8.28.25 Minneapolis families mourn, Nashville families remember, advice from a cardiologist, and the Bureau of Prisons’ new direction

Summary

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The World and Everything In It – August 28, 2025

Overview

This episode centers on the ongoing aftermath of mass shootings in religious schools, focusing on a recent tragedy in Minneapolis and its traumatic echoes from the 2023 Nashville school shooting. The episode also features a practical segment on heart health with advice from a cardiologist, a close look at reform efforts in the Federal Bureau of Prisons led by a former inmate, and insightful commentary on the legal and symbolic debate over American flag desecration.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting (00:05–10:32; 06:44–10:32)

• Incident Summary: On the first day of school at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, a 23-year-old gunman opened fire during a morning Mass attended by students. Two children (ages 8 and 10) were killed; 14 other children and three adults were wounded.
• Police and Community Response:
  • Chief Brian o’Hara: “At this point, we know we have a total of 19 victims from this tragedy. Two were young children...” [01:20]
  • Shooter took his own life at the scene; identified as Robin Westman, no prior criminal history.
  • Investigated as both domestic terrorism and anti-Catholic hate crime (FBI).
• Community Reflections:
  • Mayor Jacob Fry: “There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act. Children are dead. You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy, or the absolute pain of this situation.” [08:41]
  • Residents like Emily Festa and Bill Beniman described the terror and confusion, and recounted frantic moments seeking news of loved ones.
  • Parent Emily Festa: “It’s so awful and it’s so scary and I just pray for the community.” [09:13]
• Notable Moment: Fifth-grader Clarissa Garcia recalled the confusion and fear as the shooting began: “I was just at church and I heard something like really loud. Like, I thought it was fireworks... and then I saw the shooting and I was like, oh my gosh, I’m so scared.” [07:30]

2. Nashville School Shooting, Two Years Later (10:32–16:45)

• Remembering the Covenant School (2023):
  • Reflections from Kim Henderson, who covered the aftermath right after the event.
    • Media swarmed the site while locals mourned through memorials. “Just a lot of things that were evidence of a great loss for that community.” [11:15]
    • Parents refused publicity to deny the shooter notoriety.
  • Psychological impact shared from court documents:
    • Children developed insomnia, anxiety, fear of entering buildings, or overreacted to sudden noises.
    • Parent comment: “Her children had to be pried out of their van. And that sounded really terrible.” [13:28]
  • Guidance from counselors:
    • Sissy Goff, Daystar Counseling: “Let the children take the lead in asking questions and be sure to give them space to feel their feelings.” [14:28]
  • Importance of community prayer gatherings: “The message there was grounded in truth... that’s the only hope anyone has to cling to during a tragedy like this.” [15:33]

3. Heart Health: Personal Lessons and Practical Steps (18:04–25:59)

• Mary’s Cardiac Story:
  • Mary Reichard recounts her own misdiagnosed heart symptoms, a near-fatal heart attack, and eventual treatment.
  • Key learning: Jaw or neck pain can signal cardiac issues, not just chest pain.
• Expert Advice from Dr. Joel Kahn:
  • Dr. Joel Kahn: "Every 34 seconds in America, somebody dies of heart disease. That’s number one by far, every year for over 100 years." [18:43]
  • Urges proactive testing—especially the heart calcium CT scan.
    • “Don’t wait for symptoms, everybody. I use hashtag testnotguess.” [20:40]
  • Discusses underrecognized risks like air pollution and cholesterol particle lipoprotein(a).
    • “The genes load the gun, the lifestyle pulls the trigger.” [23:07]
• Five Preventive Steps:
  1. Quit smoking
  2. Get adequate sleep (test for sleep apnea if needed): “Seven to eight hours. Quality sleep...” [23:44]
  3. Nutrition—favoring Mediterranean diet
  4. Exercise: “Get your 7,000 steps a day…some strength training.” [24:23]
  5. Stress management and community involvement
• Motivational Insight: “A person with good health has a thousand dreams. A person with poor health has only one dream, of course, getting their health back.” [25:39]

4. Bureau of Prisons: New Leadership and Reform (27:55–34:37)

• Josh Smith’s Journey:
  • From a teenage repeat offender to federal inmate, business owner, minister, and now Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons—the first former inmate in such a role.
  • Testimony: “When I went into prison, I wasn’t that way... but I began to read books... and most importantly, I read God’s word and found redemption in Christ.” [29:24, 29:43]
  • Post-release hardship: Couldn’t live in government housing, struggled to find employment.
  • Smith emphasizes reading, self-improvement, and faith as pivotal.
• Vision for Reform:
  • Welcoming nonprofit programs with proven results into federal prisons: “I think really my job in this role is to just say, ‘You’re welcome here, that’s it,’ and then make sure that we move through any bureaucratic obstacles...” [32:58]
  • Encouraging churches to sponsor and support reentry initiatives.
  • Sees restoration—not merely punishment—as a biblical model: “I think the Bible is the perfect picture that explains how that restoration and accountability both happen.” [34:43]
• Recidivism Statistic: About 45% of people released from federal prison are later rearrested. Smith aims to address reentry from day one.

