← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
9.24.25 Washington Wednesday on a government shutdown and Trump at the U.N., World Tour on Syria seeking relief, and a new generation of tap dancing
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- [00:06]
Lindsay Mast
Good morning. President Trump says the United nations approach to problem solving is to write a.
- [00:11]
Hunter Baker
Really strongly worded letter and then never.
- [00:14]
President Donald Trump
Follow that letter up. It's empty words. And empty words don't solve war.
- [00:19]
Nick Iker
We'll talk about that today on Washington Wednesday. Hunter Baker standing by. Also today, world tour with Onize, Addua and later, an old American art form tapping a new generation.
- [00:32]
Onize Addua
Kids from like jazz and hip hop and those kids that were really into that kind of started getting into rhythm tap.
- [00:47]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, September 24th. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [00:54]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Iker. Good morning.
- [00:59]
Lindsay Mast
Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.
- [01:02]
Kent Covington
At United nations headquarters in New York.
- [01:05]
Hunter Baker
The Assembly will hear an address by his Excellency Donald Trump, President of the.
- [01:10]
Onize Addua
United States of America, on day one.
- [01:13]
Kent Covington
Of the General Assembly. President Trump, for the first time in his second term, addressed a gathering of world leaders. His speech touched on numerous key concerns around the world, including mass migration. He said other nations should follow America's lead.
- [01:28]
President Donald Trump
It's time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now.
- [01:33]
Kent Covington
He also addressed the war in Ukraine and once again threatened tough tariffs to punish Russia if Moscow does not end the war soon. And he called out the UN for, in his view, not doing enough to end global conflicts, at least for now.
- [01:47]
President Donald Trump
All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.
- [02:03]
Kent Covington
He also chastised European allies for continuing to buy Russian energy, saying they are funding the war against themselves. We'll have more on Trump's speech and analysis with Hunter Baker shortly. Meantime, the Secret Service says agents in New York City have dismantled a hidden telecom system that could have jammed 911 calls and thrown communications into chaos. Authorities dismantled the underground network capable of crippling cell service just as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly. Special Agent Matt McCool says investigators uncovered 100,000 SIM cards powering hundreds of servers spread across multiple locations.
- [02:43]
Hunter Baker
These devices allowed anonymous encrypted communications between potential threat actors and and criminal enterprises.
- [02:50]
Kent Covington
Enabling criminal organizations to operate undetected. McCool said the devices were clustered around 35 miles of the United nations headquarters. Investigators have not confirmed if it was aimed at the UN Or New York directly, but they note that the network's power and timing posed a serious threat. Early evidence points to foreign actors and organized crime involvement A jury in Florida has found Ryan Ruth guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year. The president reacted to that news Tuesday.
- [03:23]
President Donald Trump
It was really well handled and it's very important. You can't let things like that happen. Nothing to do with me but a president or even a person. You can't allow that to happen.
- [03:33]
Kent Covington
After the verdict, Ruth tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, but was quickly restrained by officers. Ruth, who represented himself in court, faces life in prison with sentencing scheduled in December. Prosecutors say he spent weeks plotting to kill Trump. His plans were thwarted when a Secret Service agent spotted him hiding in bushes with a rifle. NATO leaders are sending a warning to Moscow after repeated incursions of NATO airspace by Russian drones and even MiG31 fighter jets. Secretary General Mark Ruda we do not.
- [04:08]
Hunter Baker
Want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not, but we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory.
- [04:22]
Kent Covington
The warning to Moscow comes after the downing earlier this month of Russian drones over Poland. And last week Estonia said three Russian jets had entered its airspace for 12 minutes on Friday without authorization. Russia has denied some of the incursions and dismissed others as accidental, but European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper says she's not buying it.
- [04:44]
Onize Addua
They have not just accidentally violated the airspaces of EU member states. Russia is testing the European borders, also probing our resolve.
- [04:54]
Kent Covington
The alliance says Russia should be in no doubt that NATO and allies would employ all tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats. And a reporter asked President Trump on.
- [05:05]
Elizabeth Russell
Tuesday, do you think that NATO countries.
