← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
4.3.26 Tech companies failing to protect children, competing visions of speech and responsibility, review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Word Play on modern use of ancient Greek poetry
00:39:38
Loading summary
Transcript111 lines
- [00:06]
Myrna Brown
Good morning. Today on Culture Friday, big tech and kids, a major free speech ruling from the Supreme Court and what it means to count the cost of speaking out.
- [00:15]
Nick Eicher
John Stonestreet is standing by. Also today, a return to the mushroom kingdom.
- [00:21]
John Stonestreet
I'm Bowser Jr. And I'm gonna be
- [00:23]
Colin Garberino
taking my father now.
- [00:26]
Nick Eicher
Colin Garberino reviews the new Super Mario Galaxy movie. And later, even if, if you have never read Homer before, you may still be speaking his language. George Grant will tell you about it on Wordplay for April.
- [00:47]
Myrna Brown
It's Friday, April 3rd. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [00:54]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iger. Good morning.
- [00:58]
Myrna Brown
Uplexed Kent Covington with today's news.
- [01:02]
Kent Covington
Attorney General Pam Bondi is out. President Trump fired her Thursday after 14 months on the job. He has named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch as acting head of the Justice Department until he picks a nominee to replace Bondi. Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal defense lawyer, takes the helm immediately. The president did not announce a reason for the change, but Republican Congressman Chip Roy says in his view, the president needed someone more aggressive in the role.
- [01:29]
John Stonestreet
We have a limited period right now
- [01:31]
Kent Covington
with President Trump in the White House,
- [01:32]
John Stonestreet
with House Republicans and Senate Republicans. We have got to be on offense for justice and accountability. What are we doing about Antifa and
- [01:40]
Nick Eicher
what they're doing radically across this country
- [01:42]
John Stonestreet
to endanger US Open borders, the radical Marxist networks.
- [01:46]
Kent Covington
Trump praised Bondi in a statement, calling her a great American patriot. For her part, Bondi called the role the honor of a lifetime and plans to transition to the private sector. Her tenure drew mounting frustration from conservatives over the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. This is the second Cabinet shake up in less than 30 days. President Trump fired and replaced former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month. A partial government shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security continues as Republicans in Congress grapple over the path forward. With most lawmakers back home for Easter and Passover recess, a handful met in a pro forma session on Thursday. That came after the Senate approved a plan to fund all of DHS except for agencies involved in immigration enforcement. Senate Majority Leader John Thune you know
- [02:36]
John Stonestreet
we have to do this now without Democrat votes. And the way to do that, obviously, is to do it through the budget reconciliation.
- [02:42]
Kent Covington
That process allows both chambers to pass budget issues on a simple majority. House Republicans have opposed funding DHS without immigration enforcement, but Speaker Mike Johnson said in the statement on Wednesday that he now favors the approach. However, on Thursday. The House punted the resolution until next week. Meantime, President Trump plans to sign an executive order authorizing paychecks for the rest of DHS after approving partial back pay for TSA agents last week. In Ukraine, firefighters battled massive flames Thursday after an overnight Russian drone attack on the planet port city of Odessa. World's Kristin Flavin reports.
- [03:23]
Kristen Flavin
Local authorities say civilian and port infrastructure was hit, and officials say two people were killed and three others injured in Russian aerial attacks Thursday. Meanwhile, Russia is inviting its students to join newly created drone units. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the new units require personnel with specialized skills. Skills all of this comes as negotiators for both countries are trying to hammer out a possible prisoner exchange for Easter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously proposed a ceasefire for the holiday weekend, but the Kremlin says it's not interested in a temporary truce. For World I'm Kristen Flavin Four astronauts
- [04:06]
Kent Covington
are coasting toward the moon today, two days into NASA's Artemis 2 mission. The Orion capsule carrying the crew locked onto its lunar path last night after a critical translunar injection burn. President Trump saluted the astronauts, noting that they will boldly go where no man has gone before, that is deeper into space than anyone has ever been and
- [04:27]
George Grant
will very substantially pass the moon, go around it and come back home from a distance that has never been done before. It's amazing they are on the way and God bless them. These are brave people.