5. President Trump’s Executive Order on Flag Burning (35:40–39:17)

• Cal Thomas Commentary:
  • Cal Thomas explains the First Amendment protection of flag desecration, referencing Supreme Court precedents.
  • Quote: “Imputing holiness to a piece of cloth is a form of idolatry.… Yes, the flag stands for something, but we cannot treat it as sacred in the same way that our faith is sacred.” [36:54]
  • Suggests that shaming is a better deterrent than legal punishment and that efforts to restore reverence for the flag should begin in schools or community culture, not courts.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Grief and Loss:
  • Mayor Jacob Fry: “Do not think of these as just somebody else’s kids. Think of this as if it were your own.” [09:00]
• On Healing After Tragedy:
  • Myrna Brown: “The way that you recall all of those details with such clarity, this is just not something that you ever forget, is it?” [16:18]
• On Cardiac Health:
  • Dr. Joel Kahn: "There is a test that’s the equivalent of a mammogram for breast cancer… Don’t wait for symptoms..." [20:40]
• On Prison Reform:
  • Josh Smith: “It’s not enough to just say, hey, we’re locking them up.” [34:09]
• On Patriotism and Symbols:
  • Cal Thomas: “We cannot turn a symbol of patriotism into more than it is, but we can and should treat the flag with respect.” [36:54]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Minneapolis school shooting and community reaction – 00:05–10:32
• Nashville school shooting, two years later; trauma and lessons learned – 10:32–16:45
• Heart health: personal story and expert advice – 18:04–25:59
• Bureau of Prisons: former inmate leads reform – 27:55–34:37
• Flag burning, free speech, and politics – 35:40–39:17

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The language throughout is sober, compassionate, and grounded in a Christian worldview, emphasizing empathy, healing, lessons learned, and the restorative possibilities even after tragedy. Whether discussing loss, health, or justice reform, the hosts and guests lean on faith and practical wisdom, offering both information and hope.

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This summary captures the heart of the episode for listeners seeking context, details, and inspiration on the events and themes discussed.

Transcript

[Myrna Brown]

Good morning. Parents in Minneapolis are on high alert after a fatal mass shooting at a Catholic school.

[Benjamin Eicher]

It's so awful and it's so scary.

[Myrna Brown]

And I just pray for the community.

[Mary Reichard]

We'll also revisit the 2023 Christian school shooting in Nashville and hear how it changed that church family. Also today, practical steps for better heart health. And later, a former inmate now leading the prison system. He says it's time to rethink corrections.

[Josh Smith]

It's not enough to just say, hey, we're locking them up.

[Mary Reichard]

And world commentator Cal Thomas on President Trump's executive order on flag burning.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Thursday, August 28th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Good morning.

[Myrna Brown]

Up next, Ken, Ken Covington with today's news.

[Ken Covington]

Families are mourning today after a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Police say a 23 year old gunman armed with several guns opened fire as students were observing mass Wednesday morning. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian o' Hara at.

[Benjamin Eicher]

This point, we know we have a total of 19 victims from this tragedy. Two were young children ages 8 and.

[Emily Festa]

10 that were sitting in the pews.

[Benjamin Eicher]

At mass when they were shot and killed.

[Ken Covington]

Fourteen other children between the ages of six and 15 and three adults were wounded. O' Hara said they are all expected to survive. As for the gunman, the coward that.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Shot these victims took his own life.

[Emily Festa]

In the rear of the church.

[Benjamin Eicher]

That coward has been identified as 23.

[Mary Reichard]

Year old Robin Westman.

[Benjamin Eicher]

No prior criminal history.

[Ken Covington]

No word yet on a motive. But FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is investigating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism and as a hate crime against Catholics. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the situation unthinkable and there's no words that are.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Going to ease the pain of the families today.

