← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
4.10.26 Uneven standards for workplace speech, Culture Friday on the cost of expressing truth, Star Wars: Maul—Shadow Lord, and Arsenio Orteza reviews two new albums
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- [00:06]
Nick Iger
Good morning.
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Myrna Brown
A college student says she got fired after a workplace conversation.
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Paige Rogers
In no world should any Christian have to hide their faith just to not get fired.
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John Stonestreet
Also today, findings from a long term study on sex denying procedures adds weight to long standing concerns. John Stonestreet standing by for Culture Friday.
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Nick Iger
Later, as the empire has risen, we
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Arsenio Orteza
have all been made.
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John Stonestreet
Darth Maul returns this time in a crime story. And we have a review and music from an unlikely pair of artists.
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Myrna Brown
It's Friday, April 10th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
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John Stonestreet
And I'm Nick Iger. Good morning.
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Myrna Brown
Up next, kid Kent Covington with today's news.
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Kent Covington
Vice President J.D. vance and a team of U.S. diplomats are expected to meet face to face with Iranian officials tonight in an effort to negotiate a lasting peace. That is tonight on Washington time. It will be Saturday morning. Locally, Vance and other officials arriving in Islamabad today. Pakistan is hosting and mediating the talks. This will be the highest level direct negotiation between the two governments since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett
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Nick Iger
we fully expect that we've got so much on the table that we're willing
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Colin Garbarino
to give to help the Iranian people
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Nick Iger
if they just act normally, that hopefully they'll be cooler heads and sounder minds at the Iranian side and that we'll come to a final agreement this weekend.
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Kent Covington
Iran's Parliament speaker Mohammed Bagr Ghaliba will head Tehran's delegation. Meantime, Iran continues to accuse the United States and Israel of violating the current two week ceasefire. Golubov made claims of a US Drone incursion and he says Israel's ongoing airstrikes in Lebanon violate the agreement. The US And Israel both say it does not. And all eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz to see if Iran will keep up its end of the bargain. Iranian officials say the strait is open for business, but civilian vessels must coordinate with the Iranian government to secure safe passage. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK Stands ready to assist and to
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Arsenio Orteza
make sure this ceasefire is a permanent ceasefire and that the Strait of Hormuz is open. And that takes more than just words. It takes a lot of action.
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Kent Covington
That, of course, comes after President Trump repeatedly criticized the UK and other NATO allies for not doing more already to help secure the strait. And speaking of NATO, Secretary General Mark Ruda is aiming to calm worries about the future of the alliance after meeting with President Trump this week. World's Harrison Waters has more now from the nation's capital.
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Harrison Waters
Rutte told the audience at a think tank in Washington that the NATO alliance is in a season of profound change.
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Nick Iger
Europe is assuming a greater and fairer share of the task of providing for its conventional defense, and from that there will be no going back.
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Harrison Waters
Back in March, Ruta announced that all 32 members of the alliance are now meeting their 2% defense spending obligations, and several are making strides towards new 5% levels set by the United States last year. More recently, President Trump has blasted NATO members for not doing more to help reopen and secure the Strait of Hormuz. Baruta says some NATO members are stepping up to help.
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Nick Iger
The United Kingdom is leading a coalition of countries that are aligning the military, the political and economic tools that will be required to ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Harrison Waters
When asked if President Trump wants to pull the US out of NATO, Ruts sidestepped the question, saying the conversation was frank and between friends. But he conceded that the president was disappointed in NATO. The next NATO summit is scheduled for July in Ankara, Turkey. Reporting for World I'm Harrison Waters.
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Kent Covington
The crew of the Artemis II is set to splash down off the coast of San Diego tonight. They'll plunge into the Pacific, closing out the first crewed voyage to the moon since Apollo 17 more than 50 years ago. NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya the Orion
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Nick Iger
spacecraft will enter the Earth's atmosphere at approximately 25,000 miles per hour. That heat shield, the thermal protection system designed to withstand temperatures that approach the surface of the sun, will bear the full force of that reentry.
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Kent Covington
Artemis II lead Flight Director Jeff Rattigan adds that the first parachutes will deploy at 7:03pm Central Time, and then the
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Nick Iger
main chutes will be right behind them a minute later. 7:04, and we'll see those three main parachutes come out, leading down to splashdown at 7:07.
