12.4.25 Nigeria’s silent genocide, vetting Afghan refugees, and rebuilding black families

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: The World and Everything In It
Episode: Nigeria’s silent genocide, vetting Afghan refugees, and rebuilding black families
Date: December 4, 2025
Hosts: Mary Reichardt, Myrna Brown
Key Segments: Christian persecution in Nigeria, re-vetting Afghan refugees, and rebuilding the Black family in America

Episode Overview

This episode examines urgent global and domestic stories: the largely unreported genocide against Nigerian Christians, the controversy over re-vetting Afghan refugees after a DC shooting, and one researcher’s cultural blueprint for restoring Black family structures in the US. The WORLD team delivers careful news analysis, field interviews, and commentary from both faith-based and secular perspectives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Silent Genocide in Nigeria

Guest: Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted & TruthNigeria.com
[09:00–16:46]

• Nigeria’s religious divide:
  • "Currently Nigeria is 50% Christian, 50% Muslim, and what we are seeing taking place is a radical Islamist takeover… moving in from the north and working its way south." (Judd Saul, 09:59)
  • Previous ratios were 70% Christian to 30% Muslim; the shift is attributed to sustained attacks and population displacement.
• The perpetrators:
  • Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa, Fulani tribe—all radical Islamist groups aiming for a caliphate.
  • Goal: Systematic eradication of Christians and their communities.
• The scale of violence:
  • "In the last five years, on average, per year, you had around 5,000 Christians that were killed. This year it's been exponentially worse. It's around 7,600 Christians have been killed since January this year." (Judd Saul, 11:05)
  • Over 35,000 Christians killed in 5 years; more than 10,000 churches destroyed; 3.5 million Christians displaced and living in poverty (IDP camps).
  • "In the last five years, Nigeria has accounted for 90% of all Christian persecution deaths worldwide every year." (11:11)
• Complicity of Nigerian authorities:
  • Saul claims Nigerian military and police are frequently notified of attacks but do nothing—“stood down even while attacks are occurring and people are being slaughtered.” (Judd Saul, 11:48)
• Media blackout and manipulation:
  • News events are only reported when the Nigerian government calls and pays for a press conference.
  • "If the Nigerian government does not issue... their own statement, the event never happened." (Judd Saul, 12:45)
  • International media (e.g., BBC, CNN) rely on these pre-filtered reports—typically after coverage passes through Al Jazeera.
• Signs of genocide:
  • Entire Christian communities (over 800) have been “wiped off the map, renamed Muslim names, where Christians are no more.” (13:41)
• International Response:
  • US recently redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act—Saul says, “it’s a start, but we need to follow it up with a real action plan.” (15:03)
• Equipping the Persecuted’s role:
  • Emergency food and medical aid, training village security teams, early alert systems, intelligence sharing with churches to reduce surprise attacks.
• Warning for Africa:
  • “If Nigeria falls, so goes the rest of Africa… if something isn’t done soon, this is going to turn into an even bigger problem.” (Judd Saul, 16:02)

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2. Re-vetting Afghan Refugees After DC Shooting

Reporter: Josh Schumacher
Experts: Jessica Vaughn (Center for Immigration Studies), Sean Vandiver (Afghan Evac)
[16:52–23:39]

• Incident:
  • A 29-year-old Afghan national, Ramanula Lakhanwal, shot two National Guard service members at a DC Metro stop. Attack spotlights post-2021 vetting of Afghan evacuees.
• Policy Fallout:
  • Trump administration halts processing of all Afghan green cards, asylum, and immigration requests pending a sweeping re-vetting of refugees admitted under Biden (17:11).
• Competing claims on vetting:
  • Trump officials: Vetting during Biden era was rushed, insufficient.
  • Sean Vandiver: Lakhanwal was vetted “over and over again” by both administrations, entered as a CIA-associated anti-Taliban fighter (19:31).
• The vetting process:
  • Operation Allies Welcome involved background checks, biometric data, watch-list cross-checks by various federal agencies—praised by DOJ Inspector General for effectiveness (20:46).
  • “We’re not seeing these folks commit crimes in large numbers.” (Delano Squires quoting Vandiver, 21:16)
• Security gaps:
  • Jessica Vaughn: “No way to fact check identities” as Afghan civil records were unreliable post–Taliban collapse (22:16).
  • Most evacuees were not direct US government employees or associates (22:39).
• Policy recommendation:
  • Vaughn and others support a careful review, arguing, "we should go back and look at the people that were handled that way, you know, just to make sure, just to see if mistakes were made." (Mary Reichardt, 23:17)
• Tone:
  • Balanced, highlighting human cost, security concerns, but also the risks of overgeneralizing about refugees.

