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[00:06]
Mary Reichert
Good morning. Today on legal docket, another case of conscience in the workplace. A federal court in California working out what accommodation a government employer owes its religious employees.
[00:17]
Jeffrey Little
I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this.
[00:22]
Nick Iker
Also today, the Monday money beat economist David Bonson on the latest Fed moves and the world history book. We all owe our careers to Louis Armstrong, the musician whose sound still echoes through American music.
[00:43]
Mary Reichert
It's Monday, August 3rd. This is the world and everything in it from listeners supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.
[00:50]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Iker. Good morning.
[00:54]
Mary Reichert
Now the news. Here's Kent Covington.
[00:56]
Kent Covington
President Trump says he called off a massive attack against Iran over the weekend with US Forces locked and loaded.
[01:04]
David Bonson
In fact, that would be the biggest attack since World War II and it would have been disastrous.
[01:11]
Kent Covington
He added that American and Iranian negotiators are set to try once more to end the five month war that he said comes after countries around the region asked him to hold off on that weekend strike, including the intended target, Saudi
[01:25]
Jeffrey Little
Arabia, UAE and by car and by Iran.
[01:31]
Kent Covington
US Allies in the region were worried that hitting Iran's power plants would bring Iranian missiles down on their own oil fields. President Trump says a deal would end Tehran's nuclear threat and see Iran stop terrorizing the Strait of Hormuz right away. A fifth of the world's oil normally moves through it, but Tehran has effectively shut it down. Iran, for its part, said little publicly over the weekend. Its foreign minister warned on Sunday that its government would answer any new attack. Police in Idaho say they know who carried out a deadly shooting at a fast food restaurant over the weekend, but they still don't know why. Investigators say 24 year old Chad Williams killed three people at an In N Out burger in Twin Falls and wounded seven more, two critically. He later took his own life. One eyewitness told kmtv, as I was
[02:21]
Jeffrey Little
running, I faced the shooter head on and he pointed the gun at me and I ducked behind a white car
[02:30]
David Bonson
just to have some sort of coverage.
[02:33]
Kent Covington
Another witness was in a car when employees came running out.
[02:36]
Jeffrey Little
You heard everybody running screaming, shooter, active shooter. And we had to stop because I didn't want to run over all the employees. And then when they heard some shots, boom, boom, boom.
[02:47]
Kent Covington
Police say two men in the restaurant shot back at the suspect that afternoon, an off duty state trooper and an armed customer. Authorities say the two men drove Williams away from the restaurant and prevented more casualties. Three states are now investigating. Dr. Anthony Fauci, L.A. joined Alabama and Florida over the weekend. They're looking into whether Fauci broke any state laws. Former President Joe Biden gave Fauci a pardon on his way out of office, but that only shields him from federal charges. At a Senate hearing last week, Fauci refused to answer any questions, invoking Fifth Amendment protections against self incrimination more than 100 times. The committee plans to vote this week on holding him in contempt of Congress for not cooperating. It would then be up to the Justice Department whether to prosecute Republican Senator Roger Marshall.
[03:37]
David Bonson
I don't know that, that if we can throw him in jail over this, but I think that certainly a special
[03:42]
Nick Iker
counsel needs to get a hold of this. There's no way we can address this
[03:46]
David Bonson
in one morning hearing in Congress.
[03:48]
Kent Covington
Republicans contend that he had no right to plead the Fifth on Capitol Hill because due to his prior pardon, he he was at no risk of federal prosecution. Wildfires around Spokane, Washington, have burned at least 600 homes, businesses and other buildings. Authorities have evacuated 5,000 homes. No deaths reported as of last night. Washington is in a record drought. Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency on Saturday and banned outdoor burning. The National Guard has sent in 30 troops to assist. And the city has opened its convention center as a shelter. At the weekend box office, Spider man is back with the second biggest opening weekend ever.
[04:32]
David Bonson
What is happening to me? I am totally out of control.
[04:37]
Myrna Brown
I gotta fix whatever this is right now.
[04:40]
Kent Covington
Brand new Day hauled in a staggering estimated $355 million stateside and globally, 927 million that dethroned the Odyssey, which finished second with another 51 million in ticket sales worldwide. It has also topped 900 million after its third weekend in theaters. I'm Kent Covington. And coming up, a federal court is weighing what accommodations a government employer owes religious employees. And later, the musician whose sound still echoes throughout the American music. This is the world and everything in it.
[05:29]
Nick Iker
It's the world and everything in it for August 3, 2026. Thanks for joining us today. Good morning. I'm Nick Eicher.
[05:36]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. Time now for legal docket summer edition where we look at first freedom cases making their way through the lower courts. This time, a workplace dispute involving a lifeguard captain and a Pride month flag policy and a request by the captain for religious accommodation. So everybody can coexist, as the bumper sticker says.
[06:00]
Nick Iker
Jeffrey Little has worked in the LA County Fire Department's lifeguard division for more than two decades. He worked his way up to ocean, lifeguard captain responsible for stations and the people who work there. But the legal fight he's in now has nothing to do with high surf or rip currents. It's about whether a government employer can require him to raise or direct his crew to raise a flag. He says conflicts with his Christian worldview.
[06:26]
Mary Reichert
Little says it all started in 2023 when LA county adopted a policy that required county facilities to fly the Progress Pride flag during the month of June that included locations within the county fire department that oversees the lifeguard division. Little is a Christian and wasn't sure what to do.
[06:45]
Jeffrey Little
Back In June of 2023, the county of Los Angeles put out a proclamation that all stations within the LA County Fire Department were required to fly the Progress Pride flag. And so I did not know what to do. I was torn on whether I should participate in this policy, and so I simply requested to be exempt from participating or regulating or raising the flag myself.
[07:16]
Nick Iker
Little says his objection was not personal hostility toward anyone. He says he wanted to remain faithful to his beliefs while continuing to serve as a county lifeguard.
[07:27]
Jeffrey Little
Yeah, I come from a Christian faith and that I really just want to be authentic and be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. And that's a priority in all facets of my life, including my workplace. And I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this policy and carrying out the responsibilities that were demanded of me.
[07:51]
Mary Reichert
Little says human resources initially accommodated him. He would not have to work at a location that flies the flag, nor would he have to raise it himself or direct others to do so. He thought that settled the problem. But when he arrived for work, he says he found three Progress Pride flags flying at locations in his area of responsibility.
[08:11]
Jeffrey Little
And so I was met with confusion because we had just entered into this agreement with HR and all the decision makers, and yet the first day there I was met with these flags greeting me at the workplace and which I was now responsible for.
[08:30]
Nick Iker
So Little took the flags down. He says he believed that was consistent with the accommodation he'd received. But LA county didn't see it that way. The county says that Little was not authorized to remove government issued flags and that the discipline that followed was about his conduct and his refusal to follow policy, not about his religious beliefs.
[08:51]
Mary Reichert
Louisiana county did not respond to my request for commenting. In its court filings, though it makes clear that it disputes Little's account of both the accommodation and the discipline. That distinction is central to the case. Little is not asking the county to stop flying the Progress Pride flag. The county may speak for itself. The question is whether it had to find a way for Little to remain on the job. Little says the next day his division chief gave him a direct order.
[09:19]
Jeffrey Little
I was confronted by our chief lifeguard. And he reiterated over and over again and kept on reciting that my beliefs don't matter. And the only thing that matters is that I'm an LA county employee and I need to do what I'm told. And at that time, he. He put it in, not only in verbally, but he put it in writing in the form of a direct order and a notice of instruction that I was to comply with this policy or I'd be at risk of being terminated.
[09:48]
Mary Reichert
His attorney is Nathan Lloyd with Thomas More Society.
[09:51]
Nathan Lloyd
And if I can add the exact language in that written notice, I pulled it before our call today. He says that Captain Little must raise the flag irrespective of personal beliefs, which was. That's a stunning statement because it really shows that the county just did not care what Captain Little's religious beliefs were or why he might even have an objection.
[10:15]
Mary Reichert
The lawsuit includes several claims, but two are especially important for the listener to understand. First, Title vii, the federal law that protects employees from religious discrimination.
[10:26]
Nick Iker
Under Title vii, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's religious practice unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the employer's own business. Three years ago, in a case called Grof versus DeJoy, the Supreme Court said that employers must meet a higher bar than before proving a substantial burden and not just a trivial one. Lawyer Lloyd says LA county cannot meet that standard.
[10:52]
Nathan Lloyd
