Ep. 438: Archegos Capital Management, He Gets Us at the Super Bowl, T.D. Jakes

On today’s program, two former leaders from Archegos Capital Management have dropped their financial claims against disgraced Christian philanthropist Bill Hwang. Why did they drop out, and what does that mean for the other staff members hoping to collect $32 million? We’ll have details. And, the controversial ‘He Gets Us’ ads showcased its message again at Sunday’s Super Bowl game. After critics last year labeled the ads too political, this year’s version was decidedly less so. We’ll take a look. Plus, Mission Aviation Fellowship co-founder Jack Hemmings dies at 103…in 2024, he became the oldest pilot to fly a spitfire. But first, a second minister is accusing megachurch pastor and author T.D. Jakes of sexual abuse. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Adelle Banks, Tony Mator, Kathryn Post, Marissa Greene, Mark A. Kellner, Kim Roberts, Zach Rivas, Aaron Earls, Brittany Smith—and you, Warren. A special thanks to Lifeway Research for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:    FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you today from Newport Beach, California. Natasha: And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado, and we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today’s program, two former leaders from Archegos Capital Management have dropped their financial claims against disgraced Christian philanthropist Bill Hwang. Why did they drop out, and what does that mean for the other staff members hoping to collect $32 million? We’ll have details. And, the controversial ‘He Gets Us’ ads showcased its message again at Sunday’s Super Bowl game. After critics last year labeled the ads too political, this year’s version was decidedly less so. We’ll take a look. Plus, Mission Aviation Fellowship co-founder Jack Hemmings dies at 103…in 2024, he became the oldest pilot to fly a spitfire. Natasha: But first, a second minister is accusing megachurch pastor and author T-D Jakes of sexual abuse. Warren: The Rev. Richard Edwin Youngblood, the brother of a minister who has accused Bishop T.D. Jakes of sexual misconduct, has made his own accusation against Jakes, claiming the Texas megachurch leader climbed into bed with him on a church business trip. The claims were made in a legal filing responding to a defamation lawsuit Jakes brought in November against Youngblood’s younger brother, Duane Youngblood, a Pennsylvania man who made allegations against Jakes in two 2024 interviews. Natasha: What was that lawsuit about? Warren: Jakes’ suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, includes denials by Jakes that Jakes tried to groom and sexually abuse him. The suit also said the younger Youngblood is a parolee after convictions for sexual assault and corruption of minors. Duane Youngblood has sought a court’s dismissal of Jakes’ suit. Richard Youngblood was among six people who signed sworn affidavits included in the January filing that testified that they had heard Duane Youngblood describe the alleged misconduct by Jakes. Natasha: Next, a case has been dropped against Bill Hwang. The hard task of discerning victims from victimizers continues in a fraud case that shook two typically unrelated worlds—Wall Street and Christian ministry. Warren: In late January, two former Archegos Capital Management leaders withdrew their bids against company founder Bill Hwang. They were among about 20 staff members seeking to collect $32 million of a more than $9 billion judgment against Hwang. Natasha: Bloomberg reports that Archegos’ former co-CEO Andy Mills and trader Daiki Taniguchi dropped out after government prosecutors characterized them and a third claim...