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3. Rebuilding Black Families in America

Guest/Expert: Delano Squires, Heritage Foundation research fellow
[25:37–33:38]

• Background:
  • Revisits Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 report warning about the rise of single-parent Black households (26:08).
  • At that time, 25% of Black children were born outside marriage; now exceeds 50% (28:29).
• Enduring Controversy:
  • Moynihan’s report was attacked as “victim-blaming” (26:59); today, Squires faces similar criticism for advocating stronger marriage culture.
  • Memorable moment: A caller tells Squires he’s “insulted my mama this morning” on C-SPAN (27:30).
• Personal context:
  • Squires, son of West Indian immigrants, credits his stable, married upbringing for his own success:
    • "Our lives looked very different than those of our peers…not only were our parents together, but our dads were active in our lives." (Delano Squires, 29:41)
• His plan to rebuild Black families:
  • Focuses on four “houses”: church, school, state, art.
  • “If you want to fix the home, you have to get four houses in order. The church house, the school house, the state house, and then the art house.” (Delano Squires, 31:02)
• Call to action:
  • Reframes “Black Lives Matter” as “Black Wives Matter”—calls Black leaders to make marriage and family formation a top priority (31:31).
• Obstacles:
  • Squires faces apathy, not hostility, from Black leaders:
    • “Part of the reason is because the issues that they see as of more importance are abortion, LGBT issues, climate change.” (31:55)
  • One progressive leader, Khalil Thompson, found common ground with Squires despite differences, valuing a shared desire for children’s future wellbeing (32:42).
• Christian perspective:
  • Squires underlines his motivation as biblical:
    • “As a Christian, a husband and a father, in that order… children need their father. Because God designed it… if it takes two to make [a child], I can infer it takes two to raise.” (Delano Squires, 33:13)
• Hopeful but realistic:
  • “Took us about three generations to get to this point, it'll take at least three to get us out.” (Delano Squires, 32:57)

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4. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Nigeria:
  • “Death by 10,000 attacks—they’ve taken over more territory.” (Judd Saul, 09:59)
  • “If Nigeria falls, so goes the rest of Africa.” (Judd Saul, 16:02)
• On Re-vetting Afghan Refugees:
  • “He was brought here by the CIA. And… vetted… over and over again.” (Sean Vandiver, 19:31)
  • “We’re not seeing these folks commit crimes in large numbers.” (Delano Squires quoting Vandiver, 21:16)
  • “Most of the evacuees were just anybody who could get on a plane.” (Jessica Vaughn, 22:39)
• On Black Family Structure:
  • “My advocacy on behalf of the traditional family is basically a slight or swipe at his single mom… and I was doing no such thing.” (Delano Squires, 27:51)
  • “Black Wives Matter.” (Delano Squires, 31:31)
  • “If it takes two to make [a child], I can infer it takes two to raise.” (Delano Squires, 33:13)

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5. Other Notable Segments

Honoring Conservative Icons: Buckley & Thatcher

Commentator: Cal Thomas
[33:50–38:16]

• Marks the centennial of William F. Buckley Jr. and Margaret Thatcher.
• Explores their guiding principles—skepticism of collectivism, defense of family and individual responsibility.
• Memorable lines:
  • Buckley: “I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the Boston telephone directory than by the 2,000 people on the faculty of Harvard University.”
  • Thatcher: “The state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves.” (36:07)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Nigeria’s silent genocide: 09:00–16:46
• Re-vetting Afghan refugees: 16:52–23:39
• Rebuilding Black families: 25:37–33:38
• Buckley & Thatcher tribute (Cal Thomas): 33:50–38:16

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights grave international injustice and challenges closer to home with a balance of urgent reporting, critical policy debate, and moral reflection. Through careful interviews and faith-informed analysis, WORLD Radio connects local and global crises to questions of leadership, media credibility, and personal responsibility.

For listeners seeking a biblical, rigorous take on headlines ignored or mishandled by other outlets, this episode offers deeply reported coverage and practical implications—especially for churches and community leaders.

Transcript

[Mary Reichardt]

Well, right here at the start, a reminder that this week is special because we are focused on first time givers in supportive world. It's our new donor drive. If you're a regular listener who feels you've been given clarity or even courage, but you've not given yet, I hope you'll make today the day you choose to strengthen independent Christian journalism with a gift of any amount.

[Myrna Brown]

Any amount. Because every single gift helps to keep our journalism going. On Monday, we announced a $50,000 challenge G demonstrating that giving is a team sport. We do this together. And so many of you have responded and stepped into the story and joined the team this week. Gotta tell you, nothing encourages us more. So as we go into the last couple of days of the new donor drive, let's wrap it up strong. Would you make your first time gift today? Just visit wng.org newdonor.

[Mary Reichardt]

Good morning. A Christian ministry in Nigeria says that persecution there is worse than the media is reporting.

[Myrna Brown]

And after the Thanksgiving shooting in Washington, D.C. the Trump administration takes another look at the vetting of Afghan nationals. Also today, a new plan to revive the black family.

