2.11.25 Trump’s global strategy, illegal immigrants on immigration challenges, and watching for asteroids

Summary

Summary of "The World and Everything In It" Podcast Episode 2.11.25

Release Date: February 11, 2025

In Episode 2.11.25 of "The World and Everything In It," WORLD Radio delves into three pressing global issues: former President Donald Trump's evolving international strategies, the complex landscape of immigration and illegal immigration challenges in the United States, and the critical task of monitoring potentially hazardous asteroids. Hosted by Mary Reichard and Nick Eicher, the episode features insightful interviews, expert analyses, and personal narratives that shed light on these multifaceted topics.

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1. Donald Trump’s Global Strategy

a. Proposed Real Estate Initiative for Gaza

The episode opens with a discussion on Trump's unconventional proposal to lead the reconstruction of Gaza. Speaking from Air Force One, Trump outlined a vision to clear Gaza of debris and unexploded ordnance, with Palestinians temporarily relocating to neighboring Egypt or Jordan.

Mike Waltz, a national security expert, critiques the feasibility and implications of this plan:

"You can't give these people a better life if you've got 1.8 million people living in absolute squalor" (00:10).

The proposal faced immediate rejection from Israel's neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, who dismissed the plan outright despite a history of Palestinian resettlement.

Will Inboden, former National Security Council staff member and current University of Florida professor, offers strategic insight:

"I think this may be more of a provocation on his part than a really serious proposal... He wants to reduce the American footprint in the Middle East" (08:49).

Waltz further elaborates on Trump's possible underlying motives:

"His actual goal is really something else. With that idea, he is highlighting some of the real problems with Gaza and the opportunities" (08:49).

b. Birthright Citizenship Executive Order and Federal Workforce Buyout

Trump's administration has also been active on domestic fronts, reinstating tariffs on steel and aluminum and proposing a buyout plan for federal workers.

Kent Covington reports:

"President Trump is reinstating 25% tariffs on steel imports and raising aluminum tariffs from 10 to 25%" (01:01).

In response, Mike Waltz argues that these tariffs could ultimately reduce prices by encouraging foreign companies to manufacture domestically:

"Ultimately, it'll be cheaper, but we'll also have jobs" (01:38).

Meanwhile, Trump's executive order challenging birthright citizenship has faced legal hurdles. Benjamin Eicher details the judicial pushback:

"District Judge Joseph LaPlante issued a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the executive order" (03:51).

The administration plans to appeal these decisions, emphasizing a commitment to redefining citizenship criteria.

c. Potential New Nuclear Deal with Iran

Trump has signaled a renewed interest in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran, diverging from his initial withdrawal from the 2015 agreement.

Mike Waltz assesses the strategy:

"It's a potentially very effective strategy of increasing pressure on Iran to create better circumstances, to negotiate from a position of strength" (12:40).

However, skepticism remains regarding Iran's willingness to engage in a verifiable agreement, especially given the advancements in their nuclear capabilities.

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2. Immigration Challenges in the United States

a. Enforcement Crackdowns and Public Response

The episode highlights recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and Phoenix, sparking protests and debates over immigration policy.

Personal stories underscore the human impact of these policies:

"Juvenal Gonzalez was 16 when he first tried crossing into the United States looking for work in the 1980s" (15:59).

b. Asylum Claims and Systemic Strain

Will Inboden discusses the misuse of the asylum system:

"There's only five things that make the person qualify for asylum... being poor is not one of them" (18:20).

The Center for Migration Studies estimates nearly 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as of July 2023, many of whom face deportation threats due to tightened enforcement priorities focusing on criminal elements.

c. Legislative Stagnation and Humanitarian Concerns

Marcos Gutierrez shares his family's long struggle for legal status:

"It took about 20 years before they let us know that the visa wasn't approved" (17:38).

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been a temporary refuge for many like Gutierrez, but with ongoing legal and administrative challenges, the need for comprehensive immigration reform is palpable.

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3. Monitoring and Mitigating Asteroid Threats

a. The "City Killer" Asteroid Discovery

NASA's detection of a potentially hazardous asteroid, with a 1% chance of impacting Earth in 2032, sets the stage for a critical discussion on planetary defense.

b. Citizen Science and Asteroid Tracking Efforts

Frank Marchese, an astronomer, recounts his journey into asteroid detection:

"I used to make fun of people who were looking for asteroids... But it's not that unlikely" (25:41).