And in this case, our argument has been, look, the Los Angeles county lifeguards can still function just fine with granting Captain Little an accommodation from raising the Pride Progress flag. It's not like somebody's going to die because he refuses to put up this flag. Nothing's going to happen. They can easily accommodate him.
[11:12]
Mary Reichert
Little's second major claim arises because his employer is the government. He alleges that county officials violated his First Amendment amendment right to freely exercise his religion. Lloyd says the county had several practical alternatives.
[11:27]
Nathan Lloyd
Somebody else can raise the flag in his place. Maybe they just don't even have to raise the flag. Maybe Captain Little can be placed at one of the dozens of locations where they don't even fly the Pride Progress flag. The county can still get out his message, can still do its government speech, but there's no reason to force Captain Little to participate in it.
[11:46]
Mary Reichert
The county disagrees that the answer was that simple. In court documents, it argues that an exception could create operational and staffing burdens. It also says Little's removal of the flags was unauthorized and that he was disciplined for failing to do what his position required.
[12:02]
Nick Iker
And that's why this case is more complicated than the public argument over what the flag means. Supporters see the Progress Pride flag as a statement of welcome and inclusion. Little sees the message as approving conduct and identity that his religious convictions cannot approve and that the state message is being imposed upon him. A court is not being asked to decide whose beliefs are better. It's being asked whether the county's response to Little's requested accommodation was lawful.
[12:31]
Mary Reichert
And that means sorting out the facts. What exactly did the county initially agree to? Why was that arrangement changed? What duties could Little have performed without raising the flag? And what burden, if any, would an accommodation have imposed on the Lifeguard division? The dispute has taken a personal toll. Little says he used his vacation time during Pride Month to avoid further conflict. But he also says he has received encouragement.
[12:58]
Jeffrey Little
The highlight has been the support that I've received from Christians and people of faith from all around the world. It has really been a wild ride and hearing from so many people who support and want me to fight this on their behalf. And so that has propelled me forward and gives me the energy to keep fighting every day.
[13:22]
Nick Iker
A federal judge recently issued a mixed ruling on summary judgment motions, leaving key claims and factual disputes unresolved. The case could matter beyond a flag policy in Los Angeles. It tests how specifically a government employer must consider a religious accommodation and how much practical evidence it needs before saying no.
[13:45]
Mary Reichert
And now a related development from Michigan. Unlike Little's case, which is still moving through court, this one has ended in a settlement. Valerie Klosterman is a physician assistant. Five years ago, she raised faith based concerns about mandatory training and her hospital's gender identity policies. She says she was fired. She sued under Title vii, arguing that her employer had discriminated against her because of her faith. Her attorney, Kayla Toney with First Liberty Institute, says the settlement provides both money damages and a change in hospital policy.
[14:20]
Kayla Toney
The University of Michigan HealthWest will be paying $410,000 in damages and legal fees. And the most important piece of the settlement is that we have a policy change. So the hospital system will be providing religious accommodations to healthcare providers and employees who have religious objections to participating in gender transitions. And employees also will not be forced to use pronouns that go against their contents or their religious beliefs. And that's all because Valerie stood strong and stood up for what was right.
[14:51]
Nick Iker
Now, a settlement is not a court ruling, but it does resolve Klosterman's claims. And according to her lawyers establishes a process for religious accommodation requests across the hospital system. Klosterman says the experience deepened her conviction that Christians can hold firm to their beliefs while treating others with love.
[15:12]
Kayla Toney
First Corinthians 16, verse 13 says, Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, right? Be strong, but let everything that you do be done in love. So in any situations we're called to be faithful to our creator God, but we're to do that in love. So care for people with love, but give them what we know they need. From a godly and biblical perspective, that people would stand firm, that they would be light and salt wherever God has placed them, whether it's as a provider or as an employee, as a janitor, as a referral coordinator, that they really, truly see who they're working with and working for as people created in the image of God.
[15:54]
Mary Reichert
Klosterman is again serving as a physician assistant elsewhere, and that's this week's legal docket.
[16:11]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact Network, equipping investors to steward their capital through Faith Forward Private companies. More@ambassadorsimpact.com From Dort University, host of At Work in the Garden, the Faith and work conference September 17th 19th, Dort. Edu Garden and from Worldwatch, a 10 minute video broadcast for teens to build news literacy. A free 30 day trial is available at Worldwatch News Podcast.
[16:58]
Mary Reichert
Coming up next on the world and everything in it, the Monday Money Beat.
[17:04]
Nick Iker
Time now to talk business markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm the Bonson Group, and he is here now. David, good morning.
[17:16]
David Bonson
Good morning, Nick. Good to be with you.
[17:17]
Nick Iker
Well, David, the Fed held its target rate steady last week even though inflation remains well above its 2% goal. The Fed's preferred measure, the Personal Consumption expenditures index, the PCE, it's running at 3.7%. Three regional Fed presidents last week voted to raise rates, and the New York Times described that as a sign of growing pressure on Chairman Kevin Warsh, now just two meetings into his tenure. But you argued in Dividend Cafe this week, David, that holding rates steady does not mean that Warsh has backed away from fighting inflation. So what was the case for holding the line here?
[18:01]
David Bonson
What's interesting is that Chairman Walsh essentially made the argument that he believes tightening is needed. But Chairman Walsh basically said all the same things that the inflation hawks are saying, that we need to get the inflation level down to the target of 2% and that it hasn't happened yet and that there is some looseness in monetary Policy. What Chairman Walsh basically said in explaining their decision to not raise rates was that the tightening has begun, but that it didn't require them to raise the rate when since the last fed meeting, the 2 year and the 10 year are both up close to a quarter point themselves in both real and nominal rates. And so essentially, without getting too wonky about it all, the Chairman made the argument that so far the market is doing the tightening for them. But I think that the Chairman also believes, and I'm in total agreement with him, that it is a little odd to say, oh, we need to tighten, let's raise rates when the Fed has over the last four months added $200 to $250 billion to their balance sheet. So I think that you are going to see a freezing of new reserves in the financial system, which is the Fed buying bonds with money that doesn't exist. It is loosening monetary policy. And then I think he wants to see if the market will continue doing some of this tightening. And as I've been saying for over a year and a half, there's absolutely no doubt that tariffs have moved prices higher. But there isn't much that the Fed can do about that with the lever of interest rates. So I think when you mix all of this together, you at least get an intellectually consistent response from Chairman Walsh this week. It may not be the policy that everybody wanted and it wasn't the the policy some expected.
[20:05]
Nick Iker
Yeah, David, you mentioned a few Moments ago the 2 year and the 10 year as already doing some of the tightening work for the Fed. Now you're talking about treasury yields. And before we talk more about what those higher yields mean, let's remember what we talked about last week, which you explained that the 10 year treasury yield reflects two things, expectations for inflation and expectations for real economic growth. So a higher treasury yield is not automatically bad news. It depends on what's driving it. So the New York Times is interpreting the rise in long term treasury yields as a warning that the markets doubt Chairman Warsh's resolve on inflation. The Wall Street Journal has a completely different take and offers a different explanation that markets may be pricing stronger growth and once again doing more of their own risk assessment instead of waiting for the Fed to signal every move. So how would you distinguish the market sending a credibility warning from a healthy market simply doing its job?
[21:15]
David Bonson
This is a stunning change for media to suddenly be so driven by the desire to see a central bank beat inflation. I've never seen such hawkish media coverage, and I say this sarcastically because it's almost embarrassing, the newness, the novelty of their concern with this subject, which is actually not even about wanting Wash to do something that would help inflation or hurt inflation. I think they want the drama of a fight between President Trump and Kevin Walsh. You pointed out he wants the Fed to have a lower footprint in the economy. So things like not giving forward guidance that, that believing the Fed should not be such a big player and be more of a referee and get markets to focus on the data as opposed to trying to guess what the Fed's gonna do. So I'm very curious where the chairman will be at Jackson Hole. He's gonna give a speech in just a few weeks. Then the Fed has another FOMC meeting in September. And I believe that those saying the right thing to do is raise rates and the wrong thing to do is hold steady, don't have it right. The wrong thing to do is to do anything out of an expectation, whether it's from the White House or the media or what have you. It needs to come from a policy objective. And Warsh's policy objectives have been to see inflation get down to 2% without tipping the economy down and undermining their other mandate of full employment. But reporters that in that press conference, it was one of the most mind numbing press conferences and I've watched every one of them for a long time. The way that they went after him saying, hey, there's this tension with employment and prices and you don't seem to be acknowledging it. And for him to come out and say it's because I don't acknowledge it, I don't believe it. I think you can have healthy employment in the economy and price stability. And so there's an ideological framework that is different with this chairman than the past three we've had. And for him to say I think inflation is bad for jobs is a really wonderful thing to hear from a central banker. Now he not only has to do it, but get support from his colleagues to do it. And that appears to be a challenge as well.
