The World and Everything In It – September 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode covers three major segments:

1. Legal Docket: A legal battle in California over whether teachers can be required by school policy to keep a child's gender identity secret from parents, focusing on the case of two Escondido teachers who've filed suit.
2. Monday Moneybeat: Analysis of a federal court ruling overturning global tariffs, the U.S. government’s equity stake in Intel, and turmoil at the Federal Reserve.
3. History Book: A reflection on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—its devastation, human stories, and lasting scars on New Orleans.

News Highlights (00:57–07:30)

• China's Diplomatic Summit

  • China hosts world leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, aiming to bolster ties opposed to U.S./European policies.
  • Indian Prime Minister Modi signals a desire to partner with China, largely in response to U.S. tariffs (01:36–01:53).

• Ukraine Conflict

  • Russia steps up drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, leaving tens of thousands without power.
  • Senator Bill Haggerty: “I think what he's doing is responding to the pressure that President Trump is... putting on him, again, economic pressure, security pressure, and I think the options for Putin continue to narrow.” (02:45–02:48)

• Israel-Hamas War

  • Israel continues its offensive in Gaza; longtime Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida is killed.
  • Congressman Jake Auchincloss calls for President Trump to “have a hard conversation with Israel… The president can do that. He has that leverage.” (03:43–03:52)

• Gaza Aid Flotilla

  • Greta Thunberg joins largest flotilla yet attempting to break the Israeli blockade to deliver aid. She states: “The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive.” (04:33–04:42)

• Minneapolis Church Shooting Aftermath

  • Reverend Dennis Zarin: “When the darkness is most intense, that's when the light of God shines all the more brightly. And we've been seeing that in so many ways. I have never seen such an outpouring of love.” (05:35–05:52)

• Federal Crime Crackdown

  • The Trump administration signals Chicago as the next target for National Guard deployments. Chicago’s mayor resists cooperation, defending civil liberties. (06:15–06:51)

Legal Docket: Hiding a Child’s Gender Identity (07:40–18:25)

Theme

A religious freedom and parental rights lawsuit filed by two California public school teachers forced under district and state policy to keep students' gender identity a secret from parents.

The Case

• Background: Two experienced Escondido middle school teachers, Elizabeth Mirabelli (now retired) and Lori West, sue the district after policies compel them to withhold gender identity changes from parents.
• State Law Expansion: Initially a district policy, now a statewide mandate in California with similar policies emerging nationally.

Major Arguments

• Teachers’ Standpoint

  • Mirabelli: “I was stunned, and I was shocked. I couldn't believe that they were asking me to violate the most fundamental ethics for an educational professional of serving parents, partnering with parents, informing parents—it was untenable.” (11:02–11:21)
  • West: “We believe that God created man and woman, and for them to procreate and have that family and raise them up according to the Christian standards, it's scary. When we went back to work, we were shunned.... We were just asking you to withhold information. In fact, they gave us a statement: If a parent was to directly ask us a question, we were to say this was beyond the scope of this meeting.” (12:40–13:03)

• School District’s Defense

  • Asserts the policy is “government speech” and claims: “It is not a lie to not answer a question.” (11:58)
  • Applies universally, not singling out any religious beliefs; invokes qualified immunity for individual defendants.

• Supporters of Secrecy

  • CA State Senator Scott Wiener: “For any LGBTQ person, it is their business and their business only…when, whether, how they tell their parents.” (09:44)
  • Argument: Policies protect students from potentially dangerous or unsupportive home environments.

• Plaintiffs’ Religious and Ethical Objections

  • Concealing such information violates Christian conscience and erodes trust with parents.
  • Mirabelli: “I thought it was teaching children to be duplicitous, to start building a double life... I knew... that would be confusing and it would be harmful.” (12:05)

• Lawyer Paul Jonah, Thomas More Society

  • “It's a basic concept that lying is wrong and that we should be truthful when we speak to parents, especially teachers. So in that sense, the policy violates all the teachers First Amendment rights of free exercise. It violates their free speech rights. It also violates parents rights under the 14th Amendment.” (13:47–14:04)

Federal Court Involvement

• Judge Roger Benitez’s Ruling
  • Blocked implementation for these two teachers pending case outcome.
  • Judge’s finding: Policy “harms children, parents, and teachers,” depriving parental rights and violating teachers’ religious convictions. (14:23–14:57)

Parental Rights & FERPA

• Case of Jane and John Poe: Parents learned of their child's suicide attempt and transgender identification only after hospital intervention (15:17).
• Federal Probe: U.S. Department of Education is investigating California’s policies for violation of FERPA (15:32–16:11).

