2.19.26 AI’s expanding reach and your digital footprint, the fathers’ involvement and his children’s health, and passing down much more than the farm

Summary

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Podcast Summary

The World and Everything In It | Episode Airdate: February 19, 2026

Theme Overview:
This episode explores the expanding reach of artificial intelligence into daily life and the lasting implications for personal privacy, the critical but often overlooked influence of fathers on children's long-term physical health, and the generational values embodied in the work ethic of family farms. Additionally, commentator Cal Thomas reflects on the legacy of Jesse Jackson.

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Segment 1: AI’s Expanding Reach and Your Digital Footprint

Key Discussion Points

• New AI features and privacy questions
  • Amazon’s Ring introduces “Search Party,” an AI-powered lost dog finder using networked cameras. Public response is mixed, with concerns about surveillance and data use ([07:02]-[07:44]).
  • Mary Muncie reports on how AI tools retain and utilize personal data, raising the issue of data permanence and ownership.
• AI-Driven Advertising
  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT starts testing context-targeted ads, prompting a satirical response from competitor Anthropic ([08:33]-[09:00]).
  • OpenAI’s Asad Awan assures listeners about visual separation between answers and ads, and claims advertisers can’t see user data ([09:00]-[09:17]).
• Long-Term Data Risks
  • Todd Jacobs of The Theia Institute explains that individually innocuous data points can become intrusive when aggregated by powerful AI systems ([09:52]-[10:06]).
  • Data sold between companies can have unpredictable, lasting effects. Once shared, it's largely out of users' control.
  • Professor Stan Matwin notes company mergers could transfer data to less responsible owners, amplifying privacy risks ([11:08]-[11:20]).
• Data Persistence and Personal Security
  • Tools like the Wayback Machine can keep deleted data accessible indefinitely (“barring their data center being hit by a meteor, largely forever.” – Mark Feinberg, [11:45]).
  • Best practices: Limit sharing sensitive information online, review privacy settings, and be selective about app permissions.
• Bottom Line
  • Jacobs: “We think about this in terms of trade offs, right? What are you willing to give up in exchange for additional privacy?” ([12:03])
  • Protect privacy by proactively setting limits and regularly checking what you’ve agreed to share.

Notable Quotes

• “It's the ability to tie these seemingly unconnected pieces of information together across the whole spectrum of your life that is invasive of your privacy.”
  – Todd Jacobs ([09:52])
• “Even if it's been deleted elsewhere, it is ultimately accessible. And barring their data center being hit by a meteor, largely forever.”
  – Mark Feinberg ([11:45])
• “Really, we need to take a whole family approach and try to support the family as a whole and have mothers and fathers work together.”
  – Mark Feinberg ([18:46]; discussed further in next section)

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Segment 2: Father's Involvement and Children's Long-Term Health

Key Discussion Points

• Penn State Study Findings
  • Nearly 300 families were studied to assess how early co-parenting interactions affected children's physical health years later ([13:49]-[16:50]).
  • Videotaped observations of parents playing with their young children provided key data.
• Surprising Results
  • Children whose fathers were conflictual or withdrawn at age 2 showed significantly higher biological risk for future health issues (including cardiovascular disease and diabetes) at age 9 ([16:12]-[16:50]).
  • The same correlation was not found for mothers’ conflictual behavior.
• Why Fathers Matter
  • Possible mechanism: Fathers’ roles in “rough and tumble play” help children learn to self-regulate excitement and social behaviors ([16:55]-[17:59]).
  • Family stress has measurable long-term biological impacts, making early prevention and positive family dynamics crucial ([18:03]-[18:37]).
• Challenging Traditional Assumptions
  • Feinberg points out that research and services have long focused only on mothers, often to their detriment. A whole-family strategy is needed for the benefit of children ([18:46]-[19:16]).

