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The World and Everything In It
10.14.25 Celebrating in Israel, making embryos from skin cells, Christian persecution in China, and political assassinations in history
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- [00:06]
Mary Reichert
Good morning. Israeli hostages who survived more than two years in captivity are released at last.
- [00:12]
Travis Kircher
I hope that the end is really over and the suffering from our side and the other side can stop.
- [00:21]
Nick Eicher
World's Travis Kircher reports from Tel Aviv. Also today, the ethics of tinkering with unborn human life. And later, what history teaches about political assassination.
- [00:33]
John Willsie
Had those men not been assassinated, had they died peacefully in their beds decades later, this would just be a totally different country.
- [00:47]
Mary Reichert
It's Tuesday, October 14th. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.
- [00:54]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.
- [00:58]
Mary Reichert
Time now for the news with Kent Covington.
- [01:06]
Kent Covington
Singing and tears of joy in hostages square in Tel Aviv on Monday as the 20 surviving Israeli hostages were set free after two agonizing years in captivity, officials were well prepared to receive them. Dr. Lena Corin Feldman with Bilingson Hospital.
- [01:22]
Mary Reichert
For each of them, we have assembled.
- [01:24]
Travis Kircher
A dedicated and personalized medical team, including a physician, mental health professionals, physiotherapists and dietitians.
- [01:37]
Kent Covington
The Hamas terror group took around 250 hostages during its October 7, 2023 attack. Israeli authorities were able to bring more than 150 of them home, either by military rescue or by way of numerous exchanges. But sadly, many died in captivity and officials received the bodies of several deceased hostages. On Monday. In return for Hamas releasing the hostages, Israel agreed to release some 2,000 Palestinian security detainees and prisoners, including some known terrorists. Meantime in Egypt, President Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East.
- [02:15]
Travis Kircher
The momentous breakthrough that we're here to celebrate tonight is more than the end of the war in Gaza. It's with God's help, it'll be the new beginning for an entire beautiful Middle East.
- [02:27]
Kent Covington
The president heard there during a global summit in Egypt on Gaza's future. He urged world leaders to put old feuds to rest and seize momentum. He called it a once in a lifetime chance to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past. Egypt's government says it has awarded Trump the country's top civilian honor for brokering the Gaza peace deal. The president also visited Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked, Mr. President, you.
- [02:56]
Travis Kircher
Are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.
- [03:04]
Kent Covington
The prime minister also thanked Trump for his efforts in uniting the region behind the peace deal that halted the war. The Trump administration is working to defuse the latest spike in trade tensions between the US And China. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant I am optimistic.
- [03:21]
Travis Kircher
That this can be de escalated but we're willing to do whatever it takes and to adopt whatever posture it takes. And again, this is a global problem and I think our global allies will.
- [03:36]
David Prentice
Follow us on this.
- [03:37]
Kent Covington
It started last week when Beijing announced new export restrictions on rare earth minerals which are critical for high tech manufacturing, both commercial and military. President Trump in response, threatened 100% tariffs on all Chinese goods starting next month.
- [03:53]
Travis Kircher
They announced these export controls that are going to go into effect next month and we have aggressively pushed back against them.
- [04:04]
Kent Covington
China is demanding that the White House withdraw that threat. Meantime, new Chinese trade data shows exports to the US down for the sixth straight month, dropping 27% in September from the year before. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will travel to Washington this week for meetings with President Trump and other leaders. That news came a day after Trump said he would consider supplying long range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russia does not end the war soon.
- [04:32]
Nick Eicher
The main topics are air defense and.
- [04:37]
Travis Kircher
Our possibilities with long range to pressure on Russia.
- [04:41]
Kent Covington
Tomahawk missiles would allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory. Zelensky is also looking for more protection as Moscow continues its assault on Ukraine's energy grid. A meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump could happen as early as Friday. The Ukrainian president said he also plans to meet with defense and energy companies and members of Congress. In Alaska, the remnants of Typhoon Ha Long slammed coastal areas with hurricane force winds and flooding strong enough to sweep away entire homes. Carson Jones with the National Weather Service.
- [05:15]
Nick Eicher
We had wind gusts of 100 miles an hour, 75 to 100 miles an hour were measured at multiple sites including communities of Tuxuk Bay, St. Paul, Chevac and some others along the coast.