Marchese and Will Inboden have mobilized a network of 15,000 telescopes managed by 3,000 citizen astronomers to enhance detection capabilities. Their collaborative efforts have already proven successful with prior asteroid sightings.

c. Strategic Responses and Theological Perspectives

The conversation shifts to potential mitigation strategies, including NASA's 2022 test to alter an asteroid's trajectory:

"If we extrapolate this, and it will happen in 10, 20, 30 years, we have time to think about it" (27:59).

Danny Faulkner introduces a theological dimension, contemplating the role of divine providence in such cosmic events:

"If God doesn't want us to be wiped out by an asteroid, it's not going to happen" (29:08).

This perspective underscores a philosophical debate on humanity's capacity versus existential faith in divine will.

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Conclusion

Episode 2.11.25 of "The World and Everything In It" offers a comprehensive exploration of pivotal issues shaping contemporary global and domestic landscapes. Through expert analyses, personal narratives, and thoughtful discourse, WORLD Radio provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of Trump's strategic maneuvers, the complexities of U.S. immigration policy, and the vigilant efforts to safeguard Earth from extraterrestrial threats. As these topics intertwine with socio-political and ethical considerations, the episode encourages listeners to engage critically with the forces shaping our world.

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Notable Quotes:

• "You can't give these people a better life if you've got 1.8 million people living in absolute squalor" (Mike Waltz, 00:10).

• "Massive undertaking... it'll take billions of dollars and lots of time" (Sean Duffy, 05:09).

• "Being poor is not one of them" (Will Inboden, 18:20).

• "If God doesn't want us to be wiped out by an asteroid, it's not going to happen" (Danny Faulkner, 29:08).

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This episode serves as an informative resource for listeners seeking to understand the intersection of political strategies, immigration dynamics, and planetary defense efforts, all while being grounded in the mission of biblically objective journalism.

Transcript

[Mary Reichard]

Good morning. The Trump administration is floating a real estate fix for Gaza.

[Mike Waltz]

You can't give these people a better life if you've got 1.8 million people living in absolute squalor.

[Nick Eicher]

We will talk with a national security expert. Also today, how are legal immigrants responding to deportations and the crackdown at the border? And later, amateur astronomers keep track of the asteroid NASA calls city killer.

[Will Inboden]

We are feeling when you are one of the few hundred people on this planet that have the idea that something that big could Happen.

[Mary Reichard]

It's Tuesday, February 11th. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

[Mary Reichard]

Time now for the news with Kent Covington.

[Kent Covington]

President Trump is reinstating 25% tariffs on steel imports and raising aluminum tariffs from 10 to 25%. He says that applies to imports from all countries.

[Mike Waltz]

We were being pummeled by both friend and foe alike. Our nation requires steel and aluminum to.

[Danny Faulkner]

Be made in America, not in foreign lands. We need to create in order to.

[Mike Waltz]

Protect our country's future.

[Kent Covington]

Trump says the move will bring a lot of jobs Back to the U.S. reporters at the White House pressed the president about whether the tariffs could lead to higher prices, though for Americans on a wide range of goods. He said they might in the short.

[Mike Waltz]

Term ultimately have a price reduction because they're going to make their steel hit. These foreign companies will move to the United States, will make their steel and aluminum in the United States. Ultimately, it'll be cheaper, but we'll also have jobs.

[Kent Covington]

And Trump says more tariff announcements are likely coming soon. The president also reacted to news that Hamas has halted the further release of Israeli hostages. Trump said the terror group is in violation of the ceasefire agreement. And he added that it is Israel's decision to make. But in his view, if all of.

[Mike Waltz]

The hostages aren't returned By Saturday at 12:00, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off.

