10.29.25 The U.S. strategy abroad, faith in Mongolia, and restoring the Mexican wolf

Summary

Episode Overview

Theme:
This October 29, 2025, episode of The World and Everything In It focuses on three major stories: the U.S.'s evolving foreign policy and military engagements, the unique growth and challenges of Christianity in post-communist Mongolia, and efforts to restore the endangered Mexican wolf in the American Southwest. The show presents headline news, in-depth field stories, and expert analysis, especially on U.S. global strategy, faith on the frontiers, and ecological restoration—all built on a foundation of biblically informed perspectives.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Washington Wednesday: U.S. Foreign Policy & Strategy

[07:40–21:42]

U.S. Military Escalation in the Caribbean and Venezuela

• Context:
  The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group is redeployed from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, officially to counter drug trafficking. However, the scope ("more than 10 US strikes on suspected drug running vessels," resulting in ~60 deaths) and timing suggest preparations for stronger action against Venezuela.

• Policy or Regime Change?
  Hunter Baker (political scientist and World contributor) argues:

  "I think that regime change is the intent. I think that that's what is really going on here... Maduro has been an illegitimate leader... Trump is ratcheting up the pressure, trying, I think, to get Maduro to leave." (09:23)

• Historical Framing:
  Baker situates U.S. actions in the legacy of the Monroe Doctrine—asserting U.S. dominance in Latin America and containing Marxist movements—while highlighting current U.S. leaders' resolve and Congressional debates about presidential authority (e.g., War Powers resolutions).

Argentina’s Economic Turnaround

• Milei’s Success & U.S. Influence:
  Argentina’s anti-socialist President Javier Milei scores a major legislative victory (his party controls a third of Congress), giving him power to implement sweeping reforms. Inflation has dropped to 32% from 200%, a remarkable improvement for Argentinians (though still severe by U.S. standards).

  Baker notes:

  "I'm a free market guy... I tend to see this as a world historical type of event... If you look at Argentina, sort of the home of socialist glamour... and you see Milei, who swept in... as sort of a singular force... Was he gonna be able to make policy changes that would stick?... Enter one Donald John Trump, who says... we’re here to help, but if this thing goes the wrong way, we’re gone." (13:00)

  "I think that it mattered... Trump is one of the most famous people in the world... When he steps in and says, we’re here to help... that mattered." (15:29)

• Regional Implications:
  Baker sees Milei’s win and Bolivia’s rejection of long-term socialist rule as signaling a shift across Latin America.

Global Strategy: Confronting China

• Integrated Strategy?:
  Wall Street Journal’s Walter Russell Mead argues U.S. actions in Venezuela and Iran are linked to a broader strategy aimed at containing China by leveraging energy, trade, and military power.

  Baker's take:

  "I don't think it's just improvisation. I think that he [Trump] is engaging in some real statecraft here... looking to the interested parties in places such as South Korea and Japan and using the threat of China to get those countries to work with us... It’s all about how do we have strength, but at the same time retain a constructive relationship." (16:42)

  "The big fear right now... is what’s going to happen to Taiwan. Taiwan is the bargaining chip... The things I hear from Trump-aligned people is that he is not gonna do that [give up Taiwan]." (18:47)

U.S. Government Shutdown Fallout

• Domestic Impacts:
  The effect of the ongoing shutdown is intensifying, with federal workers missing pay and food assistance at risk of stopping. Labor unions are pressuring Democrats to pass a temporary funding bill, even if it only funds the government until November 21.

  Baker interprets:

  "This is a big deal, right? This is the giant crack in the coalition. Government employee unions are a critical part of the Democrat coalition nationally. For them to do this, it’s like they're basically saying, we're done playing the game..." (19:48)

  "Once they break, they're going to have to break all the way... My prediction would be that if they break, we will not be exactly back at this same place in three weeks." (20:30)

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2. World Tour: Christianity in Mongolia

[22:29–28:49]

Faith Flourishes Amidst Freedom and Challenge

• From Atheism to Faith:
  After communism's fall in 1990, Mongolia shifted from atheism to religious freedom:

  "In 1989, there were only four reported Christians in the country... According to data from the Assemblies of God, there are now more than 100,000 Christians." (24:32)

• Personal Stories:
  David Kongor, once an orphan living in Ulaanbaatar’s sewers, encounters Christianity:

  "Jesus is my dad. Jesus is my mother. Jesus is my good brother." (23:19–23:25)

• Growing Pains:
  Evangelical churches often lack buildings and rely on rented spaces. Mongolian Christians are curious but vulnerable to cults, especially the well-resourced Mormon missionaries.

• Religious Competition:
  The Latter Day Saints are building a new temple, drawing attention with their resources and social programs:

  "The thing that's attractive about Mormonism to Mongolians is that it fits very well into Buddhism and their kind of cultural beliefs of doing the right things and following rules..." (26:02)

• Cultural and Practical Obstacles:
  Many pastors must hold secular jobs because pastoring is not recognized as a legitimate profession. Outreach to rural nomads is daunting.