- [05:30]
Kent Covington
More than 30 people were rescued, but three people remain unaccounted for. In western Alaska, Governor Mike Dunleavy said Monday that every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm. Help is on the way. And in east central Mexico, the death toll from last week's torrential rains has risen. World's Benjamin Eicher has more.
- [05:52]
Travis Kircher
Mexican authorities now say at least 64 people have been killed and another 65 are missing. The scale of the destruction across five states is becoming clearer, but many communities are still cut off by landslides. In Northern Veracruz, IN 80 communities remain inaccessible by road and President Claudia Sheinbaum says it could still be days before rescue and relief workers are able to drive into the hard hit areas. So for now, she added, a lot of flights are required to take sufficient food and water to those places. Early Official estimates note 100,000 affected homes and in some cases houses near rivers have, quote, practically disappeared. For World, I'm Benjamin Eicher.
- [06:40]
Kent Covington
I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, celebrations continue in Israel as hostages are reunited with their families. Plus, an update on religious persecution in China. This is the world and everything in it.
- [07:10]
Nick Eicher
It's Tuesday 14th October. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in it. Good morning, I'm Nick Iker.
- [07:19]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. First up, celebrations in Hostages Square. That's the sound from a crowd sing, singing before the hostages were released.
- [07:31]
Nick Eicher
Regular listeners may know our breaking news reporter Travis Kercher has been in Israel for the past month. He went there expecting to cover the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, but ended up being there for the hostage release that Israelis had been hoping for.
- [07:47]
Mary Reichert
World's Lindsay Mast recorded a conversation with Travis and takes it from here.
- [07:51]
Lindsay Mast
Yeah, thanks. I called up Travis while he was in Hostages Square in the hours just after that release. Travis, thank you for being with us.
- [07:59]
Travis Kircher
Yeah, Lindsay, thanks for having me.
- [08:01]
Lindsay Mast
So you've visited Hostages Square multiple times over the last week or so. Tell me about the mood right now. Can you compare and contrast it from last week and even over the course of the day? I know you've been there all day.
- [08:13]
Travis Kircher
Oh, Lindsay, I can't imagine just covering this over the past couple of weeks. The words that came to my mind a little while ago was emotional whiplash. I mean, I was here in Hostage Square. I guess it was maybe two weeks ago, shortly before the October 7th second anniversary. And wow, what a change. Back then it was practically deserted, very melancholy. There's like a single guy sitting there playing the piano under a tree. It was just a very somber, somber scene. And now to come back today, I mean, there's people dancing. It's a concert, really. It's really a concert feel. People dancing, people crying, people cheering, clapping, chanting. Lindsey, there is a guy, a ten foot guy on stilts handing out balloons. You know, when balloon guy is there, it's a good day.
- [09:05]
Lindsay Mast
So really celebratory. It sounds like. What have people said when you've talked to them?
- [09:10]
Travis Kircher
Well, Lindsey, I talked to a guy named Brad Myers. He's actually an immigrant to Israel from Australia. Here's what he had to say today. It kind of feels like a bit of, I don't know, it's hard to put two words, but it feels like a bit putting the wrong right to A certain extent feels like the Jewish people in Israel can finally start to heal a bit, can start to process what's been. But at the moment, we just have to be in the moment and just be happy that everyone's coming home. How big a deal is this? Put this in the context. This is huge. I'm 26. I haven't been alive for all of Israel's history, but this is the biggest, biggest day in my lifetime for Israel, 100%. He really summarized what I heard from a lot of people, namely that this whole ordeal with the hostages, with October 7th in general, it's really been like a weight, a heavy weight on the shoulders of not just the families, but really the whole country here. I had one woman told me that since October 7th, they haven't been able to just go about daily life. You know, it's like their lives have been set aside, and they've just been dealing with, you know, getting the hostages home. And now, you know, they feel like they could finally move on, like there's a new chapter in Israel's future. So very much. He very much summarized what the whole country seems to be feeling.
- [10:34]
Lindsay Mast
Well, President Trump addressed the Knesset in Jerusalem. Of course, that's a couple of hours away from where you are. But what was the reaction in the square?
- [10:41]
Travis Kircher
Oh, let me tell you, Lindsey, President Trump is very popular here. One of the chants that they were chanting here was, thank you, Trump. And it's just amazing. I talked to a guy last night who told me that, honestly, Trump was not his choice. He was not the one that he wanted to win the US Election. But he told me he was wrong. He told me after what Trump did, arranging the hostage deal, arranging the ceasefire deal, he said, I was wrong. Trump is the right man for the job, and I wish we had similar leadership here in my country. I talked to Ori Nachmani, another person here participating, and here's what she had to say. I really hope that we're not only going to get the hostage back. I really hope the end is really over and the suffering from our side.
