Acton Unwind

This week Eric, Dan, and Emily discuss President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and give their own takes on the state of the union, the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that implicates IVF treatment, and the recent remarks by Pope Francis calling for Ukraine to have the “courage of the White Flag” in bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine. Subscribe to our podcasts   Remarks...

On this special bonus episode of Acton Unwind, Eric, Dan, Dylan, and Daniel discuss Dune: Part Two, the second entry in director Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy adapting the Frank Herbert novels. The panel discusses the technical filmmaking, how this film compares to the 1984 David Lynch adaptation of Dune, how it compares to the original books, what was left out, and more. Warning: Spoilers! Subscribe...

This week, Eric, Anthony, and Dylan discuss the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell and the ethics of using his suicide to advance the Palestinian cause, the online free-speech cases that SCOTUS heard last week, and the story that the fast-food chain Wendy’s was planning to roll out surge pricing in the spirit of Uber and Lyft. Wendy’s isn’t doing that—but should it? Subscribe to our podcasts   Man...

This week on Acton Unwind, guest host Dan Hugger is joined by Dylan Pahman and Noah Gould. They begin the podcast by discussing two recent essays that call into question Hillsdale College’s “Christian College” bona fides. What makes a college Christian, and does Hillsdale fit the bill? Next, Google’s Gemini generative AI chatbot’s political biases are explored. What does AI bias look like? Why is...

This week guest host Dan Hugger is joined by Dan Churchwell and Emily Zanotti. The panel begins by discussing the recent death of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny in prison. How should the international community respond? Will this tragedy cause Americans on the extreme left and right develop a more critical attitude toward Vladimir Putin? Next, recent discoveries of rare-earth minerals...

This week, Eric talks with Mustafa Akyol about his essay in the Winter issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY, a book review of “Wahhābism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement.” Where did Wahhabist Islam come from and how much sway does it hold in the Muslim world today? Then Eric is joined by Anthony Bradley and Noah Gould as they discuss the He Gets Us ads from the Super Bowl, Tucker Carlson’s inter...

This week, Eric, Anthony, and Dylan are joined by John G. Grove, managing editor of Law & Liberty, to discuss his essay in the Winter edition of Religion & Liberty, “The Gods of the City.” Is Christian nationalism a real thing? What is the proper interplay between faith and government? Then Emily joins the show to discuss the way-too-online theory that the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce relationship, a...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Emily discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling lifting an injunction that prevented the federal government from removing razor wire installed by the state of Texas at the southern border. What did SCOTUS actually do here? What are we supposed to do in this bizarre situation where the federal government will not enforce federal law but doesn’t want states to enforce it either? W...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Noah discuss Javier Milei’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Did the Davos set know what they were getting into when they invited him? How important and refreshing was it to hear a voice opposed to the elite consensus at Davos? Will anyone listen to him? Next, Donald Trump claims that a president can’t be the president without also being guaranteed full and co...

This week, to start the show, Eric is joined by Fr. Robert Sirico, Acton’s co-founder and president emeritus, who just returned from a quasi-secret trip to Hong Kong, where he attended a day of Jimmy Lai’s National Security Law trial. What did he see in Hong Kong and at the trial? How has the “feel” of Hong Kong changed since he last visited? Then Eric is joined by Dan Hugger and Dylan Pahman for...

This week, Eric, Anthony Bradley (making his maiden voyage on the podcast), and Emily discuss the resignation of Harvard University president Claudine Gay. How significant a story is this? Does it matter only for elites, or do the downstream effects impact more of America? Does it matter that the people who uncovered her plagiarism had their own political motivations? Did race play any role in thi...

This week, Eric is joined first by Mark Clifford, the president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, as they discuss the National Security Law trial of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. After numerous delays, the trial has finally started. What charges is Jimmy facing, of which he will certainly be convicted? What comes after those convictions, both in regard to the cause of freeing Jimmy L...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the passing of Henry Kissinger at the age of 100. How should Kissinger be remembered? Is there any merit to the claims he was a war criminal? What will be his enduring legacy? Next, Venezuela might be preparing to annex some of the territory of neighboring Guyana after the discovery of large oil reserves in that nation. How concerned should we be? How much d...