• Church’s Vision:
  Despite challenges, Mongolian churches are sending workers abroad, even into China and North Korea. The need for genuine discipleship and protection against false teaching is urgent:

  "I would encourage everyone to pray for maturity in the church and that people would become true disciples and followers of Jesus... long for the pure word of God." (28:31)

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3. Restoring the Mexican Wolf

[30:28–36:20]

Wolves Return, Bringing Ecological Complexity

• Background:
  The Mexican wolf, once nearly extinct in the wild, has rebounded thanks to a federal recovery program. Zoos now maintain a captive population of 350, and about 286 wolves roam wild in Arizona and New Mexico.

• Genetic Bottleneck:
  Biologists face intense challenges:

  "The challenge is that we saved this animal from a very small number of surviving members. There were about seven in the wild." – Brian Bird, Defenders of Wildlife (32:07)

• Why Wolves Matter:
  Environmental advocates emphasize wolves’ critical ecological role:

  "They are considered what we call a keystone species, which means in an ecosystem, they play a key role in maintaining the function of that ecosystem." – Leah Barnett, Wild Earth Guardians (33:24)

  Wolves keep deer and elk populations moving, which in turn helps wetlands thrive, benefiting fish and plant life.

• Contention with Ranchers & Residents:
  Livestock losses, pet deaths, and public safety worries fuel opposition, especially in ranching communities. The government’s land management policies are seen by advocates as outdated:

  "We want to modernize our thinking... think in terms of ecosystems, and... landscape scales that we're now able to look at." – Brian Nowicki, Center for Biological Diversity (35:34)

• Societal Debate Intensifies:
  The effort to balance species survival and rural livelihoods continues, with more to come in a follow-up episode.

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4. Commentary: The Real “Shutdown” Problem

[36:42–41:05]

• Jordan Baller’s Perspective:
  Baller argues that political energy spent on the “shutdown” misses the bigger picture:

  "What’s described as a government shutdown is really a partial pause of some aspects of the federal government’s discretionary spending. Most of the government continues to burn through money at the same rate as it did before... All of this coverage and consternation of our nominal shutdown is a distraction from the much larger, more structural and more concerning imbalances..." (37:08–38:40)

• A Call for Repentance:
  Summing up his biblical-cultural analysis:

  "We cannot simply denounce the failures of our elites... We must recognize that we, the people, are ultimately the ruling class... This means that we need to acknowledge our errors and repent... Repentance requires turning from our ways... The first order of our collective business... is to resolve this government shutdown... in a way that makes our future sustainable..." (39:30–41:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hunter Baker on U.S. Venezuela Policy:
  "I think that regime change is the intent... what’s keeping [Maduro] in power is basically the military... And so if someone else comes along who can sort of present a counterweight... then people start thinking about switching sides." (09:23)

• Hunter Baker on Argentinian Turnaround:
  "This is a big deal, and he may be able to build on it. And we compare this with the Bolivians recently rejecting, I think, 18 years of socialist rule. So there may really be something going on in Latin America." (13:00)

• Mongolian Christian on Faith’s Appeal:
  "Jesus is my dad. Jesus is my mother. Jesus is my good brother." (23:19–23:25)

• Mongolian Perspective on Mormonism:
  "The thing that's attractive about Mormonism... is that it fits very well into Buddhism and their kind of cultural beliefs of doing the right things and following rules..." (26:02)

• Leah Barnett on Wolves:
  "They are considered what we call a keystone species... They play a key role in maintaining the function of that ecosystem." (33:24)

• Jordan Baller on Shutdown Realities:
  "What’s described as a government shutdown is really a partial pause of some aspects... Most of the government continues to burn through money at the same rate... All of this coverage... is a distraction from the much larger... imbalances..." (37:08–38:40)

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Key Timestamps

• News Roundup: 01:05–07:15
• Washington Wednesday – U.S. strategy, Venezuela, Argentina, China: 07:40–21:42
• World Tour – Christianity in Mongolia: 22:29–28:49
• Mexican Wolf Restoration: 30:28–36:20
• Commentary – Shutdown and National Responsibility (J. Baller): 36:42–41:05

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Conclusion

This episode stands out for its deep dives into the connections between U.S. foreign policy (and military power), the fragile but determined growth of Christianity in Mongolia post-communism, and the messy realities of restoring an endangered species in a modern American landscape. It balances global context, local color, and Christian worldview—offering listeners a blend of news, nuance, and moral reflection.

Transcript

[Narrator/Reporter]

Good morning.

[Lindsay Mast]

President Trump flexes US Power from Venezuela to the Pacific. But is there a strategy tying it all together?

[Nick Icker]

That's ahead on Washington Wednesday. Also today, world tour and Mexican wolves making a comeback in the Southwest.

[Lindsay Mast]

They are considered what we call a keystone species. They play a key role in maintaining.

[Nick Icker]

That ecosystem, but not everybody's happy about it. Kim Henderson has. And perhaps the biggest government problem right now is not the shutdown. World opinions commentary from Jordan Ballard.

