← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
7.9.25 Remembering the purpose and promise of freedom, Sweden’s battle with crime, and keeping the runway clear
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- [00:06]
Lindsay Mast
Good morning. The countdown to America's 250th birthday begins and with it, conversations about what unites us in a divisive age.
- [00:14]
Nick Icker
That's ahead today on Washington Wednesday. Hunter Baker joins us to talk about it. Also today, a world tour, special report from Sweden and a creative way to protect airplanes from the dangers of nature.
- [00:27]
Hunter Baker
It keeps people safe, it keeps the aircraft safe and it keeps the wildlife safe.
- [00:32]
Nick Icker
Commentator Janie B. Cheney on AI's Promoters and Detractors.
- [00:44]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, July 9th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [00:51]
Nick Icker
And I'm Nick Icker. Good morning.
- [00:55]
Lindsay Mast
Up next, Marc Mellinger with today's news.
- [00:59]
Mark Mellinger
The Supreme Court says President Trump's downsizing of the federal workforce can go forward for now. In an 8 to 1 decision, the justices overrode lower court orders temporarily freezing the cuts by Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency. The lone dissenting vote came from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who warned the decision will lead to mass terminations along with quote, unquote, the dismantling of much of the federal government as Congress has created it. The high court's decision allows the White House to keep making the cuts while a U.S. district Court judge continues hearing a case in which labor unions and nonprofits are suing over the downsizing. It also comes as Congress works to pass a rescission bill codifying some of the Doge cuts. The bill has passed the House, but senators like Maine's Susan Collins want changes.
- [01:54]
Hunter Baker
I believe it needs some significant changes. For example, I want to strike the rescissions of funds for pepfar. I can't imagine why we would want.
- [02:06]
Maria Salazar
To terminate that program.
- [02:09]
Mark Mellinger
PEPFAR is short for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. George W. Bush started the program to support AIDS prevention, care and treatment in developing countries. It is credited with saving millions of lives. Texas governor says more than 160 people are now believed missing after that horrific July 4th flooding of the Guadalupe river in the central part of that state. During a visit to the affected area, Governor Greg Abbott said the number of missing jumped up significantly after authorities set up a hotline for families to call. The death toll is at least 109, including more than two dozen campers and counselors from Camp mystic, an all girls Christian camp. And and Abbott says the hearts of Texans are breaking every day.
- [02:59]
Chris Keezer
Nothing is as heart wrenching as hearing.
- [03:01]
Nick Icker
The stories of what the girls around.
- [03:03]
Karina Altman
Here, especially the girls at Camp mystic.
- [03:05]
Nick Icker
Went through to see where they lived. In one moment where they disappeared the next moment and were gone forever.
- [03:11]
Mark Mellinger
Search and rescue crews are continuing their work and Abbott says they won't stop until every missing person is accounted for. President Trump and First lady Melania Trump will visit the area Friday. White House foreign envoy Steve Witkoff says he's hopeful there will be a Gaza ceasefire deal by the end of the week. Witkoff's comments come as President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had their second meeting in as many days, almost exclusively to discuss Gaza. According to the president, Gaza is a.
- [03:46]
Chris Keezer
Tragic, it's a tragedy, it's a tragedy and he wants to get it solved and I want to get it solved and I think the other side wants to get it solved.
- [03:55]
Mark Mellinger
The president's envoy says negotiators meeting in Qatar have made great progress since Sunday and he plans to join them later in the week. The deal under discussion would be a 60 day ceasefire. It would include the release of 10 living hostages still being held by Hamas, along with nine deceased hostages. The White House Council of Economic Advisers says the Trump tariffs aren't causing a spike in the price of imported goods to the US Torture. During a meeting of President Trump's Cabinet Tuesday, the council unveiled a report claiming import prices actually fell slightly from December to May, while overall prices increased slightly. The White House says it proves tariffs don't cause inflation, though many economists disagree, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says the tariffs are bringing in a lot of revenue.
- [04:47]
Nick Icker
We will have taken in about $100 billion in tariff income thus far this year, and that's with the tariffs, the major tariff tariffs not having started until the second quarter. So we could expect that that could be well over 300 billion by the end of the year.