[Kent Covington]

Meantime, in Tel Aviv, relatives of Israeli hostages protested, some accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the ceasefire deal. And inside Israel's parliament building, pandemonium as some opposition lawmakers were dragged out of parliament after shouting down the prime minister, also blaming him for the potential collapse of the ceasefire. Netanyahu said all of the shouting could not hide the truth. He went on to call last week's visit with President Trump at the White House a historical achievement and says a new era lies ahead for Israel. A federal judge is temporarily blocking The Trump administration's buyout plan for federal workers. World's Benjamin Eicher has more the Trump.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Administration, looking to cut costs and shrink the size of the federal workforce, made an offer to some 2 million federal workers. Under the so called Fork in the Road program, employees could quit now and still get paid through September. More than 65,000 federal workers have already accepted the deal, but those employees will want to keep clocking in for the time being. U.S. district Court Judge George O'Toole says he still has to decide whether the Trump administration has the legal authority to continue paying workers no longer on the job for another eight months. Federal worker labor unions sued over the plan, arguing that the administration does not have that authority.

[Kent Covington]

For World I'm Benjamin Eicher and another federal judge has issued a ruling temporarily blocking President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. Trump's order states that being born on U.S. soil does not automatically make someone a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment, regardless of the mother's legal status. GOP Congressman Brian Babin says of that amendment, it has been the most misunderstood, misinterpreted thing I think, in the federal government. It's been around since 1868, the 14th Amendment. And he says of the president's order, what this does is clarify who gets birthright citizenship. But those suing over Trump's order say the Constitution is perfectly clear already that anyone born here is a citizen. District Judge Joseph LaPlante issued a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the executive order. That follows two similar rulings by other federal judges. The White House says it will appeal. The U.S. senate today could confirm Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence. She cleared a major hurdle in the Senate on Monday. Majority Leader John Thune argued on her behalf, highlighting her military experience.

[Mary Reichard]

Ms. Gabbard has been a consumer of intelligence. She knows that good decisions depend on having the best information, and she knows.

[Kent Covington]

That the cost of bad information is measured in lives. Lost. The Senate voted last night to advance Gabbard's nomination to a final confirmation vote this week, possibly as soon as today. But some Washington insiders believe she is the Trump nominee most at risk of losing a final confirmation vote. Multiple Republicans have voiced reservations over things like her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says rebuilding sections of Interstate 40 and North Carolina, damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene is a massive undertaking. Portions of the highway crumbled into the raging torrents below last September, and you have river on the other. And when you see the slides of rock, the mountain fall back into the river. It becomes very complicated to engineer your way back to build a road like this, he says it will take billions of dollars and lots of time. But he says the Transportation Department is partnering with the Forest Service to source local rock to rebuild the roadbed. We can get access to rock that'll.

[Will Inboden]

Drive down the cost and the timeframe.

[Kent Covington]

For which it'll take to rebuild this road. And that rock, he said, is located just over a mile away, whereas normally the materials would be trucked in from 20 to 50 miles away. I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, U.S. interests in rebuilding Gaza, plus, watching out for rogue asteroids. This IS THE WORLD and everything in it.

[Nick Eicher]

It's Tuesday, the 11th of February. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the WORLD and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Nick Eicher.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Up first, the future of Gaza. Three weeks into a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Gazans are returning to what's left of their homes. The war is not over, but President Trump is already floating a vision for rebuilding here. He is speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

[Mike Waltz]

I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza.

[Nick Eicher]

The president's proposal is for the US to take the lead in clearing the wreckage and unexploded ordnance while Palestinians temporarily relocate to Egypt or Jordan. Israel's neighbors rejected the plan, but U.S. national Security Advisor Mike Waltz told NBC, Something's gotta give.

[Mike Waltz]

You can't make this the Paris of the Mediterranean like Beirut was back in the 70s and give these people a better life. If you've got 1.8 million people living in absolute squalor in mountains and mountains and mountains of debris. So for anyone, the media included, that doesn't like what he is proposing, come to us with a better plan.

[Nick Eicher]

Joining us now, Will Inboden. He's a former member of the National Security Council staff and now he teaches at the University of Florida.

[Mary Reichard]

Will, good morning.

[Mike Waltz]

Good morning, Mary. Great to be with you.

[Mary Reichard]

Since day one, it seems that President Trump's strategy has been to put a seemingly outrageous bid on the table when his actual goal is really something else. You know, the art of the deal methodology. I'm thinking about the tariffs on Mexico and Canada aimed at border security improvements, for example. What do you think his goals really might be for Gaza?

