← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
3.7.25 Culture Friday, Arsenio Orteza music review, and Ask the Editor
00:32:38
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- [00:06]
Mary Reichard
Good morning. High earners struggling to make ends meet and punishing public servants. Lawmaking or showmanship and how a soft answer turns away wrath, especially on social media.
- [00:18]
Myrna Brown
John Stonestreet breaks it all down ahead on Culture Friday. And music critic Arsenio Arteza is back bringing his sharp ear to review the latest pop music releases.
- [00:30]
Mary Reichard
And on Ask the Editor, we turn the mic around, sharing what you taught us in the focus groups.
- [00:43]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday, March 7th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [00:50]
Mary Reichard
And I'm Mary Reichard. Good morning.
- [00:53]
Myrna Brown
Up next, Ken Covington with today's news.
- [00:57]
Kent Covington
President Trump is delaying tariffs on some Mexican and Canadian imports for roughly one month. Companies compliant with the U.S. mexico, Canada trade agreement will get a reprieve from the new 25% import taxes. TRUMP said he was very encouraged by a recent conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
- [01:16]
John Stonestreet
We discussed drugs and they've been working much harder lately.
- [01:20]
Arsenio Arteza
Do you notice that on people coming in and drugs? And we've made tremendous progress on both.
- [01:27]
Kent Covington
Illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl into the country are the two main reasons Trump cited for imposing the tariffs. And separately, he says reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on any and all trading partners who impose tariffs on U.S. goods.
- [01:41]
John Stonestreet
This is very much about companies and.
- [01:44]
Arsenio Arteza
Countries that have ripped off this country.
- [01:47]
John Stonestreet
Our country, our beloved usa, and they're not going to be ripping us off anymore.
- [01:54]
Kent Covington
Those tariffs take effect on April 2nd at varying levels that Trump said will match those imposed on US Goods. The president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to travel to Saudi Arabia next week to meet with Ukrainian leaders.
- [02:08]
John Stonestreet
And I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace.
- [02:12]
Kent Covington
Agreement and an initial ceasefire as well. Witkoff says a minerals deal with Ukraine that fell apart during that Oval Office argument last week could also be signed very President Trump has ordered a pause on all U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine until he's convinced that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is serious about negotiating a peace agreement. Hamas issued a defiant response on Thursday to President Trump's warning the night before. The terror group said it would only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. That came right after the president told Hamas leaders, quote, release all of the hostages now or, quote, it's over for you. And Israeli government spokesman David Menser echoed those remarks.
- [02:59]
Myrna Brown
Release the hostages now.
- [03:01]
John Stonestreet
Release our hostages now and you'll be able to leave Gaza alive.
- [03:08]
Kent Covington
The president spoke Wednesday of giving Israel his words, everything it needs to finish the job of eradicating Hamas. No word on whether US Troops could play a role in any operation in time. In Israel, family members of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas held a demonstration in Tel Aviv, begging President Trump to bring their loved ones home.
- [03:34]
Myrna Brown
You are the man that could put an end to this war, bring all.
- [03:39]
John Stonestreet
The hostages back home and create here.
- [03:42]
Myrna Brown
A better future for all people.
- [03:45]
Kent Covington
Earlier this week, the White House confirmed that US Officials had been in direct talks with Hamas. It's unclear if those talks continue or if the US Is awaiting action by the terror group. The House has voted to censure Democratic Congressman Al Green of Texas for deliberately disrupting President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress this week. The measure is effectively a slap on the wrist, requiring the congressman to be admonished while standing before his peers.
- [04:13]
John Stonestreet
By its adoption of House Resolution 189, the House has resolved that Representative Al Green be censured, that Representative Al Green forthwith present himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure.
- [04:27]
Kent Covington
Ten Democrats voted with all Republicans on the censure, but House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries defended Greene.
- [04:33]
John Stonestreet
The censure resolution put forth by extreme MAGA Republicans is not worth the paper.
- [04:40]
Les Sillers
That it was written on.