- [04:43]
Kent Covington
Today the crew is planning to perform the first of several smaller mid course correction burns to fine tune their path. The closest lunar approach comes on Sunday before splashdown in the Pacific one week from today. Artemis 2 is the first crude deep space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, paving the way for another moon landing as early as 2028. President Trump's White House ballroom project is moving ahead despite a federal judge's order to halt construction. World's Benjamin Eicher has that story.
- [05:15]
Colin Garberino
A key Planning Commission voted 8 to 1 Thursday to approve a $400 million project.
- [05:21]
John Stonestreet
Commission Chair Will Scharf said the judge's
- [05:23]
Colin Garberino
ruling applies to construction activity, not the planning process, so Thursday's vote was legally sound.
- [05:30]
John Stonestreet
The ruling has been stayed two weeks while the administration appeals.
- [05:34]
Colin Garberino
Trump also tweaked the design on Sunday, dropping a south staircase that critics called
- [05:40]
John Stonestreet
too large and adding a west porch. The ballroom is funded through private donations,
- [05:46]
Colin Garberino
with public dollars covering security upgrades.
- [05:49]
John Stonestreet
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has
- [05:52]
Colin Garberino
sued, arguing congressional approval is required.
- [05:56]
John Stonestreet
For World I'm Benjamin Eicher
- [06:01]
Kent Covington
and I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, John Stone street is standing by for Culture Friday. And later, a review of the new animated Stone Super Mario Galaxy movie. This Is the World and Everything in It.
- [06:27]
Myrna Brown
It's Good Friday, April 3rd. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.
- [06:36]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. For years now, whistleblowers, lawmakers and parents have warned that some of the biggest names in tech are not doing enough to protect children online.
- [06:46]
Myrna Brown
Each year, Nicozi, the National center on Sexual Exploitation, names companies it says are putting users at risk. 12 companies in particular. World's Harrison Waters has the group's 2026 report.
- [07:06]
Harrison Waters
The Dirty Dozen this year includes online stores that allow minors to browse explicit products, including Apple's App Store, the video game platform Steam and Amazon Prime. It also calls out Xai's Chatbot Grok for explicit conversations, including in its chats for children. And Google gets the spotlight for its Chromebook and Android products that provide gateways to pornography through insufficient parental controls and optional content filtering. Nikozi executive director Hayley McNamara says these companies are aware of the problems. In her view, they're choosing instead to use customer data for their own profit.
- [07:42]
Kristen Flavin
They get more engagement and more eyeballs by maybe allowing minors under the age of 13 on there who shouldn't be on there, or by allowing adults to contact kids or allowing other nefarious features that they could clamp down on.
- [07:56]
Harrison Waters
The list also names Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg by name for failing to take action to protect children on Instagram. In 2024, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley confronted Zuckerberg for knowing about teenagers exposed to harmful content but not stopping it.
- [08:11]
John Stonestreet
Will you take personal responsibility?
- [08:13]
Colin Garberino
Senator?
- [08:13]
John Stonestreet
I view my job and the job of our company is building the best
- [08:18]
Colin Garberino
tools that we can to keep our community safe.
- [08:20]
John Stonestreet
Well, you're failing at that to well,
- [08:22]
Colin Garberino
Senator, we're doing an industry leading effort. We build AI tools that your product is killing people.
- [08:26]
John Stonestreet
Will you personally.
- [08:27]
Harrison Waters
Up till now, digital media companies have deflected lawsuits because of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that says companies are not liable for third party content. But that's changing. In December, members of the Senate introduced a bill to end that rule. Then last week, courts in New Mexico and California, respectively, ruled against Meta for facilitating sexual exploitation and and addictive product features. The company plans to appeal those rulings, but during the New Mexico trial, Meta announced that by May it will shut down end to end encrypted chats on Instagram. Predatory adults have used that tool to groom children without authorities or Meta able to track them. McNamara says the recent rulings may bring more legal pressure.
- [09:13]
Kristen Flavin
I think sometimes people hear lawsuits and they think, oh, so now the company's going to be liable for everything that ever happens on its platform. No, this is just survivors to have their chance to have a day in court to plead to their specific case.
- [09:26]
Harrison Waters
Nakozi is also petitioning the Supreme Court to take a case against Twitter Now X for facilitating the spread of child sexual abuse material. McNamara says the fight lies on multiple fronts.
- [09:38]
Kristen Flavin
Parents, of course, have a duty, but these online platforms have a duty as well.