- [05:03]
Mark Mellinger
And the Fed has been taking a wait and see approach on the tariff's economic impact before lowering interest rates. They'll reconsider cutting rates again at the end of this month. President Trump says Fed Chair Jerome Powell should resign for not lowering rates already. Someone using an AI generated voice contacted three foreign ministers and two US Officials last month claiming to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Reuters reports. The imposter contacted the foreign ministers, a US Governor and a member of Congress over the signal messaging app, leaving voicemails for at least two of them and sending a text message to another State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce.
- [05:46]
Hunter Baker
The State Department, of course, is aware of this incident and is currently monitoring and addressing the matter. The department takes seriously its responsibility to.
- [05:55]
Tammy Bruce
Safeguard its information and continuously take steps.
- [05:59]
Hunter Baker
To improve the department's cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.
- [06:04]
Mark Mellinger
The State Department sent out a cable last week warning partners about fake accounts and impersonations. The IRS says churches can endorse political candidates from the pulpit. World's Travis Kircher has more.
- [06:19]
Travis Kircher
In a joint filing Monday, the Internal Revenue Service and a group of Christian plaintiffs moved to settle a lawsuit brought last year. Two Baptist churches in Texas, the National Religious Broadcasters Organization and the Intercessors for America last fall challenged a decades old law that bars tax exempt nonprofits from engaging in certain political activities. The Johnson Amendment, enacted in 1954, prohibits organizations from participating in political campaigns, a restriction some say infringes on free speech rights. In Monday's filing, the IRS said officials have not historically enforced the ban on houses of worship and said it would view endorsements of political candidates from the pulpit as private matters. Meanwhile, the National Council of Nonprofits criticized the move, saying the amendment was installed to keep nonprofit organizations nonpartisan and to ensure they remained focused on their mission. A 2024 National association of Evangelical survey of evangelical leaders found that 98% of respons believe pastors should not endorse candidates in front of their congregations. For World, I'm Travis Kercher.
- [07:36]
Mark Mellinger
And I'm Mark Mellinger. Straight ahead, preparing to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Plus how one small airport is making travelers safer. This is the World and Everything in it.
- [08:05]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, the 9th of July. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [08:12]
Nick Icker
And I'm Nick Icker. It's Washington. Wednesday, next July 4, 2026, America turns 250. The Semi Quincentennial is shaping up to be quite a show. There's talk of staging high school football on the National Mall and a full blown UFC title match on the White House lawn, per the president.
- [08:34]
Chris Keezer
We have a lot of land there. We're going to build a little. We're not. Dana's going to do it. Daniel's great. One of a kind. Could have a UFC fight like 20, 25,000 people.
- [08:44]
Lindsay Mast
But there's more at stake than spectacle. The way a country celebrates its founding reveals something deeper about what it remembers, what it values, what it's still fighting over.
- [08:54]
Maria Salazar
It's important to celebrate and to announce.
- [08:57]
Chris Keezer
To the world what this group of founding fathers did 250 years ago.
- [09:01]
Nick Icker
Florida Congresswoman Maria Salazar is on the America 250 Commission. She's the daughter of Cuban exiles and she told World's Leo Briceno she hopes that more Americans come to appreciate what makes their nation unique are just like.
- [09:17]
Maria Salazar
The people in the critical race theory.
- [09:19]
Chris Keezer
And all those, you know, the people.
- [09:20]
Mark Mellinger
That are born in the United States.
- [09:22]
Maria Salazar
And they're despising what the system represents.
- [09:25]
Mark Mellinger
Oh, have them go to Cuba for.
- [09:26]
Maria Salazar
Two weeks, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, Iraq.
- [09:30]
Chris Keezer
And then they'll appreciate where they were born.
- [09:33]
Nick Icker
Joining us now, Hunter Baker. He's a regular World Opinions contributor. He's provost and dean of faculty at North Greenville University. Hunter Baker is author of several books on political thought. His latest titled post Liberal Protestants. He's a lawyer and political theorist, and we are happy to have him. Good morning, Hunter.
- [09:53]
Chris Keezer
Thank you. Happy to be with you today.
- [09:55]
Nick Icker
Hey, Hunter, let's begin with the big picture. You and I were kids back at this time for America's Bicentennial, 1976, although I was a much older kid, I have to admit. So I'm expecting that your recollections are a little more informed by what you read and studied than so much by what you experienced as a young kid. But talk about the mood back then and compare that, if you would, with today's lead up to 250.