[Lindsay Mast]

It's Wednesday, October 29th. This is the world and everything in it from listener Supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Icker. Good morning.

[Lindsay Mast]

Up next, Kent Covington has today's news.

[Kent Covington]

The sound of violent winds from Hurricane Melissa, which is now pushing into Atlantic waters after carving a path of destruction through the Caribbean. National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan says today southeastern and central Bahamas, Turks and Caicos hurricane conditions are likely along with life threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall, particularly in the southeast Bahamas. Many residents in Cuba are surveying the devastation after Melissa struck overnight as a major hurricane. And hours earlier, it slammed southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185mph. Minister of Local Government of Jamaica Desmond Mackenzie.

[Hunter Baker]

Our infrastructure has been severely compromised. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.

[Kent Covington]

Melissa's winds tied records for the strongest Atlantic storm ever to hit land. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned ahead of the storm.

[Nick Icker]

There is no infrastructure in the region.

[Kent Covington]

That can withstand a category 5. There is going to be damage if there is a Category five, he said. The question now is the speed of recovery. The storm also triggered widespread flooding, both from storm surge and torrential rain. Israel resumed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip Tuesday, killing at least nine people, according to Gaza's Civil Defense Agency, which is run by Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his office ordered immediate and forceful strikes after Hamas violated the October 10th ceasefire. Israel says the terror group staged the recovery of remains belonging to hostage Ofir Zarfati, whose partial remains were already recovered twice before. Government spokeswoman Shosh Bhadrasian says Israeli forces caught the fake recovery on drone video.

[Lindsay Mast]

I can confirm to you today that Hamas dug a hole in the ground yesterday, placed the partial remains of Ophir inside of it, covered it back up with dirt and handed it over to the Red Cross.

[Kent Covington]

Pedrosian said the family has now been forced to reopen Zarfatti's grave for a third time. And an Israeli military official told the Associated Press that Hamas militants also opened fire on Israeli troops in southern Gaza. The Pentagon says the US Military carried out strikes on four more boats in the Pacific Ocean that it says were operated by cartels running drugs. The Latest strikes killed 14, leaving one survivor. A Pentagon official reportedly said the operations were conducted in international waters near South America. Democrats continue to criticize the strikes as illegal. And a handful of Republicans also say they want more information, including GOP Senator Rand Paul.

[Nick Icker]

We haven't had a briefing, to be clear. We've got no information.

[Benjamin Eicher]

I've been invited to no briefing.

[Kent Covington]

Most Republicans, though, have applauded President Trump for taking the fight to cartels before the drugs reach US soil. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says drugs from South America have flooded American streets.

[Hunter Baker]

President's doing something about it. You also have a regime in Venezuela that's been incredibly hostile to the United States. And I think the way you deal with those folks is through strength.

[Kent Covington]

The president authorized lethal force against cartels abroad after designating them as foreign terrorist organizations. A growing number of Democrat led states are suing the U.S. department of Agriculture over federal food stamp benefits. The USDA says funding has run dry and if the government shutdown continues, food assistance payments will stop on November 1st. But California Attorney General Rob Bonta asserts.

[Hunter Baker]

There are billions of dollars in contingency.

[Kent Covington]

Funds and other funds that could be.

[Hunter Baker]

Used to provide snap benefits during the shutdown.

[Kent Covington]

They are doing this on purpose.

[Hunter Baker]

It is deliberate.

[Benjamin Eicher]

It is intentional.

[Hunter Baker]

They have the funds, they're just not using them.

[Kent Covington]

But Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins says not so 100% unequivocally.

[Lindsay Mast]

US does not have the $9.2 billion that it would require. There's not just pots of $9.2 billion sitting around.

[Kent Covington]

Meantime, there was yet another vote on the Senate floor Tuesday on a funding bill that would restore and temporarily extend the funding that was already in place before the shutdown. But the 13th time was not the charm on this vote.

[Hunter Baker]

The age of 54, then a 45, 3/5 of the Senate not having voted in the affirmative. The motion is not agreed to.

[Kent Covington]

Nothing has changed. Democrats say they won't approve funding to reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend Obamacare tax credits. And Republicans say they're open to negotiations, but only after Democrats end the shutdown. And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday renewed his plea for the government to reopen so air traffic controllers can start getting paid again.

[Hunter Baker]

Oftentimes these guys are nameless and they're faceless.

[Lindsay Mast]

But there are many women who work.

[Hunter Baker]

In our towers to make sure that our flights are on time, that our flights aren't delayed and your flights are safe.

[Kent Covington]

Duffy says more than half of all flight delays right now are due to staffing shortages as controllers are being asked to work without a paycheck. For now, Amazon has announced the biggest corporate jobs cut in its history. World's Benjamin Eicher has more.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The online retail giant is doing away with roughly 14,000 jobs as it leans into artificial intelligence and trims bureaucracy. Amazon executive Beth Galletti says the company is eliminating 4% of its white collar workforce. The roles affected include HR devices, advertising and cloud divisions. CEO Andy Jassy had already warned in June that generative AI would reshape the workforce. And a larger wave of up to 30,000 cuts is reportedly underway as Amazon seeks to streamline operations and invest heavily in its future tech infrastructure. For WORLD I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Kent Covington]

And I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, Washington Wednesday with Hunter Baker. Plus, the success story of bringing an endangered species back from the brink. This is the world and everything in it.