- [11:32]
Lindsay Mast
And the other side.
- [11:35]
Travis Kircher
Can stop and we can rehabilitate. We need our time. They need their time. And I really hope. I don't know the words of President Trump is true, and we will see peace. It will be the greatest end to this hell that we felt these two years. That's another theme that we've heard here from a lot of folks, is just that it's great to get the hostages back, but it's not over. There's Going to be a healing time, not just for the hostages and their families, but for the whole country. The whole country has been through trauma and needs to heal, and then they look forward to, you know, how do we prevent this again? What does it mean to have, you know, relationships with Gaza and the West Bank? What does that look like? And so there's a lot of actually disagreement. I heard disagreement on the, on the ground this morning. I was talking to a group of people, and one of the young ladies there who was talking to me said that in the future, you know, we're going to have to learn to look at Gaza and the west bank and the Palestinians and see what we need to do to facilitate a better relationship. The other gentleman who was there said, no, we don't. It's entirely on them. They're the ones that launched October 7th. They're the ones that started all this. And really, it's up to them. So a lot of different views here about how to proceed. Sure.
- [13:06]
Lindsay Mast
I want to ask you about, you know, another source of division has been how people feel about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Can you sense, is there any change in feeling towards Netanyahu at this point still?
- [13:19]
Travis Kircher
I think they kind of feel the same. There might be a little bit more approval of Netanyahu today. I can tell you that the vast majority of people I talk to are crediting President Trump, not Netanyahu, for this peace deal. Now, whether they're right or whether they're wrong, that's not for me to decide. But I can tell you that the gentleman I talked to last night said that one of the things that he admired about President Trump is that he puts the people first, he puts his own country first, and he says he's not getting that from Netanyahu.
- [13:52]
Lindsay Mast
Travis, I don't know what kind of sources you've been able to develop while you're there, but is there any reaction that you can give us from the Palestinian side, from Gaza? Have you been able to talk to anyone there?
- [14:02]
Travis Kircher
I haven't talked to anyone since the peace deal. I did spend a couple of days in the west bank, both in, in Bethlehem and in Hebron, and I spoke to some of the Palestinian Christians there, and obviously before the peace deal, and it, they obviously have a very different feeling for, for all of this. It's, somebody told me this region is complicated, and that's, that's, that's the perfect word for it. You know, it's, it's, it's hard to find an answer for that. And the only one I could really give is I talked to a messianic pastor and I put that question to him, you know, what's the right answer in this situation? And he said, all I can tell you I'm paraphrasing is that one day Jesus is going to come back and he's going to set it all right, and it's all going to be just. And that's all we can hope for.
- [14:54]
Lindsay Mast
So glad you're there, Travis. Thank you so much. Travis Kercher speaking with us from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Travis.
- [15:00]
Travis Kircher
Thanks, Lindsay.
- [15:06]
Mary Reichert
Up next, manipulating human reproduction. Earlier this month, a team of scientists out of Oregon announced they successfully fertilized human egg cells in the lab. But these were no ordinary cells, right?
- [15:18]
Nick Eicher
Dr. Paula Amato leads Oregon Health and Science University's research on endocr. She talked about her research on the Peter Attia podcast this summer.
- [15:30]
Onize Adua
In vitro gametogenesis, which is making eggs and sperm potentially from skin cells.
- [15:37]
Nick Eicher
So what is the objective here and is it ethical? Joining us now to talk about it is David prentice. He's a PhD stem cell expert and he's co founder of the Science alliance for Life and Technology.
- [15:50]
Mary Reichert
David, good morning.
- [15:51]
David Prentice
Good morning. Good to be with you.
- [15:53]
Mary Reichert
Well, let's just start with the basic facts here. Human females naturally produce eggs and males produce sperm. So in layman's terms, how did scientists manage to make eggs and sperm from skin cells?
- [16:07]
David Prentice
Their starting point was a clone taking that nucleus from a skin cell, putting it into an egg, making a whole new human being. But then further manipulations to get that new human being to toss away half of his or her chromosomes so that they could then call it an egg. It looked a little bit like an egg and acted a little bit like an egg. They could get a small percentage of them to fertilize with sperm. But this is such a strange and horrific way, actually when you think about it, to make a human being, you actually create and then destroy a human being to make the egg and then try and recreate a human being under somewhat normal conditions.