- [10:22]
Chris Keezer
Yeah, well, so, first of all, I just want to say, even as a kid, a young kid, six years old, the bicentennial looms large in my memory. And so, yeah, I've thought about it a lot as we've approached this semi quincentennial. Just rolls off the tongue, Hunter, 250. I've seen people calling it the quarter mill, so maybe the quarter mil will catch. Um, but I've been thinking about it, and, you know, so on one hand, you could think, well, this is so different. People are so divided now, and we've had so much political controversy and strife. But then I started thinking back on 1976. And what. What is 1976? Well, it's after Watergate. It's after the only president forced from office in the entire history of the country. It's after the humiliation of Vietnam and all of the difficulties that came with that. And yet the bicentennial was able to be, I think, very effective, actually, at uniting the country and attracting people's attention. It really intruded into popular culture, and I think that people who are above a certain age, like you and me, remember it fondly.
- [11:41]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter, the kickoff event was in Iowa. You're hearing a little sound from that. But President Trump was the main event. Lee Greenwood performed. We heard that plug for the UFC a few moments ago. What does all of that tell you about the cultural temperature that we can expect with this celebration.
- [11:57]
Chris Keezer
Well, so, I mean, look, on one hand, anytime you think of something patriotic, you think of somebody non divisive or identified with unabashed patriotism like Lee Greenwood. I don't know if anybody has ever gravy trained a single song the same way that Lee Greenwood has. But I think that it's a good thing that you have a president who is patriotic. Right. You know, whatever else you want to say about the parties and the divisions between them, I think that Donald Trump does love America. I think that he is a creature of this country. I mean, in certain ways, he embodies certain things about this country. But I think that he is very excited about being the person who is the president at the time of the 250th anniversary. And I think that they're going to make a huge attempt. You know, you're looking at somebody who was on primetime NBC for, I think, a dozen years. You're gonna see a major attempt made to sort of capture the cultural imagination of Americans with this celebration.
- [13:11]
Nick Icker
Hunter, you know, in the several months leading up, speaking of President Trump, leading up to his victory in 2024, this really was a feature of the outgoing Biden administration. There was this sense after he won in 2020, a lot of American history was being rewritten. Diversity, equity and inclusion. That was all the rage. Critical theory in the schools. You had the 1619 project, and clearly there was a lot of pushback to that. And Trump rode that to his second term, his current term. But that stuff didn't just go away. How divided do you think we are today? We talked about how divided we were in the 70s, but how divided do you think we are today?
- [13:53]
Chris Keezer
Well, as somebody who has spent his career teaching political science courses at different levels, the one thing that has come back to me again and again is that we suffer from division that really we lack something to really pull us together. When I was young, I think there was a major effort made to convince me of the value of the American experiment. I think that probably the Cold War was the driving force there, but to convince me that the United States was worth fighting for, worth preserving that freedom was worth having. And we need something like that now. Right. And it doesn't mean sort of being bubble headed and pretending that the United States was always a fairy tale. That's not the case. I mean, you can read Alexis de Tocqueville and his famous book, Democracy in America. It celebrates this country, it celebrates democracy. But he also, even then, is noting the treatment of the slaves and the treatment of the Native Americans and some of the flaws of democracy and how Americans can mistake being in the majority for being right. It's not a perfect country, but at the same time, it's an important country. And it's a country that has done a lot for the development of democracy and for belief in constitutional law. And one thing that I think that we can emphasize and everybody should be able to agree with, is that this country played a decisive role in the 20th century. Without the United States in the 20th century, it's not entirely clear that totalitarians of different stripes, whether Nazis or Soviets, would not have prevailed. So I think that the world does owe a debt to the United States as really a force for freedom in the last century.
- [15:50]
Nick Icker
Now, that sounds like something that you have written about, which is the notion of America as a moral project. And maybe I'm just trying to get back to this question of division. What happens when we don't agree on what the moral foundation is?