[Nick Icker]

It's Washington Wednesday, Foreign Policy Edition. We begin in the Caribbean where American military power is on the move. Late last week, the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to redeploy. It's moving from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. And officials say the carrier and its escort ships are now in transit across the Atlantic. They are expected to arrive within days. The stated mission is to target drug traffickers, but the timing and the firepower suggest something much more is going on, namely a possible escalation toward Venezuela.

[Lindsay Mast]

That order builds on a campaign that's already seen more than 10 US strikes on suspected drug running vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Yesterday, another set of strikes taking out four more vessels. The actions have killed now close to 60 suspected drug runners. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the goal is to treat narco terrorists the same way the US Treats al Qaeda.

[Benjamin Eicher]

We will find you. We will map your networks. We will hunt you down and we will kill you.

[Nick Icker]

Senator Lindsey Graham says President Trump has all the authority he needs and that the days of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro are numbered. Venezuelan officials call that fabrication for a new eternal war. Joining us now, political scientist and world opinions contributor Hunter Baker. Good morning, Hunter.

[Hunter Baker]

Good morning.

[Nick Icker]

Well, Hunter, let's begin with the big picture. Has the Trump administration, in your view, crossed the line from a counter narcotics mission now to a regime change operation?

[Hunter Baker]

I think that regime change is the intent. I think that that's what is really going on here. I think that Maduro has been an illegitimate leader of Venezuela for a number of years now. And I think that Donald Trump is ratcheting up the pressure, trying, I think, to get Maduro to leave. Now, why does Trump think he can do that? Well, I don't think that Maduro is popular. I think that he has become what we might term a tyrant, which is to say he does not have the support of the mass of people in Venezuela. And therefore, when you're in that situation, what's keeping you in power is basically the military. And the reason they're keeping you in power is because you are paying them. And so if someone else comes along who can sort of present a counterweight to the military of Venezuela, then people start thinking about switching sides. And I think that that's what's ultimately going to happen in Venezuela. I think people are going to start switching side, and I think that Maduro will end up leaving.

[Nick Icker]

I do want to get to the policy question, because I know already there's some move to try to clip the president's wings by using a war powers resolution. But do you see this as more of a continuation of the Monroe Doctrine tradition, or do you think it's something new in American policy in the hemisphere?

[Hunter Baker]

The United States has ever been attentive to what is going on in Latin America. We have certainly been attentive to Cuba. We had an existential crisis in Cuba during the Kennedy administration, as many may recall. But we have also paid attention to the various Marxist movements in Latin America. And I think that that's part of what's going on here is that Maduro is a Marxist dictator. I think that Marco Rubio is an interested party here. I think that he has been interested in seeing Maduro go before. And I think that they just are taking the advantage, especially in the wake of this Nobel Peace Prize win, from sort of the leader of democracy in Venezuela, to apply pressure. And like I say, I think it's going to work.

[Lindsay Mast]

We turn now to Argentina's colorful president, Javier Milei, the free market economist elected in 2023 on a promise to rescue the country fiscal collapse. Milei scored a decisive midterm political win this week. His party now controls a third of Congress. That's enough to defend his decrees and austerity plan.

[Hunter Baker]

Si lugar adudas el congre mar reformita electoria Argentina Milei.

[Lindsay Mast]

They're saying that when the legislature returns on December 10, we will have without a doubt the most reformist Congress in Argentine history. Now, per the Wall Street Journal, inflation there has plunged from 200 to 32%. The budget is balanced and Washington has arranged a $40 billion rescue package. @ the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is tasked with pressing Milei to curb Chinese influence over Argentina's telecom and mining sectors. Hunter. The economic stats are impressive, but I don't think Anybody in the US would consider a 32% inflation rate anything other than utterly miserable. We're arguing over 3% or 2%. But how do you see this election result? Is it a turning point toward a free market pro Latin America, or just a brief reprieve before the populist cycle resumes?

[Hunter Baker]

I'm a free market guy, so take it with a grain of salt, but I tend to see this as a world historical type of event. If you look at Argentina, sort of the home of socialist glamour. If you think about Evita Peron, the wife of the dictator of the regime who brought in the movement that has really been dominant there for Approximately the last 70 years, don't cry for Me Argentina, right? If you know that song, that's for Evita. And you see Milei, who swept in a couple of years ago, really without even a political party, but as sort of a singular force. And the question was, was he gonna be able to come in and make policy changes that would stick? And not long ago, there was a local sort of provincial election that his party lost badly, and people thought, that's it, right? You know, he sort of hit the end of his tether and he's not going to be able to defend his policies. Enter one Donald John Trump, who says, yes, we're going to arrange for this $40 billion rescue, but there are strings attached, right, that, yes, I'm going to commit to this rescue as long as Milei does well in the elections. So a lot of people thought, well, he's not gonna do well and Trump is gonna be out. But it looks like the Argentinian people listened. It looks like they believed that it was important to keep the US on board. And Milei had a better result than anybody thought he was going to get. You know, I think he got over 40% of the seats, which in the Argentinian context, is going to be more than enough to allow him to defend his policies. So this is a big deal, and he may be able to build on it. And we compare this with the Bolivians recently rejecting, I think, 18 years of socialist rule. So there may really be something going on in Latin America. And I just want to say about that inflation rate of 32%, no, it doesn't impress us in the United States at all. But when you've been living with 250% inflation. This looks like stability.