- [16:56]
Mary Reichert
And what's the success rate?
- [16:58]
David Prentice
Now, let's also be clear that through all this manipulation, they really didn't achieve success. There was one quote that they got it to kind of partially work. It really didn't work very well at all. Only a small fraction of those laboratory made eggs actually could be fertilized and grow for a little while. And again, they were destroyed, as they do in all of these experiments, after a few days. But even those that grew for a few days had genetic abnormalities. And there's a real question, even from researchers who support these kinds of experiments, as to whether this type of procedure would ever actually work to produce normal human beings.
- [17:48]
Mary Reichert
David we reached out to Dr. Amato and her team, and their spokesman said, quote, it's not yet clear whether this technique will ultimately be safe enough to use clinically. What do we know of the medical purpose these researchers have in mind?
- [18:04]
David Prentice
One of the things that's often cited is there are so many people who suffer from infertility, women who can't produce eggs, who can't become fertile and actually carry a child. So the thing they'll first trot out is, oh, well, we could make eggs that would be genetically matched to them, and then they could have a baby. And it always gets spun out from there, of course. Well, what about homosexual couples? Gay couples could make eggs or make sperm and be able then to create genetically related individuals? It keeps going from there. There's actually one proposal that one person could make eggs or sperm from these types of procedures, and you could have what's termed a unibaby, somebody who was created by fertilization after you'd gone through these other techniques. But it's all of their own genetics.
- [19:08]
Mary Reichert
I'm wondering, what are the rules on this kind of research? Can they take the next steps of creating embryos and then born children?
- [19:17]
David Prentice
Well, there are some regulations and some laws in place. Even in the US we don't have a lot, at least at the federal level. There's a rider that's put on every year by Congress since 2015. It's called the Adderhold Amendment, and it says that you can't genetically modify and create genetically modified embryos and gestate them. There are laws, actually, in about a dozen states that would prevent them from doing this cloning type of procedure. So that, you know, they may be able to do some of this in some states, but there are others where they would be precluded from doing it even in the laboratory. And it looks like this federal prohibition might prevent them from ever gestating these particular individuals, which is a good thing. Let's. Let's go back to the real reason they want to do this. They want to play God. They want to make human beings and do all sorts of experiments on them. And it's just something that we shouldn't really even cross that threshold.
- [20:27]
Mary Reichert
Do scientists ever ask themselves what is in the best interests of the child?
- [20:34]
David Prentice
You've really put your finger on one of the main problems here, and it's that they're not thinking about children. They're thinking of children, let's say as commodities, as products that can be manufactured and it's to satisfy the desires of adults. And they're not thinking about what's best for the child that might be created and not what's best for society as a whole.
- [21:02]
Mary Reichert
David Prentiss is co founder of the Science alliance for Life and Technology. David thank you.
- [21:08]
David Prentice
Thank you.
- [21:18]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from His Words Abiding in you, a Bible memorization podcast designed for truck drivers.
- [21:27]
David Prentice
His Words Abiding in you on all.
- [21:30]
Kent Covington
Podcast apps from the Masters University equipping students for lives of faithfulness to the Master Jesus Christ Masters. Edu and from Dort University where pre.
- [21:44]
David Prentice
Med students gain knowledge through undergraduate research and hone skills through hands on simulations.
- [21:51]
Kent Covington
Dort. Edu.
- [22:02]
Nick Eicher
Next up, persecution in China. Late Friday, communist authorities began detaining pastors and members of the prominent Zion Church. The arrests marked China's latest crackdown on underground or unregistered churches and Christians in the country. World's Onize Adua reports.
- [22:21]
Onize Adua
Last week, Maryland resident Grace Jin got a call confirming her fears.
- [22:26]
Travis Kircher
I received a call from my mom, who's also in the US and she said that she has not been able to contact my dad or any of the people who lives close to him or around him.
- [22:41]
Onize Adua
At 8pm on Friday, more than 10 police officers entered the home of Pastor Tin Min Jue, also known as Ezra Jin, in the Chinese city of Beihai. By the next morning, they took him away in handcuffs. In a coordinated set of raids, officers seized other pastors and church workers across multiple cities. Jin says at least 22 people are now detained, but that number could change as they make contact with more church members.