- [09:42]
Harrison Waters
She also hopes that between courts and Congress, big tech companies will be forced to take responsibility for business decisions that that allow children and young women to be exploited. Reporting for world, I'm Harrison Waters in Washington.
- [10:02]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from the evangelistic film How I Got Here with Stephen Baldwin as the thief on the cross in 30 languages. OpenTheBible.org
- [10:16]
John Stonestreet
from the Joshua program at St. Dunstan's Academy in Virginia, a gap year shaping young men through trades, farming, prayer, st.dunstansacademy.org and from Dort University, equipping students
- [10:32]
Kent Covington
to serve others with faith, skill and
- [10:35]
John Stonestreet
conviction while they complete their master of
- [10:38]
Kent Covington
social work degree in just four years.
- [10:42]
Nick Eicher
It's Culture Friday. John Stonestreet is here. He is president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. John, good morning.
- [10:50]
John Stonestreet
Good morning.
- [10:51]
Nick Eicher
Well, John, you heard that report there just a few moments ago about the annual Dirty Dozen list from the national center on Sexual Exploitation, naming companies like meta and TikTok and Discord and others arguing that their design choices and algorithms are still exposing kids to harm even as lawsuits. As we talked about last week and policy debates around all of this start heating up when you hear that, though, especially the argument that this is less about content and more about how these platforms are built. What stands out to you about where the responsibility, the real responsibility is?
- [11:34]
John Stonestreet
Well, I think a list like this is helpful because it's not just for lawyers looking for folks to go after, although I think that is gonna be a legitimate aspect of this. I mean, again, we're not just talking about platforms that allow certain content to be carried on them. We're talking about platforms that harmed young people in an addictive way. This has, again, a lot more to do with things like class action lawsuits against the Sackler family because of the opioid addiction crisis. What they knew, what they actually lied about. What they enabled, what they hid and where they targeted and echo things like that. But at the end of the day, this list is not just for lawsuits. It's to put these companies on notice that they can't hide what they're doing anymore. And I appreciate that. I think we're at the point now where we should expect parents to take the responsibility that parents should have been taking for a long time for the devices that they let their kids have, the apps that are on those devices, the platforms that are being allowed to infiltrate the hearts and minds of their students, they're enabling this access. And I think a lot of parents feel like they can't do anything. And I don't know why that's the case. I mean, I know there's plenty of times in which it feels like as a parent, that culture just kind of runs over you. Like you can't really prevent the bad stuff from happening, but you can, you can know your kids passwords. There is no right to privacy for a 12 year old that lives in your house and might be stalked or harassed or harmed in some way by an adult. At that point, you violate whatever myths of privacy rights that parents often kind of appeal to. You do have control. You can assert that sort of will. And that's what a parent's job is. And so I do think that hopefully this will immediately speak to them. And look, educational institutions have gotten on board in droves in terms of limiting this access, at least during the school day. All of them need to get on board. It's no longer like up in the air whether smartphones are needed for education. They're not and they're bad for it. There's kind of no more research here that really needs to be done to demonstrate that.
- [13:58]
Nick Eicher
John, you said something, I don't know how long ago it was, but it really made an impression on me. Something along the lines of, you know, there was a time when young kids went looking for pornography, but now pornography goes looking for little kids. And I think of that whenever I hear counter arguments about these lawsuits and government coming after these companies, trying to hold them accountable. They have built something that is really predatory. This is hardly pure free speech. This is something that is trying to almost surveil young kids. Just as you said, they don't go looking for it, it goes looking for them. And I wonder if that doesn't make a big difference.
- [14:48]
John Stonestreet
It's an enormous difference. And it's not just pornography. I mean, I think that's like, that's so the early 2000s when we were worried about pop up ads on, you know, chat rooms or video games. I mean, what we're talking about now is actually eating disorders and, and addictions of various kinds and, and straight up lies. You know, the most aggressive sexual grooming that's happened with this generation is not in trying to get them to behave sexually. It's to get them to question who they are sexually at a level that no one had ever seen before. Which is why when you kind of lay down the social media use trends among young people and then the growth of the LGBTQ or identification among young people, it's like an exact match. You know, we're talking about the exact same trend. Pornography has been predatory online for a long time. What we're talking about here is all kinds of bad predatory behavior. I mean, frankly, look, I ask parents this, I ask Christian school administrators this. You know, if there were a creepy old man following around all the young girls and whispering terrible things to them of various kinds, would you step in and get rid of that guy? And everybody says yes. And I'm like, well, that's the device. That's exactly what that is.