- [04:42]
Kent Covington
Congressman Green on Tuesday night stood up and shouted at President Trump while waving his cane in the air. He refused to be seated before eventually being escorted out of the chamber. A recent study is calling attention to the harms of transgender surgeries. World's Paul Butler has more.
- [05:00]
John Stonestreet
In 2022, the DOJ sued Idaho over a law that says doctors may only perform emergency abortions only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest proven by a police report. The Biden Justice Department argued that under federal law, federally funded hospitals must be willing to end pregnancies in any medical emergency involving a pregnant woman. That's irrespective of whether the mother's life is at imminent risk. But the Trump Justice Department, after it inherited that case, is moving to end the court battle and allow Idaho's law to take effect.
- [05:37]
Kent Covington
For World, I'm Paul Butler. And I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, Culture Friday with John Stonestreet and later, Ask the Editor. This is the World and everything in it.
- [06:10]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday 7th March. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [06:19]
Mary Reichard
And I'm Mary Reichard. Well, it's Culture Friday. And joining us now is John Stonestreet. He's president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. John, good morning.
- [06:29]
John Stonestreet
Good morning.
- [06:30]
Mary Reichard
Well, I learned a new term from your Breakpoint column this week. People identifying as Henry's. That's an acronym for high earner, not rich yet Henry's. These are folks earning incomes of hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they still feel like they live paycheck to paycheck. Now, we've all heard money cannot buy happiness, but my point is neither does poverty. So my question is, what's the lost perspective among the Henrys, these high earner, not rich, young yet people I know.
- [07:00]
John Stonestreet
Isn't that an interesting term? It was new to me too. One of our folks on our editorial staff at the Colson center brought that. But it just said so much. It just reflects how disconnected people are from a proper understanding of things like work and the relationship with work and well being and the relationship between work well being and things like happiness and then also just income. Now, I think there's a lot of factors here. As a friend likes to say, this is probably a case of not one thing but everything, a whole lot of things. For example, incredible amounts of debt. We know that and we know that that in and of itself is indicative of a worldview shift, one which the early sociologist Peter Sorokin called this shift from being ideational as a culture to being sensate as a culture living for some sort of higher ideal as opposed to living for immediate gratification. A secular society is one in which we are untethered. We're unattached from anything eternal, anything vertical, anything transcend. And so life becomes the here and now. And how you then fulfill that vision of life certainly affects what you think about work and what you think about money. I think this also reflects this ever changing definition. I remember a comedian talking about flying next to someone on those early days when we just got Internet on planes and he was so mad that the Internet wasn't working. And he said, how is it that you can feel entitled to something you didn't know existed until 30 seconds ago? This is the case in a culture of stuff where we have so many new toys that are supposed to make life easier and we have confused, of course, an easier life with a happier life. And so we need these things, or we think we need these things. And certainly if you read this article which the Henrys were introduced to me, that's what you're hearing. You're hearing people who just can't believe that they can be happy without a particular level of. And then just fill in the blank. Certainly it has a lot to do with income, but it has a lot to do with stuff, you know, the choice to live in some of the most expensive places on the planet and drive cars that are incredibly expensive and have clothes that are incredibly expensive and eat at restaurants that are incredibly expensive and then be in debt despite the fact that your income level should, should have you out of that. So, you know, this is the, the shifting of value. So that's another factor in all of this. But underlying this, and to really specifically answer your question, the lost perspective. It's fascinating the people who are writing right now about happiness, certainly Arthur Brooks, who used to lead the American Enterprise Institute and recently at the ARC conference in London, Arthur Brooks had a really important thing to say, which is, look, once you're above survivability, the level of income is absolutely unrelated to the level of happiness and that happiness is a result. It's a product of enthusiasm and perspective and a number of things, he said. But the main thing meaning, if you don't think life has meaning, all the money in the world can't make meaning. And that's the thing that's missed, I think, at the end of the day.
- [10:26]
Myrna Brown
And I'm pretty sure I don't even like the word happy, I'd rather say joy.
- [10:31]
John Stonestreet
You know, that's pretty good, too.