- [23:09]
Travis Kircher
Subsequently. We know that they froze the church assets, everything, all the bank accounts that was associated with both the individuals and.
- [23:18]
Onize Adua
The church accounts, jean says. Many of them are facing charges of illegal dissemination of materials online. Zion Church is not new to government harassment. Back in 2018, authorities raided and shut down the church's meeting place over accusations that it held illegal gatherings. They switched to a hybrid model, sharing MP3 files and later holding church sessions over Zoom. The church now has thousands of members meeting in apartments and restaurants across 40 Chinese cities. That was before the recent government shakedown.
- [23:54]
Travis Kircher
Starting around like six months ago, we've known people been taken in for like for tea or like we say, taken in for tea, as in like the police would take you in and like ask you a lot of questions.
- [24:07]
Onize Adua
Church members recounted how local police stopped them to ask Questions about the church and Pastor Jin. Police recently stopped Pastor Jin in Beijing on his way to a United States visa interview.
- [24:20]
Travis Kircher
At one point, my dad said maybe up to like 70 policemen who were on him and detained him and questioned where he was going and why he was going to the U.S. embassy.
- [24:32]
Onize Adua
They kept him from the interview and forced him to return home. Jin says he was also kicked out of Shanghai a few weeks ago. The renewed crackdown on underground churches isn't limited to Zion Church. Back in May, authorities detained the pastor of Light of Zion Church. The following month, authorities sentenced 10 members of the Golden Lampstand Church in western China. Jin worries about her 56 year old diabetic father. She's also heard stories of parents separated from young children and people barred from visiting their family members. But she says the battle is more than a geopolitical situation or government repression.
- [25:12]
Travis Kircher
It is ultimately a spiritual battle. And this is, this is because we are proclaiming the true God.
- [25:25]
Onize Adua
Reporting for World. I'm Onize Odoa.
- [25:39]
Nick Eicher
Down in Stuart, Florida. An alligator walked into a bar. And maybe you think I'm kidding about this. I am not, though. But the bar takes tender. Sure took it that way.
- [25:48]
Lindsay Mast
She said, what's our policy on alligators at the tiki?
- [25:51]
Travis Kircher
And I thought she was joking, so.
- [25:52]
Lindsay Mast
I kind of laughed and was just like, oh, they gotta be over 21.
- [25:54]
Nick Eicher
You know, she could have said and it would have been true. We don't serve alligators here. To which a joking alligator might supply the punchline. I'll just have some fresh water, please. What do you think I am, a crocodile or something? But again, it's a true story. The manager spotted this gator near the children's play area and called police audio from WPBF Palm Beach.
- [26:15]
Travis Kircher
He was just hanging out. I didn't think I was gonna come to work today and see an alligator in my restaurant.
- [26:19]
Nick Eicher
Yeah, the reptile was under 5ft long. Obviously underage shouldn't be in a bar anyway. So later, gator. In response, the Tiki bar added an appetizer to the menu. Gator bites. So they can say, now, yes, we do serve alligators, but only deep fried and with hot sauce. It's the one world and everything in it.
- [26:59]
Mary Reichert
Up next, remembering Charlie Kirk through the lens of history. A week after his assassination, the United States Senate passed a resolution declaring today, October 14, a national day of remembrance for the Christian conservative.
- [27:13]
Nick Eicher
A day of mourning is part of American tradition when honoring those lost to political violence. And that's not the only ritual the nation followed over the last month. World's Emma Eicher reports.
- [27:30]
Emma Eicher
On April 4, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy addressed a crowd of people at a park in Indianapolis. The speech was spur of the moment. Kennedy had no cards in front of him, no prepared words.
- [27:43]
Mary Reichert
I have some very sad news for.
- [27:45]
Kent Covington
All of you, and that is that.
- [27:48]
Travis Kircher
Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis.
- [27:54]
Emma Eicher
This morning speech lingered in the public mind long after Kennedy spoke the words.
- [27:59]
Travis Kircher
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
- [28:12]
Emma Eicher
Just two months later, Robert Kennedy himself would become a victim of political violence. He was shot and killed during his presidential campaign. Since America's founding, our country has witnessed the assassinations of less than 10 national figures. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Senator Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X.
- [28:38]
John Willsie
Had those men not been assassinated, had they died peacefully in their beds decades later, this would just be a totally different country.