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Kent Covington
Commander Reid Wiseman, along with Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeffrey Hansen, have spent 10 days in deep space and they made history rounding the moon and traveling deeper into space than any human has ever gone before, kshatriya said of the Artemis crew.
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Nick Iger
They will have traveled 400,000 miles. They will have seen what no living person has seen. They will have tested every system on the spacecraft and the environment it was built for.
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Kent Covington
And he says that data will help to shape every mission that comes after. First lady Melania Trump stepped before cameras at the White House on Thursday and came out swinging, taking aim at rumors and online claims trying to connect her to Jeffrey Epstein.
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John Stonestreet
I am not Epstein's victim Epstein did
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Nick Iger
not introduce me to Donald Trump.
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John Stonestreet
I met my husband by chance at
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Nick Iger
the New York city party in 1998.
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Kent Covington
The first lady acknowledged moving in overlapping social circles with Epstein and his former girlfriend Elaine Maxwell in New York and in Florida, but insisted they were not friends. She described a brief email exchange with Maxwell as nothing more than trivial correspondence. A British publisher last year retracted claims that Epstein had introduced the couple and issued an apology. Melania also called on Congress to hold public hearings so that Epstein's survivors can testify on the record. Both Democrats and some Republicans quickly welcomed the idea. More tension in the South China Sea the Philippine government has opened a major new Coast Guard base on a disputed island and a direct show of sovereignty in waters that Beijing claims it owns. World's Kristin Flavin reports.
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Colin Garbarino
The base on T2 island, known locally as Pagasa, meaning hope, sits roughly 15 miles from a major Chinese built island base. Philippine officials say the facility will support patrol ships, aircraft and law enforcement operations in the contested region. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea that despite a 2016 international ruling rejecting those claims, a decision Beijing has refused to accept.
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Nick Iger
The new base opened as China's Coast
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Colin Garbarino
Guard fired flares at Philippine patrol aircraft
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Nick Iger
Thursday, which Philippine officials called a clear act of bullying.
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Colin Garbarino
For World, I'm Kristin Flavin.
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Kent Covington
And I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, a college student says she lost her job after being asked to talk about her faith. Plus, Colin Garberino reviews a morally nuanced new installment in the Star wars saga, this is the World and Everything In It.
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John Stonestreet
It's Friday 10th April. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good morning, I'm Nick Iger.
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Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. First up, a workplace conversation about faith and whether answering a question can cost you your job.
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John Stonestreet
A college student working in a coffee shop says she got fired not for starting a discussion on faith, but for but for answering questions about it. World's Travis Kircher has our story from Louisville.
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Travis Kircher
The sounds at Heine Brothers Coffee Shop in south Louisville are familiar to 19 year old Paige Rogers.
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Paige Rogers
I started working at Heine Brothers kind of just to have a job for the school semester as a freshman at
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Travis Kircher
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's boys college. She started working at Heine Brothers in 2024 and was promoted to shift manager soon after. Then the company hired her back for her sophomore year without an interview. But she says things changed after a conversation with her co workers last October.
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Paige Rogers
It was probably about 10, 15 minutes into the shift when they asked me where I went to school. And in response to that, they asked me if I was waiting till marriage.
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Travis Kircher
More specifically, was she saving sexual intimacy for marriage? Rogers says her co workers began sharing about their own dating lives and asked her about her faith in Christ. She says at one point a co worker told her she was in multiple relationships, including a homosexual one.
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Paige Rogers
She basically asked, I think it was if I were to become a Christian, would I have to stop loving my partner? And that I responded respectfully, sharing my beliefs.
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Travis Kircher
Rogers says she told her homosexuality is a sin, but that we're all sinners and that she doesn't judge. She says she ended her shift feeling good about the conversation.
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Paige Rogers
As Christians, that's a joy. It's a joy to be able to share the gospel with people.
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Travis Kircher
But 12 days later, Rogers was fired by text message. She was told she violated company policy by having unwelcome religious conversations. The company said those conversations left several people uncomfortable and offended.
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Paige Rogers
Out of shock and confusion, I just replied, does this apply even if they asked me an inappropriate question first? And she said unfortunately, yes, According to
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Travis Kircher
the text message, the company said the conversation had been captured on security footage. Haney Brothers declined Rogers request to review that footage, saying that would be against company policy. Since then, Rogers has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging religious discrimination.