- [05:08]
Onize Addua
Should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?
- [05:12]
President Donald Trump
Yes, I do.
- [05:14]
Kent Covington
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni told reporters that Italy will not join France and other European countries and recognizing a Palestinian state, at least not until two conditions are met. She says Hamas started this war and it continues to this day because the terror group has refused to release all of the hostages. Meloni says Italy can only recognize a Palestinian state when those captives are released and Hamas is excluded from any role in government. And the US Government says that to recognize a Palestinian state while Hamas is still holding Israeli hostages would be to reward terrorism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio there should.
- [05:55]
Hunter Baker
Have never been any. Why are we even talking about hostages? Why do we still have to talk about hostages at this point? There shouldn't be any. They should all be released immediately. Period. That's the president's position.
- [06:05]
Kent Covington
Reuters reports that Hamas has written a letter to the US asking for a 60 day ceasefire in exchange for releasing half of the hostages. Health officials with the European Union are pushing back on the Trump administration's warning on Monday that Tylenol used during pregnancy could be linked to autism. European Commission spokeswoman Eva Herncinrova.
- [06:27]
Elizabeth Russell
The European Medicines Agency has not found any evidence linking the use of paracetamol during the pregnancy and autism.
- [06:38]
Kent Covington
Paracetamol, better known in the US as acetaminophen, is the active ingredient in Tylenol. The Trump administration pointed to a review of dozens of studies in suggesting a possible link. Tylenol maker Kenvue has strongly refuted any link between the drug and autism, claiming it is the safest painkiller a mother can use during pregnancy. I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, the pending government shutdown, plus protecting minorities in Syria. This is THE WORLD and everything in it.
- [07:32]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, the 24th of September. Glad to have you along for today's edition of THE WORLD and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [07:41]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Iker. Time now for Washington Wednesday. Today, President Trump takes the UN to task. But first, Democrats threaten a government shutdown. World's Leo Braceno reports from the US Capitol.
- [07:56]
Leo Braceno
With the government's funding set to run dry on October 1, Republicans in the House of Representatives have advanced a short term spending plan. The continuing resolution, or CR, would extend the government's current spending levels through November 21, giving Congress time to work on its spending legislation for 2026. But Democrats are refusing to go along with that plan, leaving Republicans bewildered.
- [08:21]
Hunter Baker
And then they know that I was asked to give them a short bill and a clean CR and that's what they got.
- [08:27]
Leo Braceno
That's Tom Cole, the Oklahoman, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the many legislators that helps write the country's spending legislation.
- [08:35]
Hunter Baker
And then you had Democratic leadership decided to drop other things into it. The have nothing to do with what we do, so that's up to them.
- [08:45]
Leo Braceno
At the heart of the issue is a policy called the enhanced premium tax credit. Under Obamacare, the government helps cover high health insurance costs for households with incomes up to four times the federal poverty level. During the COVID 19 pandemic, the government removed that limit, allowing a wider range of Americans to get government help for health care costs. That included Claire Sachs, founder of TPAC Consulting. She came to the Capitol last week to argue in favor of the tax credits.
- [09:16]
Elizabeth Russell
Those credits are the only reason I can afford both my business and my health.
- [09:21]
Leo Braceno
The tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. And Republicans are looking forward to returning to pre Covid spending levels, but Democrats want to use the stopgap bill to force a conversation on keeping the enhanced premium tax credits that makes a shutdown look very likely. I asked House Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York if he thinks Americans won't somehow blame Democrats if it does come to that.
- [09:45]
Hunter Baker
Donald Trump is the president. He's a Republican president. Republicans have a majority in the House and Republicans have a majority in the Senate. And we as Democrats have been very clear that we will support bipartisan spending legislation that meets the needs of the American people.
- [10:04]
Leo Braceno
For now, both chambers of Congress are out of town, with the Senate slated to return next week. Although the House passed its clean funding extension last Friday, that measure is expected to stall in the Senate, where Republicans need at least seven Democrat votes to pass the plan. Reporting for world I'm Leo Braceno in Washington.