[Nick Icker]

Well, Hunter, I did want to follow up on this and ask how much of Milei's success depends on US Backing and Trump's personal endorsement. But it sounds like you're saying all of it does.

[Hunter Baker]

I think that it mattered. I think it mattered a lot. I think that, you know, Trump is one of the most famous people in the world, and in a way that American presidents aren't. You know, the American president is always well known, but he's a different sort of a creature. And I think that when he steps in and he says, we're here to help, but if this thing goes the wrong way, we're gone. And that's what he said. If Milei loses, we're gone. And so Milei, against the odds, won.

[Nick Icker]

Well, Hunter, President Trump is wrapping up meetings in Japan and in South Korea before a face to face meeting with China's Xi Jinping. Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Russell Mead argues that the administration's moves in Venezuela and Iran are not just sideshows. Instead, they are part of one global strategy that's designed to use energy, trade and military leverage against China. So what do you think about that? Do you think President Trump is executing a coherent whole world strategy to keep China contained, or do you think it's just improvisation from crisis to crisis?

[Hunter Baker]

I don't think it's just improvisation. I think that he is engaging in some real statecraft here, trying to look at the interests of all the different nations involved and figuring out how to sort of balance these things in a way that will ultimately be satisfying. And I think that he's looking at China. China rising has become significant in a way that was virtually unimaginable in the early 1970s. An economic power in a way that we would not have thought possible, and of course, rising to become an incredible military power as well. And I think that Trump is looking to the interested parties in places such as South Korea and Japan and using the threat of China to get those countries to work with us, which they're doing. But at the same time, try not to make it a full on confrontation, because South Korea does want to trade with China, Japan does want to trade with China, we want to trade with China. So it's all about how do we have strength, but at the same time retain a constructive relationship. And the big fear right now that I think some have is what's going to happen to Taiwan. Taiwan is the bargaining chip. I mean, China is going to want Trump to relax our ambiguity about Taiwan, we have retained a strategic ambiguity. We have never exactly said, you know, quite some time. You know, if you attack Taiwan, we're going to do something about it, we're going to stop you. So we retain this ambiguity. But I think that the Chinese want Trump to say something like, we don't actually care that much. You know, we think it's okay if you sort of work Taiwan into your plans. The things that I hear from Trump aligned people is that he is not gonna do that, but that would be the magic token that he could play and get whatever he wants from China. But I don't think he's gonna do that.

[Lindsay Mast]

Well, closer to home, we are now in week five of the government shutdown. And this is the time the human toll starts to become more apparent. Federal employees missing their first full paycheck last week. Then on Monday, the largest UN federal workers called on Congress to pass that clean CR to fund the government. That effectively calls out the Democrats who have refused to pass the bill. Here's House Speaker Mike Johnson.

[Hunter Baker]

So I just want to say this.

[Kent Covington]

Simply to our Democrat colleagues. You have an off ramp. Now, you painted yourself into a corner, but here's your off ramp.

[Nick Icker]

The unions, the largest unions are saying, please do this.

[Kent Covington]

You can claim that as cover and.

[Hunter Baker]

Say that you had to do it.

[Lindsay Mast]

Additionally, snap benefits, food stamps will not go out on November 1st. That's Saturday. So if there's cases, Hunter, I want to know, what does it look like that clean CR only goes until November 21st. So the shutdown has burned through more than half of the time. And even if it were to pass today, aren't we right back here again in three weeks?

[Hunter Baker]

The federal government employee union basically calling out the Democrats and saying it's time to pass a clean funding resolution. This is a big deal, right? This is the giant crack in the coalition. Government employee unions are a critical part of the Democrat coalition nationally. And so for them to do this, you know, this is like they're basically saying, we're done playing the game, we're done kind of backing you on this. It's time to get things running. So on top of that, you have this, the food stamps running out on November 1st, that's gonna apply additional pressure very quickly. And the other thing that's gonna happen, and I hate to say this because I'm flying this week, is if Americans travel plans begin to be impacted by this, that's gonna generate another major source of pressure. So I think that the Democrats have played this strategy about as tough as they can and So I think it's probably time to stop it and to go ahead and and agree to the continuing resolution. Now you ask. Well, so we'll be right back in this place in another three weeks or so. I think that once they break, they're going to have to break all the way and I think that they'll have to agree to something more substantive for a longer period of time. So my prediction would be that if they break, we will not be exactly back at this same place in three weeks.