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Nick Iger
This lawsuit is about Title VII and respect for religious employees.
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Travis Kircher
Rogers attorney is Cliff Martin of First Liberty Institute. He accuses Heine Brothers of firing Rogers simply because the company didn't like her religious views.
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Nick Iger
Where an employee is respectfully engaging in religious conversation and answering questions, the employer cannot pick a side and terminate the religious employee in favor of the unreligious employee.
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Travis Kircher
He also accused the company of failing to use progressive discipline, pointing out that Rogers was fired without warning and was given no opportunity to defend herself. Kentucky is a right to work state that allows companies to fire employees at will, but that doesn't affect federal discrimination claims. Then there's the way the conversation began with Roger's co worker asking about her view on premarital sex.
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Nick Iger
Paige was asked incredibly sensitive questions about her beliefs and those would make any religious person uncomfortable. But the employer showed no interest in finding out if Paige was offended.
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Travis Kircher
And Rogers says when she pressed Tiny Brothers HR about her termination, the company abruptly changed its reasons for firing her. She said she was later told she was let go for frequent call ins, scheduling difficulties and communications problems. She says that's not in line with her character or the original reason she was given in that lengthy text message. World reached out to Heiny Brothers both by phone and through its online contact form asking for the company's side of the story. To date, we have not received a response. For her part, Roger says she doesn't know who filed the complaint because she hasn't been able to review the evidence. But she says it doesn't matter because she did nothing wrong. She was just giving honest answers to hard questions posed by her co workers.
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Paige Rogers
In no world should any Christian have to hide their faith just to not get fired. As Christians, we're called to be unashamed of the gospel, and I am unashamed of the gospel.
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Travis Kircher
She also has a message for those co workers with whom she shared the gospel.
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Paige Rogers
I want them to know that, that Christ loves them. And I have been praying for them. My family's been praying for them. I pray that they will come to Christ and recognize Jesus as their savior.
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Travis Kircher
Heine Brothers has until April 24th to respond to the complaint against it. From there, the complaint can be settled through mediation. If that fails, the EEOC can launch its own investigation to determine if actual discrimination took place. Reporting for World, I'm Travis Kercher in Louisville, Kentucky.
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John Stonestreet
Coming up next on the World and Everything in It Culture Friday, and John Stonestreet is here.
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Myrna Brown
He's president of the Colson center and host of the breakpoint Podcast. Good morning, John.
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Nick Iger
Good morning.
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Myrna Brown
Well, John, you heard our report of what happened to the Christian college student working as a barista. This young lady gets a question from a co worker and was simply saying what she'd learned in church. We're very eager to hear the coffee shop point of view, but they're not talking right now. Meantime, John, for the listener who is in a workplace where faith can be a sensitive topic, what wisdom would you offer about when to speak, how to speak, and what to expect?
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Nick Iger
I mean, I think first of all, the decision of when to speak and how to speak has more to do with where the Lord is putting you. And I think this is the story from here, is that you don't have to fight every battle, but you're not allowed to lie. You're not allowed to say something that's not true. We need both, first and foremost, to live out our faith publicly in a way that people ask. But then when people ask, we have to say the things that are true and not back down. I think it's completely appropriate to appeal then to the legal and cultural resources that we have to challenge any decision that's made. But we also need to be ready to Accept the consequences of standing for the Lord, because sometimes he puts us in those positions. We've called it for a long time a theology of getting fired. And, you know, we haven't had to think in those terms. It's surprising when you hear of somebody in, of all places, Louisville, Kentucky, you know, or the middle, you kind of would think, oh, these are the stories that a decade ago were coming from the coast. But here we are, and I think we have wonderful examples, too. That's something that we can be thankful for. The other thing I'll say is that this is not just a question for this particular. Particular employee. It's a question for Southern Seminary. It's a question for the church that's around her. It's a question for her family. What's our responsibility to someone who is a brother and sister in Christ and has been asked to stand up at such a time and place as this? And I think that's something that so far we don't have a great track record of. But I know that that is the way that folks there at Southern Seminary are thinking, and I know that's the way. And hopefully that's the way that the church that she's a part of is thinking as well, because I. That's our responsibility. It's a way that we love our neighbor, pray for everyone, especially of the household of faith, is what Paul says. So we need to live that way and figure out what that means.