- [10:23]
Nick Iker
And joining us now is political scientist Hunter Baker. He is a World Opinions contributor and a regular on Washington Wednesday. Good morning, Hunter.
- [10:33]
Hunter Baker
Good morning.
- [10:33]
Nick Iker
Well, Hunter, let's play that Washington parlor game of who's to blame for the government shutdown. We were just hearing Leo's report there, and I feel a replay of what I've seen over the years, the pretty typical blaming of Republicans for these shutdowns. But do you think that's gonna hold up?
- [10:50]
Hunter Baker
I think that Donald Trump has the bully pulpit in a way that almost no president ever has had. And I think that he probably will argue pretty successfully that the other side is to blame. I think that the Democrats will be viewed as the ones who are causing the shutdown. But there's another angle here that is critical, which is that the budget director is Russ Vaught. And the last time I think that Chuck Schumer gave in because he did not want to submit to the tender mercies of Russ Vaught, who will find ways to manage a shutdown by cutting things that Schumer and others may not want to be cut. So that's the other side of this sort of matchup.
- [11:36]
Lindsay Mast
Well, Hunter, the big Washington news yesterday was in New York. President Trump took the stage at the United nations with a sweeping address that seemed equal parts boasting and warning. He claimed credit for ending what he called seven unendable wars.
- [11:52]
President Donald Trump
And in all cases, they were raging with countless thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, a vicious, violent war that was Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- [12:19]
Lindsay Mast
He took credit for US Bombers having destroyed Iran's nuclear facility.
- [12:24]
President Donald Trump
No other country on earth could have done what we did. No other country has the equipment to do what we did. We have the greatest weapons on earth. We hate to use them, but we did something that for 22 years people wanted to do.
- [12:40]
Lindsay Mast
He pressed Europe to cut off Russian energy or face new tariffs. He accused the UN of bankrolling mass migration, declared major cartels and gangs terrorist organizations, and dismissed global climate policies as a con job.
- [12:53]
Nick Iker
Yeah, he did. In other words, the president positioned himself as the man of action. And the UN as all talk, no action.
- [13:01]
President Donald Trump
The UN has such tremendous potential, but it's not even coming close to living up to that potential. For the most part, at least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words. And empty words don't solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.
- [13:27]
Nick Iker
So, Hunter, is President Trump right about.
- [13:29]
Hunter Baker
The U.N. i think that he is basically right about that. So I'm not necessarily accepting the critique of the UN So much as I'm saying that it's an accurate description of the UN I don't think that the UN Actually exists to solve problems. I think that the UN Exists to be a forum for conversation. It's designed to be a place where everybody can kind of get together and talk. That is sort of a feature and not a bug. You are not really going to get together at the UN and act like a sort of a world legislature or something like that. It's really designed to be more of a pressure release valve, an arena for discussion. And so, no, it cannot stand up to a real executive decision maker of a very powerful country like the United States, like Donald Trump is.
- [14:22]
Lindsay Mast
Well, Hunter, let's talk about what President Trump said about terrorism. Closer to home, he has now signed an executive order designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organization. The White House says the move responds to a pattern of violence, from Antifa markings on the bullets that killed Charlie Kirk to attacks on ICE facilities, churches and pro life centers. Let's listen to White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt.
- [14:45]
Onize Addua
Not only were the bullet casings subscribed with antifa mottos, if you will, in the heinous assassination of Charlie, but there have also been more examples than I.
- [14:55]
Lindsay Mast
Could read off for you here in.
- [14:57]
Onize Addua
This briefing room today of violence from Antifa.
- [15:00]
Lindsay Mast
I will just read, Hunter. Antifa lacks the organization of other terrorist groups. Even the executive order calls it an enterprise. So what do you make of this order? Are there teeth behind it. And is the administration stretching the limits of how we define terrorism?