[Mike Waltz]

I think you may be onto something, that this is a classic Trump disruptive move of toss out a provocative idea that is not what most of the conventional wisdom is thinking about. But with that Idea, he is highlighting some of the real problems with Gaza and the opportunities. Right. The problems are decades of failed governance. Nothing has worked there very well before, certainly for a better life for the Palestinian people or for reigning in Hamas. And also he's reminded us that it is oceanfront property. It actually is, just in terms of the real estate geography, a fairly desirable location with a lot of potential. I personally think that, you know, an American massive occupation and reconstruction effort there would not be a good idea. So I hope the president doesn't actually follow through on that. But I suspect that what he might be doing is trying to change the paradigm and remind other key countries in the region that, hey, everything that we've tried in the past in Gaza has failed. So let's think outside the box, and hopefully this is a gambit to get other countries in the region, the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Jordanians, the Egyptians, you know, some of the friendlier Arab states, to step up and do a lot more and to envision a better life for Gaza that provides opportunity for the peaceful Palestinian people who are there, while preventing any return to power in any way, shape or form of Hamas. And so I hope that's the end state that he wants to get to. I don't think it's going to be a massive, you know, American stabilization and reconstruction effort. I think that we're through those things for now.

[Mary Reichard]

Just to put a fine point on what you just said, how does all this square with Trump's previous comments? That the US Is getting out of these forever war and that we won't put our own troops on the ground?

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, exactly. That's why I suspect this may be more of a provocation on his part than a really serious proposal. Precisely because everything else we've seen of him is he wants to reduce the American footprint in the Middle east. He wants to reduce the American presence there and certainly not take on a massive new obligation.

[Mary Reichard]

Well, let's talk about the Arab response to Trump's idea. America's partners in Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have rejected it out of hand, even though Arab nations in the past took in Palestinians for resettlement. They haven't this time around. Why is that?

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, well, this has been a problem going back decades to when, you know, the terrorist Yasser Arafat was leading the Palestinian cause. Right. The Palestinian Liberation Organization, and no other country in the region wanted them. You know, wherever Arafat and his minions were going, whether it was Jordan or whether it was Lebanon, they were supporting terrorism. They were undermining the Local governments, they were picking fights with Israel. They were sometimes attacking Americans. They eventually got expelled to Tunisia. And so it has been a problem for the region. I do think other regional states do need to step up, have failed in the past to provide a better pathway and opportunity and support for the Palestinians displaced population. So they do need to do more. But it's also incumbent on the Palestinians to take some responsibility for building a better future for themselves also and showing that they are committed to selecting leaders who don't support terrorism, who accept Israel's right to exist, exist, who are committed to, you know, a peaceful pathway of opportunity and growth. So the failure, the failures that the Palestinian people have experienced are massive. There's plenty of blame to go around, but instead of more finger pointing, we need to, you know, see them step up and start offering some solutions.

[Mary Reichard]

Another thing I want to speak to you about is this past Wednesday, President Trump expressed interest in negotiating a new nuclear deal with Iran. He pulled the US out of the 2015 deal that President Barack Obama had negotiated, but now he's saying the US could negotiate a verified deal to keep Tehran from developing atomic weapons. And at the same time, Trump revived his maximum pressure campaign of sanctions against the regime. What's the strategy there?

[Mike Waltz]

Again, I think this, it's a, you know, potentially a very effective strategy of increasing pressure on Iran to create better circumstances, to negotiate from a position of strength and hopefully, you know, get a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear program. It's notable that President Trump issued National Security Presidential memorandum number two focused on Iran. I say it's notable because that was the second one he issued. The first one was just about how to organize his national security system. And so this is the first one he did focused on any particular country. It tells us what a priority Iran is for him in addressing Iran's support for terrorism and for, and its nuclear weapons program. And, you know, the previous Trump strategy, I think, was pretty successful about increasing that pressure on Iran. But if we do that again, this time, hopefully it could also lead towards negotiating from a position of strength and possibly a verifiable deal. I will say I'm very skeptical that Tehran, that, you know, Ayatollah Khamenei and the revolutionary government there would be willing to do one. You know, the reason they signed the deal with the Obama administration was because it had such good terms for Tehran, didn't have intrusive verifications and inspections that it did allow them still to have a pathway, you know, delayed and slowed a little bit, but still a pathway eventually to a nuclear weapon, and they are a lot closer to one now. And it's very worrisome. And I know that Israel doesn't want to see that, the United States doesn't want to see that. And, you know, the new NSPM also includes a credible threat of military force. And Iran needs to know that that's a real possibility. And hopefully that will be enough to induce them to come to the negotiating table.

