Cultural update: Australia's Social Media Ban; Marijuana and Youth Health; Study on Charlie Kirk Death

Stories this week: 

• Marijuana and youth health: New medical studies show legalization has coincided with a sharp rise in adolescent ER visits, including severe physical and psychiatric effects, raising ethical and biblical concerns about bodily stewardship. 
• Australia’s social media ban: Australia enacted the world’s first nationwide ban on social media accounts for children under 16, shifting responsibility to tech companies and sparking debate over protection versus government overreach. 
• Charlie Kirk and spiritual response: A Barna study finds Kirk’s death prompted more spiritual than political action, particularly among Gen Z and practicing Christians, suggesting deeper spiritual currents at work. 
• AI and academic integrity: A major AI conference discovered that over 20% of peer reviews were fully AI-generated, exposing serious ethical failures and double standards in higher education. 
• Listener Question: Why some families have more children
• Listener Question: Church becoming affirming
• Listener Question: Praying without visible answers

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Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.

Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.

To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.