Acton Line

Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, discusses his new book, “Check Your Financial Privilege,” and how cryptocurrency can aid in pulling people out of poverty. Dan Hugger, Acton’s librarian and research associate, sits down with Gladstein to discuss what's happening, for example, in Nigeria, where human rights activists depend on Bitcoin for donations. In Cuba, th...

“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is one of the most popular Christian podcasts of the past year. It chronicles how Mars Hill Church in Seattle went from one of the most influential multisite evangelical churches in the U.S. to an abuse- and scandal-ridden nightmare, finally having to shut its doors for good in 2014 following the resignation of its charismatic founder, Mark Driscoll.   Eric Kohn, A...

Anthony Bradley, professor of religious studies at The King’s College, NYC, and Acton research fellow, sits down with Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of program outreach, to discuss the importance of fatherhood as well as Dr. Bradley’s new research on the good that fraternities do in the way of moral formation of young men.   Subscribe to our podcasts   About Anthony B. Bradley, PhD    Black Marr...

Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson has written an exciting new book—“The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints”—on how we’re called to live beyond a merely mundane existence of settling for small goals. In fact, we’re called to live a life of holiness. Wilson instructs us on how hearing the call to holiness requires cultivating a new imagination—o...

Betsy DeVos joins Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, in the studio to discuss her new book, “Hostages No More.“   In her book, DeVos writes about her experiences working in the Trump administration and how the “woke” curriculum is negatively impacting our children’s learning. She also lays out a detailed approach to fixing America’s badly broken education system and secur...

In this episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of program outreach, sits down with Dr. Richard Turnbull, the director of the Center for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics, to discuss how banks and credit unions develop a culture of savings, independence, and poverty prevention. Do trends in the direction of large, national, even global banking institutions best serve these ideals? And what are the...

Daniel Wagner, Ph. D., associate professor and chair of philosophy at Aquinas College, sits down with Dan Hugger, Acton’s librarian and research associate, to explore the Aristotelian-Thomistic account of the human good, natural law, and living well. Why should we seek to know ourselves? How is the human good related to excellence and virtue? How do we reconcile this account of the good with the d...

In this episode, Sam Gregg sits down with award-winning political theorist Yoram Hazony to discuss Hazony’s new book, “Conservatism: A Rediscovery.”    Hazony argues that the idea that American conservatism is identical to “classical” liberalism, which has been widely held since the 1960s, is seriously mistaken. According to Hazony, the best hope for Western democracy is a return to the empiricist...

In this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality here at Acton, sits down with Jeff Fisher, professor of theology and director of spiritual formation, and Branson Parler, professor of theology and director of theological education, both of the Foundry, to discuss their entrepreneurial alternative to traditional Christian higher...

Kevin Schmiesing, director of research at the Freedom & Virtue Institute, takes you on a journey through American history to more than two dozen sites and events that symbolize and embody America’s rich Catholic past in his new book, “A Catholic Pilgrimage through American History: People and Places that Shaped the Church in the United States.”  Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton Univer...

In this episode, Rev. Robert A. Sirico, Acton’s president emeritus, and Dan Hugger, Acton’s librarian and research associate, dismiss the many misinterpretations of Jesus' parables to reveal their timeless wisdom as explored in Rev. Sirico’s new book, “The Economics of the Parables.”   Subscribe to our podcasts   Apply now for Acton University 2022    "The Economics of the Parables" — Regnery Publ...

In this episode, Gerard Wegemer, professor of English at the University of Dallas, sits down with Sam Gregg, Acton’s director of research, to discuss Wegemer’s new book, “The Essential Works of Thomas More.” For the first time, Thomas More’s most influential English and Latin works have been gathered into a single volume, creating a unique resource for anyone interested in More’s teaching on theol...

Kevin Vallier, political philosopher and associate professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University, joins Dylan Pahman, Acton’s executive editor of the “Journal of Markets and Morality,” to discuss Vallier’s new book, “Trust in a Polarized Age.”    America seems to be falling into further hopelessness, divisiveness, and cultural decay. Yet Vallier sees things differently. He offers effec...

Matthew Continetti’s new book, The Right, gives readers a clear historical perspective of the conservative movement—from the Progressive era to the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time. This book is essential for anyone looking to understand what it truly means to be an American conservati...

In this episode of Acton Line, Eric Kohn, our director of marketing and communications, sits down with Samuel Goldman, associate professor of political science at George Washington University, to discuss the history of our American national identity as explored in his new book, “After Nationalism: Being American in an Age of Division.”  Goldman lays out the history of American national identity an...

Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, sits down with Matt Brown, sports journalist and author of the “Extra Points” daily newsletter. They discuss the economic system behind college athletics and athletes’ compensation in general.     Subscribe to our podcasts    Extra Points with Matt Brown    Extra Points Podcast    What If?: A closer look at college football's great quest...

In this episode, Dan Hugger, research associate and librarian here at Acton, sits down with Dr. Micah Watson, associate professor and executive director of the Paul Henry Institute at Calvin University, to discuss Congressman Paul Henry and his leadership in shaping the way Christian politicians live out their faith within their public service.    The Paul Henry Institute seeks “to understand the...

This is a special edition of Acton Line, featuring Ian Rowe, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, speaking on his new book, “Agency.“   On Wednesday, March 16, Rowe visited the Acton Institute for a discussion in front of a live audience with Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications. Rowe spoke on how we can inspire young people as they make the passage into adult...

In this episode, Dan Churchwell, director of program outreach here at Acton, sits down with James Whitford, executive director of Watered Gardens Ministries, to discuss the challenges of poverty we face here in our communities. Whitford supports the economic principle of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is a social practice where neighbors help neighbors so the state doesn’t have to intervene. This disc...

In this episode, Dan Hugger sits down with Acton’s director of research, Samuel Gregg, to discuss his new book, “The Essential Natural Law.” They explore the fundamental principles of natural law and their place in Western thought and tradition.    How does natural law deepen our understanding of economics, justice, human rights, private property, and the rule of law? Is our path to increased huma...

In this episode, Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of communications, sits down with Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center, to discuss the “Overton Window” and the influence it continues to play in politics. How can we use it to understand changing ideas in our culture and the marketplace?   Subscribe to our podcasts    Joseph G. Lehman, President of the Mackinac Center    Mackinac Center for...

In this episode, Dan Hugger sits with Daniel Silliman, journalist and news editor for Christianity Today, to discuss his new book, "Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith." Silliman argues that the formation of evangelical identity does not stem from institutions or political stances but from Christian fiction and Christian publishing in general. In light of this,...

In this episode, Sarah Negri, research project coordinator at the Acton Institute, sits down with  David Michael Phelps, dean and director of program development at Harmel Academy of the Trades, to discuss the dignity of human work and how it is tied to our freedom to create value in the world and its connection to virtue. Why is formation in virtue important for skilled laborers? Who was Léon Har...

Since its announcement in November, media buzz has surrounded the University of Austin in Texas (UATX), newly founded to push back against a growing illiberal tide of “wokeness” and “cancel culture” in higher education. According to its website, UATX is “dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth” and seeks to promote freedom of inquiry and ideological independence.  Today on Acton Line, Dylan Pah...

In a conversation with Acton’s librarian and research associate Dan Hugger, the Honorable Mark T. Boonstra, author of “In Their Own Words,” presents powerful insights into the minds of our Founding Fathers on the subject of religion.    It’s clear now more than ever that our country is no longer the one inhabited by our Founding Fathers. Boonstra claims that we have essentially lost our relationsh...