[23:44]
Nick Iker
Well, David, another story out of the Journal this week. Chairman Warsh has floated reducing the number of Fed meetings from eight per year to six. Now the legal minimum is four. Is this really about the calendar or do you think it's part of his broader effort to make the Fed less central in markets and encourage investors to pay more attention to the economy itself?
[24:10]
David Bonson
Yeah, I think it's a wonderful idea. And I don't know that he'll be able to do it right away. I don't Think the Fed can meet any time they want? If something were to come up that requires a policy response, an emergency global geopolitical event, the Fed can and in fact has met. Think of COVID think of 2008, think of 9, 11. But the regular stated meetings being, in Warshaw's opinion, excessive. It adds to volatility, it adds to speculation, it adds to distraction. So I don't know that he'll succeed, but I'm favorable to it. And I think he's a measured institutionalist that he wants to go from 8 to 6 instead of going right from 8 to 4.
[24:57]
Nick Iker
All right, David, before we go, GDP growth came out last week. Second quarter it slowed to a 1.5% annual rate, but consumer spending rose 3.2%. Private domestic demand up almost 4% at 3.9. AI related imports were what pulled the headline number lower. So is the economy truly slowing down or do you think the headline understates its strength?
[25:27]
David Bonson
Well, no, you gotta remember that when we talk about the imports pulling away, it's not. It's because it's factored in in the business investment and so or other imports are fact factored in consumption. So it's a way of avoiding double counting because if you had imports not being deducted that way, then they would be appearing in the GDP data twice. And I think that the headline is what it is. The economy is where it's been for quite some time, which is slow, low, but positive. And as the numbers make abundantly clear, positive is a byproduct of data center construction and AI Capex investment. So longtime listeners know that I never believe the consumer is where you're going to see it slowing down unless the consumer loses credit. But no, there is nothing that is happening in the economy that is pushing us up well above the 2% real number. We're staying in this range that we've been in for, for getting close to 20 years.
[26:38]
Nick Iker
All right, David Bonson, founder, managing partner and chief investment officer of the Bonson Group. He writes@dividendcafe.com and world opinions as well. David, I hope you have a great week.
[26:50]
David Bonson
Thanks so much, Nick.
[27:04]
Nick Iker
Good morning. You're listening to World Radio and we're so glad you are. I'm Nick Iker.
[27:09]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming next on the World and everything in it, the world history book. When jazz emerged as a major musical force in the early 20th century, it drew on traditions such as rags time in folk music. But one trait stood out, improvisation. And few could improvise like Louis Armstrong. That's why he's called the founding father of jazz.
[27:37]
Nick Iker
Armstrong was born into poverty August 4, 1901. So how does a poor kid from the streets of New Orleans end up changing the way we sing and play? Music World's Myrna Brown spent some time in Army Armstrong's hometown. For the story,
[28:07]
Myrna Brown
A three deck steamboat pulls away from a dock in New Orleans and cruises up the Mississippi River. Inside the big boat, a jazz trio plays Coffee Comeback, Sweet Papa. It's a Louis armstrong tune recorded 100 years ago.
[28:23]
Ricky Riccardi
They're still using Louis Armstrong's rhythm. They're still using his phrases. They're still using his passion.
[28:29]
Myrna Brown
Ricky Riccardi is director of research collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, New York. He says there's a reason Armstrong's music endures.
[28:40]
Ricky Riccardi
You know, a lot of musicians, they're concerned about the gig. Armstrong knew they were going to write about him in the history books one day. So I always tell people start with the music. But that's only one layer of the story.
[28:56]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong's mother's work as a prostitute led to him being raised by his grandmother and his great grandmother. When he turned six, he was reunited with his mother and immediately, you know,
[29:09]
Ricky Riccardi
she sends him around on the streets to go run errands and bring back food and this and that.
[29:14]
Myrna Brown
Lewis dropped out of school at nine years old to sell newspapers. In 1912, he got in trouble for firing his mother's pistol and was sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys.
[29:25]
Ricky Riccardi
And it's really the turning point of his life. Because the Waifs Home had a music program.
[29:30]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong thrived, starting with the tambourine, working his way up to the drums, the bugle, then the cornet. After 18 months, he was allowed to leave the boys home. He was 14 years old.
[29:43]
Ricky Riccardi
He's doing whatever he can. He is literally digging food out of garbage cans and cutting the spoiled portions off and selling it back to restaurants just to make money. But now he's also had this taste of being a musician.
[29:58]
Myrna Brown
Friends helped him procure a horn from a pawn shop. He spent the next few years honing his skills in the neighborhood.
[30:05]
Ricky Riccardi
Honky tonks, they would hire him just to play the blues that night. And musicians who remembered him, they said he'd be barely knew three songs, his lips would give out and then he would have to sing the rest of the night. So, you know, it was definitely a lot of hard work, a lot of rejection. But then by around 1918, you know, he starts getting this reputation that he
[30:27]
Myrna Brown
could play and that reputation earned him a coveted spot on the Mississippi River.
[30:32]
Ricky Riccardi
Once you got called to play on the riverboat, it was like going to the conservatory.
[30:36]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong spent three years on the riverboat learning how to read all kinds of music.
[30:41]
Ricky Riccardi
So he would have to play rumbas and foxtrot's and waltzes in addition to ragtime and hot jazz specialties. So the boat really made a musician out of Louis Armstrong.
[30:51]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong left New Orleans in 1922. In this recording, he describes one of his first gigs in Chicago alongside his mentor, Joe Keane Oliver.
[31:02]
Jeffrey Little
Yep, that's my first trumpet solo. I'd say up north from New Orleans, because I had just joined Joe Oliver's second trumpet man.
[31:12]
Myrna Brown
And in this interview, he talks about hitting high notes while playing the song shine, recorded in 1931.
[31:21]
Jeffrey Little
I'd get on the stage and play a piece like Shine and hit about 250 high Cs before I hit that high F. And they had the audience in uproar and I'm, you know, walking up and down the stage and, you know, and I had the high F right in my pocket all the time.
[31:40]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong made thousands of recordings over a span of five decades, collaborating with Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington. Oh, yes, and Barbra Streisand.
[31:54]
Jeffrey Little
Well, hello.
[31:56]
Nick Iker
Look who is here.
[31:57]
Jeffrey Little
Darling, this is Louis.
[32:00]
Nick Iker
Hello, Louis.
[32:01]
Jeffrey Little
Darling.
[32:02]
Myrna Brown
In 1958, he recorded a jazz and spirituals album. But Armstrong was more than a great musician.
[32:12]
David Bonson
You had to be an entertainer in order to make it.
[32:15]
Myrna Brown
David Kunion is the curator of the New Orleans Jazz Museum. He says Armstrong's emphasis on entertaining made him unpopular.
[32:24]
David Bonson
Later, when the styles of jazz change and the bebop guys come up, they kind of resented Armstrong for a minute because he did all these kind of vaudeville, you know, shuck and jive. Those guys wanted to be appreciated as artists and not having to go through what they thought was demeaning.
[32:42]
Myrna Brown
Years of constant touring took a toll on Arms Armstrong.
[32:46]
Ricky Riccardi
Good evening, I'm Walter Crimeguit.
[32:49]
David Bonson
They buried Louis Armstrong here in New York this afternoon.
[32:52]
Myrna Brown
Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971. Ricky Riccardi says he hopes younger generations will appreciate and recognize Armstrong's influence on today's music.
[33:05]
Jeffrey Little
Let me tell you a story about a place I know.
[33:08]
Ricky Riccardi
His language has become our language. So the point is people are emulating him without knowing they're emulating him. How to take a written song and personalize it, how to add passion to it. Those are the lessons that he infuses into American popular music.
[33:27]
Myrna Brown
Back on the Mississippi river, the steamboat Natchez heads back to port. The jazz trio wraps up its set the same way it began. Band leader Duke Heitker.
[33:39]
Nick Iker
We all owe our careers to Louis Armstrong. His music just transcends generation after generation. That's the brilliance of it. I mean, his music will be around forever.
[33:51]
Myrna Brown
That's this week's world history book. I'm Myrna Brown in New Orleans.
[34:00]
Jeffrey Little
What a wonderful.
[34:24]
Mary Reichert
Tomorrow, new theaters in the Iran war. We'll talk about it with the fourth ambassador to Saudi Arabia. And a former Democratic political strategist talks about why she walked away from the party. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichert.
[34:39]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Eicher. 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, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows that he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Verses 7 through 9 of Galatians, chapter 6. Go now in grace and peace.