[Josh Smith]

On behalf of all the people of.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Minnesota, our deepest sympathies. A wish that, that any of these.

[Emily Festa]

Words would make what you're feeling now better, but it won't.

[Ken Covington]

President Trump has ordered flags at federal buildings to be flown at half staff until the end of the month in honor of the victims. As war rages on in the Gaza Strip, President Trump gathered with top advisers on Wednesday to discuss what a post war Gaza will look like. Trump has expressed optimism about the war ending soon. And US Envoy Steve Witkoff remarked, we think that we're going to settle this one way or another, certainly before the end of this year.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Hamas is now signaling that they're open to a settlement.

[Ken Covington]

Witkoff is leading US Negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Separately, Israeli leaders met with U.S. officials in Washington yesterday to discuss the war and post war Gaza, and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told reporters.

[Cal Thomas]

In order for the war to end.

[Benjamin Eicher]

We need to see the hostages back home first of all and Hamas out of the equation.

[Ken Covington]

That comes as Israel ramps up its military operation in Gaza City aimed at fully unseating Hamas as a political and military power in Gaza. The director of the CDC is out after just weeks on the job. World's Benjamin Eicher has more Health and.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Human Services announced the departure of Susan.

[Mary Reichard]

Monorez but did not explain it.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The Senate just confirmed her on July 29, and Reuters is now reporting that several others at the CDC have issued their resignation letters. The reason was not immediately clear, but the New York Times is reporting that it's over. Differences from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.

[Mary Reichard]

Jr. On vaccine policies.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Monterrez and others reportedly resisted Kennedy's dismissal.

[Mary Reichard]

Of the CDC's vaccine advisory panel as.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Well as a series of rollbacks for COVID 19 recommendations for world I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Ken Covington]

Meantime, Secretary Kennedy traveled to the Lone Star State on Wednesday to join Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a signing ceremony. The Republican governor signed multiple bills aligned with Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement. Abbott said. Those bills include one that prohibits schools.

[Cal Thomas]

That participate in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs from serving foods with additives that are linked to disease, diabetes and obesity.

[Ken Covington]

Kennedy praised the new laws, including another that prohibits taxpayer funded food stamps from being used to buy sugary drinks and snacks.

[Emily Festa]

We are poisoning 60% of our kids who are getting food stamps and we're giving them diabetes and then we're paying for it up front with food stamps.

[Benjamin Eicher]

We're paying for it again with Medicaid.

[Ken Covington]

The new measures will also require warning labels on packaged foods containing certain additives and dyes. Food companies will have through the end of next year to begin adding those warnings. Firefighters on the west coast are battling several blazes, including one in central Oregon. Captain Steve Chapman says the so called flat fire there is threatening homes.

[Cal Thomas]

We've got nine task forces during the day and four at night, so we're spread pretty thin for the amount of structures that we have.

[Benjamin Eicher]

So we're really concentrating on the structures.

[Cal Thomas]

That have the most heat around it.

[Ken Covington]

Meanwhile, California's Picket Fire has scorched roughly 7,000 acres near Napa Valley Wine Country Public Information Officer Charles Kuniyoshi all efforts.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Are being put in to contain this fire as quickly as possible. We've increased containment.

[Ken Covington]

Firefighters say the good news is that the weather there has been somewhat agreeable for setting up containment lines. Improved weather is also helping in Fresno county, where the Garnett fire has burned some 9,000 acres and the Sierra National Forest. I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, more on yesterday's school shooting in Minneapolis, Plus a conversation with the new director at the Bureau of Prisons. This is the WORLD and everything in it.

[Mary Reichard]

It's Thursday, 28th August. So glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. Today, a community grieves after gunfire interrupts Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Dozens of students from the church's school join worshipers at the regular Wednesday mass on the first day of school. World's Christina Group has more.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian o' Hara said the shooter launched the attack outside Annunciation Catholic church just before 8:30am shooting through the church's windows. Two young children, ages 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews. Their parents have been notified.

[Emily Festa]

Seventeen other people were injured, 14 of them being children.

[Benjamin Eicher]

O' Hara said dozens of preschool, elementary and middle school age students were attending the mass marking the first week of class. Students like fifth grader Clarissa Garcia. I was just at church and I heard something like really loud. Like I thought it was fireworks in the church and and then I saw the shooting and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm so scared. And so a teacher lead me downstairs to the preschool classroom and so I went there and me and my friend.

[Mary Reichard]

Cece were just praying, praying.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Police Chief o' Hara said the shooter barricaded one of the exits and fired dozens of rounds into the building with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.