- [10:33]
Myrna Brown
Well, John, if you watched President Trump's speech to Congress earlier this week, you saw Texas Representative Al Green's relentless heckling. It got him booted and sparked talk of censure. Meanwhile, Maine State Representative Laurel Libby was censured not for shouting, but for a social media post. She shared two photos of the same boy. In one, he's fifth in the boys pole vaulting. In the other, he's first in the girls category. Her post went viral. The backlash was swift. So now she's banned from speaking or voting until she apologizes. So this looks less like lawmaking and more like the culture war hijacking the process. What do you think, John?
- [11:25]
John Stonestreet
Well, absolutely. And there's no question that politics has become showmanship. I mean, and that's not something that's dedicated to one side of the aisle or the other. I mean, it's certainly something that has to do with a culture that moves from being word based to being image based or being book based or literacy based to being entertainment based, as Neil Postman wrote about. There's so many times, I think we talked about this a couple Weeks ago. There's so many times you just see stories like this and you're like, postman, postman. It's all in Neil Postman. You know, it's all in amusing our to death kind of what this means. Now, look, the silencing, the absolute silencing of what happened to this Maine representative, Laurel Libby is absolutely shameful. What happened to her was more than just a censoring that leads to a consequence in terms of her ability to fulfill her job. They publicly or attempted to publicly humiliate her by silencing her. And I think she came out on top, and they came out looking humiliated because really we have. It's so interesting to see how much things have changed on this cultural issue. Three years ago, it seemed like the trans train was unstoppable, that it was gonna overrun every aspect of culture. And now that doesn't look like that. And so when someone behaves this way, like the speaker of the main House did when he interrupted Libby as she was trying to make a speech, while she was asking the legitimate questions behind her social media post, she was trying to figure out why someone who had posted public images of himself transitioning and all that, why suddenly she's in trouble for doing that. It just seemed like theater on behalf of trying to basically push a point when you've run out of arguments. And Maine looks like an isolated case now, in a sense, although I think it is proof that they're not the only isolated case. I mean, I'm in Colorado. We're seeing the same sort of showmanship from those who want to progressively push culture war issues like abortion and like the trans issues. And in this local setting, we feel basically powerless to do anything to stop it. We don't have a real conservative voice in the political process in Colorado right now that's worth anything, honestly. Basically, we're getting overrun. And so it's a reminder of, even though it is this level of showmanship, that the political consequences are localized now to a degree that wasn't true just a couple years ago on these cultural war issues. And so I know we hear this all the time. All politics is local, and it's very much true on these issues right now.
- [14:08]
Mary Reichard
All right. Tagging onto that idea, people love to post things on social media of a political nature and then get into snarky little fights with strangers. I don't think anybody's ever convinced that way. But why are some of us, like me, sometimes compelled to do it anyway?
- [14:25]
John Stonestreet
It seems irresistible, doesn't it? I mean, it is a Fruitless point. Listen again. Postman, Postman. It's all in Postman. I think that we all need to reread Neil Postman. There's actually a new book trying to make some of those applications of Neil Postman to today. And I'm glad that that's out there. You know, I don't know, but it is a bizarre thing. I mean, you think about some of the proverbs and what I love about the book of proverbs is they're just good common sense. As you know, a buddy of mine in Tennessee used to say, these ain't rocket surgery. You know, these are basically saying what is clearly true. And it's not this esoteric Buddhist wisdom from a guru on top of a mountain who says something you're not sure you really understand. But it sounds really deep, right? This is like, you know, don't hang out with silly people. And, you know, a soft answer turns away wrath. And don't, as Jesus said, don't proclaim your righteousness before men. And you think about this kind of easy, simple advice that's in the proverbs and in other parts of the scripture and how social media basically violates how we behave on social media can basically violate all of those things. A soft answer turns away wrath. That's true everywhere. And yet for some reason we think, oh, the rules are different when it gets on social media. And that's just one example. I think there's lots of examples of these basic ways of interacting with other people, treating them with dignity and respect, and also not having to be right at the end of the day, not having to win every debate, that somehow when it comes online, we just have to have the last word. I do think too, that it's at the point where it can really poison someone's character. And what I mean by that is to not, at the end of the day, be able to resist. I don't do this anymore, mainly because I'm private and I just don't want to talk to strangers. But there's a you do seem. When it seems irresistible. And our inability to exhibit self control. I mean, I think it's time for some of us to do that kind of introspection and say, was that really worth it? And seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. How does that apply to this? Like, am I willing to be quiet right now? Because it's actually not going to advance the conversation at all. These are important questions.