- [16:08]
George Grant
Yeah.
- [16:09]
Nick Eicher
Well, John, a major win for free speech rights. Now we're pivoting here a little bit. Free speech rights for counselors and therapists. The Supreme Court ruling 8 to 1. And you saw that this week, ruling 8 to 1 against a law in your state of Colorado. This had to do with prohibiting licensed counselors from helping clients navigate their way out of same sex attraction or gender confusion, those kinds of things. And I think this is what bothered the court. The law allowed counselors to steer clients toward LGBTQ life, but not out of it. And nearly unanimous court said that is just plain and simple a violation of the First Amendment. Interesting, though, we just talked about arguably limiting free speech or holding these companies accountable in the case of social media. And now we're kind of celebrating. Counselor, free speech and freedom of religion. So help us draw a line here. What is the difference between regulating speech on social media platforms and restricting what a counselor can say in private in a one on one setting like that?
- [17:18]
John Stonestreet
Yeah, I don't think we're talking about really the same thing at all. I mean, we are dealing with the ramifications of something that we have in terms of the First Amendment. And what we're not saying is that these freedoms don't have limits. You can't use the freedom of speech to intentionally harm someone. Especially you can't use the freedom of speech to intentionally harm minors. That was the case that was made is that to actually lead a client into even their own desire to reconcile with their bodies or to manifest a different sexual orientation or desire to even go along with this state of will would be to cause harm. And the data doesn't back this up. I thought, for example, Justice Jackson's arguments that the state has to police medicine and that this is the only way to protect young people. I mean, it was fascinating to see that because at the same time she's saying that healthcare institutions, doctors, medical professionals, entire medical associations are backpedaling away from the transgender ideology as quickly as they possibly can, saying that there is not the sort of defense of this practice and, or the sort of evidence that supports this practice that we know of. So she's actually now arguing that you need the state to police something that's not effective and not true. So we're just talking about completely different things. The question is, does a professional have the right to free speech? As a professional, you don't leave your freedom at the door just because you're a healthcare professional or a mental health care professional. That's different than allowing anyone to say anything that they want in any way that they want. That, of course, is what's happening with these social media companies is that there is no regulation and there is an intent to harm and clear evidence of harm.
- [19:19]
Myrna Brown
Erin Hawley John, the lawyer in this case who represented the Christian counselor, wrote for World Opinions that this ruling puts roughly 20 states with similar laws on notice. Do you see this as a turning point, not just legally, but culturally, in how dissenting views on identity are treated?
- [19:41]
John Stonestreet
Well, I would listen to Erin Hawley as her analysis, which is going to go well beyond mine because I've been asking a lot of the same questions. You know, Colorado, of course, rightfully has earned a lot of the ire of this, the backlash of this headline, because Colorado is now 0 for 3. And by the way, that makes ADF 3 and oh, on some of these conscience rights cases. But they're not the first state to have enacted some sort of anti conversion law. There are others that are out there and that are built a little bit differently. And, and even in their concurren recurring opinion, Justices Kagan and Sotomayor suggested that, you know, hey, this could stand if it's done a little bit differently. And it was almost like they were attempting to coach progressive lawmakers into heading down that path, which would make the constitutional question a little bit different. But by the way, I think another thing that's going to be worth thinking about and talking about is you have kind of old school liberal judges like Sotomayor and Kagan, and then you have a younger progressive judge like Justice Jackson, and they're not on the same page. And there is a lot of difference. And it's interesting how liberalism evolved into progressivism. Liberalism, you know, which was once about the liberation of the individual, being able to do whatever you want, and progressivism now being about, you know, absolutely making people believe and say and do what you want. It's absolutely the opposite of being liberal or liberating modern day progressivism. I mean, to hear Justice Jackson say that the state should police medicine, you're like, go back 150 years. There's a lot of interesting ramifications, I think, that come out of this case. And I think also there's something to be said, as I mentioned earlier, about the landscape. I mean, this is a decision that's being decided in which sexual orientation and gender identity have been lumped together by Colorado lawmakers and healthcare professionals and even the lgbtq. Various groups that are part of the acronym don't want to be grouped together anymore. And especially on the gender ideology thing, medical professionals running away from it and actually making some pretty dramatic admissions about what it is does not do, especially when it comes to minor. So, yeah, I mean, this is a moving target to try to figure out everything that this particular decision means. And the fact that it was eight to one is another thing to talk about. You know, that really that this is. Is an overwhelming. Usually when you have a big ruling like that, it's because of a narrow, almost technicality. You can go back to some of the bigger ones. This was a 8 to 1, but it wasn't really a narrow ruling. It was a basically like, look, professionals have speech, period. And it was a fascinating, you know, kind of defense of free speech. I think there's a lot here to talk about. And maybe what we should have done is all three of us sit down with Erin Holly on this program and we could have asked her all these questions one day.