Notable Quotes

• “The really fascinating piece that we found was that those co parenting interactions when fathers in particular were conflictual or withdrawn from the mother, we found that those children seven years later showed higher biological risk for poor outcomes, for poor cardiovascular outcomes, for pre diabetes and diabetes.”
  – Mark Feinberg ([16:12])
• “What surprised us is that we now know that early family interaction predicts long term health outcomes or risk for health outcomes.”
  – Mark Feinberg ([18:03])

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Segment 3: Passing Down More Than the Farm – Generational Work Ethic

Key Discussion Points

• Family Farms and Values Transmission
  • Profile of Phil Rheingans (Idaho) and David Bentram (Pennsylvania), both deeply committed to passing down farming skills—and character—across generations ([21:55]-[25:12]).
  • Emphasis on gentle livestock for safety; farm chores teach discipline and responsibility.
• Cultural Shifts in Labor
  • Fewer local workers willing to do farm labor; migration and changing expectations noted ([23:36]-[24:02]).
  • “If you’ve escaped suffering your whole life, certain aspects of your character are unlikely to come to full bloom.” – Phil Rheingans ([24:32])
• Family, Not Just Economy
  • Bentram highlights that farming isn’t just work—it’s a way of life and a source of meaningful family connection.
  • As farmers age (average age: 58), concern grows that both farms and their associated values may vanish ([26:25]-[26:35]).
• Legacy of Character
  • “At the end of the day, it's about a family and about raising kids and it's about passing on these things that I think are important in terms of character development.”
    – Ryan Ganz ([26:35])

Memorable Moments

• The story of a steer named Lincoln, a favorite of the kids, poignantly illustrates both the affection and the realities of farm life ([26:04]-[26:13]).

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Segment 4: Cal Thomas on the Legacy of Jesse Jackson

Key Discussion Points

• Reverend Jackson Remembered
  • Jackson: Orator, civil rights leader, political figure, and two-time presidential candidate ([27:37]-[29:51]).
  • Praised for charisma and for moments like negotiating the release of Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria ([28:55]-[29:14]).
• Complicated Legacy
  • Criticized for sometimes seeking the spotlight, yet credited for messages of hope and dignity, especially for Black Americans.
  • “I am black, beautiful, proud. I must be respected. I must be protected.” – Jesse Jackson, quoted ([29:51])
  • Thomas concludes: “Every human being is somebody because every human being is made in the image of God ... People long to be told they matter.” ([30:10]-[30:45])

Notable Quotes

• “Jackson was one of the last great orators shaped by the civil rights era … He could lift a crowd with rhythm and conviction.”
  – Cal Thomas ([27:37])
• “Every human being is somebody because every human being is made in the image of God … People long to be told they matter.”
  – Cal Thomas ([30:10]-[30:45])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• AI and Privacy: [06:17] – [13:06]
• Fathers and Health Study: [13:06] – [19:27]
• Family Farms & Culture: [21:29] – [26:48]
• Jesse Jackson Legacy (Cal Thomas): [27:19] – [30:45]

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Podcast Tone

The episode is thoughtful and informative, balancing technical exploration with personal narrative and value-based reflection. The speakers emphasize practical advice and cultural analysis from a biblical worldview, with empathy and a measure of caution regarding technology and social change.

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For listeners:
This episode offers a cohesive exploration of present-day concerns around data privacy, the deep impact family dynamics have on health, and the enduring importance of character and tradition. It blends expert interviews, personal stories, and thoughtful commentary—making it valuable for anyone interested in technology, parenting, and American cultural trends.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. Smarter AI tools and new questions about who really owns your information.

[Mark Feinberg]

It is accessible and barring their data center being hit by a meteor, largely forever.

[Nick Eicher]

Also today, new research finds a father's role may shape his child's long term heart health. Later, how family farms showcase the value of hard work over generations.

[Phil Rheingans]

It's about passing on these things that I think are important in terms of character development.

[Nick Eicher]

And world commentator Cal Thomas on the complicated legacy of Jesse Jackson.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday, February 19th. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Iger.

[Cal Thomas]

Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

Democrats and Republicans remain far apart as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security rolls into day six. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

[Mark Feinberg]

We've not seen any high level effort coming from the president or from the House or Senate Republican leaders. We have no idea where they're at.

[Kent Covington]

Democrats continue to demand changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement before they'll support funding for dhs. The list of demands includes requiring agents to get warrants in more situations, wear body cameras and identify themselves. But White House press secretary Caroline Levitt.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Told reporters last night they sent over a counter proposal that frankly was very unserious and we hope they get serious.

[Todd Jacobs]

Very soon because Americans are going to.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Be impacted by this.