- [16:07]
Chris Keezer
Yeah, we have to have the ability to work through it. I mean, one of the things that was so frightening about 2020 is that it felt less like we were having a discussion and more like we were having a witch hunt of some kind. Right. You know, that we're sort of in some sort of a post rational phase where, you know, numbers or power, cultural sway seemed decisive. And I think that what we have to get back to is an understanding that politics between free people requires a degree of civic virtue and patience and reasoning and working through things. One of the worst things about this period that we kind of went through was a disregard for free speech. No, you know, the answer for bad speech is more speech and good speech, but it's not to ban speech or outlaw speech, which is sort of what started to happen. And so I think that we have an opportunity to sort of recover from that kind of disastrous period and rebuild our commitment to the virtues and habits that are necessary for a constructive democracy.
- [17:21]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter, you teach a lot of young Americans. What do you hope that Americans, and particularly young Americans, will take away from the 250th celebration? Is there still a shared story to be told here? And how do you see that unfolding?
- [17:36]
Chris Keezer
Yeah, I think that this is an opportunity to try to bring back civics, it seems to me, just kind of observing. I think that young people know less about civics than they did 25, 30, 40 years ago. I think that there was an effort in the past to inculcate an understanding of our system and its virtues. And how to participate in it, much more so than now. I love that old Norman Rockwell painting, the Freedom of Speech, if you've ever seen it. There's this. He's like a factory worker. He's at some kind of town meeting at night, probably held in a school room. And he's. He's got on his leather jacket from work, and he looks like a more handsome Abraham Lincoln. And he's standing up to speak to the gathered assembly, and everyone is perfectly attentive. They're all looking at him, waiting to hear what he's going to say. I want to recover that right. I want to. I want to get back to that sense of the value of talking and listening to each other and trying to work through our problems. And I want young people to understand how special that is, because a lot of people will never have that opportunity in the country in which they live, but they've always had it.
- [18:52]
Nick Icker
Well, Hunter, while we have you, there's some news out of Washington that's causing a bit of consternation in some quarters of the gop. Last week, the Pentagon had paused some air defense weapons deliveries to Ukraine, saying that American stockpiles are getting low. Then this week, President Trump reversed course and said the US Would continue sending weapons to Ukraine. Now, many in the Republican base are kind of split on this question and the president's pivot here to continue that aid. So what's your read on all that?
- [19:25]
Chris Keezer
Yeah, well. So first of all, why the consternation? Well, I think the reason for that is that Trump has really sold himself as a different US President. For a long time, we've sort of been the global policeman, the provider of global defense. A lot of other countries, particularly the NATO countries, have been able to free ride on American efforts. And a big part of what Trump has done is to say to the European countries, we're not going to do that anymore. Right. The American people are not going to bear the burden of your defense to the same degree that they have in the past. And therefore, you cannot count on us to always intervene. And your problems are going to be, to a larger degree, your problems. But so for this, for Trump to say, I'm not gonna pause the weapons, I'm going to get more involved, that seems like a divergence from that policy to some degree. But the other side of it is that Trump is the consummate dealmaker and negotiator. And I think that his interpretation of the situation is a. He may feel that Ukraine has got to have this in order not to lose But B, he may feel that his own negotiating stance with regard to Putin is stronger if Putin cannot accurately predict what he's going to do. And so I think that's part of what's going on here too is, you know, Vladimir Putin, you can't take me for granted. You can't just assume, you know what I'm going to do.
- [20:56]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter, there's another story here. Just to set the background. For months, the Department of Justice has promised to release files on Jeffrey Epstein. That's the business mogul charged with trafficking young women to powerful men around the world. You'll remember he died in prison in 2019 under mysterious circumstances while waiting for his trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The DOJ promised to release thousands of files. But now this week is saying there is no client list and nothing to see here. Hunter, what do you make of the political pressures at play here?
- [21:29]
Chris Keezer
Yeah, so first of all, I would not put myself forward as the person who automatically knows what exactly has happened here. I think it's impossible to know what exactly has happened. But as we've watched it unfold, it does remind me of the fact that a lot of politics is about sort of an economy of attention getting ears and eyeballs and minds paying attention to something. And it has been useful to build up this idea of a conspiracy, you know, a conspiracy involving billionaires and very shady conduct. And so I think that to some extent what may have happened is maybe like Geraldo Rivera and Al Capone's vault that you build, you build up this big thing and then when we finally see what's behind the door, there's nothing there. So I think that we may need to be ready for the fact that that could be what's going on here.