- [22:55]
Kristen Flavin
Right?
- [22:56]
John Stonestreet
Yeah. There we go.
- [22:57]
Myrna Brown
So, John, before we let you go, you are a basketball guy. We know that. And so I know you've been following Jaden Ivey and the NDA drama. Ivey publicly proclaimed his newness in Christ back in February.
- [23:13]
John Stonestreet
I'm not the J I used to be, but the OJ Is dead. I'm alive in Christ. No matter what the basketball setting is, I'm born again, the Holy Spirit, and I've been saved by Jesus Christ.
- [23:32]
Myrna Brown
But it wasn't until he spoke out against the NBA for promoting so called Pride Month and unrighteousness that the Chicago Bulls essentially fired him on Monday. Here he is again on his social media platform.
- [23:49]
John Stonestreet
They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA, they, they show it to the world. They say, come, come join us for pride, for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness. So how is it that. That one.
- [24:06]
Myrna Brown
So, John, you have said this many times on this program. As Christians, we have to cultivate a theology of getting fired. How would you compare, contrast the stand Ivy is taking with some of the other cases that we've talked about in the past. I'm thinking of Barronell Stedzman, Jack Phillips.
- [24:28]
John Stonestreet
Well, I think this is a fascinating story, but we're talking about a real life and someone who has actually, you know, now been. Been fired. And I think it's going to be a very interesting question. You know, the NBA is the kind of business where you could get picked up by somebody else, but what will that mean for other front offices and others that are having to make this decision? Because now to hire this guy back is a statement. Now, is it a statement that should be made? You bet. Was this unfair? Completely unfair. I mean, are you kidding me? Of all the things that, you know, NBA players and professional athletes don't get fired for, this is what you're going to get fired for? I don't know that other players are wrong for not saying what Jaden Ivey has said. If he felt the Holy Spirit was leading him to say this out loud and he didn't say it, then that would have been disobedience and he said it. I would have liked to see a lot of other NBA players, many of whom claim to be Christian now, speak out for him. I mean, we all remember back a decade or more ago when Jason Collins made this announcement at on the COVID of Sports Illustrated, I'm black, I'm gay, and I'm in the NBA. And the amount of overwhelming support that he got from NBA players, NBA legends at the time, the, the first lady of the United States and the president for making this announcement about his sexual desires. And now you have a guy where a lot of other people claim to believe the same thing, to hold to the same views and so on, and it's been kind of crickets. But your question was about, you know, a theology of getting fired. And I do think that sometimes in a culture like ours, you know, again, I'm with Solzhenitsyn, you don't always have to show up at everything and say everything out loud. But you need to be willing to never live by lies and you need to be willing to take that stand. I don't see him backtracking. He's showing at this point the courage of a Russian hockey player. You know, refusing to put on the pride jersey. Yeah, good for him.
- [26:40]
Nick Eicher
All right. John Stonestreet is president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. John, thanks so much.
- [26:47]
John Stonestreet
Thank you both.
- [26:48]
Myrna Brown
It.
- [27:16]
Nick Eicher
Today is Friday, April 3rd. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Nick Iger.
- [27:23]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. Coming next on the world and everything in it, a blockbuster sequel lands in theaters. The Super Mario Brothers movie was a billion dollar plus hit. Now comes the follow up and the question, can it live up to the first?
- [27:40]
Nick Eicher
Here now is world arts and culture editor, Colin Garberino. Let's a go.
- [27:46]
Colin Garberino
The Super Mario Galaxy movie starts where most of Mario and Luigi's video game adventures begin. With the abduction of a princess.