[Kent Covington]

Homeland Security employees have one more week before payday when essential workers like TSA agents and Coast Guard personnel will be asked to work without receiving their normal paychecks for the time being. Caroline Levitt also weighed in on U. S. Brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. She said once again that ending that war is a top priority of President Trump.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

But I think the president views this entire situation as very unfair, not just for Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives, but also for the American.

[Todd Jacobs]

People and the American taxpayer who were.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Footing the bill for this war effort before President Trump put a stop to it.

[Kent Covington]

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine wrapped up the second round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday. Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustam Umarov said the two sides are making progress.

[Mark Feinberg]

The next step is to achieve the necessary level of consensus to submit the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents. Our task is to prepare a practical, not merely formal, foundation for this.

[Kent Covington]

The head of Russia's delegation said the talks in Geneva were difficult but businesslike. The White House says both sides plan to schedule more talks in the near future. Officials in California say the search for a missing skier is now a recovery operation rather than a rescue mission. That comes after eight people were already confirmed dead after they were buried by an avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday. Officials were able to rescue six of the skiers. Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon said. Two of them were taken to an area hospital after being carried two miles to a search party's snowmobile.

[Mark Feinberg]

Of the two that were injured, one.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Individual was stabilized last night and released. One is still being treated at the hospital. I've been told both subjects are non life threatening injuries.

[Kent Covington]

Moon said that the 15 person group was comprised of nine women and six men and included several contracted ski guides. It's been described as one of the deadliest avalanches ever in California. The United States is sending more high tech missile systems to the Philippines in response to Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. World's Benjamin Eicker has more.

[Mark Feinberg]

The US and the Philippines announced joint security plans this year that include deployments of US Cutting edge missile and unmanned systems. The US has already deployed a mid range missile system called the Typhoon and it sent an anti ship missile launcher to the northern Philippines last year and Beijing is not happy about it. China has called in the Philippines to withdraw the missile launchers, but officials led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Have rejected that demand. The latest deployment plans come as the two allies again condemned what they called China's illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions in the region. For World I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Kent Covington]

Outside of a Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Mr. Zuckerberg did not have purposely designed.

[Todd Jacobs]

The platform to harm children.

[Kent Covington]

Reporters fired questions at Mark Zone Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, which owns Instagram. He did not respond. Inside the courtroom, Zuckerberg sparred with opposing lawyers who alleged that his company knowingly sacrificed the mental health and safety of underage users in pursuit of profit. Juliana Arnold, founding member of the group Parents Rise, is also a plaintiff suing social media companies after the death of her daughter Coco. She accused Zuckerberg of not telling the truth.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

It does not match any of the internal documents that we are now seeing and he's not able to answer those questions now either.

[Mary Reichert]

And so he's fumbling over them and.

[Todd Jacobs]

We just see that as a sign.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Of, you know, he knew perfectly well what was going on.

[Kent Covington]

Meta and YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case after TikTok and Snapchat settled. Meta and YouTube insist their platforms were not designed to addict or harm kids, highlighting under 13 bans and safety features. I'm Kent Covington and straight ahead, more powerful AI tools bring increased data, data privacy concerns, plus the health benefits of having an involved father. This is the World and Everything In It.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday 19th February, so glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good Mary I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. First up, artificial intelligence and its long memory. The power and popularity of AI has skyrocketed in recent months, and as these tools become more a part of daily life, the information you share may last longer than you think.

[Mary Reichert]

World's Mary Muncie reports.

[Todd Jacobs]

This month, Amazon's home security service Ring expanded its ability to search for lost dogs to most users in the U.S. the feature, called Search Party, uses AI to track lost dogs. The company announced it in a Super bowl ad.

[Mark Feinberg]

This is Milo Pets are family, but every year 10 million go missing, and the way we look for them hasn't changed in years. Until now. One post of a dog's photo in the Ring app starts outdoor cameras looking for a match.

[Todd Jacobs]

The backlash on social media was swift and full of references to George Orwell's 1984 questioning whether the feature would really only be used to track dogs. I know what you're thinking.

[Phil Rheingans]

No, it's not the same thing as the book.

[Mark Feinberg]

This one's only for dogs because we said it was. What if we could make finding one lost dog require the computational power of a small, dictator led nation state?