- [22:21]
Nick Icker
Hunter Baker is a political scientist and academic and contributor to World Opinions. It's great to catch up with you. Thanks so much.
- [22:29]
Chris Keezer
Thank you.
- [22:36]
Mark Mellinger
Additional support comes from Water's Edge Kingdom Investments, personal investments that build churches 5.05% APY on a three month term. Watersedge.com invest from Cedarville University, committed to transforming lives through christ centered education. Cedarville. Edu World and from Nicaea Conference 2025, a historic gathering of church leaders from every inhabited continent. More@nicaeaconference.com.
- [23:16]
Nick Icker
Coming up next on THE World and everything in a World Tour Special report. Sweden is known for IKEA furniture, cinnamon buns and neutrality. But these days it's also making headlines for something else. A sharp increase in violent crime.
- [23:33]
Lindsay Mast
In 2022, a Conservative government came to power after nearly a century of Progressive control. Immigration reform is high on the agenda. But the crisis goes deeper than border policy. Europe reporter Jenny Lynn Schmidt has the story.
- [23:49]
Chris Keezer
In recent years, this seemingly peaceful nation has been rocked by gun violence. As the gunmen started shooting, students fled. They are clearly terrified. Gangs with guns have unleashed terror on the streets.
- [24:05]
Maria Salazar
Sweden has a growing problem with violent crime. In January alone, there were 30 gang related explosions reported in the country. Fatal shootings doubled from 2013 to 2024. And people are starting to refer to Stockholm as the murder capital of Europe. The most recent mass shooting was in April in Uppsala. This woman lives in the residential neighborhood where the shooting occurred. She says she fears someday soon she could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The most disturbing part is the involvement of children in the violence. In 2024, 120 children under 15 were accused of committing or participating in murders. Most of the children came from a disadvantaged immigrant background. In this documentary, a gang leader called Mr. Syndicate explains.
- [24:59]
Chris Keezer
We never thought we were included, you know.
- [25:01]
Maria Salazar
Audio courtesy of 3cat we never thought.
- [25:04]
Chris Keezer
We were a part of this society. They didn't want us to integrate with the Swedish people. They put us in a corner here and we take the lowest possible jobs. Either that or we start with the criminal activities.
- [25:17]
Maria Salazar
Under Swedish law, youth under 15 cannot be convicted of or punished for serious crimes, including murder. That's made vulnerable kids easy targets for gang leaders. They promise fast money and recruit children as young as 11 for contract killing. If the perpetrators are caught and they're under 15, the age of criminal responsibility, the consequences will be very light. The cause for the violence is a complex intersection of crime, gangs, drug trafficking, immigration and Sweden's relaxed social policies and citizenship laws. But that's about to change. Per Evert is director of the Clapham Institute, Sweden's leading Christian think tank.
- [26:01]
Per Evert
We have had severe problems in Sweden with crime, organised crime, gang criminality. And a lot of this has been connected with a failed integration project. And all parties realize this.
- [26:15]
Maria Salazar
In January, the government proposed new tighter rules for acquiring citizenship. Sweden has had one of Europe's easiest citizenship processes, along with the country's generous welfare state that has made it a top destination for refugees coming to Europe. In the migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016, Sweden welcomed more people per capita than any other European country. That influx put a strain on the nation's social fabric. Now, as part of the effort to combat organized crime and tighten controls, applicants must live in the country for eight years instead of five and prove financial self sufficiency and mastery of the Swedish language. Previously There were no language or financial requirements. As part of the same proposal, the government wants to change the constitution to be able to revoke citizenship for people involved in gang related crime.
- [27:12]
Per Evert
So if people commit these kinds of serious crime that threaten the system of society itself, it is suggested that such citizenships should be removed and they could be moved back to the nation where they actually have a citizenship.
- [27:28]
Maria Salazar
Ebert says that the proposal has backing across political parties in Sweden. The government says it's one step in slowing the crime bosses who direct the gangs from abroad while taking advantage of their naturalized Swedish citizenship. Here's Sweden's Justice Minister Gunnar Strommmer from earlier this year.
- [27:46]
Per Evert
A challenge in Sweden not the least.
- [27:48]
Nick Icker
We have 600 Swedish criminals outside our.