[Mary Reichard]

Final question here. Will President Trump has done a lot since taking office. Breathless pace Any foreign policy actions that interest you in particular that we've not talked about today?

[Mike Waltz]

You know, I will say, since I'm a real China hawk, I'm obviously very concerned about the threat from the People's Republic of China to the United States and to our allies and our interests. It's still not clear what his China policy or strategy is going to be. I know he's obviously looking at imposing some more tariffs on China, which I would certainly support. But I'm also worried about what seems to be him stepping away from support for democracy and religious freedom and human rights in China. We got a lot of Chinese Christians there who want more support and encouragement from the United States as they just want to be able to worship freely and see a better government from themselves. And so I'm watching that space carefully to see where President Trump comes out on our military balance with China, the overall competition with China and then support for religious freedom and human rights there.

[Mary Reichard]

Will Inboden is a former member of the National Security Council staff and a professor at the University of Florida. Will, thanks so much for your time.

[Mike Waltz]

Thanks, Mary. Great to be with you as always.

[Nick Eicher]

Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, Immigration enforcement protesters in Los Angeles and Phoenix taking to the streets last week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out raids to round up immigrants who entered the country illegally.

[Mike Waltz]

No more heights. No more heights.

[Mary Reichard]

But some immigrants now living with legal status in the US Believe the problem is found somewhere else. World's Paul Butler has the story.

[Will Inboden]

I want to have a better life.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Juvenal Gonzalez was 16 when he first tried crossing into the United States looking for work in the 1980s.

[Will Inboden]

I tried like six or seven times.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Each time Border Patrol caught him and returned him to Mexico until the day he got through undetected and worked his way to the fields of Washington State.

[Will Inboden]

I knew that I was illegal and I knew that if they cut me, they're going to return me. So when I start working, I always have something, cash in my pocket.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The center for Migration Studies estimates nearly 12 million people were living in the country illegally as of July 2023. Some, like Gonzalez, enter the country hoping to avoid getting caught by Customs and Border Patrol. Others enter the country on tourist visas and apply for residency.

[Kent Covington]

We came to be with one of my mom's family members here in the.

[Benjamin Eicher]

US Marcos Gutierrez came to the United States from Panama when he was 10 years old. Gutierrez and his family worked hard while their application was being reviewed and they could relate to the passage in Matthew chapter 6 about God providing for the birds of the field.

[Kent Covington]

It definitely felt like he was providing for us and giving us our daily.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Bread, but it felt like a place.

[Kent Covington]

Of vulnerability and instability, of kind of constant trust in God to take care of us.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The family's tourist visa expired long before they found out whether they would be approved for residency.

[Kent Covington]

And so we were here with no legal status. It took about 20 years before they let us know that the visa wasn't approved.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Problems with the legal immigration system have led many to try a faster path claiming asylum. The asylum program exists to give people escaping political or religious persecution a pathway to safety.

[Will Inboden]

When I see the Russian people leaving Russia because of the bomb and all the war that is going on, and also the Afghanistan people living in Afghanistan because they've been persecuted because of their faith, I said, this is the kind of people that need asylum.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The problem now is that thousands of immigrants in search of economic opportunity and a better life are also claiming asylum, and that's clogging the system.

[Will Inboden]

There's only five things that make the person qualify for asylum, and persecution and fear and all that. But being poor is not one of them.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Juvenal Gonzalez lived in fear of being deported until 1986, when President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The law granted amnesty and residency to migrant farm workers and their families who could prove that they'd been working in the fields for at least 90 days.

[Kent Covington]

Future generations of Americans will be thankful.

[Benjamin Eicher]

For our efforts to humanely regain control.

[Kent Covington]

Of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people, American citizenship.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Gonzalez applied for a one year work permit and renewed it year after year.

[Will Inboden]

Then later I applied for the citizenship.