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John Stonestreet
Well, John, with the Artemis 2 set to return tonight, I think we're seeing something really notable. Not just the technological achievement, which is enormous, but astronauts openly talking about God, talking about creation, even offering what sounded like a pretty decent Easter message. John, when you hear that kind of public expression, expression of faith, especially on such a massive stage, what stands out to you?
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Nick Iger
Well, it certainly is a joyful thing. The Artemis thing to me was especially encouraging. I mean, it brought to mind, for example, the Christmas message of the Apollo astronauts. And we had this conversation within our. Our breakpoint team this past week. I mean, if you think about the human accomplishment that it takes in order to get people to space, the science, the technology, the human knowledge, the math, when they're up there, they're up there giving praise to God. The. The commander of the mission was asked about an Easter message, and he said, I haven't prepared. And then he went on as if he had prepared. It was a. It was a heck of a sermon. And of course, he also. Right before they went into the dead zone or the. The quiet where they couldn't Communicate, you know, basically articulated the first and great commandment and expressed, you know, love for that. So to me, there's just something about that, a positioning in this space thing. And. And. And we've lost that because we spend so much time talking about whether we have the capability to do it, whether we still have the capability to do it. And at the end of the day, those that are up there, what they want to talk about is God. What they want to talk about is something bigger than them. And I think that's what the sense of awe and wonder do to us as humans. I think that's why God put it in. I think it's a expression of what the scripture talks about, eternity in our hearts and even the creation declaring the glory of God and us having to reckon with it. I. I did think it was interesting, though, that the Easter message did involve human exceptionalism. It's this whole thing, and we're at the center of it. You're special not because you're special because of anything you've done, but you're special because God built this thing around human beings. And of course, that's the. Although the scripture doesn't speak directly to whether there are other living creatures in other places, like C.S. lewis ruminated about, what you do get is that only humans bear God's image of all the created things. Only humans bear the image of God and are therefore on a different level in value and authority than anything else that God created. As the psalmist said, we're a little lower than God, and angels look with jealousy. And there was a part of that message that was communicated in that message. I just thought it was absolutely spectacular and a wonderful Easter message. And, yes, it was in direct contrast with some of the other messages we got on Easter, particularly from this administration. Yeah, yeah.
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John Stonestreet
I think I see where you're headed there, John. And I do think it raises a tension that I noticed over the weekend. You know, you think about the rescue of the weapons service officer, the effort to find him. I heard described as something akin to locating a grain of sand in the desert. And yet the mission went forward anyway. So that leave no man behind ethic really does seem rooted in the idea that every life has inherent value because we are made in the image of God. But then at the same time, we're hearing very different rhetoric from the President about what's in store for our enemies. So, I mean, how do you make sense of. Of those competing messages?
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Nick Iger
Yeah, yeah. You don't get that sort of never leave a man behind and spend as many resources as possible that you need to spend in order to rescue a person before the influence of the Christian idea of the image of God in this area. And it is a remarkable thing that the expense, the time, the energy, the effort. And I think it's a noble thing. You're talking a direct contrast here between a nation that would go to such great expense experience such great loss of equipment and time and energy and focus to rescue this one soldier compared to in Iran, surrounding targets, military targets with 14 year old kids. You know, this is a completely different worldview. And then you have what President Trump tweeted in terms of ending a civilization. It was conflicting certainly. I think it suffered from a desperate lack of clarity. At one level I have a little bit of sympathy with Eric Erickson, you know, who said, well, if I have to choose between this sort of sloppy language, just language now, not behavior, but this sort of sloppy language and the trans day of invisibility that we got last Easter under the Biden administration, it's an easy choice and I think a lot of us feel that way. You know, this is unfortunately the cultural choices that, that we're faced with. And yet we can condemn it. And it's, it's a remarkable thing that that language can be condemned in the United States. It has been condemned. It should be condemned. And we're all not like, you know, hiding under the bed waiting for someone to knock at our door because we are saying right now that the President's tweet or the President's post on, on truth social about ending a is needs to be condemned. It does need to be condemned. And we live in a nation where you're allowed to condemn it. There's something to be said about that and what that says about the values that uphold this. Because you know what, you level that sort of condemnation and a lot of other nations in the world and you know, we're all going to disappear the next day. So there are these things that need to be kept in mind. And at the same time, if we believe that every single person is made in the image and likeness of God, then our words and our actions need to align with that.