[Emily Festa]

The coward who fired these shots ultimately.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Took his own life in the rear of the church.

[Mary Reichard]

Our hearts are broken for the families.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Who have lost their children, for these young lives that are now fighting to recover and for our entire community that has been so deeply traumatized by this senseless attack. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry underscored the sorrow and gut wrenching loss for the community.

[Ken Covington]

There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act. Children are dead. You cannot put into words the gravity.

[Cal Thomas]

The tragedy or the absolute pain of this situation.

[Ken Covington]

Do not think of these as just somebody else's kids. Think of this as if it were your own.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Emily Festa lives near the school where her niece and nephew are students My husband's a firefighter and he got a phone call this morning and said that there was an incident at Annunciation and.

[Myrna Brown]

That'S where my niece and nephew go to school.

[Benjamin Eicher]

So he we live nearby. So he just took off on foot. Thankfully, we heard about 15 minutes ago that they're safe, but it's so awful and it's so scary and I just pray for the community. Bill Beniman also lives about two blocks from the school and described hearing the shots.

[Emily Festa]

I know what gunfire sounds like, and I could tell. I was shocked. I said, there's no way that that could be gunfire. There was so much of it. So it was sporadic. So it was a semi automatic. It seemed like a rifle. It certainly didn't sound like a handgun. And so he must have reloaded several times for sure.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Chief o' Hara described the shooter as a male in his early 20s. Officials are still investigating the shooter's motive and any ties he had to the school or church. FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as a domestic terror attack and a hate crime against Catholics, adding that the shooter has been identified as a male that identified as a woman. President Donald Trump ordered all American flags to fly at half staff through the end of the month out of respect for the tragedy. For world I'm Christina Grube.

[Mary Reichard]

Up next with the news of yesterday's Catholic school shooting, many of us think back to another shooting that happened at a religious school. On March 27, 2023, a former student broke through the locked glass doors of the Covenant School in Nashville. The shooter killed three staff members and three students before being shot by police.

[Myrna Brown]

World Kim Henderson traveled to Nashville after the shooting to cover the story for us. And she's with us now to reflect on her experiences. Good morning, Kim.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Good morning, Myrna.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Shortly after the 2023 shooting in Nashville, you visited the site. What was that like?

[Benjamin Eicher]

I remember being struck by the huge media presence outside the school, all the TV trucks and the satellites and, you know, personalities presenting live from that site. And in contrast to that, you had the local element, too. You had streams of people from the community coming through and laying down objects at the entrance. You know, stuffed animals, notes, photos. I remember a pizza box with a note written on it. Just a lot of things that were evidence of a great loss for that community. And then the next day, I visited a florist that was located near the school. I learned from that business owner that the volume of orders they had had on the Tuesday, the day after the shooting had shut down. That Store's website. It showed how people all over the country were saddened by this tragedy that had happened in Nashville.

[Myrna Brown]

You know, just looking at photographs of the scene and watching some footage, I'm sure the events in Minnesota yesterday have brought up a lot of painful memories for the families and staff at the Covenant School. And we reached out to them for comment, and understandably, they decline to speak with us. But that's pretty much been their position since the tragedy unfolded two years ago, isn't it?

[Benjamin Eicher]

That's right. They've been very closed off, and some would say wisely closed off. Covenant had a public relations firm in place by the time I landed in Nashville the day after the shooting. And Covenant parents since then have been totally committed to not giving the shooter any. Any notoriety. That's been very important to them.

[Myrna Brown]

Even though you weren't able to talk with any or many families after the shooting, you read through the many declaration statements. Talk to us a little bit about what you learned from the court documents and specifically how the shooting affected the children of the school.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Yeah, those were really hard to get through some of those declarations by the parents. Those were for Chancery court hearings, and they mentioned that their children could no longer sleep well or sleep alone. They had seen some of their kids start to plan ways of escape whenever they entered buildings. And one father noted that his son froze up during a baseball game when he was batting because he heard a car backfire and he thought that was gunshots. Another parent mentioned when it was time for them to go back to school, that her children had to be pried out of their van. And that sounded really terrible.

[Myrna Brown]

So sad. Kim, you spoke with a counselor a couple of days after the shooting. What did she tell you about how adults can help these kids after surviving such a devastating attack?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Yes, that was Sissy Goff with daystar Counseling, and she was actually on site during the hours after the shooting handling some of the responsibilities as parents were reunited with their children. And one of the things she told them then was to let the children take the lead in asking questions and be sure to give them space to feel their feelings. And her group continued to meet with children in the weeks after that. And I was there later that week at her counseling site and saw children from Covenant with their families coming in to talk with counselors there at daystar.