[Benjamin Eicher]

He was naturalized in 2003. Now he's a pastor in North Carolina and also runs a ministry hosting asylum seekers in a home that he owns in Tijuana, Mexico, where families applying for asylum could stay in the house while waiting for their interviews with custom and Border Patrol agents at ports of entry. Then came inauguration day after January 20th.

[Will Inboden]

Every CBP1 appointment and the CBP1 application, it got cancelled.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The asylum program remains on hold along with the refugee resettlement program. Gonzalez says it makes sense that parents want to find a better life for their families. But claiming asylum just because it's on the table, in his words, is wrong.

[Will Inboden]

I think that a lot of people abuse the program and United States is right, say, hey, we need to be careful. Who do we give the asylum application and the status?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Meanwhile, many of those in the country illegally are at risk of being deported. Border czar Tom Homan has said that the administration will prioritize catching and removing dangerous criminals, but critics warn that the net will likely be much wider. Gonzalez says immigrants working and living in the US Illegally should not be surprised.

[Will Inboden]

If we're not legal, if we don't have visa, then we're going to pay a price.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Marcos Gutierrez is concerned that uprooting families who are investing their skills and lives in the United States will have unintended consequences for this country.

[Kent Covington]

We pay taxes like we're contributing to the economy. We're doing essential jobs that a lot of people are not willing to do.

[Benjamin Eicher]

That includes jobs in agriculture and construction. Though the government denied Gutierrez's family a visa, he was able to live and work in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He married and eventually became a citizen in 2021. Gutierrez says the ideal would be for Congress to fix the immigration system in order to process visa applications much faster than the 20 years his family experienced.

[Kent Covington]

But at the same time, I do think if I was to be sent back then I would have thought this is the right thing because I broke the law.

[Benjamin Eicher]

For world, I'm Paul Butler.

[Kent Covington]

Additionally, additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact.

[Mike Waltz]

Network, where entrepreneurs can discover faith aligned funding opportunities. [e-mail].

[Nick Eicher]

You know, it's never too early to start thinking about spring, he says, staring down half a foot of snow in the forecast for tomorrow. So let us think warm thoughts like the 2025 International Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia, where organizers are gearing up to toot their own kazoos in a Guinness World Record attempt. They're hoping to shatter the record by gathering 5,191 kazooists.

[Mary Reichard]

Is that even a word?

[Nick Eicher]

It ought to be. In any event, the standing record is 5,190. That was set in London back in 2011.

[Mike Waltz]

It's a very nice atmosphere.

[Benjamin Eicher]

There's a bit of a buzz.

[Nick Eicher]

I see what you did there. Save the date March 28th. If you want in, it's five bucks to join, proceeds go to charity. But if you plan to be within spitting distance, well, consider yourself warned.

[Mike Waltz]

I was in the front row, unfortunately, which meant that quite a lot of spittle comes out of the bottom of.

[Nick Eicher]

The kazoo and might want to pack a poncho. It's the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichard]

Today is Tuesday, February 11th. Thank you for turning to world Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Mary Reichard.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Next up on the world and everything in it, hunting asteroids. Last month, NASA announced it found an asteroid with the potential to hit Earth in the year 2032 and do some serious damage. It's just a 1% chance, but between the size and likelihood of impact, the asteroid is at the top of NASA's watch list.

[Mary Reichard]

The space agency spotted it using the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Yes, that is its technical name, Very Large Telescope. And they'll track it as it moves away from the Earth and around the sun. World's Mary Muncie talked to an astronomer who's trying to find these asteroids and head off disaster. She's out sick today. So Kristen Flavin has the story.

[Frank Marchese]

In 2004, Frank Marchese had just started a job as a researcher observing the stars in California. But on Christmas Eve morning, Marchese and his wife were at home painting their kitchen. Marchese was also scrolling through an email chain with amateur astronomers.

[Will Inboden]

Some subject line was a threat asteroid potentially impacting our planet, blah, blah, blah. So I said, okay, this is something serious, let's have a look.

[Frank Marchese]

The asteroid was big. Big enough to destroy a city and leave the rest of the world with repercussions. He explained it to his wife, but told her not to worry, that it probably wouldn't happen.