- [16:53]
Myrna Brown
Hey, John, before we let you go, we have an extended Culture Friday program airing this weekend featuring our conversation with New York Times opinion columnist and author Ross Douthit. Now you, me, Nick and Katie McCoy talked with him about his new book, why Everyone Should Be Religious. So what was your big takeaway from the interview, John?
- [17:18]
John Stonestreet
Well, it was certainly an enjoyable conversation that has a lot to do with Ross Douthit, who is just a has an ability to skate to where the puck's going to think about when he had to theoretically have started this book. And where we're at culturally, where you have high profile intellectuals rediscovering Christianity when you have some of the voices who a decade ago told us that God's a delusion and religion poisons everything now saying that we need Christmas carols and Christmas lights and Jesus and gay atheists telling 4000 people in London just a couple weeks ago to read the Bible. There is obviously a return to the fascination with religious and what that will come with is various forms of spirituality. And Ross sees this and he's making a case, he's making kind of a modern day apologetics case for not only why you should reconsider like a whole lot of other people are doing right now. And that's why I think this is a book and some ideas that will have a wide hearing, but specifically you should consider the claims of Christ. Now, what that looks like for him as a Roman Catholic is different than me. And I think I would say look specifically at Christ first and then let's let it go from there. But Douthit is a really helpful thinker in this regard. He has an ability to see beyond some of the cultural noise that tends to dominate the conversation and kind of see what's really happening in this cultural moment. I think this is another example of that. Just like the book on decadence that he wrote back in 2020.
- [18:58]
Mary Reichard
John Stonestreet is president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks so much, John.
- [19:04]
John Stonestreet
Thank you.
- [19:15]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Covenant College in Georgia, providing an uncompromising biblical education where students explore calling and career more at Covenant.
- [19:32]
John Stonestreet
And from the new living translation.
- [19:34]
Kent Covington
Accurate, understandable and audibly enjoyable.
- [19:38]
John Stonestreet
Newlivingtranslation.com.
- [19:54]
Mary Reichard
Today is Friday, March 7th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichert.
- [20:01]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. Coming next on the World and everything in it, some of the year's most spiritually provocative music. Popular music has long been dismissed as faddish or sensational or shallow, sometimes all three. But World's music critic Arsenio Arteza says. There's more to it than that. If you know where to look, you'll find songs with real depth and meaning.
- [20:32]
Arsenio Arteza
Emma Hoy Tsegwe Mariam Gebru was accomplished, talented and aristocratically bred. She had the world on a string when, at age 21, she experienced an existential crisis after she let the offer of of a music scholarship in London slipped through her fingers. When the dust settled, she had committed herself to the life of an Ethiopian Orthodox nun, and she spent the first decade of that time barefoot because she'd been told that the grounds of the monastery were sanctified by the blood of Christ. Gebru died in 2023, but her music lives on the album Emma Hoi Tsegue Mariam Gebru, played by Maya Dunietz and string ensemble Live in Paris features the Israeli pianist Maya Dunietz. She has been performing Gebru's music for more than a decade, and on this album she adds four violinists, two cellists and a double bassist to Gebru's solo piano sound. As one might expect, the dimensions that those additions bring to Spring O Ode, Evening Breeze and Ballad of the Spirits give those ruminatively meandering pieces an almost classical formality. With the album Another Mississippi Sunday Morning, we go from music originating in an Ethiopian convent to music originating in the American prison known as Parchman Farm. The music is credited to singers and musicians collectively known as Parchman Prison Prayer. Another Mississippi Sunday Morning picks up where its 2023 predecessor, some Mississippi Sunday morning left off, with 13 additional informal, untutored, mostly a cappella and totally gospel vocal performances by inmates at the maximum security Mississippi State Penitentiary. Take a stroll back down memory lane. Yes, the men doing the singing, or in some cases the rapping or the speaking apparently deserve incarceration. And also yes, their crimes were most likely heinous. But they're still human. Ministering to them is a condition of being a sheep, not a goat, and the redemption heard in their voices can break your heart.