Today, Eric and Dan talk with Acton’s Michael Matheson Miller about his essay “The Poverty Pyramid Scheme,” and AIER’s Samuel Gregg about his review “Mistaken About Poverty,” both of which appear in the Fall 2023 issue of our magazine RELIGION & LIBERTY, which is focused on the issue of poverty. How should we think about poverty in the developing world and in places like the United States? What co...

This week, Eric, Dylan, and Noah are joined by Acton Managing Director, International, Alex Chafuen to discuss Argentinian president-elect Javier Milei. Who is Milei? Is there anything to the comparisons American media are making to Donald Trump? Can he pull off changing Argentinian currency from the peso to the dollar? They also dive in to the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the...

This week, Eric and Dan are joined by Philip Booth, professor of finance, public policy, and ethics at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, England, to discuss his essay in the Fall 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY, "Creating an Economy of Inclusion.”  Catholic Social Teaching has, for decades, provided both guidelines and cautions for market economies that exclude marginalized populations. The ques...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Noah discuss the philanthropic efforts of MrBeast, the YouTube star with more than 200 million followers, in building wells in Kenya, which has come in for some criticism. Are MrBeast’s efforts making a positive impact, or are they worthy of the criticism they’re receiving? Or both? And what could he and other people with high profiles who seek to do good do differently?...

This week, Eric, Dylan, and Emily work over the news that WeWork, a company that provides flexible office workspace, will file for bankruptcy this week. Was it a victim of the pandemic? A creature of a low-interest-rate economy and a venture-capital mentality that said they’d figure out how to be profitable at some point that never arrived? Both? Next, legendary and controversial college basketbal...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Emily discuss the decision to melt down the statue of Robert E. Lee that was at the center of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Is removing statues of Confederate generals erasing history? What is the proper way to memorialize the Confederacy, if there is one? And how should we think about and remember Robert E. Lee? Then the panel turns its att...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or more specifically, the lack of one. What does this situation say about how well-functioning, or not, our system of government is right now? What does it say about a possible decline in civic virtue in the United States? Then the guys turn their attention to the Israel-Hamas war and the Israeli airstrike on a ho...

This week, Eric, Dylan, and Emily examine the purportedly pro-Palestinian rallies and campus protests that took place in the wake of the slaughter of Israeli Jews by Hamas terrorists. How surprised should we be by people chanting “gas the Jews” in Sydney, Australia, or by members of student organizations at Harvard University claiming that “the Israeli regime is entirely responsible for all unfold...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan are joined by Rachel Ferguson—director of the Center for Free Enterprise and assistant dean and professor of business ethics at Concordia University Chicago and an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute—to discuss her essay in the most recent issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY, “Saving St. Louis One Block at a Time.” How did St. Louis end up in the state it’s in? How doe...

This week, Eric, Emily, and Dylan tackle the Catholic Church Synod on Synodality taking place starting this week at the Vatican. What is the Synod on Synodality all about? What issues facing the Church—the ordination of women, the blessing of same-sex couples, married priests, and more—are on the table? What power does the Synod actually have? And could this Synod have just been an email? Next, th...

Marvin Olasky joins Eric and Noah this week to discuss his feature essay in the new Fall 2023 issue of RELIGION & LIBERTY, entitled “The Thrill and Chill of Compassionate Conservatism,” in which Marvin revisits two of his books: The Tragedy of American Compassion (1990) and Compassionate Conservatism (1999). What has transpired in terms of poverty intervention and amelioration on the federal, stat...

This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan discuss the United Auto Workers strike. Are the demands from the UAW reasonable? How should we think about trade unionization in America today? Are there any risks to the new strategy that the UAW is engaging in? Next, the guys evaluate the FDA’s decision to make Narcan, the treatment for opioid overdoses, available over the counter. Is this a good thing? What are t...