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Myrna Brown
Well, there's a new study out of Finland about 2,000 young people tracked over more than 20 years after undergoing gender transition procedures. And the findings, John, are the opposite of what's often claimed. Instead, they found higher rates of mental health struggles, things like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, even eating disorders. So John, doesn't this back up what critics have been saying, that these treatments aren't actually improving outcomes.
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Nick Iger
Well, listen, there's a number of factors to this particular study that make it so incredibly important. Not just because it's the latest. Number one, previous studies really cast doubt on, you know, well, maybe these treatments aren't as effective as we thought they were. This is a statement that actually says the treatments are harmful. The second thing is that we're not talking about a dozen kids here, or in the case of many of them, that there were conclusions from middle aged men who were dealing with sexual perversion and they were settling into their new identity which allowed them to be perverts in public and instead they applied that as if it were the same rules to children even as we saw this incredible spike. So we're talking here not just about a handful of middle aged men that are being used to justify this entire field. We're talking about nearly 2,000 under the age of 23. So we're talking about a bigger study. We're talking about the right demographic. We're talking also about a comprehensive sample because everyone had to be a part of this study if you received this treatment in Finland. So we're talking about, it's the right demographic. We're talking about, it's a larger sample size. We're talking about, it's a comprehensive versus a self selective sample size. And we're talking about longevity. I mean, listen, if you talk about 1996 to 2019, we're talking about over 20 years. So you're actually following these young people that underwent this procedure when they were in their adolescent stage and then what it's like in their early 20s and even 30s. This is an enormous, an enormous development in here. And what's crazy is now we know that we're reaching the cusp of the science being settled in the other direction. But by any category of what we now can be relatively confident of in terms of these treatments, it is the exact opposite conclusion. So this is a remarkable development in my mind and we need to pay close attention to it. It's the best one that we have that takes into account the real conditions that are on the ground on this issue and have been for the last decade or so.
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Myrna Brown
All right. John Stonestreet is president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. Thank you, John.
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Nick Iger
Thank you both. Additional support comes from Asbury University, committed
- [25:38]
Kent Covington
to the formation of students through discipleship
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Nick Iger
calling and career preparation.
- [25:43]
Kent Covington
Asbury.
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Nick Iger
Edu from Pensacola Christian College Academic Excellence, Biblical Worldview, Affordable Cost go pcci edu World and from Ambassadors Impact Network, where entrepreneurs raising capital find investors who start celebrate their redemptive mission. Ambassadorsimpact.com.
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Myrna Brown
Today is Friday, April 10th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Myrna Brown.
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John Stonestreet
And I'm Nick Iker. Coming next on the world and everything in it, Back to the galaxy far, far away. A new animated Star wars series just dropped on Disney. It puts the spotlight on one of the franchise's most memorable villains, Darth Maul, now a rising crime boss. World arts and culture editor Colin Garberino reviews Maul, Shadow Lord.
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Colin Garbarino
Let me begin by admitting that my relationship with Star wars is complicated. As a kid in the late 70s and early 80s, I ate, slept and breathed Star Wars. In my 20s, the first installment of the prequel trilogy came out. I tried to love it, but I couldn't. In my 30s, I felt optimistic when Disney announced the sequel trilogy, but that left me disappointed, too. Which brings us to the Disney era of Star Wars. There have been a few bright spots, but for the most part, the shows of the last six years seem like Disney is actively trying to destroy one of Hollywood's most iconic franchises. All that said, I was skeptical about Shadowlord. But it turns out this is the kind of show that won't disappoint even the most embittered fans.
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Nick Iger
There are many who have prospered from my misfortune.
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Colin Garbarino
Maul takes place between the prequel trilogy and the original films. It tells how Maul, who used to be known as Darth Maul, became one of the galaxy's most feared crime bosses. I know some people listening are asking, didn't that guy get cut in half in the Phantom Menace? Yeah, he did, which is one of my complaints about the prequels. Why kill off such a great bad guy in the first film anyway? During the animated Clone wars series, Maul comes back with robot legs. But you don't really need to watch 133 episodes of Clone wars to know what's going on here. Maul's back. Just roll with it. In this animated series, Maul, voiced by Sam Witwer, is pitting criminal organizations against each other in a bid to consolidate the underworld under his own authority. But Maul's plan could go awry when a planetary detective named Brander Lawson starts investigating his mystique serious string of crimes.