- [15:14]
Hunter Baker
Yeah, there's always a question of whether you're engaging in sort of a political play as much as actually having a legal strategy. People need to feel like something is being done. I mean, we had this problem after 9, 11 to some extent, because you don't know who did it. You really wish that it was obvious which country or which organization carried out this attack because you want to hold them accountable. And with Antifa, you know, certainly I agree that these kind of slogans relate to the kind of things that we've seen from Antifa in the past. But Antifa is sort of a loose collection of people and ideas, sort of spontaneous uprisings aimed at derailing, you know, some of these kind of right wing efforts. And so I think it's very hard to actually designate it as a terrorist organization. I think that use of that language, domestic terror organization, is an attempt to kind of bring over the existing ideas and policy that exist with regard to these sort of international or foreign terrorist organizations. You know, I think that Trump is doing what he does. He's kind of stretching to get the authority that he wants or to, like I said, make the impression that he wants. Even if Congress were going to make laws about this, I am not sure that it is clear exactly what kinds of laws they would make because of the sort of loose, amorphous existence of Antifa. And that's by design. They don't want to be held accountable. They want to strike quickly, cause a lot of chaos, and then get out of the way. Mm.
- [16:58]
Nick Iker
Well, let's shift gears a bit, Hunter. The long awaited Trump administration report on autism, and it put a spotlight on acetaminophen use, Tylenol use during pregnancy. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has focused on the increase in autism diagnoses ever since he got the job at hhs. And here he is speaking at the White House.
- [17:21]
Hunter Baker
On Monday, HHS will launch a nationwide.
- [17:24]
Nick Iker
Public service campaign to inform families and protect public health. Hunter, the HHS is admitting that existing evidence does not definitively establish causality between Tylenol or acetaminophen use and autism. So how should we understand this announcement? Is it responsible warning in light of this evidence, or do you see it as an overreach?
- [17:48]
Hunter Baker
It's a really good question. And you know, unfortunately, as with everything else I have said today, you have the intersection of the political with whatever is the kind of on the ground reality of the thing. When Trump won the election, one of the things he said was let Robert Kennedy do whatever he wants. And what Kennedy wanted was to run hhs. And we know that he has had these kind of ideas about autism, about vaccines, and Trump is letting him run that agency and he is letting him do the things he wants to do. You know, one physician that I talked to, though said, and I think a lot of us realize this is that correlation is not causality. Probably nearly 100% of pregnant women may use Tylenol trying to control fever if they have it. And we certainly don't have anything like that level of autism. So this is something that I think has been studied, but we're just going to have to find out more. I am given pause in my skepticism by the, by the presence of Jay Battacaria, because he was a really responsible voice when it came to Covid, and he was willing to stand up in front when they were kind of having this press conference. So maybe there's a. There, there.
- [19:04]
Lindsay Mast
One more story I'd like to run by you, Hunter. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Trump on what he's referred to as the swamp or the deep state. The court said he does have the power to fire the last Democrats to still on the Federal Trade Commission. That decision strengthens the president's control over these agencies set up to operate independently of politics. So what kind of independence do you think the Founding Fathers would have wanted for these kinds of agencies?
- [19:32]
Hunter Baker
Well, they're issues in both directions. First of all, the Constitution says that the President has the executive power, right? The executive authority is vested in the president. That having been said, it is also the case constitutionally that Congress is really supposed to be the engine of policy. Now, what you have with these old sort of independent agencies that are the product of what was then sort of expert thought about bureaucracy during the 20th century. You know, FTC, FCC, FDA. Was the idea that we can have experts who will run these agencies, we will insulate them from politics. It's a very idealistic kind of view of the thing. I think that what we have seen is probably not that that has been borne out, that they have not in any sense been free from ideology. And so then the question is, well, do you want to see the president have much greater authority? Because the President is the one who's accountable in the government the way it runs in the United States today. And what we've seen from the Supreme Court so far is that they seem to want to settle that question. And I would not be surprised if they don't go back to the Constitution vest the executive authority in the President of the United States.
- [20:55]
Lindsay Mast
So, Hunter, a theme I'm picking up today is there's a lot of tension between different branches on the function of authority in the government and getting things done. Do you see this as evidence of the government working or not working?