- [27:53]
John Stonestreet
Princess Rosalina, you're coming with me.
- [27:58]
Colin Garberino
Anyone who's played the Super Mario Galaxy video game knows Princess Rosalina lives in the comet observatory and is the caretaker of a race of star like beings called the Lumas. After her kidnapping in the movie, one of her Lumas heads to the Mushroom Kingdom to find help. Princess Peach, who's a bit of a girl boss, enlists her trusty sidekick Toad and heads into deep space in search of Rosalina. Mario and Luigi get left behind to keep an eye on the Mushroom Kingdom, especially Peach's special guest.
- [28:27]
John Stonestreet
Ha ha. Hey, Luigi. What's up, Mario?
- [28:30]
Colin Garberino
Mario's archenemy Bowser is being kept prisoner because of all the trouble he caused in the last movie. In this movie, he continues to see himself as a would be rival for Peach's affections and he's trying to reform. Behold.
- [28:44]
John Stonestreet
I made a masterpiece for Princess Peach. What do you think? Love the colors. It's trash.
- [28:52]
Colin Garberino
Reform, however, proves elusive.
- [28:54]
John Stonestreet
How dare you look at my masterpiece and say that. I'll burn the skin off your bones. Wow. Sorry about that. That's the old Bowser talking. Still working through my demons, I suppose.
- [29:11]
Colin Garberino
But when Bowser's son plans a jailbreak, Mario, Luigi and their new pal, the dinosaur Yoshi, get sucked up into outer space where they'll need to find Peach and help her rescue Rosalina.
- [29:22]
John Stonestreet
I'm Bowser Jr. And I'm gonna be taking my father.
- [29:26]
Colin Garberino
Now, most people are probably wondering how the Super Mario Galaxy movie movie compares to its blockbuster predecessor. This movie has the same creative team as the 2023 film, so if you're the kind of person who enjoyed that movie, you're likely to enjoy this one too. As with the previous film, Nintendo fans will appreciate the constant sly references to the video game franchise, and the musical echoes from the game that find their way into the score evoke just the right level of nostalgia. Also, folks familiar with Super Smash Bros. Will be delighted to see a few surprising cameos, but don't expect too much.
- [30:01]
Myrna Brown
Once upon a time there was a
- [30:04]
Kristen Flavin
brave and noble princess named Peach.
- [30:07]
John Stonestreet
I want to hear the story about the Plumbers.
- [30:10]
Kristen Flavin
We did that one last night.
- [30:13]
John Stonestreet
Plumber, Plumber, Plumber.
- [30:15]
Colin Garberino
I was a fan of the first film, but as I said in my review, it suffered from a paper thin plot. It had cute characters and lots of Nintendo jokes, but not much else. I also said the voice acting from Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi fell flat. It still does in this movie, but now you can add Brie Larson's performance as Rosalina to the list. Jack Black still makes for a nice Bowser, but he doesn't get to deliver a Showstopper song like he did in the last film.
- [30:41]
George Grant
Mario, Luigi and a Donkey Kong too.
- [30:46]
John Stonestreet
A thousand troops of Koopas couldn't keep me from you.
- [30:51]
Colin Garberino
Not having Bowser offer up a new song was a huge oversight that scarce going to disappoint a lot of the fan base.
- [30:57]
George Grant
I'll make you mine help, but other
- [31:03]
Colin Garberino
than the lack of a whimsical musical number, the films are pretty comparable. The plot of the new movie doesn't feel that new, but the visuals are great and it includes some action sequences that really highlight why Illumination is one of the better animation studios. I also appreciated that this PG film doesn't include any of the crude humor that sneaks into so many kids movies these days. Instead, the filmmakers wisely rely on nostalgia to hook teens and parents. I also have to admit that the relationship between Bowser and Bowser Jr. Despite being villainous, was kind of touching.
- [31:35]
John Stonestreet
From the ashes of his father's defeat rises a new conqueror. The Bowser name shall be feared once more.
- [31:44]
Colin Garberino
It's nice for a Hollywood movie to remind us that fathers matter, even if they're using the bad guys to do their own reminding. So on the whole, the Super Mario Galaxy movie might not be quite as fun as the first. I mean, really, the omission of a fresh Bowser song is unforgivable, but it's still plenty fun, especially for kids and parents who enjoy rescuing a princess every now and then. I'm Colin Carperino.