[Todd Jacobs]

The company also had plans to streamline a feature that allows police to request video footage from Ring users by partner with Flock, a company that makes license plate readers. But this week the company's canceled that partnership. While Rings still has a limited ability to share video with law enforcement, and the dog search feature is still active, both can be disabled. ChatGPT has also faced recent criticism over data privacy. This month, the model's owner, OpenAI, began testing targeted ads, the company says in free and go accounts. Ads for items or services related to a user's conversations with ChatGPT will start appearing at the bottom of an answer. Competitor Anthropic parodied that in an ad that begins with a man asking for a workout plan for a six pack.

[Mark Feinberg]

Let me personalize this for you. Let's start with your age, weight and height. Whenever you're ready.

[Phil Rheingans]

5723 years old 140 pounds Got it.

[Mark Feinberg]

I'll create a plan that focuses on aesthetic strength training. But confidence isn't just built in the gym. Try Step Boost Max the insoles that add one vertical inch of height and.

[Kent Covington]

Help short king stand tall.

[Todd Jacobs]

OpenAI's chief AD officer, Asad Awan, says they have some safeguards to prevent that sort of scenario.

[Mark Feinberg]

Number one, the answers need to be independent from the ads, both visually but also in how the models are trained and how the system works so that you can always trust the answer.

[Todd Jacobs]

Awan says OpenAI tailors the ad to the conversation and that advertisers themselves have no access to users chats. So just what can AI companies do with the data that you give them? And how can you protect yourself as new technologies emerge? Todd Jacobs is the executive director of the Theia Institute, a think tank studying AI. He says the small piece of information that you give one website here or ask ChatGPT about there are likely harmless individually.

[Mark Feinberg]

It's the ability to tie these seemingly unconnected pieces of information together across the whole spectrum of your life that is invasive of your privacy.

[Todd Jacobs]

For example, say you bought a book on starting a business and then you bought an all in one kit for carpentry online. Then you start seeing ads about small business loans. That means the book and carpentry websites likely sold your data to another company, and that company sold it to their partners and so on.

[Mark Feinberg]

On some level, that is something that could be good for people, but it's done in a way that ensures that you actually have almost no control over your data.

[Todd Jacobs]

The same goes for large language models like ChatGPT. Once you put information in there, that company owns it, whether that's your phone number and address at the top of your resume or the family photo that you want to clean up. That may not be a big problem.

[Mark Feinberg]

Now, but today it's owned by Amazon.

[Cal Thomas]

But maybe in five years Amazon is bought by Nvidia.

[Todd Jacobs]

Stan Matwin is a professor emeritus of computer science at Dalhousie University.

[Cal Thomas]

The ownership of the data may change, and it may go from an organization that, like Amazon, I believe, uses it responsibly to somebody who's much less responsible and will exploit every aspect of it.

[Todd Jacobs]

There are settings on just about every platform that tell a company how to use your data, but generally the default settings give the most information and freedom to the company. And that information generally doesn't go away without a request to delete it. You can check what information is out there about you using a tool like the Wayback Machine, which stores Internet pages in a static form.

[Mark Feinberg]

Even if it's been deleted elsewhere, it is ultimately accessible. And barring their data center being hit by a meteor, largely forever.

[Todd Jacobs]

But ultimately, Jacobs says most people need to be cautious not paranoid.

[Mark Feinberg]

We think about this in terms of trade offs, right? What are you willing to give up in exchange for additional privacy?

[Todd Jacobs]

The answer may be using a more secure browser that doesn't run your favorite video game or not downloading the latest app because it asks for permission to things it has no business being in, like a photo app asking for access to your music library. Jacobs says the best way to protect your privacy is by not putting sensitive information on the Internet anywhere, especially in a large language model. The Federal Trade Commission considers quietly changing a privacy policy to be a deceptive trade practice, meaning generally companies will notify you. So, Jacobs says, make sure you check the right boxes and skim privacy permissions the first time and every time you're prompted to reporting for world, I'm Mary Muncie.

[Mary Reichert]

Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, the science behind dads and healthy children. For decades, studies have shown that children who are raised by married biological parents have a number of advantages. They tend to do better in school, are less likely to live in poverty, and are less likely to drink or do drugs.

[Nick Eicher]

A new study suggests a father's involvement may influence more than behavior or school performance. Researchers say it could shape a child's physical health. Years later, a team of researchers at Penn State published the findings in the journal Health Psychology.