[Delano Squires]

I put it this way, if you want to fix the home, you have to get four houses in order. The church house, the school house, the state house, and then the art house.

[Myrna Brown]

And world commentator Cal Thomas on the legacy of two conservative thinkers who would have turned 100 years old this year.

[Mary Reichardt]

It's Thursday, December 4th. This is the world and everything in it from listeners supported world radio. I'm Mary Reichardt.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. Good morning.

[Mary Reichardt]

Time now for the News with Mark Mellinger.

[Mark Mellinger]

President Trump says he is willing to release video of the US Military's controversial second strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat from Venezuela after the initial strike failed to kill everyone on board.

[Cal Thomas]

I don't know what they have, but whatever they have, we're certainly released. No problem.

[Mark Mellinger]

The president talking to reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday. Admiral Frank Bradley, who ordered the second strike back in September, is holding a classified briefing on the matter before Congress today. The White House says the strike was a lawful act of self defense, while critics say taking out survivors at sea is a war crime. Speaking at the Pentagon Christmas tree lighting Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referenced the White House's tactics to stop drug smuggling from countries like Venezuela to the US.

[Josh Schumacher]

We remember the ones that are fighting to protect all of us, to bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men except narco terrorists.

[Mark Mellinger]

Hegseth's level of involvement in the double strike is unclear. He claims he didn't know anyone had survived the initial hit and did not order the second strike. Meanwhile, Hegseth is facing renewed scrutiny on another front his use of the Signal app. A new report from the Pentagon inspector general finds Hegseth endangered US Personnel and their mission earlier this year when he used Signal to share sensitive information about a strike on Houthi militants in Yemen. That's according to two sources familiar with the findings who spoke to the Associated Press. Democrats say the findings show Hegseth isn't qualified for the job he holds. House Armed Services Committee member Maggie Goodlander.

[Mary Reichardt]

It is absolutely baffling to me how a person in such an extraordinary position of public trust could be so reckless. This is one example of unfortunately many that show that this is a person who is not fit to serve as our secretary of defense.

[Mark Mellinger]

Despite the inspector general's conclusions that Hegseth's actions could have put US Personnel at risk, Hegseth does have the ability to declassify material, and the report found he did not do so improperly. A Pentagon spokesperson calls the report a total exoneration of Hegseth. Ukraine's top negotiator is scheduled to meet for peace talks with US Special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son in law Jared Kushner in Miami today. It comes just a couple days after Wyckoff and Kushner met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine. The president isn't predicting next steps, but says the US Team left Moscow with the sense Putin wants the war to end.

[Cal Thomas]

I think I'd like to get back to dealing a more normal life. I think I'd like to be trading.

[Mark Mellinger]

With the United States of America, frankly.

[Cal Thomas]

Instead of, you know, losing thousands of soldiers a week.

[Mark Mellinger]

Ukraine and its European allies are more skeptical. They accused Putin of feigning interest in peace efforts after his meeting with the US Diplomats. Ukraine's foreign minister urged Putin to, quote, stop wasting the world's time. The ceasefire in Gaza is strained but still holding after limited back and forth attacks between Hamas and Israel. Wednesday, a Hamas attack wounded five Israeli soldiers, prompting a retaliatory airstrike by Israel on a Hamas militant in southern Gaza later in the day. Also Wednesday, Israel received what could be the remains of one of the last Hamas held hostages and but forensics experts need to verify that after remains handed over Tuesday turned out not to match either of the final two hostages. Israeli spokeswoman Shosh Bedrozian Hamas publicly said.

[Mary Reichardt]

They were committed to the ceasefire more than 51 days ago now lie Hamas repeatedly violated the terms by not only attacking our soldiers, but by not releasing.

[Myrna Brown]

All of our hostages, the living hostages.

[Mary Reichardt]

And our deceased hostages.

[Mark Mellinger]

Hamas claims it had trouble accessing the remains because of Israel's destruction of Gaza. One sign of progress, Israel is reopening the long closed Rafah crossing for medical evacuations and travel to and from Gaza. That is a key term of the ceasefire. Federal agents hit the streets of New Orleans Wednesday.

Those agents were part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown across the US with the latest phase focused largely on Louisiana. The Department of Homeland Security says it's all about rounding up illegal migrants who've already been detained and released despite being charged with violent crimes. GOP Senator Mark Wayne Mullen told Fox Business Kudlow. It's the Democrat ran Blue Cities that are doing this. And keep in mind, Democrats always want to scream that, you know, we're anti immigrant. We're not anti immigrant. In fact, we want immigrants to come over here in a lawful way. Trump administration officials say New Orleans was chosen for the next crackdown because of its status as a so called sanctuary city. Also, NBC News reports raids targeting Somali migrants have begun. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the White House is rolling back Biden era fuel economy standards. The government says the new standard would cut average fuel economy requirements for light duty vehicles from from 50 miles per gallon by 2031 down to 34 and a half. The Trump administration says this move will make cars more affordable. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says the Biden era standard was aimed at moving away from the internal combustion engine. There's basically no car anywhere in the US that's being made that would meet that standard. So otherwise what they're doing is they're trying to make everybody buy electric cars. The new mileage standards still have to be finalized next year before they can take effect.