Summary7 min read

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It

Episode: 8.3.26 – "A request for religious accommodation, Warsh’s resolve on inflation, and Louis Armstrong"
Air date: August 3, 2026
Hosts: Mary Reichert, Nick Iker, Myrna Brown
Produced by: WORLD Radio

Overview

This episode explores three significant themes:

Legal and religious accommodation in the workplace, focusing on a federal case about a lifeguard captain's refusal to raise the Progress Pride flag.
Analysis of the Federal Reserve’s latest moves under Chairman Kevin Warsh, with commentary from economist David Bonson.
A historical segment on Louis Armstrong, celebrating his enduring impact on American music.

The episode features news coverage, expert interviews, and on-the-ground reporting, in alignment with the program’s mission of biblically objective journalism.

Key Segments & Insights

Legal Docket: A Case of Religious Accommodation

[05:35]–[16:10]

Issue at Stake

Jeffrey Little, a Christian ocean lifeguard captain with the LA County Fire Department, sought religious accommodation from a new policy mandating the display of the Progress Pride flag at all county facilities during June.

Facts and Timeline

2023: LA County mandates the Progress Pride flag during Pride Month, including fire and lifeguard stations.
Jeffrey Little's response:
- Requests to be exempted from personally raising, directing, or overseeing the flag raise, citing his Christian convictions.
- Human Resources initially accommodates by assigning him to locations without the flag.
- On his first day post-accommodation, Little encounters the flags in his area, removes them, believing it aligns with the agreement.
- County objects, stating he was unauthorized and disciplines him for violating policy, not for his beliefs.

Central Legal Questions

Title VII Violation:
Does disciplining Little violate federal law requiring reasonable religious accommodation unless it causes “undue hardship” for the employer?
First Amendment Rights:
Did the county infringe on Little’s right to free exercise of religion as a government employer?

Points of Contention

Little's View:
“I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this policy and carrying out the responsibilities that were demanded of me.” (Jeffrey Little, 07:26)
County’s View:
Accommodation didn’t authorize removing flags; discipline was for failure to comply, not religious belief.
Legal Perspective (Nathan Lloyd, Thomas More Society):

"That's a stunning statement because it really shows that the county just did not care what Captain Little's religious beliefs were or why he might even have an objection." (09:51)

"The Los Angeles county lifeguards can still function just fine with granting Captain Little an accommodation from raising the Pride Progress flag. It's not like somebody's going to die because he refuses to put up this flag." (10:52)
Court Status:
Mixed ruling on summary judgment; key facts and legal claims remain unresolved. The case could set precedent on how government employers handle religious accommodations.

Broader Implications

The case could shape standards for religious accommodation, operational burdens, and employee rights in public settings.

Related Settlement: Michigan Case

Valerie Klosterman, a PA fired over religious objections to gender identity training, won a settlement: $410,000 and policy changes in her hospital system.
Attorney Kayla Toney:

"The most important piece of the settlement is that we have a policy change… So care for people with love, but give them what we know they need from a godly and biblical perspective." (14:19, 15:12)

Monday Money Beat: Fed Policy under Chairman Warsh

[17:03]–[26:49]

Federal Reserve: The Decision Not to Raise Rates

Current Economic Context:
The Fed held target rates steady even though inflation (PCE at 3.7%) remains above the 2% goal.
Three regional Fed presidents voted to raise rates—interpreted as pressure on Chairman Warsh.

David Bonson’s Analysis

Warsh’s Rationale:

“Chairman Walsh basically said… the tightening has begun, but that it didn’t require them to raise the rate when… the 2-year and the 10-year are both up close to a quarter point themselves… the market is doing the tightening for them.” (18:01)

“It is a little odd to say, oh, we need to tighten, let's raise rates when the Fed has over the last four months added $200 to $250 billion to their balance sheet… He wants to see if the market will continue doing some of this tightening.” (18:01)
On Media Coverage:

“This is a stunning change for media to suddenly be so driven by the desire to see a central bank beat inflation… I think they want the drama of a fight between President Trump and Kevin Warsh.” (21:15)
Policy Shift:
Warsh favors less Fed intervention, more emphasis on market forces, and a focus on long-term economic health over responding to political/media expectations.
Changing Fed Calendar:
Warsh has floated reducing scheduled Fed meetings from eight to six per year to limit market speculation and volatility.