- [27:51]
Per Evert
Borders in 57 different countries orchestrating very.
- [27:57]
Nick Icker
Severe organized crime in Sweden.
- [27:59]
Maria Salazar
Everett says that the hegemony in Swedish society and politics after World War II created the stable and wealthy country Sweden has been known to be. But progressivism and the loosening ties of the church in society opened the door to policies that allowed for the current problems. Some on Sweden's right condemn all forms of immigration, arguing that immigrants bring violence with them. But others say organized crime gangs have existed in Sweden for a long time. Now they're taking advantage of the disaffected children of immigrants. That means the solution is more complex than just stopping immigration. Audio here courtesy of Unreported World.
- [28:43]
Karina Altman
They try to blame it on immigration.
- [28:45]
Chris Keezer
But it is actually those who are.
- [28:47]
Karina Altman
Born in Sweden who are more criminal. There are many vulnerable areas where youth haven't received a proper upbringing, and I blame this on the mistake of the Swedish government. And police harassment makes those in the suburbs feel like outsiders.
- [29:03]
Maria Salazar
Meanwhile, the incessant violence could have an unexpected consequence along with other upheavals in Swedish society. The violence is pushing people to ask big questions about values and the meaning of life. The consequences of a godless social policy are showing, and Evert says that can open doors for the gospel. The divide between an open and closed door immigration policy runs through Sweden's churches too. But Evert sees how the influence of some immigrants into the country is positive and can help the Swedish Evangelical Church remain biblically sound.
- [29:39]
Per Evert
I think most conservative or evangelical Christians also see the need for input from migrating churches and migrating people to influence the very liberal Swedish mindset. Because most people who are Christians who come from other nations, they tend to be more conservative in their views.
- [30:00]
Maria Salazar
Reporting for World Tour Special Report, I'm Jenny Lindschmidt.
- [30:19]
Nick Icker
Well, yesterday we had competitive parallel parking in Portland. Today it's competitive public transit piloting in Poland. The national tram driving championship driver drivers faced 10 precision challenges behind the wheel of massive public transit trains. Events included everything from delicate stops to full on tram bowling. That's right. Just as you might imagine, tram bowling. Here's one driver describing the difficulty. Now, my rough translation. You want to use good follow through, you've got to use the train to nudge a bowling ball and just so to knock down all the pins. But the key is you gotta not crash or words to that effect. My polish is a little rusty. The competition is meant to raise the profile of transit driving and this thing is global. Two drivers earned an invite to the world championship in Vienna this fall. So here's hoping they can navigate those confusing foreign transit systems. It's the world and everything in it. Today is Wednesday, July 9th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Nick Iger.
- [31:43]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. Coming next on the World and everything in it. Clear to land. Airplane Bird strikes have become more common over the past two decades. The most famous one became a movie, right?
- [31:55]
Nick Icker
The 2016 film Sully told a story with a happy ending. A US Airways jet took off from LaGuardia in New York. It hit a flock of Canada geese, disabling both engines and forcing an emergency landing in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew survived. Airlines report thousands of bird strikes near runways each year, and they can pose a serious risk to planes and the passengers in them. One airport is working to reduce that risk in an unconventional way.
- [32:31]
Lindsay Mast
Outside West Virginia International Yeager Airport near Charleston, you can hear the sounds of all sorts of things that fly. The kind that God made and the kind that he allowed man to make. In the middle of it all are a few others tasked with helping both the birds and the planes do what they're supposed to do.
- [32:52]
Karina Altman
The stuff that we was using wasn't really working, like the pyrotechnic things, you know, like stuff you shoot in the air and stuff like that.
- [33:01]
Lindsay Mast
That's Chris Keezer. He's the airport's wildlife specialist. Wildlife strikes, particularly bird strikes, pose a real threat to planes and passengers. In 2020, three US airports reported more than 19,000 bird strikes. The FAA projected that cost at about $450 million and 60,000 hours of aircraft downtime. Airports employ a wide variety of tactics to deter animals. Things like decoys, falconry, model aircrafts. But those don't always work.
- [33:34]
Karina Altman
They get used to those sounds. They also get used to, like these Fake coyotes and things like that. They get used to them because they never move. And birds and animals are, you know, they're frightened of predators.