I'm Mark Mellinger. Straight ahead, accounts of Christian persecution in Nigeria and why the stories aren't getting wider coverage. Plus, strengthening the American family. This is the WORLD and EVERYTHING in it.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Thursday 4th December. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the WORLD and EVERYTHING In It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichardt]

And I'm Mary Reichard. First up, the mass killing in Nigeria. Nigeria is facing one of the deadliest crises in the world today. Entire villages are being wiped out and churches are being burned to the ground. Millions of believers are internally displaced inside Nigeria. Despite all this, there is little independent reporting from that country.

[Myrna Brown]

Joining us now to Talk about it is Judd Saul. He's been working inside Nigeria for years. He's founder of Equipping the Persecuted, a boots on the ground ministry helping persecuted Christians in Africa. He also operates truthnigeria.com, a journalism project to document what is happening in Nigeria.

[Mary Reichardt]

John, thank you so much for joining us today.

[Judd Saul]

Hey, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.

[Mary Reichardt]

Well, let's start with an overview. What are the historical roots of the conflict and how is Nigeria laid out as far as religious affiliations?

[Judd Saul]

Okay, so currently Nigeria is 50% Christian, 50% Muslim, and what we are seeing taking place is a radical Islamist takeover of the country, moving in from the north and working its way south. It was at 1.70% Christian, 30% Muslim. But over the course of time, call it death by 10,000 attacks, they've taken over more territory. And the reason it's so popular in the news is just because the attacks have been more frequent and more brazenly.

[Mary Reichardt]

Who are the aggressors and what is their goal?

[Judd Saul]

The aggressors are the radical Islamists. And you have a few different groups of radical Islamists. You have Boko Haram, you have ISIS of West Africa, and then you have the Fulani tribe, which overall, they are a radical Islamist sect that is really hell bent on turning Nigeria into a caliphate. And they will stop at nothing and destroy anything that gets in their way to accomplish their goals.

[Mary Reichardt]

And describe for us the scale of the violence against Christians.

[Judd Saul]

So in the last five years, on average, per year, you had around 5,000 Christians that were killed. This year it's been exponentially worse. It's around 7,600 Christians have been killed since January this year. Now, to put that in perspective, in the last five years, Nigeria has accounted for 90% of all Christian persecution deaths worldwide every year for the last five years, that's over 90% of all Christian persecution deaths worldwide.

[Mary Reichardt]

You have written that the Nigerian government, the military, and the police are complicit, ordering stand downs during attacks. What's the evidence that the government knows about these massacres in advance and then does nothing about it?

[Judd Saul]

Well, I created a website. Besides equipping the persecuted.org I have a website called truthnigeria.com our team has issued over 100 terror alerts over the last two years. And we have a 90% accuracy rate on knowing when the terrorists are going to attack and where. Because people trust us with intelligence. They let us know what's going on. And the government's notified, the military's notified, the local Police are notified. And in all those attacks, the military and police did nothing. They have stood down. Even while attacks are occurring and people are being slaughtered, the military is called and the calls are ignored. And we have repeated case after case in evidence backing this up.

[Mary Reichardt]

Well, let's talk about how the media are complicit in this travesty going on for so long. What is the method by which the news is distributed?

[Judd Saul]

So in Nigeria, an incident only happens when the Nigerian government says it happens. So if there's an incident, the Nigerian government has to call for a press conference. Then they pay the journalists to come to the press conference. And those journalists have to report what the government tells them to report. If the Nigerian government does not issue, hold a press conference or issue their own statement, the event never happened. And that's unfortunately what makes it to the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media. And it's always filtered through Al Jazeera first. So if they write an article and news comes out, it goes to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera says this is the final piece on it. Then BBC, cnn, the rest of the mainstream media go off of what Al Jazeera wrote.

[Mary Reichardt]

Let's get down to some specifics here. How many churches have been destroyed by the Fulani militias and how many Christians have been killed? And does that meet the definition of genocide?

[Judd Saul]

Well, that's the thing. We count over 10,000 churches now. That's what we know of. There are more than that, but that's what we have documented. Over 10,000 churches. How many Christians have been killed? Well, the last five years, 40, if I am going by the math, about 35,000 Christians have been killed in the last five years in Nigeria. So, yeah, this is a genocide. Because what you don't see happening is you don't see mosques being destroyed in Nigeria. You don't see entire Muslim communities wiped off the map in Nigeria. You only see that happening to Christian communities, which, by the way, over 800 Christian communities wiped off the map, renamed Muslim names, where Christians are no more. And currently there is over 3.5 million Christians living in camps, displaced from their homes. They're called IDPs by the UN. Internally displaced persons. Over 3.5 million Christians living in total poverty, living in squalor, living in the worst of the worst conditions. And the world has been silent about this.