"The regular stated meetings being, in Warsh's opinion, excessive. It adds to volatility, it adds to speculation, it adds to distraction." (24:10)
GDP Growth Discussion:
Slower headline GDP (1.5% annual rate), but strong consumer spending and AI-driven investment; Bonson says economy is “slow, low, but positive.”

"We're staying in this range that we've been in for, for getting close to 20 years." (25:27)

World History Book: Louis Armstrong’s Enduring Legacy

[27:08]–[33:51]

Armstrong’s Early Life

Born August 4, 1901, into severe poverty in New Orleans. Raised by grandmother and great-grandmother; started working early; brief stint in juvenile detention led to first formal music training.

Armstrong’s Musical Emergence

Learned in the Colored Waifs Home for Boys music program—developed proficiency on the cornet.
Early gigs in New Orleans; earned reputation for improvisational skill.
Riverboat work was transformative:

“Once you got called to play on the riverboat, it was like going to the conservatory… the boat really made a musician out of Louis Armstrong.” (30:32–30:41, Ricky Riccardi)

National Impact

Joined Joe "King" Oliver in Chicago—one of Armstrong’s first major northern gigs.
Known for vibrant solos, charisma, and pushing the bounds of jazz improvisation.
Recorded thousands of tracks, collaborating with Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and even Barbra Streisand.

Entertainer and Trailblazer

His showmanship caused tension with subsequent jazz schools (bebop, etc.), who resented aspects of his vaudeville style.

“Later, when the styles of jazz change… they kind of resented Armstrong… Those guys wanted to be appreciated as artists and not having to go through what they thought was demeaning.” (32:12, David Kunion)

Enduring Legacy

Died July 6, 1971. Armstrong’s techniques, phrasing, and passion remain foundational in American music.

“His language has become our language. So the point is people are emulating him without knowing they're emulating him.” (33:08, Ricky Riccardi)
Modern musicians and the jazz community acknowledge their debt to him:

“We all owe our careers to Louis Armstrong. His music just transcends generation after generation.” (33:39, Duke Heitker)

Notable Quotes

Jeffrey Little:
“I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this policy and carrying out the responsibilities that were demanded of me.” (07:26)
Nathan Lloyd (on county response):
“A stunning statement… because it really shows that the county just did not care what Captain Little's religious beliefs were or why he might even have an objection.” (09:51)
Kayla Toney (on religious standing):
“We have a policy change… employees also will not be forced to use pronouns that go against their… religious beliefs. And that's all because Valerie stood strong…” (14:19)
David Bonson (on Fed/media dynamic):
“This is a stunning change for media to suddenly be so driven by the desire to see a central bank beat inflation. I've never seen such hawkish media coverage.” (21:15)
Ricky Riccardi (on Armstrong’s influence):
“His language has become our language. People are emulating him without knowing they're emulating him.” (33:08)

Important Timestamps

Legal Docket – Little’s Accommodation Case: 05:35–16:10
Monday Money Beat – Fed Policy/Warsh Interview: 17:03–26:49
World History Book – Louis Armstrong Feature: 27:08–33:51

Overall Tone and Style

The episode maintains a balanced, analytical tone. Interviews and discussions are respectful, direct, and thoughtful, allowing for both personal conviction (as in the Little and Klosterman cases) and technical economic explanation (Bonson's Fed analysis). The Louis Armstrong segment incorporates lively storytelling that underscores both the hardship and brilliance of Armstrong's life.

Conclusion

This episode offers an insightful blend of timely legal, economic, and cultural reporting—from the nuances of religious accommodation law and Fed policymaking under a new chairman to the legacy of a jazz great. It encapsulates WORLD Radio’s commitment to intellectually rigorous, faith-informed journalism.