[Mary Reichert]

Well, joining us now to talk about it is Mark Feinberg. He's one of those researchers at Penn State. Welcome and thank you for being here.

[Mark Feinberg]

Good morning. Thank you for having me.

[Mary Reichert]

Let's just start with the research itself. Close to 300 families were part of this long term study. So generally speaking, Mark, tell us about who participated in this study, what part of the country they live in, socioeconomic details and so forth.

[Mark Feinberg]

Sure. These were almost as he said, 300 families primarily recruited in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas. And they were two parent families, mostly married, but not all. When we recruited them, they were expecting their first child during mid pregnancy and they were recruited for a randomized trial of a innovative new prevention program focused on helping parents get on the same page and co parent together to coordinate the way that they support each other and raise their child.

[Mary Reichert]

Very interesting. So what family dynamics did you observe and how did you go about that? Were they recorded? Did they fill out a form?

[Mark Feinberg]

We did ask them to fill out questionnaires. But for the study that we published, we looked at the data that we collected videotaping family interactions. We went into their home, we asked them to play with their child for a total of 18 minutes. Were they warm? Were they inclusive? Were the parents Competing with each other, Were they withdrawing from each other? And then we're able to put together a picture of how that family is operating. We did that twice when the children were about one year old and then again when the children were two years old.

[Mary Reichert]

Tell us about the significance of observing these children over various stages of development.

[Mark Feinberg]

The family is changing very rapidly when we're observing them. The children at one year of age, they're barely speaking, they're not so mobile. Parents are playing a very large guiding role in the play interactions. Parents are still getting their feet under them as parents. And then when we videotape them again later at two years old, in this case, the children, as you know, are much more active participants. So the kinds of patterns and family interactions change a lot over that period.

[Mary Reichert]

Mm, makes sense. So let's get to the meat of it. Tell us about the findings.

[Mark Feinberg]

The really fascinating piece that we found was that those co parenting interactions when fathers in particular were conflictual or withdrawn from the mother, we found that those children seven years later showed higher biological risk for poor outcomes, for poor cardiovascular outcomes, for pre diabetes and diabetes. So something, we think something about those stressful family interactions at age 2 predicted child's health several years later.

[Mary Reichert]

That's so interesting. And what about the mothers? Did they have the same impact on the children?

[Mark Feinberg]

These are triadic interactions, mothers, fathers and children. So the mothers were involved in the play interactions. We did not find that mothers who were more conflictual had children who later showed greater health risks. We did not find a link there. We found the link for fathers only. This could be a random finding. It could be that mothers actually do have such an influence. So we don't want to make too much of this yet. So fathers have a bigger influence on the way that children relate to others, their social adjustment, how they get along in the outside world, outside the family. And some researchers have connected that to higher levels of rough and tumble play that fathers engage in and exciting children. That fathers bring children to a state of more excitement where they are excited but they still feel safe. And then they learn how to calm down in social interactions.

[Mary Reichert]

Well, what else surprised you about the findings? Anything.

[Mark Feinberg]

What surprised us is that we now know that early family interaction predicts long term health outcomes or risk for health outcomes. And that stress in the family can have a long term biological impact on children. And that's one really important reason to support families in having healthy supportive relationships. And especially between mothers and fathers, prevention.

[Mary Reichert]

On the front end means a lot. So how does this research challenge long held assumptions about moms and dads and their involvement with their kids.

[Mark Feinberg]

Our basic perspective is that our fields of psychology, family research, intervention, providing services has focused on mothers and only mothers for too long, trying to help mothers be better mothers, which ends up increasing the burden on mothers. Really, we need to take a whole family approach and try to support the family as a whole and have mothers and fathers work together.

[Mary Reichert]

Pennsylvania State University's Mark Feinberg, he's one of those researchers at Penn State who made the discovery and published the findings in the journal Health Psychology. Mark, thanks so much. So interesting.

[Mark Feinberg]

Thanks for having me.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Dort University, where the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Program prepares.

[Mark Feinberg]

Nurses for Christ Centered Family Focused Care.

[Kent Covington]

Dort Eduardo from Rich Haven Camp in North Carolina and Iowa Summer Camp. Registration open [e-mail] and from Pensacola Christian College Academic Excellence Biblical Worldview affordable cost go pcci.edu world.