[Will Inboden]

It is a very weird feeling when you are one of the few hundred people on this planet that have the idea that a warning that something that big could happen.

[Frank Marchese]

But he couldn't do anything about it. So they kept painting their kitchen.

[Will Inboden]

It's good I waited because two hours later, there was no more impact.

[Frank Marchese]

Earth was safe for now. But it got Marchese thinking.

[Will Inboden]

I used to make fun of people who were looking for asteroids, to be very honest with you, and saying, oh, this will very unlikely to happen.

[Frank Marchese]

But it's not that unlikely. Our planet and the moon show signs of impact from large asteroids. And NASA estimates a football field sized asteroid hits earth about every 2,000 years. So Marchese wanted to know about the system for detecting them. It turns out NASA and other space research organizations have telescopes pointing at the sky from all over the world, but they're hard to access.

[Will Inboden]

I mean, you cannot go on the top of a mountain and say, hey, there is an asteroid. It's going to impact our planet. Observe it. This is not going to happen.

[Frank Marchese]

You need a proposal, a research organization and a structure. And you only get a few nights of observation a year, so it's not enough.

[Will Inboden]

So I started using smaller telescopes.

[Frank Marchese]

And then in 2013, a blinding flash.

[Mike Waltz]

Of light streaking across the sky.

[Frank Marchese]

And then an asteroid hit. Sholyabinsk, Russia, a city with a population of about a million.

[Mary Reichard]

More than 1,000 people were injured.

[Will Inboden]

Imagine the same would have happened above cities like New York, Washington, D.C. paris, Bruxell, and so on.

[Frank Marchese]

They needed an early warning system. Marchese went through a couple different strategies before landing on one in 2017. Put telescopes in the hands of amateur astronomers and then link their data with an algorithm that can hunt for asteroids. Sifting through other people's findings is most of what he does these days.

[Will Inboden]

The network has 15,000 telescopes available. Now we have 3,000 citizen astronomers actively doing observations.

[Frank Marchese]

There are just a few dark spots left in their network, and the system is paying off. Last year, they detected an asteroid that would enter the atmosphere near Berlin. Martis messaged a friend who lives there.

[Will Inboden]

It was midnight, and I told him, hey, look up toward the West. At 1:32am tonight, you will see a meteor.

[Frank Marchese]

Sure enough, the video shows a fireball in the atmosphere. That asteroid was small and burned up before it hit the ground. But what happens if they detect one that could do major damage? First, astronomers calculate the trajectory.

[Will Inboden]

If we extrapolate this, and it will happen in 10, 20, 30 years, we have time to think about it and.

[Frank Marchese]

Possibly do something about it.

[Mary Reichard]

Oh, wow.

[Frank Marchese]

In 2022, NASA tested whether it's possible to change the trajectory of an asteroid by shooting something at it. Three, two, one.

[Mike Waltz]

Oh, wow.

[Benjamin Eicher]

And we have impact.

[Frank Marchese]

It worked. But not every astronomer thinks nudging an asteroid is a good idea.

[Mike Waltz]

You better do it early rather than late.

[Frank Marchese]

Danny Faulkner is an astronomer with answers in Genesis. He says tracking asteroids is difficult, and knowing the asteroid's trajectory far enough in advance to change it may not be possible.

[Mike Waltz]

It may turn out you might nudge.

[Danny Faulkner]

It to collide with us.

[Mike Waltz]

So it's a real problem either way.

[Frank Marchese]

Depending on how far in advance we know about an asteroid, it might be possible to evacuate the area where it's going to hit or at least tell people to go into their basements or a storm shelter to avoid the shockwave.

[Danny Faulkner]

I think it comes back to God's providence.

[Mike Waltz]

If God doesn't want us to be.

[Danny Faulkner]

Wiped out by an asteroid, it's not going to happen. If he does, it's going to happen either way. We don't have much say so in.

[Frank Marchese]

The matter, but Faulkner says it's honoring to observe and try to understand creation.

[Mike Waltz]

We have direct revelation coming from the Lord about what we need to know.

[Danny Faulkner]

But you know, that doesn't tell us. The Bible doesn't tell us everything that.

[Mike Waltz]

We may want to know.