[Myrna Brown]

A number of neighboring churches hosted prayer vigils last night near the Annunciation Catholic School site in Minneapolis. You attended, as I think you mentioned, a prayer vigil after the Nashville shooting. Tell us about that. Service and maybe reflect on why these types of gatherings are just good for a community.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Well, the week following the Covenant shooting, there were several well publicized prayer meetings and Jill Biden even came to town for one of those prayer vigils. And I was in a Christian bookstore and happened to learn that there was going to be a Wednesday night prayer service at the Village church. And that was where the shooter's parents actually were members. And I decided to go to that gathering. And it was a very somber time for that congregation. But the message there was grounded in truth. It was grounded in the gospel. And really, that's the only hope that anyone has to cling to during a tragedy like this.

[Myrna Brown]

The way that you recall all of those details with such clarity, this is just not something that you ever forget, is it?

[Benjamin Eicher]

It's not. It was just such a sad time. And you know, you go to, you go there to report a story and it's just hard to know what is proper to report in something like that.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Kim Henderson is senior writer with World, and we'll include a link to her 2023 Nashville in today's transcript.

[Ken Covington]

Additional support comes from audio date offering album reviews and artist interviews to cultivate mature musical taste in a noisy world. Audio-deacon.com From Covenant College, rigorous academics grounded in Reformed theology lived out in Christ centered community, Covenant. Edu World and from Water's Edge. Save more, do more, give more, Helping Christians support ministry by giving through a donor advised fund. Watersedge.com daf.

[Myrna Brown]

Up next, a bit of a turn here to heart health. It's hard to believe it, Mary, but it's been a year now since you were hospitalized with heart problems.

[Mary Reichard]

Yeah, that's right.

[Myrna Brown]

So we thought it's a good time for an update. And what you've learned in that time.

[Mary Reichard]

Well, I've learned a lot. It's been a crash course in Cardiology 101. Really. First thing I learned is that heart disease is the number one killer in this country. I started listening to Dr. Joel Kahn. Kahn, recommended to me by a listener, in fact. Dr. Khan's a preventive cardiologist. He's also a clinical professor and an author.

[Cal Thomas]

Every 34 seconds in America, somebody dies of heart disease. That's number one by far, every year for over 100 years. Number one equally shared between men and women.

[Mary Reichard]

Those numbers land. Personally, I'm one of those statistics. I had a heart attack last spring.

[Cal Thomas]

The body has an amazing ability to hide disease. And that's not just heart disease. I think you just shared with me that There was a period of time before you had your cardiac history that in retrospect you think you had symptoms. And many people, you think it's heartburn, think it's a strain to muscle and all that. But a lot of people literally have no symptoms till the day they have a heart attack or occasionally the day they drop dead, which is obviously so tragic.

[Mary Reichard]

The truth is I had symptoms for years and I have a terrible family history of heart disease. But my then cardiologist said all was well. He asked if I was having any chest pain and I said no. What I didn't mention was the neck and jaw pain I would get just sitting at my desk. But he didn't ask me that. And then one night I woke up around 3am with excruciating jaw pain. I mean, I thought my teeth would explode out of my head. First I remembered that doctor telling me that I was a type A personality and probably just needed to calm down. But I'd been asleep, so how uptight could I have been? Then came the second thought, maybe I'm dying. I braced for that and imagined I'd be in heaven. Instead, I fell back asleep. And the next morning I got up, went to work, told not a soul, queen of denial. Months later, I switched to a functional medicine practice. My nurse practitioner ordered a heart calcium CT scan. You want a zero score on that? And mine was in the high four hundreds. Dr. Kahn says my story is all too familiar.

[Cal Thomas]

There is a test that's the equivalent of a mammogram for breast cancer and a colonoscopy or cologuard for colon cancer. So don't wait for symptoms, everybody. I use hashtag testnotguest.

[Mary Reichard]

It turns out I had a 90% block. One thing led to another and I received two stents last August. I've been in exercise therapy, taking meds and eating better ever since. The test Dr. Kahn wants everyone to know about is that heart calcium CT scan. Randomized studies show better outcomes with that known score. Now, some people with high scores may not have significant disease and in the wrong hands, it could be used to promote further unnecessary testing. But it's non invasive and relatively cheap, especially considering the risk.