- [28:47]
Emma Eicher
John Willsie is a professor of church history at Southern Seminary and author of Religious A Conservative Primer. He says last month's murder of Charlie Kirk continues the tragic legacy of high profile assassinations. There are obvious similarities.
- [29:04]
John Willsie
He is a cultural leader and a cultural icon. He was connected to political movers and.
- [29:11]
Emma Eicher
Shakers and some stark differences.
- [29:14]
John Willsie
I mean, if you want to see the video, all you got to do is Google it. And it's not a grainy 8 millimeter film like Kennedy's assassination. It's as clear as if it were happening right in front of you.
- [29:26]
Emma Eicher
The American government tends to follow a kind of routine in the aftermath of political assassinations. Flags are flown at half mast and national leaders call for unity. The government also sets aside an official day of mourning. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared such a day in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination.
- [29:48]
Travis Kircher
All who love freedom will mourn his death.
- [29:53]
Emma Eicher
And Johnson did the same for Martin Luther King Jr. Five years later, the Senate carried on this historical tradition, declaring today a national day to mourn Kirk. Here's Republican Senator Rick Scott introducing the resolution on the Senate floor.
- [30:10]
Nick Eicher
And let us honor Charlie by believing in the power of our ideas to win the day and leave this nation a better place.
- [30:16]
Emma Eicher
The resolution serves to remember Kirk's life as well as condemn all political violence.
- [30:22]
Travis Kircher
It showed a lot about Charlie Kirk and his supporters that after this tragic event, instead of rioting or causing further political violence, they engaged in prayer and thoughtful remembrance of.
- [30:36]
Emma Eicher
Zach Smith is a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He says there has been a wide range of reactions since Kirk's death. In some cases, people publicly celebrated the assassination.
- [30:49]
Travis Kircher
The political left is trying to justify this violence, trying to excuse it, trying to downplay its severity, and there's a.
- [30:57]
Emma Eicher
Modern reason for that. John Willsy says many people commonly use politics and as a moral compass. Just a few decades ago, that wasn't the norm.
- [31:08]
John Willsie
I think our culture today sees reality starting with politics. Politics is the starting point for the way we see the world. And when politics is the starting point, everything is on one side or the other, and one side is evil and one side is good.
- [31:27]
Emma Eicher
The division fueled a bipartisan concern over the apparent surge in political violence. During the last month, President Donald Trump claimed the radical left was the main cause. While some mainstream media outlets blamed Kirk himself, still others spun anti Semitic conspiracy theories. Despite this, Wilsey says the American political climate is not much different from other developed countries.
- [31:53]
John Willsie
Americans are just as politically violent as anybody else.
- [31:57]
Emma Eicher
He also says it's not a recent phenomenon.
- [31:59]
Maria Bayer
Phenomenon.
- [32:00]
Emma Eicher
Political violence is common throughout all of American history.
- [32:04]
John Willsie
When Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, there wasn't some kind of navel gazing about like, what's wrong with us? Americans are human beings, and they have the same human nature as Russians do or as Iranians do or as Frenchmen do. And that political violence is not necessarily unique to them and not unique to us.
- [32:29]
Emma Eicher
Along with traditional calls for peace and unity, some unique calls to action have appeared this time around. Supporters not only want to continue Kirk's political work to honor his legacy, but also encourage a similar passion for Christ and the gospel.
- [32:45]
Travis Kircher
And I think that, you know, Charlie gave a lot of people a voice. He pointed the way for a lot.
- [32:49]
Nick Eicher
Of people on where to go.
- [32:51]
David Prentice
And I think that the world is grieving that.
- [32:53]
Emma Eicher
Lucas Miles is the senior director of Turning Point USA Faith. He knew Kirk personally and believes his influence on the younger generation was greater than just politics.
- [33:05]
Travis Kircher
Charlie wasn't, I think, trying to point people in some sort of political direction. I think Charlie was trying to point.
- [33:11]
Nick Eicher
People up to the Lord.
- [33:12]
Travis Kircher
And he knew that if people were.
- [33:15]
Nick Eicher
Able to develop a real relationship with the Lord, that that would trickle down.
- [33:21]
David Prentice
Into the political realm.
- [33:22]
Emma Eicher
John Willsy says there's historical precedent for peace after crisis moments. He quotes Mark Twain. History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
- [33:33]
John Willsie
When we think about hope for the future, we can take some encouragement from experience of previous generations of Americans that they can get past irreconcilable conflicts to the extent that they actually forge a new love of country as a result of those divisions.