[Nick Eicher]

At the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, athletes are not the only ones pushing the limits. AP reporters covering the Games found something you don't find every day in Italy. In the Olympic hub of Lavino, they discovered what can only be called freestyle pizza. Prosciutto and pineapple on the same pie.

[Mark Feinberg]

This shouldn't happen.

[Cal Thomas]

No.

[Nick Eicher]

It's heresy.

[Mark Feinberg]

A big no.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Yeah.

[Nick Eicher]

Pizza in Italy is not the casual food it is here. It's cultural identity there. Regional, protected and practically constitutional. Pizza standards are written law. And besides, pineapple doesn't grow there.

[Mary Reichert]

It's like you have something that you could tell in its simple form is delicious and then you, you just ruin it.

[Nick Eicher]

So in Italy, there are metals for speed, metals for style, but no podium for pineapple. It's the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

Today is Thursday, February 19th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Coming next on the World and everything in it. Hard work, work and what it's worth. This is the second and final part of our larger feature on the agricultural workforce.

[Mary Reichert]

As American ag relies more on migrant labor and aging farmers, some are asking whether the problem is economic or cultural. World's Emma Eicher has the story.

[Mark Feinberg]

There's 20 mother cows.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Phil Rheingan's points to a herd of round bellied red and black Angus. They're standing in thick mud looking back at him with soft brown eyes.

[Phil Rheingans]

I won't have wild cattle on the place where I'm worried about the grandkids getting hurt.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

It's important that his livestock are gentle as his Grandkids spend a lot of time around them. On the ground are a few small grain buckets for them to feed the cattle.

[Phil Rheingans]

My goal is that this is something long for.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Rheingans is a lifelong farmer. He sowed acres of wheat in California, then made his way here to Moscow, Idaho. He raised his four daughters here, and four grandkids live just down the road. Farming is a lifestyle he wants to pass down.

[Phil Rheingans]

And so my grandson, he's two, you know, and he'll ask his mom to call me because he wants to come feed cattle. And then after that, we'll go in and we'll read books.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

In the summertime, they pick together and dehydrate it for the winter. His grandkids understand springtime planting, autumn harvest, and the needs of the livestock. Rheingand says what used to be common knowledge is becoming rare.

[Phil Rheingans]

And, you know, these tie into all kinds of things in terms of them caring for their own family later on because they're used to these things that were just an inherent part of life until, say, two or three, three generations ago. You know, we're getting more and more disconnected from that.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

As American farmers face a shortage of domestic employees, many are turning to seasonal migrant workers or to the family, relying on sons and daughters to continue the daily grind. Growing up in California, Rheingans remembers a different time.

[Phil Rheingans]

A lot of the workers were white guys that had come back from World War II, and working on a farm was a good fit for their level of education and capabilities.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

As those men aged out of the business, there was no one to replace them. It became impossible for Rheingans to find local workers. Instead, he relied on immigrants eager for the job.

[Phil Rheingans]

Their standard of comfort, having grown up in Mexico, was much lower. And so they came up here for opportunity and just some really wonderful, fine people that were willing to live a life with some level of discomfort. It's not something I was ever able to find white kids that were willing to do those things.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Rheingand says the widespread rejection of hard labor shows a cultural failure.

[Phil Rheingans]

If you've escaped suffering your whole life, there's certain aspects of your character that are unlikely to come to full bloom.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

When his grandchildren carry buckets of grain to the trough, Rheingand sees developing character traits like discipline. Most family farms span generations, and they follow a similar pattern. Parents teach their children the value of the work as it's handed down.

[Mark Feinberg]

You know, my grandfather bought this farm.

[Phil Rheingans]

In 1963, you know, and then my.

[Mark Feinberg]

Dad purchased it from my grandfather.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

David Bentrom. Owns 3D ranch in western Pennsylvania. He and his brother raise cattle alongside their families. They've been here for four generations now.

[Mark Feinberg]

You know, but we don't look at it as work in a sense, you.

[Phil Rheingans]

Know, I don't know, it's just maybe.

[Mark Feinberg]

It'S because that's the way I was born and raised.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Eventually, Bentram wants to pass the farm to his young sons who are old enough to help their dad with chores.

[Mark Feinberg]

They seem like they have the passion, they seem like they enjoy it and. And so hopefully they stick with it.