- [21:08]
Hunter Baker
Yeah. There are so many answers to this. Okay. I mean, so in the first place, the United States government is constructed to be very difficult to operate. Okay. It is made that way. I've always told students, it's like an engine with sand poured in it. And that is by design. The founders did not want to see a sudden mania or a sudden passion sort of possess the government and then result in a lot of action. What they wanted was, was to make it where it was difficult to do things, and you would need a lot of consensus in order to do it. For example, you might notice that the entire United States government is never up for election. Right. There's only one third of the Senate up for election at any point of time. And you also have this government that is constructed to resemble other forms of government. So a president like a monarch, the Senate like an aristocracy, the House like a democracy. Right. And so they're mixing, they're matching, they're putting all these obstacles in the way. You know, the veto, the House originating things, the Senate considering things. And so I think that what has happened is, is that we have, A, totally forgotten why they did that, B, we're very frustrated with how difficult it is to get things done in the federal government. And so we are moving more and more toward kind of trying to have a system like other nations. And if you do that right, then it's all about just getting enough power to act. And I think that the big problem is, generally speaking, the sides are constantly worried about gaining support and suppressing support on the other side. And they're so focused on that that there are very few people who are actually focused on governing. So to me, that's the issue, is that nobody really wants to govern. Everybody wants to campaign all the time.
- [23:14]
Nick Iker
Wants to because they have to, Right?
- [23:16]
Hunter Baker
Yes. Yes, you're right. Yes, that's exactly right.
- [23:21]
Nick Iker
Finally.
- [23:23]
Hunter Baker
Yes.
- [23:24]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter Baker, North Greenville University provost and world Opinions contributor. Thank you so much.
- [23:30]
Hunter Baker
Thank you.
- [23:40]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from His Words Abiding in you, a Bible memorization podcast designed for truck drivers. His words Abiding in you on all.
- [23:52]
Hunter Baker
Podcast apps.
- [23:55]
Kent Covington
From Cedarville University, Equipping students for professional excellence and Gospel Impact Cedarville. Edu World. And from Dort University, whose online MBA and MPA programs Prepare leaders for lasting impact. Dort University until all is made new.
- [24:21]
Lindsay Mast
Up next, a World Tour special report. Today, Syria's interim president is set to become the first leader from Damascus to address the United Nations General assembly in almost 60 years. But is he truly leading Syria in a new direction or whitewashing violence against religious minorities? Africa reporter Oniza Adua has the story.
- [24:42]
Hunter Baker
We really want to hold him accountable to what promises he has been giving, and he's going to give.
- [24:48]
Rachel Coyle
Morehof Ibrahim is a cardiologist in Florida and an Alawite from Syria. After the fall of the regime of dictator Bashar Al Assad, Dr. Ibrahim joined other religious minorities to found the Alawites association of the United States.
- [25:04]
Hunter Baker
So the atrocities which started happening against Alawites in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime made us establish this.
- [25:13]
President Donald Trump
Organization to advocate for their rights, for their dignity and for their protection in Syria.
- [25:18]
Rachel Coyle
Syria's interim president, Ahmed Al Shara led the largest group to overthrow the Assad regime. He previously fought alongside Al Qaeda and was designated a terrorist by the United States. He's since promised to clean up his act and the reputation of Syria as well.
- [25:35]
Hunter Baker
In 1979, Syria was among the founding members of the State Sponsor of Terrorism list.
- [25:43]
Rachel Coyle
Andrew Tabler is a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Nearest Policy and and former senior adviser for the U.S. department of State. He told Washington producer Harrison Waters that U.S. concerns about Syria's support for terrorism and atrocities against civilians go back a long way. Over the years, the US has increased its sanctions on Syria to choke off supplies and resources, enabling the government's actions.
- [26:10]
Hunter Baker
The most powerful sanctions were added to Syria in 2020 when I was at the State Department. That was what's called the Caesar Act.
- [26:21]
Rachel Coyle
The sanctions limit Americans and those who do business with America from investing in Syria.
- [26:27]
Hunter Baker
And it's the main focus of the Ashara government because it restricts US investments and other investments into Syria to rebuild the country.
- [26:37]
Rachel Coyle
President Donald Trump met with Al Sharah in May and promised to temporarily suspend sanctions, but it's up to Congress to repeal them.