[Nick Icker]

Well, hey, I made it back from Turkey. I got through tsa, I got through through passport control and everything else is working just fine. Hunter. So nothing to worry about? Not at all.

[Hunter Baker]

I gotta go to Phoenix and I want to make sure I can get home.

[Nick Icker]

Hunter Baker is a political scientist and provost at North Greenville University. Hunter, always great to chat with you. Thanks so much.

[Hunter Baker]

Thank you.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from the issues, et cetera p podcast, expert guests, expansive topics extolling christ [e-mail] from Asbury University, where students are known, supported and prepared to lead customized visits. Available asbury. Edu visit. And from Cedarville University, equipping students for professional excellence and gospel impact. Cedarville. Edu World.

[Lindsay Mast]

Coming up next on the World and Everything in It World tour, A generation after the fall of communism, a new kind of revolution is quietly underway. World's Amy Lewis reports from Mongolia, where Christianity is gaining ground, but not without challenges.

[Hunter Baker]

I not believe.

[Narrator/Reporter]

David Kongor grew up an orphan living in the heated sewers under the streets of Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

[Benjamin Eicher]

I did not believe. I wasn't a Muslim or animus.

[Kent Covington]

I only believed in me. It was not good.

[Narrator/Reporter]

God was the furthest thought from his mind.

[Nick Icker]

No mother, no father, no grandmother, no family.

[Kent Covington]

Only me.

[Hunter Baker]

It was a really hard life.

[Narrator/Reporter]

All that changed when, as a teenager, he was welcomed into an orphanage run by Christians.

[Benjamin Eicher]

I believed in Jesus.

[Hunter Baker]

Jesus is my dad. Jesus is my mother.

[Nick Icker]

Jesus is my good brother.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Hangor had the opportunity to hear the gospel because his country defends the rights of its citizens to freely choose their religion. In 1989, there were only four reported Christians in the country that then had just over 2 million people. Atheism was the dominant belief system. In 1990, Mongolia underwent a peaceful, democratic revolution that brought major changes. It ushered in broad religious freedom. Interest in traditional Buddhism grew. People could suddenly buy things like cars. But unemployment, inflation and food shortages plagued the new country.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

So life was very difficult during 1990s. That's why even the good thing is people were Very open to gospel.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Mugi Jargal is a Mongolian Christian. Her husband Utzi pastors an assembly of God church in Ulaanbaatar.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

And like my husband, Utzi is one of the first Christians, and he was one of the first Bible school student.

[Narrator/Reporter]

According to data from the Assemblies of God, there are now more than 100,000 Christians in the country. Most evangelical churches don't have their own buildings. They meet in coffee shops or rented spaces. Christian workers describe most Mongolians as curious, interested in prayer and life after death. But people who are open to hearing the good news of Jesus are sometimes vulnerable to joining cults, especially foreign ones like Mormonism, which is prevalent in Mongolia.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

So they have several very nice church buildings and they have a lot of missionaries in Mongolia.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Last month, Mormon leaders unveiled building plans for a new Latter Day Saints temple in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolian government is very cautious about foreigners, especially when it comes to religious work. Expat Christians and people from other religious groups often enter the country with a secular profession. I spoke with a handful of foreign workers for this story. World is not using their names to protect their ongoing work in Mongolia. One expat teacher says Mongolians often hold on to their traditions like Buddhism and shamanism, but they include bits of other religions also.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

They may say, oh, I like that.

[Hunter Baker]

I like a little bit of Latter.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

Day Saints, I like a little bit of Christianity, I like a little bit of Islamic beliefs. And they'll add them in on top of the foundation.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A medical worker says Mormonism is spreading due to its emphasis on following the rules.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

The thing that's attractive about Mormonism to Mongolians is that it fits very well into Buddhism and their kind of cultural beliefs of doing the right things and following rules and doing what you're told.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The deception often starts with Mormon groups offering free English lessons. It seems friendly enough.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

And then after a time, and I don't know the specifics, but they bring them into their religious literature and it's almost. It can be impossible to leave.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's leading Mongolians to be skeptical of Christians bringing the true gospel. In spite of those challenges, workers are encouraged by the fervor of the Mongolian church.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

They are so, so motivated to reach their people. Like, there's always some announcement about some project they're doing or workers that they're sending or just ways they're trying to reach the, like, poor populations ways they're trying to go out into the countryside.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That vision extends beyond their own borders.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

They're sending people to Russia. They're sending people to Thailand, to India, to Mongolians, inside of China, even to North Korea. So they're just, they're so determined.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Those who work in the country ask for prayer. For the Mongolian church to be strengthened and built up, the government doesn't consider pastoring a legitimate occupation. So Ultzi and other pastors also hold down full time secular jobs.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

And most of our energetic times we have to spend for the work. And then after work we do the ministry and also the weekend.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But the need is great.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

When you get really out of the city and especially into the tiny little centers and then just the nomads who are in the middle of nowhere, it can feel really daunting with how will we reach them?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Technology and new lifestyles have brought some of the same challenges as Western nations.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

It's kind of hard to share gospel nowadays. Like everybody says, oh we heard about it, oh we know about it. But they don't go to church and they don't easily receive good news because they say, oh, we are busy. Everybody says busy, busy, busy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The best way to overcome that societal apathy and to protect against false teachings is for the local church to grow stronger.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

I would encourage everyone to pray for maturity in the church and that people would become true disciples and followers of Jesus and that they would read His Word and know it for himself and long, you know, long for the pure word of God.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For World Tour I'm Amy Lewis.

