This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss both the shocking assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the political downfall of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. What is Abe’s legacy and the significance of his assassination in Japanese civic and political culture? And will Boris Johnson even leave a legacy beyond negotiating Brexit? Next, Twitter is looking to sue Elon Musk, who has announced he’s backing out of his deal to purchase the social media platform. Can you force someone to buy something? And finally, the guys break down the end of the Supreme Court’s term, particularly the case of West Virginia v. EPA. How much in American political life could be fixed by Congress just doing its job? Subscribe to our podcasts Who Shot Shinzo Abe and Why? Everything We Know So Far | Bloomberg Shinzo Abe, powerful former Japan PM, leaves divided legacy | Associated Press Why was U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced to resign, and what happens next? | CBS News Nine Tories Vie for Leadership in Contest for Johnson’s Successor | Bloomberg Twitter, Elon Musk Set for Unprecedented Legal Battle Over Deal Collapse | Wall Street Journal Twitter will be no worse with owner Elon Musk, and probably no better | Eric Kohn, Acton Institute West Virginia v. EPA | US Supreme Court Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman take stock of the current status of the American founding, 246 years after the colonies declared independence. How effective have the attacks coming from the left and the right on the founding been, if at all? Then they examine the horrific mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. If public policy can’t fix broken souls, how can we reach people like this shooter before they perpetrate these violent acts? Highland Park shooting sends shockwaves | Axios Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory | Daniel E. Burns, National Affairs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss everything surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned previous precedents in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Why has most of the reaction been about the policy implications flowing from the decision and not what the Supreme Court actually wrote and held in Dobbs? What does that say about civics education in America right now? What should we take away from the concurring opinions filed by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas? What, if anything, was the impact of the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion? And how will the decision affect the nascent common-good constitutionalism movement? Subscribe to our podcasts Opinion of the Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization The Essential Natural Law | Samuel Gregg The future of abortion in America | Acton Unwind Samuel Gregg Joins AIER to Lead Initiative Defending Freedom, Combatting Collectivism | AIER Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Eric Kohn, Dylan Pahman, and Dan Hugger discuss the newly launched LIV Golf International Series, a competitor to the PGA Tour that has drawn defections from some big golfing names—Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau, to name a few—and controversy for being primarily funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What is the ethical responsibility of the average sports consumer when a sporting event is being funded or supported by a monstrous regime? Then the guys turn their attention to the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates by 75 basis points in an effort to combat inflation. Will it work? Will it have terrible unintended consequences? Both? Subscribe to our podcasts What is LIV Golf? The controversial PGA Tour competitor Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson are joining, explained | The Athletic Shark trailer | ESPN 30 for 30 But What if We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present as if It Were the Past | Chuck Klosterman For the Least of These: Against Inflation Economics | Public Discourse  Partisan vitriol threatens the economy—and lives (with David Bahnsen) | Acton Unwind Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, special guest David Bahnsen joins Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger as they discuss inflation in America hitting a 40-year high. What’s driving the present persistent inflation? How is our present economic malaise different from our last bout of persistent inflation in the 1970s? How does political polarization hamper our ability to respond effectively to economic crises? The second half of the program is dedicated to a review and evaluation of the ongoing work of the January 6 committee, as well as the recent assassination attempt on Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. What does the emerging tendency toward political violence say about America? How does our present partisan politics fuel this disturbing trend? Subscribe to our podcasts Higher Unemployment Rate Looms as the Fed Fights Inflation | The Wall Street Journal  There's No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths | David Bahnsen In First Jan. 6 Hearing, Graphic Footage and Stark Testimony Show Depth of Attack | The New York Times Who Is the Former TV News Chief Helping the Jan. 6 Committee? | The New York Times Armed Man Traveled to Justice Kavanaugh’s Home to Kill Him, Officials Say | The New York Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the massacre of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas. How do we grapple with horrors like this? What can we do, as individuals and as a society, to reduce the likelihood that attacks like this will happen again? Are we lacking the moral language to effectively discuss such events? Then