[Cal Thomas]

There's no needle, there's no injection, there's no allergy, there's no kidney damage. You are exposed to radiation, typically less than a mammogram. And you do it maybe once or maybe once every 5 to 10 years based on the outcome. That test has been widely available for 30 years. 10,000 research studies, and I don't think 5% of primary care docs order it? I don't think 5% of cardiologists order it. Almost every hospital in America offers it.

[Mary Reichard]

His point is clear. Ask about the test. Back in the 1960s and 70s, researchers identified the Big Five. Heart, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and family history. But Dr. Kahn says the list is a lot longer than that.

[Cal Thomas]

Most of them are testable, some are hugely important. And one is actually we now recognize that air quality and air pollution triggers heart attacks.

[Mary Reichard]

I hadn't known that either. I'd been shoveling mulch around and breathing in dust all day around the time I had my heart attack. Live and learn. He also wants people to know about a cholesterol particle that is rarely checked.

[Cal Thomas]

The one that I want everybody to know the name of. It's a long name, lipoprotein, little A. And if you notice, that's not a capital A. It has to be a lowercase A. It's a terrible name for a cholesterol particle that 25% of people inherit from mom or dad. Primary care doctors don't check that darn box.

[Mary Reichard]

While genetics matter, lifestyle matters more.

[Cal Thomas]

But yeah, we always say the genes load the gun, the lifestyle pulls the trigger. There's no doubt if you got a bad family history of cardiovascular disease and you love your Coke and cheeseburgers and french fries and your recliner watching TV all night, you're in trouble. Particularly if you smoke.

[Mary Reichard]

Dr. Kahn's top five prevention steps are straightforward. Almost like your mother always told you, quit smoking.

[Cal Thomas]

Quit smoking. You know, there's still about 10 to 15% of Americans, way down from 50%. But 10 to 15 is still too much.

[Mary Reichard]

Get enough sleep.

[Cal Thomas]

Seven to eight hours. Quality sleep. If you're snoring, get tested. There's things called home sleep studies.

[Mary Reichard]

I also had sleep apnea. Some people need a CPAP machine, but a mouth device worked just fine for me. And the third prevention step number three, nutrition.

[Cal Thomas]

Nutrition, nutrition. Again, I'm not here just to promote, but read my book, the Plant Based Solution. It's a couple years old with beautiful blueberries, beautiful recipes, the science, you know, you air carnivore and keto and Paleo and Mediterranean. Of those, the Mediterranean is clearly the best choice.

[Mary Reichard]

Fourth step, move, walk.

[Cal Thomas]

Get your 7,000 steps a day. That's the new number. Do some strength training. Do some balance training. You don't have to do a marathon or a triathlon. In fact, some data, those create as much harm as good.

[Mary Reichard]

And the fifth step, manage your stress he strongly recommends things like meditation and controlled breathing as tools to help patients relax. Also, go into church or synagogue. Dr. Kahn is a proponent as well of ECP therapy. Extracorporeal pulsation. I've been doing that myself. You lie on a table, and there's a Velcro cuff around your pelvis, thighs.

[Cal Thomas]

And calves connected to a computer console. And it goes ba boom, ba boom externally. And it really helps circulate blood. Some people call it, you know, exercise lying down.

[Mary Reichard]

A doctor named Peter Cohn studied it.

[Cal Thomas]

And he, lo and behold, he saw people that were having chest pain, shortness of breath, terrible stress. Tests get better, like they had had a bypass or had a stent, but they didn't.

[Mary Reichard]

The therapy, which takes 35 sessions, one hour each, was FDA approved in the 1990s. Insurance sometimes covers it, and it can help some patients avoid bypass. Dr. Khan leaves patients with two reminders.

[Cal Thomas]

Certainly I want you to remember the quick little hashtag I use. TestNotGuess number two. I say all the time, a person with good health has a thousand dreams. A person with poor health has only one dream, of course. Getting their health back. You don't want to wait. You want to get checked.

[Mary Reichard]

Heart health isn't something people think about very much until they have to, like I did. I'd also convinced myself I just didn't have the time to deal with it. Trust me, that's a mindset each of us should change. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Myrna Brown]

The power of a voice. Never underestimate that a mom in England has given her children an unexpected gift. Her real voice. Sarah Ezekiel contracted a motor neuron disease more than 25 years ago. She lost mobility and speech. Ever since, she's relied on a robotic sounding computer to communicate.

