market Roadshow: Panel: Who Governs the Machine? AI, Enterprise Freedom, and the Search for Regulatory Guardrails Billionaires are Good for the Working Class: A Braver Angels Debate Chicago Luncheon April 30th Rethinking Charity: "Building Civil Society” FAVs April 30, 2026 – May 2, 2026 Courtyard Marriott Grand Rapids, MI Acton University 2026 | Acton Institute June 22, 2026 to June 25, 2026 Acton Experience Brasil August 7-8, Belo Horizonte Acton’s 36th Annual Dinner November 10, 2026 6:00pm
Transcribe →Daniel Darling Is Defending Christian Patriotism
Apr 100:56:27Tap to summarizeIn this episode Dan Hugger speaks with Daniel Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and fellow at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. They discuss his latest book, In Defense of Christian Patriotism, published by Broadside Books. The conversation explores why patriotism needs defending today, why Christians are called to be patriotic, and how Christian patriotism can revitalize and reinvigorate modern pluralistic America. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Daniel Darling In Defense of Christian Patriotism | Daniel Darling “Nationality,” The History of Freedom and Other Essays | Lord Acton If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.
Transcribe →Josh Herring Finds the Gender Theory We Need in C.S. Lewis
Mar 2501:06:41Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Josh Herring, professor of humanities and classical education at Thales College. They discuss Josh’s new book, Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: C.S. Lewis’s Images of Gender, published by the Davenant Institute. Is it fair to describe Lewis as a gender theorist? Why should we turn to Lewis in times of gender trouble? How does his consideration of gender diverge from contemporary gender ideology? What are the sources for Lewis’s own theory on gender? How does Lewis’s conception of gender show up in his fiction and nonfiction? What do Lewis’s critics get wrong about his views on gender? Does he speak about these issues in a unique way, or is he simply an outstanding representative of an older tradition? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: C.S. Lewis’ Images of Gender The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis The Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength) | C.S. Lewis Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold | C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 4) | C.S. Lewis The Four Loves | C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Man | C.S. Lewis Spenser's Images of Life | C.S. Lewis Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature | C.S. Lewis Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy | Rhys Laverty, ed. C.S. Lewis and the Apocalypse of Gender | J.C. Scharl Science Fiction with a Soul | Bradley J. Birzer If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.
Transcribe →Fr. Robert Sirico and Kris Mauren on Richard DeVos
Mar 1800:25:36Tap to summarizeIn the month of what would’ve been his 100th birthday, Acton co-founders Fr. Robert Sirico and Kris Mauren take a moment to remember an early supporter of the Acton Institute, Richard DeVos. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Believe! | Richard M. DeVos DeVos to Receive Faith and Freedom Award Richard M. DeVos Accepts the 2010 Faith and Freedom Award If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.
Transcribe →