- [33:48]
Lindsay Mast
So Yeager Airport tried something new. A dog. It isn't the first to do so, but a few years ago, Keezer says the airport director wanted to give it a try. She knew Keezer had experience with animals, so she offered him a change in role from airport manager to animal handler.
- [34:05]
Karina Altman
I said, did I do something wrong as far as being a manager? He says, no, this is an upgrade, Chris. So give you a day or two to think about it. And I thought about it and I said, sign me up.
- [34:15]
Lindsay Mast
Enter a black and gray border collie named Hercules. His job, to herd and chase birds away from plains without killing them.
- [34:24]
Karina Altman
Hercules is fantastic. He's one in a million dogs. I'll say it a hundred times.
- [34:29]
Lindsay Mast
Keezer starts the morning by greeting and feeding Hercules. And if the control tower calls, they're ready.
- [34:35]
Karina Altman
The tower will haul down sometimes. Hey, we got birds out there. And as soon as the Hercules hears the birds over the radio, he knows the tires needing some help to run them off. And so he gets excited and starts to bark. And I said, let's go. You ready? He just starts barking and carrying on. He's fired up and ready to run.
- [34:54]
Lindsay Mast
The airport where Hercules chases birds is nestled in the Appalachian Mountains near the Elk and Canal rivers. There's a lot of wildlife. Sparrows, vultures, killdeer, even geese. Rainy days are the busiest days. That's when the worms come out.
- [35:09]
Karina Altman
Always called buffet day. And it's like they can come in and just have a day. And our day becomes a lot of work. That day we might put in six, seven miles, maybe, plus that day.
- [35:20]
Lindsay Mast
That kind of mileage doesn't seem to faze border collies.
- [35:24]
Hunter Baker
They need a job to do, and they will go stir crazy if you don't give them a job to do.
- [35:28]
Lindsay Mast
Karina Altman is the zoo content manager with the Apologetics Ministry. Answers In Genesis, she says the use of border collies to herd animals away from airports is a smart way to steward creation.
- [35:40]
Hunter Baker
They are bred to work, they are bred to run, they are bred to think. They are often regarded as the most intelligent dog breed. Border collies have so much energy, so giving them this huge space to run around, it keeps the wildlife away without killing the wildlife. And so it keeps people safe, it keeps the aircraft safe, and it keeps the wildlife safe. So it's a good compromise.
- [35:59]
Lindsay Mast
But Hercules is 8 years old and slowing down a bit at one time.
- [36:03]
Karina Altman
He could run speeds about 35 miles an hour. He's about 20 right now, so now.
- [36:08]
Lindsay Mast
His job includes training his newer, younger co worker, another Border collie named Ned.
- [36:13]
Karina Altman
Ned has picked up on what he does, and he watches Herc and work. And now he's picked up the same skill level that he has. So he knows not to go on the Runway. And when I holler for her, Ned pulls away from the Runway, so he's doing the same thing.
- [36:28]
Lindsay Mast
But the pair aren't one trick Collies. On slower days, you may find them inside, welcoming passengers and posing for social media.
- [36:37]
Karina Altman
A lot of times you see somebody sad or crying, they might be worrying about flying out of here. And a lot of times they said, I'll put Hercules out of them. Next thing you know, the tears just go away. So it makes a difference in somebody's day.
- [36:50]
Lindsay Mast
Passenger Janet Spry sits next to Hercules, accepting every Slurpee kiss he gives her. I know the hard work he does, but he's such a wonderful ambassador for just here. He just makes you feel really good. For Chris Keizer, it's work that is fulfilling.
- [37:05]
Karina Altman
It's been the best decision I ever made. And just working with these dogs, it just makes you feel good every day. And I just love my job and it's important. It could be at one bird for that day, but not hitting that plane can make a difference in somebody's flight. I like to try to make the difference for somebody's life that flies in and out here, or a plane, to be safe, make its place where it needs to go.
- [37:48]
Nick Icker
Today is Wednesday, July 9th. Good morning, this is the world and everything in it from Listener Supported World Radio. I'm Nick Iger.
- [37:56]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. World commentator Janie B. Cheney says it's right to be concerned about artificial intelligence, but some of the rhetoric is likely overstated.