- [26:46]
Hunter Baker
There's a proposal by Representative Joe Wilson to repeal Caesar outright. One line in the ndaa, the National Defense Authorization Act.
- [26:56]
Rachel Coyle
Another bill introduced this year would link lifting sanctions to protecting the rights of religious minorities. And advocates say that while it's more complicated, Syria needs the accountability.
- [27:08]
Hunter Baker
We've got to get it done now. And I've lost these fights in the past.
- [27:13]
Rachel Coyle
Sam Brownback is the former US Ambassador at large for international religious Freedom. Earlier this month, he spoke at a press conference on capitol hill with Dr. Ibrahim's organization.
- [27:25]
Hunter Baker
I was involved in the fight to get religious minorities protected in Iraq when.
- [27:30]
Kent Covington
We lost that fight.
- [27:31]
Rachel Coyle
After US Forces left Iraq, Islamic State fighters killed thousands of Iraqi Christians and Yazidis and displaced hundreds of thousands more. With Syrian fighters linked to the government attacking minority communities over the summer, Brownback says something similar could happen again and.
- [27:50]
Kent Covington
You will see yet another ancient Christian.
- [27:53]
Hunter Baker
Community be run out of another Middle east country.
- [27:57]
Kent Covington
There's very few places that any of.
- [27:59]
Hunter Baker
The Christian minorities are left in.
- [28:01]
Rachel Coyle
But if the US could push Syria to take steps now to protect religious minorities, Brownback and others say this could be a different story. With Syrian President Al Sharaz set to address the UN General Assembly, Andrew Tabler is watching to see whether he addresses.
- [28:19]
Hunter Baker
Washington's priorities and that concerns the peace treaty and process with Israel, now known as the Abraham Accords process. The administration has a related proposal on the table concerning the stabilizing the situation in southern Syria with the Druze population to incorporate those areas into the interim government.
- [28:41]
Rachel Coyle
Dr. Ibrahim with the Alawite association is doubtful that the former terrorist turned statesman means what he says about democracy and freedom in Syria.
- [28:52]
President Donald Trump
I think he's very good at nice words and nice gestures, but actions on the ground actually giving everybody different impression.
- [29:00]
Hunter Baker
About about what's going on and he should be accountable to what he's promising.
- [29:05]
Rachel Coyle
That's this week's world tour. I'm Onize Odua.
- [29:31]
Lindsay Mast
Today is Wednesday, September 24th. Thank you for turning to world radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [29:38]
Nick Iker
And I'm Nick Eicher. Coming next on the world and everything in it, a uniquely American art form.
- [29:45]
Lindsay Mast
When most of us think of tap dancing, we probably picture black and white movies from the golden age of Hollywood. Singin in the Rain, Ziegfeld Follies stars in shiny black shoes on elaborate sets, or more recently, the animated penguins from the kids movie Happy Feet.
- [30:01]
Nick Iker
Yeah, tap dancing may not be center stage anymore, but is it really dying out or just hiding in plain sight? World's Elizabeth Russell reports.
- [30:12]
Onize Addua
Ruggie Wonderland.
- [30:17]
Elizabeth Russell
When Happy Feet came out in 2006, it sent a wave of aspiring young dancers flocking to classes across the country. Even without the animated incentive, tap dancing is a rite of passage for most young dancers.
- [30:31]
Onize Addua
Brush step, brush step.
- [30:34]
Elizabeth Russell
About 30 students take tap dancing classes at Adagio Academy of the Performing arts. But about 80% of Adagio students focus on learning more popular styles like ballet and hip hop.
- [30:44]
Onize Addua
I think sometimes they just think you're just Shuffling your feet around really fast, and how hard could that be? And then you get them into a tap class, and they're like, wait a second. It actually is kind of hard.
- [30:55]
Elizabeth Russell
Jess Steffi owns the studio in Charlestown, West Virginia. She said most people don't appreciate the skill that goes into tap dancing. Most dance styles are more about the visual aspect, but in tap, the sound is most important. Metal plates on a dancer's shoes click and tap along with the music or layer other rhythms on top of it.
- [31:13]
Onize Addua
I think what people don't understand is that tap isn't just dance, but it's music at the same time. Like your feet are literally a percussion instrument.
