This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the move by Ukraine’s government to prevent churches affiliated with Moscow from operating in Ukraine. How dangerous is this? And why is trying to determine what constitutes a legitimate religion always problematic? Then the guys turn their attention to the protests in China and the delay of Jimmy Lai’s National Security Law trial in Hong Kong. How big of a threat to the Chinese Communist Party are these protests? And why should we focus more on marginal improvements in places like China and Hong Kong than on big revolutionary changes? Finally, they take stock of Kanye West’s public meltdown and his promotion of anti-Semitic ideology.Subscribe to our podcasts  Zelensky proposes preventing Orthodox churches ‘affiliated’ with Moscow from operating in Ukraine | New York Times  Man, Religion, and Tribalism | Joseph Pearce, The Imaginative Conservative  Protests in China are about much more than COVID lockdowns | Rev. Robert Sirico, Fox News  Hong Kong Blocks Visa for British Lawyer in Lai Trial | Isaac Willour, Acton Institute  Trailer for ‘The Hong Konger’  Website for ‘The Hong Konger’  The Kanye/Kyrie storm, an explainer | Rachel Ferguson, Christian Post  Why do some people hate the Jews? | Acton Line  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dan Hugger, Michael Matheson Miller, and Stephen Barrows examine the collapse of the crypto currency exchange FTX and the sentencing of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. How should we think about fraud in business? What is the role of corporate governance in securing the common good? How should investors and prospective clients best do their due diligence on companies they use and invest in? How do disreputable corporate leaders utilize regulatory and ideological capture to deceive? Is crypto currency itself a scam? What is the role of conscience in business and what does justice and repentance look like for disgraced business leaders?Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda quietly used FTX customer funds for trading, say sources | CNBCThe Collapse of a Cryptocurrency Guru | Titus Techera, Acton InstituteEmoji for expenses, penthouses and slipshod accounting: The most damning details from new FTX CEO’s report | CNBCSam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself | VoxHow FTX bought its way to become the 'most regulated' crypto exchange | Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What the Midterm Elections Say About American Civic HealthThis week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan take a look at the surprising 2022 midterm election results to break down what they say about the health of American civic and political life. What does it mean that we’re seeing record participation in the political process but increasing dissatisfaction with the state of political life? What impact did the issue of abortion have, and did we all underestimate how important it would be? Then Dan gives an update on the latest from Ukraine as we approach the G20 meeting.Subscribe to our podcastsZelenskiy visits recaptured Kherson, vows to drive Russia from all of Ukraine | Reuters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss affirmative action in college admissions shortly after two cases involving the University of North Carolina and Harvard were argued before the Supreme Court. Was affirmative action ever justified in college admissions? If so, is it still justified? And if it goes, should it be replaced with something else to help the historically disadvantaged? Then the guys examine a recent study highlighting the positive benefits to the environment from Catholics’ abstaining from meat on Fridays. Is this the right lens through which to consider a return to meatless Fridays year-round? And finally, tomorrow is Election Day. How should we think about voting as part of our personal civic involvement? Is there every a good reason to abstain?Subscribe to our podcastsCreation and the Heart of Man: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on Environmentalism | Fr. Michael Butler & Andrew P. Morriss Why Many Smart, Low-Income Students Don't Apply to Elite Schools | NPRNearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith | William F. Buckley, Jr. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger discuss Elon Musk’s finalized takeover of Twitter. Can he make it better? Is it possible to make Twitter better? Perhaps more important to Musk, can he make it profitable? And will Musk’s acquisition change the nature of the platform in how it serves as a public salon for the media elite? Then the guys discuss the presidential election in Brazil. What does the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro mean for Brazil and for the rise of populist leaders worldwide?Subscribe to our podcastsElon Musk Is Said to Have Ordered Job Cuts Across Twitter | New York TimesElon Musk says Twitter blue tick to be revamped | BBCTwitter will be no worse with owner Elon Musk, and probably no better | Eric Kohn, Acton InstituteBrazil Elects Lula, a Leftist Former Leader, in a Rebuke of Bolsonaro | New York Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dan Hugger, Dylan Pahman, and John Pinheiro discuss the undoing of the Truss government in the United Kingdom. What caused the unraveling? Does “neoliberalism” have a future? What does the current political crisis in the United Kingdom tell us about the future of American conservatism and the right more generally? How should this inform our thinking about the conflict between classical liberals and the “New Right”?Our panel then explores technology through the lens of the new “Unplugged Scholarship” being offered at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Is this the way forward in education, or indeed life?Subscribe to our podcastsFor Britain’s PM, Chaos Has ConsequencesNew Avatars for the Right | Law & LibertyClassical liberalism vs. The New Right | Marginal RevolutionBoris Johnson returns to UK in bid for rapid political comeback | ReutersInnovative Scholarship Confronts Crisis of Smartphone Addiction | Franciscan University of SteubenvilleInnovative Steps to Reclaim a Human Way of Life for the Next Generation | Newsweek Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn, Dan Hugger, and Dylan Pahman discuss the protests in Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested for improperly covering her head. Why isn’t there more media coverage of these protests after five weeks? Is the Iranian regime actually in danger? And what, if anything, should countries like the United States being doing to encourage these human rights protesters? Then the guys examine a new study from the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology on the striking lack of intellectual diversity on elite college campuses. Should we be surprised that places like Harvard, Yale, and Smith College are so unrepresentative? Should we even expect them to be?Iran Protests Spread With Uprising at Prison | Wall Street JournalMahsa Amini: How one woman's death sparked Iran protests | BBCDiverse and Divided: A Political Demography of American Elite Students | CSPI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dan Hugger is joined by Sarah Negri and John Pinheiro to discuss the national debate around Columbus Day and the ongoing escalation of the war in Ukraine. What should we as American’s in general, and Christian’s in particular mark of Columbus’s Legacy? What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day and need its celebration be in conflict with Columbus Day? What is the relationship between Columbus Day and the Italian American Community? What do the latest escalations by the Russian Federation kinetic, political, and rhetorical mean for the future of Ukraine? Is peace possible? Should we take the threat of nuclear escalation seriously? How should the international community respond?Subscribe to our podcasts Russia launches biggest air strikes since start of Ukraine war | RuetersPutin signs annexation of Ukrainian regions as losses mount | AP NewsPoland suggests hosting US nuclear weapons amid growing fears of Putin’s threats | The GuardianRussia’s Nuclear Bluster Is a Sign of Panic | The AtlanticIn S.D., it's Native Americans' Day, not Columbus Day | Argus LeaderHochul, Zeldin find common ground: Columbus Day won’t be canceled despite ‘woke’ push | New York PostN.J. district eliminates Columbus Day as a school holiday over objections of Italian American groups | NJ.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn is joined by Dan Hugger and Dan Churchwell to discuss the theme of the Fall 2022 issue of Acton’s magazine, Religion & Liberty: What is the metaverse? What is its relationship to science fiction literature? And what is the impact of technology on society and culture, and how we should think through the consequences, intended and unintended, of technology and the metaverse on our lives? Dan Hugger’s Fall 2022 R&L cover story is entitled, “The Metaverse Does Not Exist.” Dan Churchwell’s review essay, which also appears in the issue, is entitled, “The Screen Is Not Your Master.”Subscribe to our podcasts  The Metaverse Does Not Exist | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty The Screen Is Not Your Master | Dan Churchwell, Religion & Liberty (forthcoming) Overload: Will any shows from the Golden Age of TV endure? | Sonny Bunch, The Weekly Standard The changing face of social breakdown | Acton Line The Changing Face of Social Breakdown | Yuval Levin, The Dispatch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger are joined by two special guests—Stephanie Slade, senior editor at Reason magazine and Fellow in Liberal Studies at the Acton Institute, and Jack Butler, submissions editor at National Review—both of whom attended the National Conservatism 3 conference, to discuss all things pertaining to the conference and the National Conservatism movement.Subscribe to our podcasts  The Will to Power Was Front and Center at NatCon III | Stephanie Slade, Reason Both Left and Right Are Converging on Authoritarianism | Stephanie Slade, Reason Four Myths About National Conservatism You Should Stop Believing | David Brog, The Federalist National Conservatism and the Declaration | David Tucker, Law & Liberty National Conservatism and Its Enemies | Religion & Liberty What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty National Conservatism: A Primer for the Uninitiated | Josh Hammer, Newsweek National Conservatism: A Statement of Principles | The American Conservative The hundred-year war for American conservatism | Acton Line  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.