- [38:07]
Tammy Bruce
Since the debut of open source's ChatGPT in 2023 large language models have made themselves at home everywhere. Perhaps most concerningly in education. Last May, a New Yorker headline blared, everyone is cheating their way through college. AI cheating is almost impossible to detect, since a large language model can write plausible sounding papers in any style, including that of a reasonably bright college freshman. Even AI defenders have concerns. Are we merely outsourcing menial tasks or outsourcing thought itself? On May 15, the Free Press hosted a formal debate on a similar Will the truth survive artificial intelligence? Barry Weiss moderated the debate.
- [38:59]
Lindsay Mast
Artificial intelligence is already completely transforming our.
- [39:02]
Maria Salazar
World, practitioners and experts.
- [39:05]
Lindsay Mast
Experts alike have compared AI to the advent of electricity and of fire itself.
- [39:12]
Tammy Bruce
Arguing for the affirmative were Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the large language model perplexity, and Dr. Fei Fei Li, regarded as the godmother of AI for her work in computer image recognition. In opposition were computer scientist Jaron Lanier and tech journalist Nicholas Carr. Early in the evening, 68% of the tech friendly audience registered in the affirmative that truth would survive AI. Then the debate began. Surprisingly, the core arguments on both sides were built not on cost versus benefits, but on faith. Faith in humanity. The Affirmative team argued that humans are truth seekers. Technology helps us search for answers. It's a helper, not a master. Dr. Li concluded her opening remarks this.
- [40:06]
Chris Keezer
There is no independent machine values.
- [40:09]
Maria Salazar
Machine values are human values.
- [40:12]
Lindsay Mast
So what AI does to truth is.
- [40:16]
Chris Keezer
Up to us, not AI.
- [40:18]
Tammy Bruce
But Jaron Lanier countered, that's the problem. Computer science is currently obsessed with passing the Turing test, making machines that imitate humans so well we can't tell the difference, he insisted. We're fooling ourselves.
- [40:35]
Chris Keezer
It's really stupid. Like, why should we put money and.
- [40:38]
Nick Icker
Time into trying to fool people?
- [40:40]
Chris Keezer
People are easy to fool.
- [40:42]
Tammy Bruce
The Silicon Valley business model is built on third parties paying developers to capture the attention of users and fool them too. Nicholas CARR worried about AI's effect on education. If we want to know what large language models are doing to truth seekers, look at your average college student feeding a detailed prompt to ChatGPT and cranking out a B essay. Synthesizing information is an automatic function, but it isn't real knowledge. By automating learning, he insisted, we lose learning.
- [41:19]
Chris Keezer
So you get this illusion of thinking you know something without going through the hard work of actually learning it.
- [41:28]
Tammy Bruce
Srinivas replied that he had anticipated all the opposing arguments. How? By asking Perplexity. What's more, since debate isn't his strong suit, Perplexity had supplied effective responses for.
- [41:42]
Nick Icker
Him specifically for preparing for this debate. I did ask the AI to go look at their writings and pull up all the stuff I've already said in my public interviews and talks and challenge my own perspectives in the context of their writings and help me prepare for this debate and still come up with winning arguments for my position.
- [42:05]
Tammy Bruce
A ripple of startled laughter brought him up short. Perhaps in that moment, Srinivas realized he had just proved the opposition point and possibly lost the debate. By evening's end, 23% of the audience had shifted to the negative. Meanwhile, tech marches on. Biological science is all a twitter over another kind of Turing Test. The possibility of bodyoids or human bodies grown from stem cells, they would have only enough brain function to keep their organs alive as an ethically sourced, never ending supply of spare parts. If a thing can be done, it will be done. Always with unintended consequences. Yet here's a SPOILER alert. Truth will survive artificial intelligence. So will love. Because truth and love exist outside the human realm. If scary times are ahead, we can hold firmly to truth, hope in love, rest our faith outside ourselves and allow no machine to think for us. I'm Janie Buccaney.
- [43:24]
Nick Icker
Tomorrow, a Georgia woman was kept alive until her baby could be safely delivered. That exposed to potential conflict between end of life wishes and heartbeat laws. And world music critic Arsenio Orteza has a review of a new bluegrass project that defies labels. That and more. Tomorrow, I'm Nick Icar.
- [43:46]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. The world and everything in it comes to you from world radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. Scripture says, when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 8. Go now in grace and peace.