[Nick Icker]

Today is Wednesday, October 29th. Thank you for turning to world Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Nick Iker.

[Lindsay Mast]

And I'm Lindsay Mast. Before we continue this morning, I've got couple a quick note for anyone interested in exploring a career change. This Friday is the application deadline for our 2026 World Journalism Institute Mid Career course. We're looking for Christians in their mid-30s and older wanting to hone their reporting and writing skills while engaging their faith. The course features instruction in boots on the ground reporting and the opportunity to learn from world reporters and editors. The scholarship funded training will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. It runs January 4th to January 10th and again the deadline to apply is this Friday, October 31st. I can attest that it's an intense week but so impactful. My classmates go class of 2023 were are people of deep faith that I got to work alongside Deep diving on the hows and grappling with with the whys of the practice of journalism. I haven't had any other experience quite like it in my life. So get on it for more information or to submit the Online application, visit WJI World. That's WJI World.

[Nick Icker]

A star student, Lindsay Mast. And now we'll hear from another star student, mid career graduate world reporter Kim Henderson. Today she takes New Mexico for the first of a two part story about a long vanished voice in the American Southwest and the people working to bring it back.

[Kim Henderson]

The howl of a Mexican wolf was once a common sound in the southwestern United States. But conflict with humans brought them to near extinction by the 1970s. These days the best place to see Mexican wolves is somewhere like this. The Albuquerque Bio Park Zoo.

[Hunter Baker]

Did you guys see the one from this window?

[Kim Henderson]

There's a special Mexican wolf exhibit here. The wolves are in a forest like habitat behind a tall privacy fence with windows. A zoo educator explains why.

[Hunter Baker]

Because you have to actually look for them. It's less obtrusive the way it's set up.

[Kim Henderson]

Kids love it. This group has managed to spot a wolf. The kids are howling at him. Zoos across the United States maintain a captive population of some 350 Mexican wolves. That's part of the work of the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service. For more than a quarter of a century now, that agency has worked to increase the number of Mexican wolves. It's called a recovery program and it costs more than $5 million a year to run it. But there's a problem with the wolves inbreeding.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The challenge is that we saved this animal from the, from a very small number of surviving members. There were about seven in the wild.

[Hunter Baker]

When they were all brought back into captivity.

[Kent Covington]

Which means a very narrow genetic print.

[Benjamin Eicher]

You know, there wasn't.

[Kim Henderson]

That's Brian Bird. He's a wolf advocate with a group called Defenders of Wildlife. He says the only way to save the wolves for the long run is by spreading their genetic material beyond zoos and breeding facilities.

[Hunter Baker]

And we need to get it in the wild.

[Benjamin Eicher]

And so the only way to do.

[Hunter Baker]

That is to release these animals into the wild.

[Kim Henderson]

And that's what they've done. The latest survey shows 286 Mexican wolves living one wild and free in Arizona and New Mexico. But not everyone rolls out the red carpet for wolves.

[Lindsay Mast]

Pets snatched from front yards and livestock killed. That's what Catron county says is happening because of what they say is too many Mexican wolves in their area.

[Kim Henderson]

Cattle ranchers have an ongoing conflict with these apex predators. So do other residents who are fearful of wolves attacking pets and people. It makes you wonder, is it really important to have wolves in the landscape? Leah Barnett says yes. Wolves are very important.

[Lindsay Mast]

They are considered what we call a keystone Species, which means in an ecosystem, they play a key role in maintaining the function of that ecosystem.

[Kim Henderson]

Barnett works for the environmental group Wild Earth Guardians. She says the wolves keep ungulates, elk and deer on the move. That's important for wetland habitats.

[Lindsay Mast]

If ungulates don't have any prey, they'll.

[Mongolian Christian/Local Interviewee]

Just stand near the water, in the.

[Lindsay Mast]

Water, eating all of the aquatic plants.

[Kim Henderson]

In places where natural predators like wolves prey on elk, the wetland's habitat has a chance to vegetate. Bushes and trees grow things that provide.

[Lindsay Mast]

Shade, which keeps the water cool, which trout need cold water to reproduce and live in, along with other aquatic species. So it's these whole system effects like that.

[Kim Henderson]

A whole system effect obviously designed by God.

[Hunter Baker]

Yeah, let's just walk around the side of this dam. I think this is the easier way to go over here.

[Kim Henderson]

Brian Nowicki works with the center for Biological Diversity.

[Hunter Baker]

We're looking at the Sandia Mountains, and.

[Benjamin Eicher]

That'S the Sandia Peak right up there.