[Mary Reichardt]

I think it was late October that the US Redesignated Nigeria as a country of particular concern under the International Religious Freedom Act. That was a reversal of the Biden administration's decision to take Nigeria off the list. Is this going to help matters?

[Judd Saul]

I think it's a start, but we need to follow it up with a real action plan and a real policy that is going to protect Christians in Nigeria. And not just Christians, just innocent people in general. But I think we need to put together a very tough foreign policy to make sure that that happens.

[Mary Reichardt]

And what is equipping the persecuted able to do for survivors?

[Judd Saul]

Equipping the persecuted is a boots on the ground mission that works with Christians on the ground. All these IDPs, we do medical interventions, we deliver food, but we also work with village security teams. We also try to train village security teams on how to protect themselves, installing village alarm systems, giving them communications, but also utilizing Truth Nigeria and the network we've built with pastors and communities to try to stop the persecution and stop the attacks and terrorism.

[Mary Reichardt]

Well, this is all very shocking and I think to Westerners some of this can come off as mere statistics. But I want to ask you what happens if Nigeria falls?

[Judd Saul]

If Nigeria falls, so goes the rest of Africa. And instead of thousands of Christians being killed, it's going to be hundreds of thousands if not millions being killed. If something isn't done very soon, things are reaching a boiling point and the Muslims politically and the Nigerian government have taken more territory and they're leaving Christians defenseless and they are starting to attack more. So if something isn't done soon, this is going to turn into an even bigger problem. And if Nigeria goes, so does the rest of Africa because these Nigerians have nowhere to go.

[Mary Reichardt]

Judd Paul is founder of the ministry called Equipping the Persecuted, which is on the ground in Nigeria. He's talking to us from Iowa. Judd, thank you so much for your work and stay safe.

[Judd Saul]

Thank you. God bless you.

[Mary Reichardt]

Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, re vetting Afghan refugees. Following the shooting of two National Guard service members in Washington, D.C. last week, the Trump administration says it will revamp security vetting on refugees who came to the US under the Biden administration, particularly Afghans.

[Myrna Brown]

Until then, immigration officials will pause all processing of green card applications, asylum requests and and other immigration related efforts made by Afghans. But experts are divided on whether a wholesale revetting of Afghans is necessary.

[Mary Reichardt]

World's Josh Schumacher has more.

[Delano Squires]

Get everyone to step back, please.

[Josh Schumacher]

The day before Thanksgiving, a 29 year old man shot West Virginia National Guard soldiers Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolf at a Metro stop near the White House. Beckstrom later died from her injuries and Wolf remained in critical condition while the two soldiers condition drew media attention. Much of the discourse about the incident centered on the identity of the shooter. Ramanula Lakhanwal is an Afghan national who came to the United States during the Biden administration in late 2021. Following the shooting, Trump administration officials claimed that the attack was proof that the Biden administration hadn't properly vetted Afghan nationals entering the United States and after the fall of Kabul. Here's President Donald Trump speaking about the shooter just hours after the attack.

[Mark Mellinger]

He was flown in by the Biden.

[Cal Thomas]

Administration in September 2021 on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it.

[Josh Schumacher]

Days before the shooting, the Trump administration had already announced plans to re vet every refugee who came to the United States over under President Joe Biden. After the shooting, the administration doubled down on those plans, saying it would halt the processing of all immigration related requests for Afghan refugees in the United States until extensive re vetting of Afghan nationals in the country could take place. Here's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on ABC News this week. Days after the shooting, he was brought.

[Mary Reichardt]

Into the country by the Biden administration through Operation Allies welcome and then maybe.

[Mark Mellinger]

Vetted after that, but not done well.

[Josh Schumacher]

But some advocates say that's not the case. They say that the shooter and other Afghan refugees were actually thoroughly vetted by the Biden administration. Sean Vandiver is president of Afghan Evac, a nonprofit that advocates for America's wartime allies from Afghanistan.

[Mark Mellinger]

He was brought here by the CIA. And that's the thing is the Trump.

[Delano Squires]

Administration vetted this guy.

[Mark Mellinger]

They granted him Asylum in April 2025. The Biden administration and the Trump administration vetted him over and over again.

[Josh Schumacher]

In Afghanistan, the shooter fought against the Taliban in an Afghan military unit commanded by the CIA. He had to undergo vetting before he joined that unit. After the US military withdrawal in 2021, the shooter was airlifted out in the early weeks of Operation Allies Welcome. That year long multi agency effort focused on vetting, evacuating and resettling Afghan nationals who worked with the US Government or who would face persecution under a Taliban regime. Federal agencies conducted background checks and interviews with people before they arrived in the United States. Afghan arrivals were then cross checked against federal agency watch lists and subject to intelligence agency background checks. The government also gathered biometric data such as fingerprints, photos and iris scans about each person before and after they brought them into the United States. That leads Vandiver and others to suggest that we may be looking at the wrong problem.