- [23:09]
John Stonestreet
It was grace that brought me this far and my God grace will lead me on in the name of Jesus, Amazing grace.
- [23:27]
Arsenio Arteza
Next is Cover Story, the new collection of other people's songs by the veteran gospel singer Russ Taff. It's soulful, bare bones and eclectic, and it's already being favorably compared to the stripped down late career series of recordings that Rick Rubin produced for Johnny Cash.
- [23:50]
John Stonestreet
And Now I Stand Accused of the.
- [23:53]
Arsenio Arteza
Things that I Said When Love Comes to Town. That honor goes to his 1991 album under their Influence but that one was an all gospel standards affair. Cover Story begins that way with Blind Willie Johnson's Century Old Gospel blues Tear this Building down, but it ends with 21st century CCM by Andy Gullahorn, All Sons and Daughters. Along the way we also hear Taft's takes on songs by Simon and Garfunkel, Bill Withers, Bob Dylan, U2, Depeche Mode, the National, Duran Duran, and Prince. What Taft and his producers were looking for was material that accurately mapped the ups and downs of his life, a subject that has become well known thanks to the 2018 documentary I still Believe. It explored Taft's decades long struggle with alcohol and the grace by which Taft finally came out on top. Heard as a kind of belated soundtrack, Cover Story's material makes perfect sense. It's a long way down and there's no bottom. Finally, we have the recording that inspired the January Forbes headline Ringo Starr charts the first number one album of his solo career. Alas, the details regarding that Ringo Starr album Look up are more modest. The only charts that it has topped are the Americana and the country charts in the UK. Still, as the Fab Four member with the spottiest track record and as an 84 year old to boot, he deserves an attaboy for being number one anywhere. He couldn't have done so, however, with a lot of help from his friends, most notably T Bone Burnett, who wrote and produced most of the songs. Burnett's Rolodex no doubt helped in enlisting the likes of Alison Krauss, Lark and Poe, Greg Leese, Colin Linden and David Mansfield. Burnett also wrote the title Cut, which is as close to outright gospel as anything he has written in years. One couplet goes no matter where you place in the human race, there is mercy, there is grace. True and especially cool coming from a beetle. I'm Arsenio Ortezzo.
- [26:24]
Myrna Brown
Today is Friday, March 7th. Good morning. This is the World and everything in it from Listener World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [26:34]
Mary Reichard
And I'm Mary Reichard. Up next, Ask the Editor. Now, it's always a little bit risky to ask a friend for an honest opinion, but last month Editor in Chief Les Sillers did just that. He invited World's listeners and readers to tell us what you really think. Hundreds of you signed up, so many that we couldn't fit everyone in. And now Les is back to share what we learned from you.
- [26:59]
Les Sillers
You told us that you listen while commuting, doing housework and just hanging out. You listen in the car, on boats and on trains. For Gwen Schiltius. It's a part of her morning routine.
- [27:09]
Myrna Brown
I listen primarily in the morning almost every day. I'm a walker. So our 10 pound dog and I, we go out and I listen, you know, with one earbud. I was thinking about this the other day. When the news can be pretty bleak, I walk away encouraged rather than doom and gloom.
- [27:32]
Les Sillers
Overall, you said our production quality is excellent and that was true of all our platforms, podcast, magazine, website and app. Here's Scott Berggren.
- [27:41]
John Stonestreet
It doesn't seem to be real flashy or trying to be more than it is. It seems to be honest and authentic.