- [33:54]
Emma Eicher
Reporting for World I'm Emma Eicher.
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Nick Eicher
Today is Tuesday, October 14th. Good morning, this is the World and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Nick Iger.
- [34:22]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. It's hard to talk about artificial intelligence without using human terms. And some experts say that's a good thing because the best way to keep AI from taking over might be to give it something surprisingly human.
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Nick Eicher
Well, World Opinion's contributor Martin Maria Bayer says it's an interesting idea, but one that probably won't work. Still, it does reveal something deeper, a God shaped hole in both the machine and the men who made the machine.
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Maria Bayer
Long before we were talking about computers achieving deep learning, MIT professor Sherry Turkle began writing about a peculiar problem. Audio here from a HuffPost video posted online in 1976.
- [35:07]
Nick Eicher
It was just the beginning of the.
- [35:08]
Travis Kircher
Personal computer movement, and I saw how people related to their personal computers.
- [35:16]
Maria Bayer
Terkel studies the sociological impacts of digital tech, and she wrote in the 1980s that kids were beginning to refer to their digital games in human terms. They spoke about what their games knew or didn't know and whether the games could cheat. Turkel said this implied a set of parallel risks that digital tech would cause us to think of machines in increasingly human terms and humans in increasingly mechanistic terms. Both, she claims, are categorical errors. And yet the temptation to talk about AI in terms of what it knows, what it says, and the kind of thinking it can do is almost insurmountable. It Is intelligence really the right word? It feels dystopian and weird, but how else do we describe this thing? AI is a form of computing that can scour and synthesize impossibly huge sets of data, much faster and with far fewer errors than the human brain is capable of doing. Its essential offering is its speed. And that's not nothing. To be clear, neither is this a human action, but it is like one, and there really isn't anything else. It is so nearly like. Geoffrey Hinton is widely referred to as a godfather of AI. On a recent Globe and Mail podcast, he said that in order to diminish the existential risks posed by the technology, engineers ought to imbue it with a distinctly human virtue.
- [36:45]
Travis Kircher
We have to face up to the.
- [36:46]
John Willsie
Fact they're going to be more intelligent.
- [36:47]
Travis Kircher
They'Re going to have a lot of power. And what examples do you know of.
- [36:52]
Nick Eicher
More intelligent things being controlled by less intelligent things?
- [36:55]
Travis Kircher
Well, the only one I know is.
- [36:57]
Maria Bayer
A mother and baby Hinton and many other AI critics contend that AI will by design, eventually have to choose between competing values. Because AI learns over time we may lose control over which values and how it weighs them. His solution is to build AI with a maternal instinct to teach it to value humanity's needs over its own. Hinton believes that the only thing that will stop the tech from replacing us is its decision to parent us. Hinton is an avowed materialist, but he has stumbled here upon a sacred and mystical truth. In fact, the maternal instinct has long been a jagged stumbling block for evolutionists like Hinton, who believe that humans evolved from animals by continually adapting towards survival. There is no plausible reason for the evolving of selflessness in such a scheme. Self sacrifice is categorically antithetical to survival. Evolutionists who are willing to grapple with this question will usually argue that selflessness promotes social cohesion or peace or some such. But that is a fully circular argument. It says we adapted to admire selflessness because it's admirable. The real non circular argument is that selflessness is good because it is what love requires and because God is love. God is good and he made us in his image. Being human therefore means being the only created beings with the capability and the moral imperative to be selfless. Paul told the Philippians to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of of others. This kind of exhortation isn't even possible, let alone good, unless we're in a world designed and continuously protected by a God of love. Fortunately, that's the world we are in. Geoffrey Hinton is right that without selflessness, all relationships, even a material relationship between humans and the machines they've built will devolve into power struggles. But he's wrong that selflessness is the kind of thing that can be built into something that's not human. It's because selflessness doesn't make practical sense that it must be chosen and chosen again and again. The Holy Spirit has to give it to us. But we must choose to ask. As we barrel forward into a machine dominated world, beseeching him again and again for this distinctly human virtue is going to be essential. I'm Maria Baer.
- [39:37]
Nick Eicher
Tomorrow Hunter Baker is Washington. Wednesday and in Oregon, a homeless ministry works to pull people out of the mud. But some people prefer to stay that and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Iger.
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Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires There is no peace, says the Lord for the wicked. Verse 22 of Isaiah 48 Go now in grace and peace.