[Danny Faulkner]

The Bible doesn't tell us what shape the earth is. And so how can we find that out? Well, we can find it out by studying the creation around us.

[Frank Marchese]

Marchese isn't religious, but his network is about more than planetary defense.

[Will Inboden]

Having people going outside, chatting with their friends, sharing a moment around a telescope, looking at the sky, talking about big questions like are we alone? Why are we here? It's way more valuable for humanity than looking at social media.

[Frank Marchese]

His work has changed from a one man job to a thousand man job. Everyone working toward a goal together.

[Will Inboden]

It was 10. Have great challenges and can overcome those challenges. And each of us at our level by taking our telescope outside to observe an event from a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, we can contribute to that.

[Frank Marchese]

For World I'm Kristin Flavin.

[Mike Waltz]

SA.

[Nick Eicher]

Today is Tuesday, February 11th. Good morning, this is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Nick Iker.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm mary reichard. On January 20th, the White House announced that President Trump had signed an executive order titled Protecting women from Gender Ideology, Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the federal government. World Opinions contributor Craig Carter says you cannot ignore the creator's design and public backlash for ignoring that is a good sign.

[Danny Faulkner]

We've been told that there are anywhere from 11 to more than 263 genders. We've been assured by so called experts that gender is so fluid that it cannot be pinned down. A person's gender tomorrow may be different than it was yesterday, but President Donald J. Trump begs to differ and he signed an executive order to prove it. The vast majority of Americans apparently agree with him. We live in postmodern times when everything once thought solid is now liquid. Individual choice and personal autonomy are of supreme value. Consent is the only limit. Be who you really are. In these heady days of self invention, even our gender is up for grabs. The beckoning frontier is transhumanism and cyborgs in pursuit of immortality. We seek to merge with the machine and evolve. If naturalistic evolution can turn chemicals into living cells. Why can't mortal life become immortal? Compared to that idea, man becoming woman seems like a rather minor step until you bump into natural law. For most of the history of Western civilization, philosophers and lawyers have believed and debated natural law as integral to a just legal system. Positive law must be based on natural law to have legitimacy. Natural law provides a basis for challenging positive laws deemed unjust. If you can prove that a law contradicts the natural law, you have a case for challenging it. For centuries, our ancestors took natural law seriously because they saw nature as created with a purpose by a personal God. When you start from that premise, natural law seems to be an obvious implication. But what happens when you start from nature as the product of accidental evolution? What if the way things are is just random rather than designed? What if we currently occupy a way station on a long and winding road to immortal cyborgs? Natural law has something to say. At this moment, perhaps it may surprise you to learn that I believe that we can know with absolute certainty that society will embrace natural law in general and the fact of two sexes in particular. What makes me so sure? Because it is based on reality. Reality just is. It does not change because you will it to do so, or because you took a vote on it. It just is. A society that twists it too far, finds that it breaks and things collapse. Humans are flexible and adaptable, but not infinitely malleable. If we go too far with our fantasies, we crash into the rock of reality and it hurts. A society that refuses to do business with reality will crash and burn. Many cultures throughout human history have already done so, and more will do so in the future. Human nature remains constant, sinful. Human nature can be meliorated up to certain limits. But delusions of utopia or the perfectibility of human nature inevitably turn out to be dystopian, destructive, or both. For human beings, existing in two sexes is part of the permanent, unchanging truth about human nature. A society that pretends otherwise will eventually become so dysfunctional that it will fall apart and be replaced by one that recognizes biological and psychological reality. Just look around. That's why I can be so certain. The only issue to be decided is whether our society will be wise enough to recognize its need to bow to reality before it is too late. Will we dash ourselves on the rocks and sink the ship of state? Or will we drop anchor in the sea of ancient wisdom? In time, we shall see. I'm Craig Carter.

[Nick Eicher]

Tomorrow the Depart department of Government efficiency. Many are cheering it on as it slashes budgets and exposes waste. But what is its legal authority? We'll explore that question on Washington Wednesday. And women supporting the Make America Healthy Again movement. That and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Iger.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichert. World's Harrison Waters wrote our immigration story today with reporting assistance from Addie Offerens and freelance freelancer Carlos Paez. 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 records that after Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy to that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord. Verses 9 through 11 of Luke, chapter 2 go now in grace and peace.