- [27:50]
Les Sillers
When we asked what's your favorite segment or kind of story? Monday, Money Beat with David Bonson got the most mentions. Culture Friday with John Stonestreet and Legal Docket with Nick. Mary and Jenny were close behind. Several people said it's amazing to hear the voices of Supreme Court justices questioning the lawyers. There are things we could improve. A few said our news could sometimes use a bit more depth. Others said that at times it goes over their heads. One person mentioned that our corrections seem nitpicky. But others said that commitment to accuracy makes us more credible. A few said that some voices are a little hard to understand at times we could be more concise. Some people disagreed with our movie or music reviews or certain commentaries. A small number of people said that we're not critical enough of President Trump, MAGA or right wing politics in general. Others said we got that balance about right. Here's Pat Moore.
- [28:43]
John Stonestreet
It's not from a right or left perspective, it's from a biblical perspective and that is huge.
- [28:49]
Les Sillers
This is going to sound odd, but I had a favorite criticism. Florence Matthews said that she listens to the world and everything in it to.
- [28:56]
John Stonestreet
Receive a biblical perspective on news and headlines. And I think the things that other people are being informed on but in an incorrect worldview.
- [29:06]
Mary Reichard
And so I think the things that.
- [29:08]
John Stonestreet
I maybe don't prefer like are the things that don't accomplish that goal.
- [29:13]
Les Sillers
I'm not thrilled to hear that sometimes we miss the mark, but I love that Florence gets us. And she wasn't alone. When we asked what's distinctive about world, the vast majority said that you come to us for news from a biblical perspective and that's truly where our heart is. Here's Beth Bolhausen.
- [29:30]
Myrna Brown
I was a big fan of NPR and BBC and I just feel like I get everything that I ever got from listening to those radio broadcasts. But now with biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires, there's One other.
- [29:48]
Les Sillers
Thing you value very highly. Different people described it in many different ways. You said our tone is fair, not manipulative or sensational or mean. Pat Moore put it this way. The idea that God's in control, you don't feel like you're being wagged along.
- [30:04]
John Stonestreet
By the news cycle.
- [30:05]
Les Sillers
You feel like you're presenting it as.
- [30:08]
John Stonestreet
Making people aware of what's going on in God's earth.
- [30:10]
Les Sillers
And I want to be able to think through my life and the issues around me from a biblical perspective. And I want to be challenged to do that in every way.
- [30:17]
John Stonestreet
And you help me do that more.
- [30:19]
Les Sillers
Than any, any other news outlet, for sure. So to Scott, Gwen, Beth, Pat, Florence and everybody else who took the time to offer your thoughts, thank you. It means a lot to us and to everybody who listens to this program or reads World magazine or checks out our website every day, thank you. We're humbled, we're grateful. We'll try to keep improving, and we'll see you soon. I'm Les Sillers.
- [30:49]
Mary Reichard
Well, it's time now to say thanks to the team members who helped put the program together this week. Nick Eicher, David Bonson, Caleb Weldy, Lindsay Mast, Addy Offerins, Anna Johansen Brown, Kim Henderson as Ibrahim, Leo Braceno, Onize Odua, Janie B. Chaney, Carolina Lumeta, Mary Muncie and our WJI Mid Career class plus, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet and Arsenio Orteza. Thanks also to our breaking news team, Kent Covington, Lindy Langdon, Steve Klosterman, Christina Grube and Josh Schumacher. And thanks also to the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early. Carl Peetz and Ben Jeiker.
- [31:29]
Myrna Brown
Harrison Waters is Washington producer, senior producer Kristin Flavin is features editor, Paul Butler executive producer and Les Sillers editor in chief. The World and everything in it is a production of World Radio where we bring you biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The psalmist reminds us, for God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation my fortress. I shall not be greatly shaken. The first two verses of Psalm 62. Remember to set your clocks ahead One hour tomorrow night for daylight savings time, unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii and certain U.S. territories. And don't forget to gather with your brothers and sisters in Christ this weekend. And Lord willing, we'll meet you right back here on Monday. Go now in grace and peace.