- [32:15]
John Stonestreet
Foreign.
- [32:31]
Myrna Brown
This Is the World and everything in it. From Listener Supported World Radio, I'm Myrna Brown.
- [32:36]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. Next up, some proof that even if you have never read Homer before, you have probably been quoting him. Here is George Grant with wordplay for April
- [32:50]
George Grant
Rage goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles. This exclamation is the iconic first line of the Iliad, composed orally by the blind bard Homer sometime in the 8th century BC the classic poem is generally described by scholars as the first work of European literature and some would assert the greatest. Its sequel, the Odyssey, is very nearly equally esteemed. Together they lyrically describe brief episodes in the Trojan War and its aftermath. The poems have had an enormous impact on the literary legacy of the West. Homer wrote in a distinctive long rolling drumbeat rhythm. Scholars call it dactylic hexameter. That same form was later taken up by Virgil in the Aeneid, Ovid in the Metamorphoses, Hesiod in the Theogony, as well as a host of other lyrical works by the likes of Horace, Perseus, Juvenal, Hesiod, and Lucretius. Because of the limitations and constraints of that meter, Homer employed formulaic epithets at regular intervals throughout the epics. And these too became standard stock and trade devices used by lyricists all across the centuries. Since the rosy fingered dawn, the wine, dark sea, everlasting glory, undying fame, beauty, terrible beauty, that star of the waning summer, the heat of love, and the pulsing rush of longing. In addition to those memorably picturesque epithets, Homer profoundly enriched our vocabulary. The word amen, for instance, passed into English from Latin, but the Latin root was derived from the Greek imen, meaning true or truthful, a word first found in the Iliad. The word humor comes from Homer's use of hemorrh, literally meaning wet or juicy, related to the ancient anatomical description of the four bodily fluids, blood, phlegm, choler and bile. The term did not come to mean witty until well into the 17th century. The word money comes from Homer's use of mimosyne, an alternate name for Hera, the mythic goddess of memory. Outside the Temple of Hera in Olympia, ceremonial coins were minted, adorned with Hera's image, hence the association with money. Later this was mirrored at Rome's meant outside the temple to Hera's Roman counterpart, Juno. The word glamour originates from the Greek word grammario, again first used by Homer. Medieval alchemists measured their potions and formulas in grams and the mystique of their trade gave the term its present meaning fashionable, chic or stylish. Then there are any number of other quite obvious Homeric bequests to our common parlance. An odyssey is a grand adventure. An Achilles heel is a congenital weakness. To Hector is to bluster, bully or torment. A mentor is a counselor, discipler, or advisor. Stentorian is a thunderously loud voice, and marmalade is a kind of fruit jam or jelly. Interestingly, the phrase we might most readily associate with Homer is Trojan Horse. But it doesn't appear in the Iliad, and it's only briefly described in the Odyssey. And though the scheme was planned by Odysseus, even there it is not mentioned by name. Instead, the term first appears Virgil's Aeneid. Thus, the old ploy remains a bit of an etymological and linguistic Trojan horse. How Homeric. I'm George Grant.
- [37:39]
Nick Eicher
All right. Time now to name the crew who contributed to this week's piece. Jenny Ruff, David Bonson, Mary Reichard, Juliana Chan Erickson, Mary Munsey, Bethel McGrew, Amy Lewis, Daniel Darling, Hunter Baker, Cal Thomas, Lauren Smith, Colin Garbarino, John Stonestreet, Josh Schumacher, George Grant and Josh Gagne. Thanks also to our breaking news team, Kent Covington, Steve Klosterman, Travis Kercher, Daniel Devine and Christina Grub. And thanks to the moonlight maestros working hard to make sure the program is ready each weekday bright and early. Benj Eicher and Carl Peets. Emma Eicher is assistant producer. Harrison Waters is Washington producer. Kristen Flavin is features editor. Lindsay Mast is producer. I'm executive producer Nick Eicher.
- [38:33]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Erna Brass. 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 was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus combed out with a loud voice, said, father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23, verses 44 through 46. That's Good Friday, you know, the story doesn't end there. This weekend, celebrate the resurrection of King Jesus. There is victory in his name. He is risen.
- [39:27]
Nick Eicher
He is risen indeed.