[Mary Reichard]

I felt very isolated and was struggling to communicate. It was a very difficult time.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, all that changed when an old VHS tape surfaced that had a few seconds of her original Cockney accent. Technicians rebuilt her voice using AI.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Hello.

[Mary Reichard]

This is my voice. It's a kind of miracle, really.

[Myrna Brown]

Oh, this gets even better. It does. For the first time, her children could hear their mom as she once sounded. Here's daughter of Viva.

[Mary Reichard]

It's made me really happy and quite emotional, and I didn't know she was Cockney.

[Benjamin Eicher]

It's taken me a while to process it.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Sarah is an artist and advocate and calls this breakthrough a milestone.

[Mary Reichard]

My greatest gift is to have been.

[Cal Thomas]

Able to let my children hear my voice again.

[Myrna Brown]

It's the world and everything in it. Today is Thursday, August 28th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming next on THE World and everything in it from prison inmate to second in command at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, deputy Director Josh Smith has made history as the first former inmate hired by the agency that oversees 122 federal prisons nationwide. Before taking on that role, he led a reentry nonprofit for inmates and built a multi million dollar construction company that hired ex convicts.

[Myrna Brown]

World's Eddie Offerins interviewed Smith last month to hear how his years in prison ministry and his own time behind bars are shaping his vision for reform. Smith his early life experiences shaped his calling. By the time he was 16, he'd racked up 10 felony convictions.

[Josh Smith]

My father left my mother early on, and so my mother was that single mother working to survive. I was in trouble as a young kid very early, without that fatherhood example. Then fast forward. I was young man on the street, 16 years old, getting out, doing all kinds of things.

[Myrna Brown]

That lifestyle led to charges of cocaine and marijuana trafficking and that landed Smith behind bars for five years in federal prison. He had just turned 21. In prison, Smith met some highly educated older prisoners who mentored him. He started to read and challenged himself to become an avid learner.

[Josh Smith]

When I went into prison, I wasn't that way. I didn't just look and I didn't read many books. I didn't try to study anything, but I began to read books on real estate. I began to read books on the stock market and other things, including flying an airplane.

[Mary Reichard]

But even more importantly, Smith says he read God's word and found redemption in Christ.

[Josh Smith]

My conversion experience happened while I was in prison when I surrendered my life to the Lord. And it was those lessons and those principles that I've learned throughout scripture through my relationship with God and frankly, through the many volunteers coming in to help support and teach. That is what helped me transition through prison. A better person, someone who had a moral compass, somebody who looked to the word of God and to God for what that standard should be in my life.

[Mary Reichard]

But that didn't make life outside prison any easier. Smith slammed into the harsh realities after his release. He and his wife couldn't live in government housing because he was a felon and he had to beg for his first job making just $6 an hour. But all that reading and a lot of hard work eventually paid off.

[Josh Smith]

Fast forward. I am blessed by God to be extremely wealthy because mostly of real estate. I also achieved great success in business, but that's not because I'm just some smarter than average person. It's because I saw those challenges and I read and I took on those challenges.

[Myrna Brown]

He also jumped into prison ministry, working with corrections leaders across the country. President Donald Trump pardoned Smith during his first term. Now he's excited to put all his experiences to work as second in command of the nation's top corrections agency. He says the Bureau of Prisons is gearing up to make some big changes.

[Josh Smith]

One of those things are partnerships with our nonprofits and agencies throughout the country. You know, we just met with one of the largest prison ministry nonprofits there are that has been trying to work with this agency for a lot of years.

[Myrna Brown]

Prison Fellowship is one of the ministries that's been working for years to get more of its programming into federal prisons.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Things like our Prison Fellowship Academy, which lasts over a year, about 500 hours worth of curriculum.

[Mary Reichard]

Heather Rice Minas is the president and CEO of Prison Fellowship. The organization has decades of experience working in state prisons.

[Benjamin Eicher]

We actually ask for people to live together in a unit, so it functions very much like a faith based dorm. You don't have to be a Christian to be part of the program, but we are teaching from a Christian worldview.

[Mary Reichard]

During his first term, President Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act, a prison reform bill that let certain federal inmates earn time off their sentences if they completed rehabilitation programs. But Reisminus told World the outside agency hired to vet those programs repeatedly rejected Prison Fellowship's Christian programming.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The only programs that have been deemed evidence based under the First Step act by the BOP seem to be their internal programs, programs that they run themselves. And so I'm really excited about the new leadership there. And I think that it's really a new day.

[Myrna Brown]

Deputy Director Smith says the agency is committed to getting out of the way so nonprofits can do what they do best.