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Transcript111 lines

[00:06]
Mary Reichert
Good morning. Today on legal docket, another case of conscience in the workplace. A federal court in California working out what accommodation a government employer owes its religious employees.
[00:17]
Jeffrey Little
I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this.
[00:22]
Nick Iker
Also today, the Monday money beat economist David Bonson on the latest Fed moves and the world history book. We all owe our careers to Louis Armstrong, the musician whose sound still echoes through American music.
[00:43]
Mary Reichert
It's Monday, August 3rd. This is the world and everything in it from listeners supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.
[00:50]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Iker. Good morning.
[00:54]
Mary Reichert
Now the news. Here's Kent Covington.
[00:56]
Kent Covington
President Trump says he called off a massive attack against Iran over the weekend with US Forces locked and loaded.
[01:04]
David Bonson
In fact, that would be the biggest attack since World War II and it would have been disastrous.
[01:11]
Kent Covington
He added that American and Iranian negotiators are set to try once more to end the five month war that he said comes after countries around the region asked him to hold off on that weekend strike, including the intended target, Saudi
[01:25]
Jeffrey Little
Arabia, UAE and by car and by Iran.
[01:31]
Kent Covington
US Allies in the region were worried that hitting Iran's power plants would bring Iranian missiles down on their own oil fields. President Trump says a deal would end Tehran's nuclear threat and see Iran stop terrorizing the Strait of Hormuz right away. A fifth of the world's oil normally moves through it, but Tehran has effectively shut it down. Iran, for its part, said little publicly over the weekend. Its foreign minister warned on Sunday that its government would answer any new attack. Police in Idaho say they know who carried out a deadly shooting at a fast food restaurant over the weekend, but they still don't know why. Investigators say 24 year old Chad Williams killed three people at an In N Out burger in Twin Falls and wounded seven more, two critically. He later took his own life. One eyewitness told kmtv, as I was
[02:21]
Jeffrey Little
running, I faced the shooter head on and he pointed the gun at me and I ducked behind a white car
[02:30]
David Bonson
just to have some sort of coverage.
[02:33]
Kent Covington
Another witness was in a car when employees came running out.
[02:36]
Jeffrey Little
You heard everybody running screaming, shooter, active shooter. And we had to stop because I didn't want to run over all the employees. And then when they heard some shots, boom, boom, boom.
[02:47]
Kent Covington
Police say two men in the restaurant shot back at the suspect that afternoon, an off duty state trooper and an armed customer. Authorities say the two men drove Williams away from the restaurant and prevented more casualties. Three states are now investigating. Dr. Anthony Fauci, L.A. joined Alabama and Florida over the weekend. They're looking into whether Fauci broke any state laws. Former President Joe Biden gave Fauci a pardon on his way out of office, but that only shields him from federal charges. At a Senate hearing last week, Fauci refused to answer any questions, invoking Fifth Amendment protections against self incrimination more than 100 times. The committee plans to vote this week on holding him in contempt of Congress for not cooperating. It would then be up to the Justice Department whether to prosecute Republican Senator Roger Marshall.
[03:37]
David Bonson
I don't know that, that if we can throw him in jail over this, but I think that certainly a special
[03:42]
Nick Iker
counsel needs to get a hold of this. There's no way we can address this
[03:46]
David Bonson
in one morning hearing in Congress.
[03:48]
Kent Covington
Republicans contend that he had no right to plead the Fifth on Capitol Hill because due to his prior pardon, he he was at no risk of federal prosecution. Wildfires around Spokane, Washington, have burned at least 600 homes, businesses and other buildings. Authorities have evacuated 5,000 homes. No deaths reported as of last night. Washington is in a record drought. Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency on Saturday and banned outdoor burning. The National Guard has sent in 30 troops to assist. And the city has opened its convention center as a shelter. At the weekend box office, Spider man is back with the second biggest opening weekend ever.
[04:32]
David Bonson
What is happening to me? I am totally out of control.
[04:37]
Myrna Brown
I gotta fix whatever this is right now.
[04:40]
Kent Covington
Brand new Day hauled in a staggering estimated $355 million stateside and globally, 927 million that dethroned the Odyssey, which finished second with another 51 million in ticket sales worldwide. It has also topped 900 million after its third weekend in theaters. I'm Kent Covington. And coming up, a federal court is weighing what accommodations a government employer owes religious employees. And later, the musician whose sound still echoes throughout the American music. This is the world and everything in it.
[05:29]
Nick Iker
It's the world and everything in it for August 3, 2026. Thanks for joining us today. Good morning. I'm Nick Eicher.
[05:36]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. Time now for legal docket summer edition where we look at first freedom cases making their way through the lower courts. This time, a workplace dispute involving a lifeguard captain and a Pride month flag policy and a request by the captain for religious accommodation. So everybody can coexist, as the bumper sticker says.
[06:00]
Nick Iker
Jeffrey Little has worked in the LA County Fire Department's lifeguard division for more than two decades. He worked his way up to ocean, lifeguard captain responsible for stations and the people who work there. But the legal fight he's in now has nothing to do with high surf or rip currents. It's about whether a government employer can require him to raise or direct his crew to raise a flag. He says conflicts with his Christian worldview.
[06:26]
Mary Reichert
Little says it all started in 2023 when LA county adopted a policy that required county facilities to fly the Progress Pride flag during the month of June that included locations within the county fire department that oversees the lifeguard division. Little is a Christian and wasn't sure what to do.
[06:45]
Jeffrey Little
Back In June of 2023, the county of Los Angeles put out a proclamation that all stations within the LA County Fire Department were required to fly the Progress Pride flag. And so I did not know what to do. I was torn on whether I should participate in this policy, and so I simply requested to be exempt from participating or regulating or raising the flag myself.
[07:16]
Nick Iker
Little says his objection was not personal hostility toward anyone. He says he wanted to remain faithful to his beliefs while continuing to serve as a county lifeguard.
[07:27]
Jeffrey Little
Yeah, I come from a Christian faith and that I really just want to be authentic and be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. And that's a priority in all facets of my life, including my workplace. And I felt that I would be living a lie by going along with this policy and carrying out the responsibilities that were demanded of me.
[07:51]
Mary Reichert
Little says human resources initially accommodated him. He would not have to work at a location that flies the flag, nor would he have to raise it himself or direct others to do so. He thought that settled the problem. But when he arrived for work, he says he found three Progress Pride flags flying at locations in his area of responsibility.
[08:11]
Jeffrey Little
And so I was met with confusion because we had just entered into this agreement with HR and all the decision makers, and yet the first day there I was met with these flags greeting me at the workplace and which I was now responsible for.
[08:30]
Nick Iker
So Little took the flags down. He says he believed that was consistent with the accommodation he'd received. But LA county didn't see it that way. The county says that Little was not authorized to remove government issued flags and that the discipline that followed was about his conduct and his refusal to follow policy, not about his religious beliefs.
[08:51]
Mary Reichert
Louisiana county did not respond to my request for commenting. In its court filings, though it makes clear that it disputes Little's account of both the accommodation and the discipline. That distinction is central to the case. Little is not asking the county to stop flying the Progress Pride flag. The county may speak for itself. The question is whether it had to find a way for Little to remain on the job. Little says the next day his division chief gave him a direct order.
[09:19]
Jeffrey Little
I was confronted by our chief lifeguard. And he reiterated over and over again and kept on reciting that my beliefs don't matter. And the only thing that matters is that I'm an LA county employee and I need to do what I'm told. And at that time, he. He put it in, not only in verbally, but he put it in writing in the form of a direct order and a notice of instruction that I was to comply with this policy or I'd be at risk of being terminated.
[09:48]
Mary Reichert
His attorney is Nathan Lloyd with Thomas More Society.
[09:51]
Nathan Lloyd
And if I can add the exact language in that written notice, I pulled it before our call today. He says that Captain Little must raise the flag irrespective of personal beliefs, which was. That's a stunning statement because it really shows that the county just did not care what Captain Little's religious beliefs were or why he might even have an objection.
[10:15]
Mary Reichert
The lawsuit includes several claims, but two are especially important for the listener to understand. First, Title vii, the federal law that protects employees from religious discrimination.
[10:26]
Nick Iker
Under Title vii, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's religious practice unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the employer's own business. Three years ago, in a case called Grof versus DeJoy, the Supreme Court said that employers must meet a higher bar than before proving a substantial burden and not just a trivial one. Lawyer Lloyd says LA county cannot meet that standard.
[10:52]
Nathan Lloyd