Wider Implications and Pushback

• Policy Supporter Testimony: “Every time a school district even discusses forced outing, students are sent into crisis. This policy is destroying the fabric of my community.” — Christy Hearst to State Education Committee (16:49)
• Teachers’ Response: West: “There’s laws in place, Child Protective Services… these policies… assume parents are guilty without any evidence.” (17:12)
• Teachers’ Motivation: Mirabelli: “The battle that Lori and I are fighting is for our profession and the trust and respect for teachers... so that we can do our jobs and do them with integrity.” (17:56–18:25)

Monday Moneybeat: Market, Tariffs, Intel, and the Fed (19:21–30:36)

Global Reciprocal Tariffs Court Ruling (19:41–22:19)

• White House's Reciprocal Tariffs Struck Down
  • Federal appeals court rules president overstepped powers but allows tariffs to stay until mid-October during appeal.
  • Analyst David Bonson: “There won't be any response from markets about this…Even if the Supreme Court ultimately rules that these are, in fact, unconstitutional, the White House already has contingency plans to just pivot their rationale to a different legal reasoning that would then allow a lot of these tariffs to continue in a different way." (20:25–22:19)

U.S. Government Takes Equity Stake in Intel (22:19–25:37)

• Deal: $9 billion in CHIPS Act grants become stock, making U.S. government Intel’s largest shareholder.
• Bonson on Government as Investor: “When they extend a contract, it's an exchange of goods and services. The government's a customer... But... taking equity stakes is problematic on a lot of fronts.... To take an equity stake in company ABC but not company XYZ is not in the public good. What it means is that the government has a favorite...” (23:21–25:37)
• Concerns: market distortion, favoritism, government overreach, public debt.

Federal Reserve Upheaval (25:37–28:53)

• Fed Governor Lisa Cook Fired
  • President Trump removes Cook over alleged mortgage application irregularities.
  • David Bonson: “I don't believe she should have been appointed, and I don't believe that she should be removed this way.” (26:20)
  • Emphasizes due process and consistency regardless of political party. Warns about unprecedented precedent if successful removal leads to a shift in control over Federal Open Market Committee.

Theology of Work (Labor Day Reflection) (29:22–30:36)

• Bonson’s Reflection: “Work is a blessing in every spiritual and material sense. And it really captures the totality of the human person and God's creative design for our lives.” (29:22–30:36)

History Book: Hurricane Katrina – 20 Years Later (31:43–38:50)

Key Events & Eyewitness Accounts

• Hurricane’s Arrival

  • Mayor Ray Nagin: “Every person is hereby order to immediately evacuate the city of New Orleans or... move to refuge of last resort.” (32:19)
  • Many unable or unwilling to evacuate; 25,000 in the Superdome (33:24–33:49).
  • After landfall: "Thousands and thousands of families have been going for days now without food, without water. They have no communication with the outside world.” (34:17–34:26)

• Disaster Unfolds

  • Severe flooding due to failed levees; 80% of city submerged by August 31.
  • Craig Colton, former LSU professor: “The pressure was so great on the levee walls along those canals that the levee walls collapsed where water would rush through neighborhoods, demolishing houses and wiping out the urban landscape.” (35:43–35:54)

• Inequalities and Rebuilding

  • Lower Ninth Ward, a poor and predominantly Black neighborhood, struck hardest.
  • Colton: “The racial and social inequities, economic inequities... that had been sort of not readily apparent to the wider public beyond New Orleans." (36:45–37:04)
  • Former resident and relief worker Alf Nelson: “Everything was covered in mold.... just everywhere you looked, everything was destroyed.” (37:09–37:22)

• Community Response

  • Government aid faltered; local churches played a vital role.
  • “If you asked the people of New Orleans, they would tell you it was... the churches that saved the city.” (37:28–37:31)

• Lasting Scars and Limited Progress

  • Some improvements: stronger levees, better evacuation plans.
  • Many mistakes repeated: rebuilding on flood-prone land.
  • Craig Colton: “I still love New Orleans, but it's not the city that I really became enchanted with and infatuated with many years ago.” (38:41–38:50)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Hiding Gender Identity:

  • Elizabeth Mirabelli: "I couldn't believe that they were asking me to violate the most fundamental ethics for an educational professional… it was untenable." (11:02–11:21)
  • Paul Jonah: “The policy violates all the teachers First Amendment rights of free exercise. It violates their free speech rights. It also violates parents rights under the 14th Amendment.” (13:47–14:04)

• On Markets & Tariffs:

  • David Bonson: “I have a hard time understanding how anyone believes this isn't black and white based on what the Constitution says about the power to tax... the White House has three or four different ways they plan to pivot to keep the tariffs going.” (21:36–22:19)

• On the Blessing of Work:

  • David Bonson: "In our work, we have something that feeds our soul, that God made us with a soul.... Work is a blessing in every spiritual and material sense." (29:22–30:36)

• On Hurricane Katrina’s Legacy:

  • Craig Colton: “I still love New Orleans, but it's not the city that I really became enchanted with... many years ago.” (38:41–38:50)

Useful Timestamps

• Legal Docket: Hiding Child’s Gender Identity – 07:40–18:25
• Moneybeat (Tariffs, Intel, Fed) – 19:21–30:36
• Hurricane Katrina Retrospective – 31:43–38:50

This episode delivers an in-depth, balanced examination of pressing topics in U.S. education, law, economics, and recent history, interwoven with faith perspectives, personal testimony, and a commitment to journalistic integrity.