[Mark Mellinger]

I don't think that there's Anything wrong with the vetting?

[Judd Saul]

I think that this guy snapped for some reason.

[Mark Mellinger]

We don't know why.

[Josh Schumacher]

In June 2025, during Trump's own administration, the U.S. department of Justice's inspector general touted the effectiveness of the vetting strategies the FBI used in Operation Allies Welcome. The report said that the FBI's counterterrorism teams followed vetting best practices and in several dozen instances, found individuals who were terrorist threats among the crowds of people trying to enter the US through the program. But Vandiver says the vast majority of individuals who made it into the US Aren't threats.

[Delano Squires]

Right, like, we're not seeing these folks commit crimes in large numbers.

[Josh Schumacher]

And while other experts agree that, by and large, Afghans as a whole aren't a threat to society, some do say it would be prudent to find any other bad apples that might be out there.

[Myrna Brown]

Yeah, that's a very wise move.

[Josh Schumacher]

Jessica Vaughn is the Director of Policy Studies at the center for Immigration Studies. She told World she supports the Trump administration's decision to review the cases of Afghans who entered the country during Biden's time in office.

[Myrna Brown]

Some of them were vetted more than others.

[Mary Reichardt]

But we do know from congressional investigations.

[Myrna Brown]

And government audits that the vetting process for the Afghan evacuees was changed so as to speed up their entry and release into the United States, and that.

[Mary Reichardt]

Certain protocols were abandoned in the interest.

[Myrna Brown]

Of processing people quickly.

[Josh Schumacher]

Specifically, Vaughn says there was no way to fact check the identities of anyone who came to the United States through the evacuation program. That's because at the time, the Afghan government was in chaos. She adds that she doesn't think Afghanistan had adequate systems that could reliably verify the claims individuals were making about themselves.

[Mary Reichardt]

No more than 10,000, and I think.

[Myrna Brown]

Probably a few less than that, were people who had actually worked for the US Government, you know, and their family members. Most of the evacuees were just anybody who could get on a plane.

[Josh Schumacher]

Vaughn says many Afghans who came to the United States are likely good people trying to live good and upstanding lives. But ensuring that there are not more bad actors out there warrants a process to re vet refugees.

[Mary Reichardt]

We know that procedures were lifted by policy under the Biden administration, that adjudicators were told not to do certain things that had been standard practice before.

[Myrna Brown]

So we should go back and.

[Mary Reichardt]

And look at the people that were handled that way, you know, just to.

[Myrna Brown]

Make sure, just to see if mistakes were made.

[Mary Reichardt]

I mean, there are always mistakes made.

[Josh Schumacher]

Reporting for World I'm Josh Schumacher.

[Mark Mellinger]

Additional support comes from Water's Edge. Save more, do more, give more Helping Christians support ministry by giving through a.

[Judd Saul]

Donor advised fund, watersedge.com daf and from ambassadors Impact Network. Helping entrepreneurs with a purpose find the.

[Mark Mellinger]

Support they need to thrive with faith aligned financing options. [e-mail].

[Myrna Brown]

Seven years ago in Minnesota, teenagers Zach Zarambinsky and Isabel Richards lay in separate hospital rooms, each in comas, each after suffering separate accidents. Their mothers kept vigil together, told to expect the worst. Here's the Isabel's mother, Esther audio from the Good News Network.

[Mary Reichardt]

She had shards of glass still in her hair and she was unconscious.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Zach awoke from his coma first. He reassured Isabel's family she'd wake up too. And she did. Years later, they reconnected and started a podcast together called Hope in Healing.

[Delano Squires]

He has redeemed our stories.

[Myrna Brown]

Back at the hospital where they met, Zach read scripture to Isabel and then popped the question, will you marry me?

[Delano Squires]

Yes.

[Myrna Brown]

From coma patients to bride and groom.

[Mary Reichardt]

Yeah, love works in mysterious ways.

[Myrna Brown]

Sure does. It's the world and everything in it.

Today is Thursday, December 4th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichardt]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming next on the World and everything in it. Retooling a call to action. The year was 1965. While serving as assistant secretary of Labor, Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a report on the breakdown of the black family. Despite gains in civil rights, Moynihan was concerned blacks did not have social and economic equality. The report was intended to persuade his boss, President Lyndon B. Johnson, to take federal action to strengthen the black family.

[Myrna Brown]

In the report, Moynihan identified the reasons for the racial disparities. Topping the list, the rising numbers of female led single parent households and out of wedlock births. With Jim Crow laws hardly in the rearview mirror, that message was controversial. Here's an edited clip of Moynihan defending the report in 1965 on Meet the Press audio from American History TV.