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Nick Iger
They left a lot of credits behind, but took the supervisor Droid.
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Colin Garbarino
That doesn't make any sense. Lawson is voiced by Brazilian actor Wagner Mora, who's become something of a Hollywood darling. The detective realizes not everything is as it appears.
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Nick Iger
I'M not sure this was any of the local syndicates. Not their style.
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Travis Kircher
Too risky, Too clean.
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Colin Garbarino
Also thrown into the mix are a couple of Jedi on the run, trying to stay off the Empire's radar.
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Nick Iger
Something's happened that is not our concern.
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Colin Garbarino
New episodes arrive every week until May 4, and each runs about 30 minutes. On the whole, this is one of Star wars better efforts. It has galactic grandeur, but it's focused on relatable characters and thankfully it doesn't have a hint of the leftist agenda that's marred other recent Star wars shows. This one is rated TV pg. Though some small children might find the action scenes too intense, Older sci fi fans will appreciate this stylish neo noir series. The setting gives a gritty street level view of life in a galactic urban center. The visuals play with high contrast lighting effects, and the action includes some surprisingly painterly elements. The red of Maul's lightsaber takes on a liquid quality as he parries and thrusts, and there's some nuance here. Maul himself is no longer the killing machine of the Phantom Menace. He's become a morally ambiguous figure, quick to execute enemies but showing restraint toward those who haven't crossed him.
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Nick Iger
As the Empire has risen, we have
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Arsenio Orteza
all been made to suffer, even though
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Nick Iger
once mighty Jedi have fallen.
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Colin Garbarino
This series continues to explore the nature of life under tyranny, a fertile theme for the Star wars franchise. We see a range of responses to unjust government characters struggle when it seems doing the right thing conflicts with the law of the land. Some live in fear, some make compromises, some stand up for justice. But most would like to, let's say, avoid any Imperial entanglements.
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Nick Iger
I will scan all data, but perhaps it's time to request support from the Empire. No, not yet. That is contrary to protocol.
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Colin Garbarino
Shadowlord contains some interesting character studies, but fundamentally this is a story about revenge. Maul comes across as a figure from a Shakespearean tragedy, noble, yet flawed and deeply wounded. He was betrayed by the Empire. Other people might fight the Empire. By joining the Rebellion, Maul decides to inflict damage in his own morally questionable manner. At some point, everyone in this series must wrestle with the question of whether the enemy of my enemy is necessarily my friend. I'm Colin Garbarino.
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John Stonestreet
Next up on the World and everything in it, music from two unlikely recording artists. One of them distills whiskey for a living. The other is a bishop in the Church of England. Both of them have new albums.
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Myrna Brown
World's music critic Arsenio Orteza spoke with them about their work and how their music connects to their day jobs.
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Arsenio Orteza
When told that a whiskey distiller and a Church of England bishop have side hustles as recording artists, you might expect the bishop to be the one composing overt songs of faith. But in the cases of Eric Jett and Bishop Andrew Rumsey, you'd be wrong.
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Can I find peace from all this tyranny? Oh, this flesh, this world this relentless devil Always wearing down, bearing down on
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me this is my only comfort. A song from. From Jet's latest album, this World Ain't Mine to Change. He records under the name Fepeste, which comes from a band that fans of early Christian pop punk might remember.
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Harrison Waters
So Watashi Wa was a punk band out in California in the, like, late 90s, maybe early 2000s. On their first album, they had a song called Fa Paste. It's a song that, for me, was important when I was growing up, and it essentially is about the sufficiency of God.
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Arsenio Orteza
The album this World Ain't Mine to Change focuses on that sufficiency and our struggle to acknowledge it.
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They say it's a young man's game. Well, I'm sitting on this bench feeling my age and if I've got a part to play, it ain't center stage.
- [33:44]
That's okay, that's okay is the song in which the line this world ain't mine to change recurs. The song finds Jet reminding himself of what he understands to be true so that he can experience the peace that passes. Understanding but thoughtful introspection isn't for Peste's only calling card. There's also its sparkly, psychedelic surf sound. Jet's a Beach Boys fan, so it's no accident. I asked what he sees as the connection between creating music and distilling whiskey.