- [31:21]
Elizabeth Russell
The term tap dancing didn't become popular until the 1920s, but the style itself began to form even before the United States was a country.
- [31:29]
Hunter Baker
Basically, it's the dance and music that originated when enslaved Africans were brought to the US and deprived of their drums, and how that music and dance interacted with the music and dance of other immigrant groups, especially the Irish.
- [31:45]
Elizabeth Russell
Brian Siebert is a dance critic, historian, and author of what the Eye, a history of tap dancing. He's also an amateur tap dancer. He said tap formed a huge part of early American entertainment, from minstrel shows to vaudeville. It hit its heyday in the 1930s and 40s when just about every movie and Broadway show boasted some kind of big tap number.
- [32:08]
Onize Addua
Good morning to you.
- [32:12]
Elizabeth Russell
But that popularity in the past might have a downside today when you see.
- [32:16]
Hunter Baker
It in movies and most Broadway shows now, the only time they use tap dancing is when they're referencing that era. Even though tap can be and is done to every kind of music, and it is developed alongside jazz and funk and hip hop and all of the, you know, different rhythms of the African diaspora around the world. All of that has been incorporated by tap dancers and is. But in the popular imagination, it's mostly still associated with a certain time, a certain kind of music.
- [32:52]
Elizabeth Russell
But Siebert doesn't think tap is dying. Although professional tap performances are still rare compared to other styles, he's seen more of them hit theaters and festivals in the last decade.
- [33:02]
Hunter Baker
Actually, I think TAPP is in better shape than it has been in recent decades. I think it's on an upswing recently.
- [33:09]
Elizabeth Russell
Even though professional dancing is a much smaller pool than students and amateur dancers. A 2020 survey of dance teachers reached a similar conclusion. All 338 teachers who participated said their tap class enrollment was holding steady or increasing. But because tap is less popular than other styles, Jess Steffi said dance schools have a hard time finding qualified teachers. Over half the teachers from the survey agreed with her.
- [33:32]
Onize Addua
It's definitely harder to find tap teachers.
- [33:34]
Elizabeth Russell
Than it is a lot of other.
- [33:36]
Onize Addua
Styles, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, things like that.
- [33:39]
Elizabeth Russell
To draw students in. Steffi and her teachers at Adagio use a lot of popular music and focus more on rhythm tap. It's less choreographed and formal than a Broadway style.
- [33:49]
Onize Addua
Rhythm tap is really about the rhythm of it and what kinds of sounds you can make with your feet more than the whole body style of it. Right. And so I feel like that pulled a lot of kids from like jazz and hip hop and those kids that were really into that kind of started getting into rhythm tap.
- [34:14]
Elizabeth Russell
The night I visited the studio, an adult tap class warmed up to September. Later in the class, they danced to songs that by Beyonce and from the newsies Musical. Popular music can help tap reach a new audience. But Steffi said seeing more examples of the dance in media might be the best way to revitalize it.
- [34:32]
Onize Addua
So when Happy Feet came out, for sure, there were a lot of kids that wanted to tap and be just like the penguins in Happy Feet. I think the more they're exposed to it, the more they're willing to try it. 5, 6, 7, 8.
- [34:51]
Elizabeth Russell
Reporting for World I'm Elizabeth Russell.
- [35:09]
Nick Iker
Today is Wednesday, September 24th. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it. From listener support. Welcome to supported World Radio. I'm Nick Iger.
- [35:17]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. Up next, letting go at the dorm room door, World associate correspondent Rachel Coyle marks a family milestone. Settling in her daughter for freshman year, that move in day looked a lot different from her own first trip to campus 30 years ago.
- [35:41]
Onize Addua
Congratulations.
- [35:42]
Elizabeth Russell
You guys got one coming to college.
- [35:45]
Hunter Baker
First one.
- [35:46]
Onize Addua
First one. Last month, my husband and I dropped our oldest off at college. I couldn't help but think back to 30 years ago when my parents dropped me off.
- [35:54]
Elizabeth Russell
Okay, so here we go.
