Today on Acton Unwind, Stephen Barrows, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman join Michael Matheson Miller—guest editor of the new double issue of Religion & Liberty, Acton’s quarterly journal of religion, economics, and culture—to discuss the issue’s theme: the challenges of thinking clearly in an age dominated by ideology. How can we function in a time when the pursuit of truth, and even the meaning of “truth” itself, is subservient to a suffocating ideology that makes real dialogue between opposing viewpoints difficult if not impossible? What are the risks that come with the adoption of a rigid ideology? What is the difference between ideology and worldview? And how do we resist the temptation of adopting ideological thinking ourselves? Religion & liberty Summer/Fall 2021 Carter Snead at the Acton Lecture Series: What it means to be human The History of Freedom in Antiquity  Bastiat’s Theory of Class: The Plunderers vs. the Plundered  Biblical Worldview Crucial for the New Millennium  Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Eric Kohn, Stephen Barrows, and Dan Hugger discuss all things inflation. What makes the inflation we’re seeing now different from the experience of the 1970s? What does it mean that we have a contracting labor force along with high inflation? How long will inflation be with us, and is there anything that can be done about it? The discussion then turns to mission creep and masking guidance from the CDC, with the agency head suggesting we keep wearing masks to combat, not only COVID-19, but the flu and the common cold as well. And finally, the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the accused killers of Ahmaud Arbery are both underway, but only the Rittenhouse proceeding is getting much attention, thanks largely to people using it as a political cudgel. What would happen if we lost faith in our legal system the way we’ve lost faith in so many other American institutions? Fastest Inflation in 31 Years Puts More Heat on Washington | New York Times The number of U.S. workers quitting their jobs in September was the highest on record | New York Times Labor force participation is static, a conundrum for the Fed | New York Times Inflation Will Make or Break the Next Spending Bill | New York Times The CDC's Director Implies That Face Masks Are More Effective Than Vaccines at Preventing COVID-19 Infection | Reason The Rittenhouse Trial Is a Master Class in Media Bias | National Review Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Michael Matheson Miller, and Dan Hugger discuss the National Conservatism convention, from which Dan just recently returned. What do the national conservatives want? Should we think about this as an intellectual movement or as a political movement? Have they achieved a consensus about their own identity? And how much of a force will they prove to be within conservative intellectual circles and conservative politics going forward?National Conservatism Convention agendaThe biggest problems of national conservatism | Acton LineA healthy conservative nationalism? Not without classical liberalism | Joseph Sunde, Acton InstituteSubscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Eric, Sam, and Dylan discuss the potential for upheavals in public education. Will fights over the curriculum and the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (and the behavior of the teachers union during it) open up the possibility of wholesale changes in public schools? Next, Joe Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis goes very, very well. At least according to Joe Biden. Is the president to be believed when he says Pope Francis assured him he's a Catholic in good standing? Is this something he should even be saying out loud? Finally, Eric and Dylan discuss Dune and explore the important themes related to human nature at play in Frank Herbert’s book and Denis Villeneuve’s film--and in all good science fiction.Subscribe to Acton Line, Acton Unwind, & Acton Vault Virginia governor's race now hinges on education, and one candidate has a clear edge: poll | Fox NewsCritiquing the 1619 Project with Phil Magness | Acton LineCapitalism in the 1619 Project | Heritage Foundation, Samuel GreggBiden: Pope told me that I should ‘keep receiving Communion’ | Associated PressDiscovering human dignity in Villeneuve’s Dune | Dylan PahmanDune trailerActon’s 31st Annual Dinner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric and Sam discuss the growing threat from China. First, Sam recaps a talk he gave in Houston last week entitled, "China: Enigma and Challenge for the World." In the wake of China’s test of a hypersonic missile that could carry a nuclear warhead, how should we think about the military, economic, and cultural threat that China poses to the United States and to the world?Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton VaultChina tests new space capability with hypersonic missile | Financial TimesPress Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, October 18, 2021 | White HouseChina has won AI battle with U.S., Pentagon's ex-software chief says | ReutersWhat to Do About China? | Sam Gregg, Law & LibertyDecline Is a Choice | Charles Krauthammer, Manhattan InstituteActon’s 31st Annual Dinner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss Netflix standing up to the woke mob coming after Dave Chappelle for his new comedy special, The Closer, in which he makes jokes about the trans-rights movement. Can we view this as a watershed moment in the culture wars? Or is Netflix just defending their $60 million investment in the legendary comedian? Then, the supply chain has problems. Between that, high energy prices, employment problems, and inflation, are we staring down the barrel of a repeat of the 1970s? Next, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been out for two months on paternity leave. Setting aside the political-football aspect, how should we think about paternity leave in the modern culture and economy? And finally, we end with a new segment called Recommendable, where the crew will recommend articles, books, podcasts, or anything else they found important and recommendable throughout the week. Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault  Defending Dave Chappelle | National Review Jews in Space | History of the World Part 1, Mel Brooks Jon Gruden emails, explained: Raiders coach resigns following release of damning messages | Sporting News Pete Buttigieg defends being on paternity leave amid supply-chain crisis | New York Post Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek | EconStories Recommendable: Eric - We Got Here Because of Cowardice. We Get Out With Courage | Bari Weiss, Commentary Sam - Abusing the Power of the Purse, with Philip Hamburger | Law & Liberty Dan - India Before Modi: How the BJP Came to Power | Vinay Sitapati Acton’s 31st Annual Dinner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dylan Pahman discuss the possibility that objection to Southwest Airlines’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate was behind the cancelation of more than 1,000 flights over the weekend. Even if it wasn’t, there is clearly resistance to vaccine mandates out there, whether coming from the government or private businesses. And why is resistance to mandates, for some people at least, turning into resistance or rejection of the vaccine itself? A University of Michigan professor is under fire for showing his class Lawrence Oliver's black-face film portrayal of Othello. Is the biggest culprit in situations like these the people in authority who cave to the mob? And finally, Sam Gregg discusses his review of Vivek Ramaswamy’s new book Woke, Inc. and how the behavior we're seeing in big corporations is similar to that on display in the University of Michigan story.Southwest cancels more than a thousand flights, cites air-traffic control issues | Fox BusinessSouthwest Airlines denies that pilot "sick out" drove weekend of delays | AxiosMichigan Students Accuse Celebrated Music Professor of Racism for Screening Othello | Robby Soave, ReasonThe Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium | Martin GurriWhy I Am Suing UCLA | Gordon Klein, Common Sense with Bari WeissThe Distorted Market for Woke Capitalism | Sam Gregg, Law & Liberty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Michael Matheson Miller discuss U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance’s comments about the Ford Foundation--namely, that we should “seize the assets of the Ford Foundation, tax their assets, and give it to the people who've had their lives destroyed by their radical open borders agenda.” When did it become acceptable for the right to abandon concepts like constitutionality and the rule of law? Why is this kind of rhetoric constantly escalating? Is it really what the polity wants? Then, have we thrown open the Overton window on spending with the trillion-dollar infrastructure deal? When Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is still cool with spending $1.5 trillion on a reconciliation bill on top of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, is the “conservative” in the conversation, have words lost their meaning entirely? And how long before we’re talking about quadrillion-dollar spending bills? Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault  J.D. Vance's latest Fox News stunt is a far-left fantasy | Noah Rothman, MSNBC Ford Foundation’s aim to ‘change philanthropy’ warps the true meaning of ‘justice’ and ‘generosity’ | Dan Hugger, Acton Institute The Conservatives Dreading—And Preparing for—Civil War | Emma Green, The Atlantic A Whiff of Civil War in the Air | David French, The Dispatch Terry McAuliffe’s War on Parents | National Review Attack Ads, Circa 1800 | Reason Manchin proposed $1.5T top-line number to Schumer this summer | Politico Related:Digital Contagion: 10 Steps to Protect your Family & Business from Intrusion, Cancel Culture, and Surveillance Capitalism | Michael Matheson Miller Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Eric Kohn, Dan Churchwell, and Dan Hugger discuss America’s dueling refugee crises: one on the southern border manifesting in around 14,000 migrants descending on Del Rio, Texas, and the refugees fleeing the Taliban rule in Afghanistan following the American exit from that country. How should we approach these problems as Americans, and as Christians? Crime has been rising in American cities. How should we understand the problem, and how important is it to truly understand the nature of the problem and how it’s different in different places before we attempt to pick and choose policies to solve the problem? And finally, Brookings senior fellow and Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan says our constitutional crisis is already here. When they’re subject both to erosion and attack, how long can our American institutions hold up?Welcoming the stranger: The dignity and promise of Afghan refugees | Joseph SundeNational Review Special Issue in Crime: Law and DisorderThe Mistakes We Cannot Make Again | David FrenchOur constitutional crisis is already here | Robert KaganTrump's 'Eastman Memo' Proposed an Unconstitutional Power Grab by the Vice President | Damon Root Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Sam Gregg, and Dan Hugger discuss what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes’ Met Gala tax-the-rich dress stunt says about the current state of our elites and of elite culture. Are our elites so frivolous because we’ve become frivolous? Or is it the other way around? And why are we so preoccupied with identifying hypocrisy rather than observing and highlighting the underlying implications of that hypocrisy, and the tributes that vice are paying to virtue when we find them? Then, they discuss the email sent to observant Jews at Barnard College in New York City, in effect demanding that they violate their Shabbat obligations to utilize technology for Covid-19 symptoms and to participate in contact tracing. Why is religious freedom so often an afterthought? Subscribe to Acton Unwind, Acton Line & Acton Vault  A lady and her dress, &c. | Jay Nordlinger, National Review Barnard College Bureaucrat Apologizes After Using COVID-19 Protocols To Target Jewish Students | Daniella Greenbaum Davis, The Federalist Norm MacDonald on Bill Cosby How 'elite overproduction' and 'lawyer glut' could ruin the U.S. | Peter Turchin, Bloomberg Congress Is Weak Because Its Members Want It to Be Weak | Yuval Levin, Commentary The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium | Martin Gurri Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 | Charles Murray Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.