[Josh Smith]

This is work that's already being done all across the country. Great work. That their results speak for themselves. I think really my job in this role is to just say, you're welcome here, that's it, and then make sure that we move through any bureaucratic obstacles that are going to stand in the way of these ministries operating the way that they should.

[Myrna Brown]

He also hopes to encourage churches to play a larger role in the reentry process.

[Josh Smith]

In fact, we're talking about ways, through the White House Faith Office and others of how we can really look at some major partnerships right where churches might say, hey, we're going to sponsor this prison in a unique way.

[Myrna Brown]

While some prisoners have committed crimes that require them to be separated from society for the rest of their lives. Most will return to their former homes. The Government Accountability Office says about 45% of people released from federal prison will be rearrested. That's why Smith says the work of reintegrating prisoners into society shouldn't begin when they leave prison.

[Josh Smith]

If somebody's going to see society again one day, and in our System it's about 97% that will, then we need to begin them on programs. Day one. It's my hope and goal, frankly, to help Congress and our general society see the importance of the role of corrections in our society. It's not enough to just say, hey, we're locking them up.

[Mary Reichard]

Smith says his biblical beliefs have shaped how he understands the purpose of the prison system.

[Josh Smith]

I think that the Scriptures are very clear on discipline and the reason for that. It even talks about how we cast those away from us in the church in hopes to restore them. I think the Bible is the perfect picture that explains how that restoration and accountability both happen.

[Mary Reichard]

If you'd like to read more from Addie's interview with Deputy Director Smith, you can find a longer version in the September issue of World Magazine.

[Myrna Brown]

Today is Thursday, August 28th. Good morning, this is the World and everything in it from Listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichert. The American flag stirs up Emotions President Trump wants to protect the flag, but Supreme Court rulings don't support that idea. Here's World commentator Cal Thomas.

[Emily Festa]

President Trump wants to penalize anyone who burns the American flag. The challenge for him is the Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is protected under the free expression clause of the First Amendment. In a statement released by the White House, the president said, notwithstanding the Supreme Court's rulings on First Amendment protections, the court has never held that American flag desecration conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action, or that is an action amounting to fighting words, is constitutionally protected. The president continued, my administration will act to restore respect and sanctity to the American flag and prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country to the fullest extent permissible under any available authority. Now the word sanctity has lost some of its original meaning. It's primarily a religious word. It means the state or quality of being holy, sacred or saintly. Imputing holiness to a piece of cloth is a form of idolatry. Yes, the flag stands for something, but we cannot treat it as sacred in the same way that our faith is sacred. We cannot turn a symbol of patriotism into more than it is, but we can and should treat the flag with respect. Even so, the Supreme Court has ruled that in the interest of protecting free speech, disrespect and even flag burning must be tolerated. In two cases, Texas vs. Johnson in 1989 and United States vs. Eichmann in 1990, the court held that the right to protest the flag outweighed the government's interest in protecting its symbolic role. Therefore, prior efforts to ban flag burning have been declared unconstitutional. But the president's statement isn't really about free speech. It appears to be a political one, designed to keep his base and cable TV hosts and their guests fired up. There isn't an epidemic of people burning the American flag, and even those who have done so in recent years represent a tiny minority. Some may not even be Americans. President Trump's effort to turn flag burning to political advantage is something like adding under God to the pledge, which President and Dwight eisenhower did in 1954. Previously, school children had recited the pledge, written in 1892 without any reference to God. The move to add God to the pledge occurred when many American politicians wanted to assert the superiority of American capitalism over Soviet communism, a system that especially conservatives regarded as godless. If the president wants to restore universal respect for the flag, the process should begin in schools where some have stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance. We should be pledging allegiance to the country which the pledge eventually gets to with, and to the republic for which it stands. That is the correct verbiage. We citizens are pledging our allegiance to the republic for which the flag stands, not to the flag itself. Isn't that what those taking the oath to become American citizens pledge? There's nothing about the American flag in that oath. Better to mock and isolate those few dumb enough to burn the flag than to lock them up. Shaming those who would burn the flag is better than turning the fabric into an idol. I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichard]

Tomorrow Culture Friday with John Stonestreet and reviewer Max bells revisits a 50 year old classic story about a shark and the team tasked to hunt it down. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reicher.

[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 records people bringing even infants to him that Jesus might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, let the children come to me me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. Verses 15 through 17 of Luke chapter 18 go now in grace and peace.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Sam.