there’s the lack of response on the part of the Uvalde police. While these cops clearly failed the people they were charged with protecting, what role did the failure to properly prepare them to do their job play in this outcome? And finally, the guys examine Ilya Shapiro’s resignation from Georgetown Law School shortly after he was exonerated in regard to his offending tweets about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Will it make any difference in the cause of free speech? Subscribe to our podcasts Uvalde School Shooting | The Texas Tribune What we know, minute by minute, about how the Uvalde shooting and police response unfolded | The Texas Tribune Ilya Shapiro Resigns from Georgetown Law School | National Review We Got Here Because of Cowardice. We Get Out With Courage | Bari Weiss, Commentary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Acton Unwind, Dan Churchwell, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger focus on the crisis in evangelical Christianity, with factions within the broader evangelical community pitted one against the other. The discussion is framed by Tim Alberta’s recent piece in The Atlantic, “How Politics Poisoned Evangelicalism,” which examines the responses of several evangelical churches in Brighton, Michigan, to the presidency of Donald Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic. Just what is evangelicalism and its relationship to politics? How has evangelicals’ embrace of modern technology both widened their influence and fostered divisions within? Also discussed is the upcoming Acton University. What is Acton University, who are some of the featured speakers, and what sorts of people attend? How does Acton University seek to foster dialog among people of diverse faiths to address the crises, both social and economic, of our time? Subscribe to our podcasts  How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church | The Atlantic  The “Bebbington quadrilateral” | Wikipedia The Scopes Trial | Wikipedia Acton University 2022 Acton University Online 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the episode of Acton Unwind, Dylan Pahman, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger focus on the war in Ukraine and its religious context. What battles over ecclesiastic authority are involved? What is the Russian Orthodox Church saying about the conflict? The discussion then turns to the economic effects of the war upon the rest of the world, with particular focus on food production and distribution. Why are some countries affected more severely than others? Also among the discussion is a focus on China and its COVID lockdowns and growing economic problems. How is China moving away from its limited economic liberalization of the past? What does this mean for America’s future relationship with China? Lastly, Nancy Pelosi has been recently barred from receiving holy communion by the Archbishop of San Francisco. What makes the Pelosi case different from instances of Roman Catholic politicians in conflict received Church teaching on abortion? What does this case say about how many Americans view the relationship between church and state? Subscribe to our podcasts Everyday Saints and Other Stories Paperback – Archimandrite Tikhon  The Promise of Confucian Liberty – Law & Liberty What the West Got Wrong About China – Law & Liberty Full text of Archbishop Cordileone letter to Nancy Pelosi banning her from Communion – Catholic News Agency Speaker Pelosi on Meet the Press transcript 2008 – NBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong on charges of violating the National Security Law and allegedly "colluding with foreign forces.” The arrest of Zen and three others comes in the wake of the arrest of other pro-democracy and human rights activists like Jimmy Lai, the subject of Acton’s most recent documentary feature film, THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI’S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. What does this arrest tell us about the state of Hong Kong? And how has the Holy See responded to this incident? Then the guys break down the latest inflation numbers and the proposed “anti-price gouging” legislation and other supposed “solutions” to inflation that have nothing to do with inflation or that would simply make matters worse. Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton University 2022  Hong Kong cardinal Joseph Zen arrested under China's security law | BBC The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom The Hong Konger movie trailer Inflation Is Tanking the Stock Market | The Dispatch Will-to-Power Conservatism and the Great Liberalism Schism | Stephanie Slade, Reason Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Dylan Pahman, and Dan Hugger tackle the issue that’s on everyone’s mind: the leak of the Supreme Court draft option in the Dobbs case overturning both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. How monumental is the leak itself, and how does it threaten the institution of the Court? What does the draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito actually do? What do the American people actually think about abortion? What happens now? And finally, assuming the Court overturns Roe and Casey in the Dobbs decision, how will the period of time between Roe and Dobbs be remembered? Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton University 2022  How overturning Roe v. Wade can reset the civil order | Acton Unwind Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows | Politico Are children their parents’ property? | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute How Americans Understand Abortion: A Comprehensive Interview Study of Abortion Attitudes in the U.S. | University of Notre Dame Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.