[Phil Rheingans]

Too and want to do it.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Bentram leads me on a tour as a cold wind whips over the grassy hills. Ruby red north Devon cattle dot the landscape like rheingans. Bentram raises calm, gentle cows so his kids can play safely around them.

[Mark Feinberg]

If I can't bring my kids out or if I can't bring, you know, can't bring you out because of fear, well, you might get run over or this or that. It's not worth it in a sense, you know, I'm a big believer of you love the animals and you love the farm.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

The cattle watch from a distance, but a friendly steer named Lincoln walks right up to Bentram. Lincoln is the kid's favorite.

[Mark Feinberg]

He will eventually be beef.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Yep.

[Mark Feinberg]

Oh, that's kind of sad. You know, we are a working farm, so. So it's one of those things that you love them. But eventually, if it comes time, the.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Average age of the American farmer is 58 years old. Small farms are at risk of dying out as time ticks on. Here's Ryan Ganz.

[Phil Rheingans]

But really, at the end of the day, it's about a family and about raising kids and it's about passing on these things that I think are important in terms of character development.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

Reporting for world, I'm Emma Eicher in Moscow, Idaho. Hey, buddy.

[Mark Feinberg]

Hey.

[Phil Rheingans]

She won't nip you, but she'll smell.

[Nick Eicher]

Good morning. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported world radio. I'm Nick Iker.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Finally, the legacy of Jesse Jackson who died this week at age 84. He's remembered as a gifted orator, a two time presidential candidate, a figure both praised and polarizing. Here's world commentator Cal Thomas.

[Cal Thomas]

President Trump called reverend Jesse Jackson a force of nature. And so he was. Jackson was one of the last great orators shaped by the civil rights era. Along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He could lift a crowd with rhythm and conviction. Here he was at the 1984 Democratic National Convention suffering Breeds character.

[Mark Feinberg]

Character breeds faith. Indian faith will not disappoint. Our time has come. Thank you and God bless you.

[Cal Thomas]

He had that cadence, preacher and politician rolled into one. I saw it up close. Close once when I accompanied him to a public middle school in Washington. He told the young girls not to get pregnant before marriage. He told the boys to respect the girls and to wait. The students hung on his every word. Afterward, I said to him that message might do more to lift people out of poverty than politics ever will. But politics was a temptation he could not resist. It gave him a national stage. Yet there were moments when that stage served something larger. Earlier, in 1984, after Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman was shot down and captured by Syria, Jackson traveled to Damascus on what he called a mission of mercy. The Reagan administration had misgivings, but Jackson secured the sailor's release and won the President's praise.

[Mark Feinberg]

You did it.

[Phil Rheingans]

You brought it off, and I think it's just great.

[Mark Feinberg]

Well, I thank you.

[Cal Thomas]

As I said on the phone, Jackson returned with Goodman to the White House, where President President Ronald Reagan said publicly, reverend Jackson's mission was a personal mission.

[Mark Feinberg]

Of mercy, and he has earned our gratitude and our admiration.

[Cal Thomas]

It was one of Jackson's finest hours. He twice ran for president and startled the Democratic establishment, building what he called the Rainbow Coalition. He was frequently where the cameras were. Sometimes, critics said too frequently. Even some of Dr. King's staff grew weary of what they saw as his instinct to insert himself into historic moments. Jackson was ordained a Baptist minister, but his preaching often emphasized what is called the social gospel, justice and reform in this world more than preparation for the next. Still, his most enduring line was not about power. It was about dignity.

[Mark Feinberg]

I am black, beautiful, proud. I must be respected. I must be protected.

[Reporter/Interviewer (Various)]

I must.

[Mark Feinberg]

Somebody.

[Cal Thomas]

That refrain echoed in schools and churches across the country. He never offered a theological explanation for why he was somebody. But the reason is older than politics and deeper than protest. Every human being is somebody because every human being is made in the image of God. Jesse Jackson was a gifted, ambitious, sometimes polarizing man. But he understood something essential. People long to be told they matter. For world, I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow, politicians wrap progressive policies in Christian speech. John Stonestreet returns for culture Friday and an Oscar nominated director who emphasizes compassion and understanding. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichardt.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. 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 says he makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm chapter 46, verses 9 through 11. Go now in grace and peace.