And in this case, our argument has been, look, the Los Angeles county lifeguards can still function just fine with granting Captain Little an accommodation from raising the Pride Progress flag. It's not like somebody's going to die because he refuses to put up this flag. Nothing's going to happen. They can easily accommodate him.
[11:12]
Mary Reichert
Little's second major claim arises because his employer is the government. He alleges that county officials violated his First Amendment amendment right to freely exercise his religion. Lloyd says the county had several practical alternatives.
[11:27]
Nathan Lloyd
Somebody else can raise the flag in his place. Maybe they just don't even have to raise the flag. Maybe Captain Little can be placed at one of the dozens of locations where they don't even fly the Pride Progress flag. The county can still get out his message, can still do its government speech, but there's no reason to force Captain Little to participate in it.
[11:46]
Mary Reichert
The county disagrees that the answer was that simple. In court documents, it argues that an exception could create operational and staffing burdens. It also says Little's removal of the flags was unauthorized and that he was disciplined for failing to do what his position required.
[12:02]
Nick Iker
And that's why this case is more complicated than the public argument over what the flag means. Supporters see the Progress Pride flag as a statement of welcome and inclusion. Little sees the message as approving conduct and identity that his religious convictions cannot approve and that the state message is being imposed upon him. A court is not being asked to decide whose beliefs are better. It's being asked whether the county's response to Little's requested accommodation was lawful.
[12:31]
Mary Reichert
And that means sorting out the facts. What exactly did the county initially agree to? Why was that arrangement changed? What duties could Little have performed without raising the flag? And what burden, if any, would an accommodation have imposed on the Lifeguard division? The dispute has taken a personal toll. Little says he used his vacation time during Pride Month to avoid further conflict. But he also says he has received encouragement.
[12:58]
Jeffrey Little
The highlight has been the support that I've received from Christians and people of faith from all around the world. It has really been a wild ride and hearing from so many people who support and want me to fight this on their behalf. And so that has propelled me forward and gives me the energy to keep fighting every day.
[13:22]
Nick Iker
A federal judge recently issued a mixed ruling on summary judgment motions, leaving key claims and factual disputes unresolved. The case could matter beyond a flag policy in Los Angeles. It tests how specifically a government employer must consider a religious accommodation and how much practical evidence it needs before saying no.
[13:45]
Mary Reichert
And now a related development from Michigan. Unlike Little's case, which is still moving through court, this one has ended in a settlement. Valerie Klosterman is a physician assistant. Five years ago, she raised faith based concerns about mandatory training and her hospital's gender identity policies. She says she was fired. She sued under Title vii, arguing that her employer had discriminated against her because of her faith. Her attorney, Kayla Toney with First Liberty Institute, says the settlement provides both money damages and a change in hospital policy.
[14:20]
Kayla Toney
The University of Michigan HealthWest will be paying $410,000 in damages and legal fees. And the most important piece of the settlement is that we have a policy change. So the hospital system will be providing religious accommodations to healthcare providers and employees who have religious objections to participating in gender transitions. And employees also will not be forced to use pronouns that go against their contents or their religious beliefs. And that's all because Valerie stood strong and stood up for what was right.
[14:51]
Nick Iker
Now, a settlement is not a court ruling, but it does resolve Klosterman's claims. And according to her lawyers establishes a process for religious accommodation requests across the hospital system. Klosterman says the experience deepened her conviction that Christians can hold firm to their beliefs while treating others with love.
[15:12]
Kayla Toney
First Corinthians 16, verse 13 says, Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, right? Be strong, but let everything that you do be done in love. So in any situations we're called to be faithful to our creator God, but we're to do that in love. So care for people with love, but give them what we know they need. From a godly and biblical perspective, that people would stand firm, that they would be light and salt wherever God has placed them, whether it's as a provider or as an employee, as a janitor, as a referral coordinator, that they really, truly see who they're working with and working for as people created in the image of God.
[15:54]
Mary Reichert
Klosterman is again serving as a physician assistant elsewhere, and that's this week's legal docket.
[16:11]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact Network, equipping investors to steward their capital through Faith Forward Private companies. More@ambassadorsimpact.com From Dort University, host of At Work in the Garden, the Faith and work conference September 17th 19th, Dort. Edu Garden and from Worldwatch, a 10 minute video broadcast for teens to build news literacy. A free 30 day trial is available at Worldwatch News Podcast.
[16:58]
Mary Reichert
Coming up next on the world and everything in it, the Monday Money Beat.
[17:04]
Nick Iker
Time now to talk business markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm the Bonson Group, and he is here now. David, good morning.
[17:16]
David Bonson
Good morning, Nick. Good to be with you.
[17:17]
Nick Iker
Well, David, the Fed held its target rate steady last week even though inflation remains well above its 2% goal. The Fed's preferred measure, the Personal Consumption expenditures index, the PCE, it's running at 3.7%. Three regional Fed presidents last week voted to raise rates, and the New York Times described that as a sign of growing pressure on Chairman Kevin Warsh, now just two meetings into his tenure. But you argued in Dividend Cafe this week, David, that holding rates steady does not mean that Warsh has backed away from fighting inflation. So what was the case for holding the line here?
[18:01]
David Bonson
What's interesting is that Chairman Walsh essentially made the argument that he believes tightening is needed. But Chairman Walsh basically said all the same things that the inflation hawks are saying, that we need to get the inflation level down to the target of 2% and that it hasn't happened yet and that there is some looseness in monetary Policy. What Chairman Walsh basically said in explaining their decision to not raise rates was that the tightening has begun, but that it didn't require them to raise the rate when since the last fed meeting, the 2 year and the 10 year are both up close to a quarter point themselves in both real and nominal rates. And so essentially, without getting too wonky about it all, the Chairman made the argument that so far the market is doing the tightening for them. But I think that the Chairman also believes, and I'm in total agreement with him, that it is a little odd to say, oh, we need to tighten, let's raise rates when the Fed has over the last four months added $200 to $250 billion to their balance sheet. So I think that you are going to see a freezing of new reserves in the financial system, which is the Fed buying bonds with money that doesn't exist. It is loosening monetary policy. And then I think he wants to see if the market will continue doing some of this tightening. And as I've been saying for over a year and a half, there's absolutely no doubt that tariffs have moved prices higher. But there isn't much that the Fed can do about that with the lever of interest rates. So I think when you mix all of this together, you at least get an intellectually consistent response from Chairman Walsh this week. It may not be the policy that everybody wanted and it wasn't the the policy some expected.
[20:05]
Nick Iker
Yeah, David, you mentioned a few Moments ago the 2 year and the 10 year as already doing some of the tightening work for the Fed. Now you're talking about treasury yields. And before we talk more about what those higher yields mean, let's remember what we talked about last week, which you explained that the 10 year treasury yield reflects two things, expectations for inflation and expectations for real economic growth. So a higher treasury yield is not automatically bad news. It depends on what's driving it. So the New York Times is interpreting the rise in long term treasury yields as a warning that the markets doubt Chairman Warsh's resolve on inflation. The Wall Street Journal has a completely different take and offers a different explanation that markets may be pricing stronger growth and once again doing more of their own risk assessment instead of waiting for the Fed to signal every move. So how would you distinguish the market sending a credibility warning from a healthy market simply doing its job?
[21:15]
David Bonson
This is a stunning change for media to suddenly be so driven by the desire to see a central bank beat inflation. I've never seen such hawkish media coverage, and I say this sarcastically because it's almost embarrassing, the newness, the novelty of their concern with this subject, which is actually not even about wanting Wash to do something that would help inflation or hurt inflation. I think they want the drama of a fight between President Trump and Kevin Walsh. You pointed out he wants the Fed to have a lower footprint in the economy. So things like not giving forward guidance that, that believing the Fed should not be such a big player and be more of a referee and get markets to focus on the data as opposed to trying to guess what the Fed's gonna do. So I'm very curious where the chairman will be at Jackson Hole. He's gonna give a speech in just a few weeks. Then the Fed has another FOMC meeting in September. And I believe that those saying the right thing to do is raise rates and the wrong thing to do is hold steady, don't have it right. The wrong thing to do is to do anything out of an expectation, whether it's from the White House or the media or what have you. It needs to come from a policy objective. And Warsh's policy objectives have been to see inflation get down to 2% without tipping the economy down and undermining their other mandate of full employment. But reporters that in that press conference, it was one of the most mind numbing press conferences and I've watched every one of them for a long time. The way that they went after him saying, hey, there's this tension with employment and prices and you don't seem to be acknowledging it. And for him to come out and say it's because I don't acknowledge it, I don't believe it. I think you can have healthy employment in the economy and price stability. And so there's an ideological framework that is different with this chairman than the past three we've had. And for him to say I think inflation is bad for jobs is a really wonderful thing to hear from a central banker. Now he not only has to do it, but get support from his colleagues to do it. And that appears to be a challenge as well.