[Mark Mellinger]

You say that 44% of the children in Harlem are illegitimate. Now how do you know that? Those are statistics in the New York City Department of Health, sir, and right under our prosperous noses.

[Judd Saul]

That happened. That hasn't existed for 50 years.

[Mark Mellinger]

That's happened in the last 15 years, Miss America. And we've been sitting around thinking things have been getting better and they haven't.

[Judd Saul]

Been getting better for those children.

[Myrna Brown]

Critics accused Moynihan of victim blaming and overlooking issues like systemic discrimination and the legacy of slavery. Sixty years later, the Moynihan report is still being challenged. Delano Squires is in the hot seat. Literally. He's sitting under bright lights in a Washington, D.C. television studio getting chewed out on C Span.

[Mary Reichardt]

And this is Newman calling from San Antonio.

[Myrna Brown]

Good morning, Newman.

[Mark Mellinger]

Yes, good morning.

[Delano Squires]

First of all, I would like to.

[Mark Mellinger]

Say to the gym.

[Myrna Brown]

You know, it hurts me to see you sit there.

[Cal Thomas]

Cause you really to me, you insulted.

[Myrna Brown]

My mama this morning. The caller from Texas doesn't like Squires.

[Delano Squires]

You don't realize how you disgracing black.

[Mark Mellinger]

People this morning, man.

[Myrna Brown]

And probably didn't care much for Daniel Patrick Moynihan either back in the day.

[Delano Squires]

He basically said that my advocacy on behalf of the traditional family is basically a slight or swipe at his single mom. He got offended because he thought I was insulting his mom and I was doing no such thing.

[Myrna Brown]

Squyers told world's Washington producer Harrison Waters. He was making this point to the.

[Delano Squires]

TV despite all types of, you know, just the everyday indignities that black Americans had to suffer, not just in the South. In 1965, at the time of the Moynihan Report, the non marital birth rate for black families was, call it a quarter.

[Myrna Brown]

That means 75% of Black children were born to married parents. Fast forward to 2023. Life has generally gotten better for Black Americans since 1965, but the number of children born in single parent homes has doubled, just as Moynihan predicted.

[Delano Squires]

And he said the roles of husband and wife were reversed. His theory was that if the rest of society has a more patriarchal family structure and the black family has a matriarchal family structure, that black families would be at, you know, structural disadvantage.

[Myrna Brown]

At 43, New York native Delano Squires wasn't even born when Moynihan released his report in 1965. His parents immigrated from the West Indies and married in Queens.

[Delano Squires]

Let me see. I think I have a picture of them.

[Myrna Brown]

After inviting us to his Maryland home, he swipes through old photos on his phone.

[Delano Squires]

My parents have been married 44 years.

[Myrna Brown]

That's the family structure Moynihan insisted was missing. And in the mid-90s, it was the most important part of Squire's upbringing.

[Delano Squires]

And what we saw is that our lives looked very different than those of our peers. And oftentimes it was just because, you know, not only were our parents together, but our dads were active in our lives. They were active in church. So our parents were raising us according to their Christian values and in homes where marriage was the norm.

[Myrna Brown]

That's what we knew, and he never forgot it. After college, Squires wrote about being raised in a two parent household. As a research fellow at the Heritage foundation, he wrote a special report outlining a new plan to revive marriage and rebuild the black family. Squires says the biggest difference between his and Moynihan's report is the call to action.

[Delano Squires]

Everyone he was writing to at that time was white. It's now 2025, and Black Americans have far more political representation, economic power, education. My audience is the black leadership class.

[Myrna Brown]

Squyers calls it the Afrostocracy. Black preachers, politicians, professors, pundits, and performers all on the center left.

[Delano Squires]

I put it this way, if you want to fix the home, you have to get four houses in order. The church house, the school house, the state house, and then the art house.

[Myrna Brown]

In September, Squires invited representatives from those houses houses to join forces with conservative leaders. The goal? Create a culture of marriage and strong families.

[Delano Squires]

Welcome all of you here to Heritage.

[Myrna Brown]

This is a recording from that joint event. Squire says his pitch to potential participants replaced the notion of black lives matter with black wives matter.

[Delano Squires]

Can you do that? Naacp, can you? Can you prioritize this issue for the next five years? Right. Same for the Urban League.

[Myrna Brown]

Squire says he didn't get any responses from those organizations. Others agreed to come and speak and then backed out. But he refuses to believe black leaders are hostile towards the black family.

[Delano Squires]

I think there's a certain sense of apathy towards it, benign neglect. Part of the reason is because the issues that they see as of more importance are abortion, LGBT issues, climate change. But one person, Khalil Thompson, who was at the event, and he was someone who was just open, open to listening, open to dialogue.

[Myrna Brown]

In 2024, Khalil Thompson helped raise more than a million dollars for the Kamala Harris campaign. Who would have imagined a year later, Thompson and Squires would be standing on common ground in an auditorium at the Heritage Foundation.