- [35:56]
Onize Addua
That's me in 1995, my first year of college.
- [35:59]
Elizabeth Russell
This is my room, guys. This is it.
- [36:02]
Onize Addua
This is what a dorm room looks like. I borrowed a video camera to make a VHS tour of my college dorm room for my family. Our minivan added 1600 miles to the odometer one way. On our 24 hour drive from Florida to Minnesota, if our seatbelts became bothersome, we were allowed to unbuckle and relax. My dad had just one rule. Wait until he's cruising at least 55 miles an hour. No DVD player, no iPads, no smartphones. Besides fighting over which cassette tape to listen to, my Three younger sisters and I had to entertain ourselves the whole whole three days there. My parents dropped me off at college with a prepaid calling card, a book of 32 cent stamps, and a Papasan chair. Calling collect was for emergencies only. School materials consisted of paper, pens and pencils. I may have had a Discman portable CD player, and I definitely had a radio. As far as technology goes, that was it. Today, it's a lot different if you're.
- [37:03]
Elizabeth Russell
A student juggling classwork.
- [37:05]
Hunter Baker
Are you an incoming college student looking to see what you should take notes with?
- [37:08]
Kent Covington
In front of me, I have five.
- [37:09]
Hunter Baker
Of my favorite pairs of headphones.
- [37:10]
Onize Addua
Today I am finally getting around to showing you guys. Besides paper, pens and pencils, she had to bring her smartphone, laptop, WI fi, speaker, earbuds, Bluetooth headphones, and at least five different chargers. Our drive was only eight hours long, and I'm just a little embarrassed to admit it involved several hours of movies on the DVD player and a few games on the iPad and streaming Adventures in Odyssey.
- [37:36]
Lindsay Mast
Hi, I'm Chris.
- [37:38]
Onize Addua
We had it easy compared to 1995, except everybody had to keep their seatbelts on.
- [37:42]
Rachel Coyle
You can go ahead and grab your welcome bag.
- [37:44]
Onize Addua
And then at the school, a group of college kids full of youthful energy unloaded our van, whisking everything into our daughter's dorm room. Her siblings helped her unpack while she directed where to put each item. At one point, I leafed through some material in her welcome packet, and a small card fell out. It was one I hadn't expected, titled Active Shooter Preparedness. It startled me. That was something my parents didn't have to think about 30 years ago. It suddenly felt daunting to leave my daughter in a place that had to have a plan for such kind of danger. I didn't anticipate her response to the card. She told me later, I'm used to it. I'm used to hearing about it. I'm used to preparing for it. And so it doesn't make me feel unsafe that we have to have it. It makes me feel safe that we do have it. But the truth is, wherever our kids are, it's God who keeps them safe, not us. He doesn't make mistakes. Even when painful times come and we don't understand his plan, he's still good. Fear doesn't change anything. As I left my daughter's dorm room that day, I sent up a prayer for her safety. One I continue to pray for all of my children. As parents, it's up to us to model what it looks like to keep giving our fears to the Lord and trust in him, no matter the outcome.
- [39:12]
Hunter Baker
Hi. Hi Leon.
- [39:16]
Elizabeth Russell
How are you?
- [39:17]
Onize Addua
I'm great. Our college drop off goodbyes this year weren't quite as emotional as when I went to college. It's comforting knowing that we can call, text, audio, message, facetime, email, use social media. And yet, while technology makes it easier to keep in touch than it used to be, it's not the same as being together when dropping a son or daughter off at college, a military boot camp, a gap year program, or anywhere else. As parents, it's hard to say goodbye. And that will never change whether it's 2025 or 1995. I'm Rachel Coyle.
- [40:07]
Hunter Baker
For you you.
- [40:21]
Nick Iker
Tomorrow. Modern computing takes quite a bit of power and infrastructure. And while many want the benefits, municipalities are telling data centers. Not in my backyard. NIMBY for the age of AI and renewed efforts to reclassify marijuana. Critics warn it sends the wrong message that pot is harmless when it's not. That and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Icker.
- [40:44]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Verses 13 and 14 of Ecclesiastes 12. Go now in grace and peace.