[Kim Henderson]

Nowiki also points out the top boundary of the Mexican Wolf Experimental population area, Interstate 40. Keeping wolves within a certain range is hard, especially now that their numbers are growing. But Nowiki believes strongly that Mexican wolves need room to thrive.

[Hunter Baker]

We've decided as a people, as a.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Country, that we're not going to let species go extinct.

[Hunter Baker]

And in order to have them come back, you have to provide enough space and enough opening so that wolves can be wolves.

[Kim Henderson]

And that naturally leads to conflict with ranchers operating within that space. Wild, forested lands. In many cases, it's federal land. Ranchers lease thousands of acres from the government. Nowicke says the leases are part of the problem. They were made under decades old laws.

[Hunter Baker]

These are ideologies that we developed back in the 60s or earlier. Well, we want to modernize our thinking. We want to think in terms of ecosystems, and we want to think in terms of the kind of level of science and landscape scales that we're now able to look at.

[Kim Henderson]

But wolf advocates and ranchers look through very different lenses, and the conflict is only heating up. In August, New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham fired a game commissioner for faith, failing to disclose she'd worked with ranchers on a wolf media campaign. More about that tomorrow. Reporting for World, I'm Kim Henderson in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

[Nick Icker]

To read the full print feature story on Mexican wolves, you can look for the November issue of World magazine. We'll post a link to the digital version of the story in the transcript of today's program.

[Lindsay Mast]

Today is Wednesday, October 29th. Good morning, this is the World. And Everything in it from Listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Eicher. As we reviewed earlier, Congress still at an impasse over federal spending. But World Opinions contributor Jordan Baller says the shutdown is in many ways a diversion from what's more important.

[Benjamin Eicher]

At this point, the continuing resolution isn't much of a resolution. If it were to pass tomorrow, it'll be shorter lived than most New Year's gym memberships for the CR would only fund full government operations until November 21. This means that no matter what happens in the Senate, a longer term deal will be needed to avoid continued shutdown. Though calling this a shutdown isn't really quite accurate. Before this funding conflict, the federal government was spending about $20 billion per day. During the supposed shutdown, the government is still spending about $18 billion per day. What accounts for the 2 billion per day difference? Federal agencies have suspended many so called non essential operations while payments to contractors and others have been delayed. Other government services, including national parks, museums and others, are operating at reduced capacity or are closed. Overall, roughly 900,000 federal employees are on furlough, while another 700,000 are still working but not receiving payments. But what seems like a reduction of Federal spending by 10% per day is actually far less than that. Furloughed workers will eventually receive back pay. Grants and contracts will also eventually be paid out. So what the government is doing during the shutdown is really accruing greater levels of obligation that will eventually be repaid. Not much is actually being saved during the government shutdown. And of course, the government continues to do all kinds of things and spend all kinds of money, from providing entitlements like Social Security and Medicare to servicing the national debt. What's described as a government shutdown is really a partial pause of some aspects of the federal government's discretionary spending. Most of the government continues to burn through money at the same rate as it did before the funding dispute. All of this goes to show how divorced from reality our political discourse and leadership actually is. The government shutdown is unsustainable. But that's because we cannot afford to continue to operate indefinitely, even at these marginally reduced levels of outlays. Even more unsustainable is the level of money the federal government spends when it is at full capacity. All of this coverage and consternation of our nominal shutdown is a distraction from the much larger, more structural and more concerning imbalances of our federal government's fiscal policy. We need entitlement reform now that we so regularly get into funding fights over what amounts to crumbs from the master's table just demonstrates the immaturity and imprudence of our political political leadership. Much like the attention spent on Doge, the shutdown is in fact an abdication of political responsibility by our ruling class. If we look at the books for the end of the last fiscal year concluded just before the current shutdown, we find some truly troubling trends. For the fiscal year that ended on September 30, the federal government spent a little more than $7 trillion, a $301 billion increase from 2024. As John Calvin once put it, those who rule unjustly and incompetently have been raised up by God to punish the wickedness of the people. In the case of our democratic republic, we are reaping the bitter fruits of trees that we ourselves have planted and nourished. We cannot simply denounce the failures of our elites and the ruling class. We must recognize that we, the people, are ultimately the ruling class in these United States and that our failings, whether moral, spiritual, economic or political, are finally to be counted to ourselves. This means that we need to acknowledge our errors and repent. A national day of repentance might make for a good beginning, but repentance requires turning from our ways. Repentance demands not merely words, but actions. So the first order of our collective business at this moment is to resolve this government shutdown. But we must do so in a way that makes our future sustainable and improves the prospects for flourishing not only for ourselves, but for our posterity. I'm Jordan Baller.

[Lindsay Mast]

Tomorrow Part two from Kim Henderson. We'll hear from the ranchers who say Mexican wolves are threatening their way of life. And a member of parliament from Finland makes her case before the highest court in her country, arguing for her rights to express a biblical view of human sexuality. That and more tomorrow. I'm Lindsay Mast.

[Nick Icker]

And I'm Nick Icker. 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 instructs. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Verse 1 of Romans, Romans 14. Go now in grace and peace.