[Mary Reichardt]

Mr. Kahlil, come on up, man. Have a seat.

[Myrna Brown]

After the panel discussion, Thompson told me he and Squires may still be opponents on some issues.

[Mark Mellinger]

But what I love in my brother.

[Delano Squires]

Is that he wants to solve something.

[Mark Mellinger]

So that my daughter's life is better.

[Delano Squires]

That his kids lives are better, and that we're leaving a better society for our community.

[Myrna Brown]

Can I go back downstairs? Because we can go back at Squire's house. He says God has been preparing him.

[Delano Squires]

For this work because it's going to be laborious and it's going to take time. Took us about three generations to get to this point, it'll take at least three to get us out.

[Myrna Brown]

Is this Camille downstairs with y'?

[Cal Thomas]

All?

[Myrna Brown]

But his motivation is the legacy. He and his wife are leaving their.

[Delano Squires]

Four children as a Christian, a husband and a father, in that order. And before anything else, children need their father. Because God designed it, designed the family in such a way that it takes exactly one man and one woman to make one child. And if it takes two to make, I can infer it takes two to raise.

[Myrna Brown]

Reporting for World I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichardt]

Few of us live 100 years, but each person does have a centenary date. According to world commentator Cal Thomas, a couple of world changing conservatives hit that milestone this year with hardly anyone noticing.

[Cal Thomas]

2025 is the centenary of two towering individuals in the conservative movement, neither of whom received the respect they deserve among the ruling political, historical and media. William F. Buckley Jr. And British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Before this year expires, I'd like to offer some reflections and admiration for these two. Bill Buckley almost single handedly held the conservative fort until reinforcements arrived. Far from being mean spirited, Buckley used his extensive vocabulary and rapier wit to disarm liberal opponents in ways they didn't recognize until it was too late to respond. I've often been quoted as saying I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the Boston telephone directory than by the 2,000 people on the faculty of Harvard University. It's a classic line undermining what we now call the woke agenda of many centers of so called higher learning. Another favorite line came after this question.

[Mark Mellinger]

Whenever you appear on television, you're always seated. Does this mean you can't think on your feet?

It's very, very hard to stand up.

[Cal Thomas]

Carrying the weight of what I know.

Coming from anyone else, that might sound prideful, but the line had a considerable amount of truth in it. Buckley was incredibly smart and was his own encyclopedia. I once introduced him at a Washington event. This way, Bill, I don't mind you writing a column or being the author of many books, but when you build a harpsichord from scratch and plate it at Carnegie hall, don't you think that's pouring it on a little too clearly? He went through the gift line more than once. The same could be said of Margaret Thatcher. She was hated by the British left because she almost single handedly destroyed the socialist programs that had harmed much of the country's social, economic and political infrastructure. Her political opponents would never admit they were wrong, despite the evidence.

[Judd Saul]

Let us never forget this fundamental truth.

[Mark Mellinger]

The state has no source of money.

[Judd Saul]

Other than the money people earn themselves.

[Mark Mellinger]

If the state wishes to spend more.

[Cal Thomas]

He can do so only by borrowing.

[Mark Mellinger]

Your savings or by taxing you more.

[Cal Thomas]

And it's no good thinking that someone else will pay, that someone else is you.

Responding to the collectivism and over reliance on government in her day, Thatcher recalled a basic principle There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and their families, and no government can do anything except through people. And people must look to themselves first. Another Thatcher line that should have been quoted during the race for New York City mayor, which was won by Democrat Socialist Zoran Mandani.

[Mark Mellinger]

I think they've made the biggest financial mess that any government's ever made made in this country for a very long time.

[Cal Thomas]

And socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money. In an article titled the Woman who Made Britain Great Again, author Christopher Sanford writes this in her first term alone, she oversaw measures that lowered inflation from an annual rate of 18% and rising to five and a half percent and falling. She introduced legislation to curb union militancy and privatized inefficient state industries, among many other reforms. Sanford wraps up his summation of Thatcher's remarkable life this she remains the last, recognizably great British prime minister, one who embodies the paradox of serving as her nation's all but unchallenged leader for 11 years while seeing herself as an outsider constantly beset by an inert political establishment.

Margaret Thatcher and William F. Buckley Jr. Two great minds whose ideas and philosophies would still work today should modern politicians again embrace them. I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichardt]

Tomorrow John Stonestreet is here for Culture Friday. Also, a review of Disney's latest animated buddy cop films, Zootopia 2. And we kick off our Advent reflections on what it means that Christ came to dwell with his people. A reminder that it's our first time giving week and we want you on our team. Just visit wng.org newdonor that and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. 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 apostle Paul wrote these words to Timothy preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accuse for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober minded. Endure suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. Verses 2 through 5 of 2 Timothy chapter 4 go now in grace and peace.

[Josh Schumacher]

Sam.