- [34:25]
Harrison Waters
First of all, a love of crafting something, something that hopefully other people can enjoy. But, you know, crafting a whiskey that I enjoy drinking, crafting music that, you know, part of me is in there that I enjoy listening to. So I would say just a love for attention to detail, attention to the art in both.
- [34:46]
Arsenio Orteza
And what does he say to people who question whether a Christian has any business crafting whiskey in the first place?
- [34:51]
Harrison Waters
My understanding is that the consumption of alcohol in and of itself is not a sin. In fact, the Lord instituted it. At the Lord's supper, he drank wine with the disciples. His first miracle was transforming water to wine at a wedding. And it was the best wine that these people had ever had. And, you know, we're told that wine makes the heart glad. But at time, we're told to avoid drunkenness and it's a very fine line to walk.
- [35:15]
Arsenio Orteza
The lines walked by Andrew Rumsey as a music making Anglican bishop, aren't quite as fine. The Church of England, after all, isn't exactly known for its puritanical streak. Besides, most of the songs on his new album, Blank Arcades barely touch directly on faith at all. But according to Rumsey, at least one does.
- [35:34]
Pilot Flight Always waiting for it to ignite for you see a single flame Is all I'm claiming lately Violet Night
- [35:53]
this is Pilot Light. Rumsey first recorded it years ago with his band the Ephras, but the new version, in keeping with the song's subject, is more diaphanous.
- [36:03]
It's about the creative flame, but it's also about the, I would say by the Holy Spirit, you know, it's about the flame of God's presence, which is the creative spark. As I understand it, in John's Gospel, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit abiding, making his home within us. And it's like this little flame, you know, and sometimes it fires up and sometimes it dies back down again, just a single flame. But actually that is the flame of love and creativity, which is the only thing that warms all spheres of one's life.
- [36:39]
Blank Arcades is the third in a series of folk albums that Rumsey has released, preceded by Evensongs in 2023 and Collodion in 2025. The sessions for each took place in one day in a different historic English church. He records in churches because the acoustics are great and because as a bishop, he has easy access. He records in one. As a bishop, he doesn't have a lot of free time. He's also an author. His last two books, Parish and English Grounds, deal specifically with the covenantal role of place. Not surprisingly, many of his songs do too, including one about a place in Oregon he's never actually visited.
- [37:23]
My police are shrouded the boughs the lip with fire it's falling Eugene Falling
- [37:35]
Eugene I asked why the idea of place had become so important to him.
- [37:41]
I've always had a very strong kind of intuitive, like many people do, attachment to place. And I think that genuinely, that's from growing up in a local church, which is really embedded in the stories of a community that's grown from being the climate of my upbringing and my experience through to academic interests in what, you know, what's the impact to place upon who we are? How does where we are shape who
- [38:09]
we are as a soundtrack for pondering that question? The music of the right reverend Andrew Rumsey is hard to beat Some will
- [38:17]
abandon all to watch the tide pull
- [38:22]
back the land I'm Arsenio Orteza.
- [38:25]
If you should find tripa wistrent then take your love only so if you find tripar is strand then take your love only.
- [38:55]
John Stonestreet
All right, time now to name the crew who contributed to this week's programs. Mary Reichert, David Bonson, Mary Muncie, Daniel ser, Jenny Lynn Schmidt, Amy Etchison, Janie B. Cheney, Hunter Baker, Cal Thomas, Lauren Dunn, Colin Garbarino, Arsenio Ortezza, John Stonestreet and Josh Gagne. Thanks also to our breaking news crew, Kent Covington, Steve Klosterman, Travis Kircher, Daniel Devine and Christina Grube. And thanks to the moonlight maestros, Benj Eicher and Carl Peetz. Our tech producers, Emma Eicher is assistant producer. Harrison Waters is Washington producer. Kristen Florida Flavin is features editor. Lindsay Mast is producer. I'm executive producer Nick Eicher.
- [39:41]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says it is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O most high, to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night. To the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work at the works of your hands. I sing for joy verses 1 through 4 of Psalm 92. Well, this weekend, be sure and sing for joy at a Bible belief church with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. And Lord willing, we will meet you back here on Monday. Go now in grace and peace.