[23:44]
Nick Iker
Well, David, another story out of the Journal this week. Chairman Warsh has floated reducing the number of Fed meetings from eight per year to six. Now the legal minimum is four. Is this really about the calendar or do you think it's part of his broader effort to make the Fed less central in markets and encourage investors to pay more attention to the economy itself?
[24:10]
David Bonson
Yeah, I think it's a wonderful idea. And I don't know that he'll be able to do it right away. I don't Think the Fed can meet any time they want? If something were to come up that requires a policy response, an emergency global geopolitical event, the Fed can and in fact has met. Think of COVID think of 2008, think of 9, 11. But the regular stated meetings being, in Warshaw's opinion, excessive. It adds to volatility, it adds to speculation, it adds to distraction. So I don't know that he'll succeed, but I'm favorable to it. And I think he's a measured institutionalist that he wants to go from 8 to 6 instead of going right from 8 to 4.
[24:57]
Nick Iker
All right, David, before we go, GDP growth came out last week. Second quarter it slowed to a 1.5% annual rate, but consumer spending rose 3.2%. Private domestic demand up almost 4% at 3.9. AI related imports were what pulled the headline number lower. So is the economy truly slowing down or do you think the headline understates its strength?
[25:27]
David Bonson
Well, no, you gotta remember that when we talk about the imports pulling away, it's not. It's because it's factored in in the business investment and so or other imports are fact factored in consumption. So it's a way of avoiding double counting because if you had imports not being deducted that way, then they would be appearing in the GDP data twice. And I think that the headline is what it is. The economy is where it's been for quite some time, which is slow, low, but positive. And as the numbers make abundantly clear, positive is a byproduct of data center construction and AI Capex investment. So longtime listeners know that I never believe the consumer is where you're going to see it slowing down unless the consumer loses credit. But no, there is nothing that is happening in the economy that is pushing us up well above the 2% real number. We're staying in this range that we've been in for, for getting close to 20 years.
[26:38]
Nick Iker
All right, David Bonson, founder, managing partner and chief investment officer of the Bonson Group. He writes@dividendcafe.com and world opinions as well. David, I hope you have a great week.
[26:50]
David Bonson
Thanks so much, Nick.
[27:04]
Nick Iker
Good morning. You're listening to World Radio and we're so glad you are. I'm Nick Iker.
[27:09]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming next on the World and everything in it, the world history book. When jazz emerged as a major musical force in the early 20th century, it drew on traditions such as rags time in folk music. But one trait stood out, improvisation. And few could improvise like Louis Armstrong. That's why he's called the founding father of jazz.
[27:37]
Nick Iker
Armstrong was born into poverty August 4, 1901. So how does a poor kid from the streets of New Orleans end up changing the way we sing and play? Music World's Myrna Brown spent some time in Army Armstrong's hometown. For the story,
[28:07]
Myrna Brown
A three deck steamboat pulls away from a dock in New Orleans and cruises up the Mississippi River. Inside the big boat, a jazz trio plays Coffee Comeback, Sweet Papa. It's a Louis armstrong tune recorded 100 years ago.
[28:23]
Ricky Riccardi
They're still using Louis Armstrong's rhythm. They're still using his phrases. They're still using his passion.
[28:29]
Myrna Brown
Ricky Riccardi is director of research collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, New York. He says there's a reason Armstrong's music endures.
[28:40]
Ricky Riccardi
You know, a lot of musicians, they're concerned about the gig. Armstrong knew they were going to write about him in the history books one day. So I always tell people start with the music. But that's only one layer of the story.
[28:56]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong's mother's work as a prostitute led to him being raised by his grandmother and his great grandmother. When he turned six, he was reunited with his mother and immediately, you know,
[29:09]
Ricky Riccardi
she sends him around on the streets to go run errands and bring back food and this and that.
[29:14]
Myrna Brown
Lewis dropped out of school at nine years old to sell newspapers. In 1912, he got in trouble for firing his mother's pistol and was sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys.
[29:25]
Ricky Riccardi
And it's really the turning point of his life. Because the Waifs Home had a music program.
[29:30]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong thrived, starting with the tambourine, working his way up to the drums, the bugle, then the cornet. After 18 months, he was allowed to leave the boys home. He was 14 years old.
[29:43]
Ricky Riccardi
He's doing whatever he can. He is literally digging food out of garbage cans and cutting the spoiled portions off and selling it back to restaurants just to make money. But now he's also had this taste of being a musician.
[29:58]
Myrna Brown
Friends helped him procure a horn from a pawn shop. He spent the next few years honing his skills in the neighborhood.
[30:05]
Ricky Riccardi
Honky tonks, they would hire him just to play the blues that night. And musicians who remembered him, they said he'd be barely knew three songs, his lips would give out and then he would have to sing the rest of the night. So, you know, it was definitely a lot of hard work, a lot of rejection. But then by around 1918, you know, he starts getting this reputation that he
[30:27]
Myrna Brown
could play and that reputation earned him a coveted spot on the Mississippi River.
[30:32]
Ricky Riccardi
Once you got called to play on the riverboat, it was like going to the conservatory.
[30:36]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong spent three years on the riverboat learning how to read all kinds of music.
[30:41]
Ricky Riccardi
So he would have to play rumbas and foxtrot's and waltzes in addition to ragtime and hot jazz specialties. So the boat really made a musician out of Louis Armstrong.
[30:51]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong left New Orleans in 1922. In this recording, he describes one of his first gigs in Chicago alongside his mentor, Joe Keane Oliver.
[31:02]
Jeffrey Little
Yep, that's my first trumpet solo. I'd say up north from New Orleans, because I had just joined Joe Oliver's second trumpet man.
[31:12]
Myrna Brown
And in this interview, he talks about hitting high notes while playing the song shine, recorded in 1931.
[31:21]
Jeffrey Little
I'd get on the stage and play a piece like Shine and hit about 250 high Cs before I hit that high F. And they had the audience in uproar and I'm, you know, walking up and down the stage and, you know, and I had the high F right in my pocket all the time.
[31:40]
Myrna Brown
Armstrong made thousands of recordings over a span of five decades, collaborating with Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington. Oh, yes, and Barbra Streisand.
[31:54]
Jeffrey Little
Well, hello.
[31:56]
Nick Iker
Look who is here.
[31:57]
Jeffrey Little
Darling, this is Louis.
[32:00]
Nick Iker
Hello, Louis.
[32:01]
Jeffrey Little
Darling.
[32:02]
Myrna Brown
In 1958, he recorded a jazz and spirituals album. But Armstrong was more than a great musician.
[32:12]
David Bonson
You had to be an entertainer in order to make it.
[32:15]
Myrna Brown
David Kunion is the curator of the New Orleans Jazz Museum. He says Armstrong's emphasis on entertaining made him unpopular.
[32:24]
David Bonson
Later, when the styles of jazz change and the bebop guys come up, they kind of resented Armstrong for a minute because he did all these kind of vaudeville, you know, shuck and jive. Those guys wanted to be appreciated as artists and not having to go through what they thought was demeaning.
[32:42]
Myrna Brown
Years of constant touring took a toll on Arms Armstrong.
[32:46]
Ricky Riccardi
Good evening, I'm Walter Crimeguit.
[32:49]
David Bonson
They buried Louis Armstrong here in New York this afternoon.
[32:52]
Myrna Brown
Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971. Ricky Riccardi says he hopes younger generations will appreciate and recognize Armstrong's influence on today's music.
[33:05]
Jeffrey Little
Let me tell you a story about a place I know.
[33:08]
Ricky Riccardi
His language has become our language. So the point is people are emulating him without knowing they're emulating him. How to take a written song and personalize it, how to add passion to it. Those are the lessons that he infuses into American popular music.
[33:27]
Myrna Brown
Back on the Mississippi river, the steamboat Natchez heads back to port. The jazz trio wraps up its set the same way it began. Band leader Duke Heitker.
[33:39]
Nick Iker
We all owe our careers to Louis Armstrong. His music just transcends generation after generation. That's the brilliance of it. I mean, his music will be around forever.
[33:51]
Myrna Brown
That's this week's world history book. I'm Myrna Brown in New Orleans.
[34:00]
Jeffrey Little
What a wonderful.
[34:24]
Mary Reichert
Tomorrow, new theaters in the Iran war. We'll talk about it with the fourth ambassador to Saudi Arabia. And a former Democratic political strategist talks about why she walked away from the party. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichert.
[34:39]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Eicher. 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, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows that he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Verses 7 through 9 of Galatians, chapter 6. Go now in grace and peace.