

Acton Line
Acton Institute
Dedicated to the promotion of a free and virtuous society, Acton Line brings together writers, economists, religious leaders, and more to bridge the gap between good intentions and sound economics.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 24, 2025 • 52min
Noah Gould Links Corporate Social Responsibility … and Fraud
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Noah Gould, Alumni and Student Programs manager at the Acton Institute. They discuss two recent pieces Noah has written on corporate social responsibility (CSR). First off, what is it? Why do some oppose CSR initiatives? Is there a relationship between CSR and fraud? How are religious people particularly attracted to CSR? What should be the role of business in society, and does that role change depending on whether a business is privately or publicly held?
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The ‘Religious’ Corporate Social Responsibility Trap | Noah Gould
A Friedman Doctrine: The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman
Corporate Politics: Fads Can’t Replace Meaning or Community | Noah Gould
The Nature of the Firm | R.H. Coase
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

4 snips
Sep 17, 2025 • 48min
Brad Birzer Wonders if Russell Kirk’s Conservative Movement Has a Future
In this engaging discussion, Brad Birzer, the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, dives deep into the legacy and evolution of the conservative movement sparked by Russell Kirk. He reflects on Kirk's personalist philosophy and its impact on American conservatism. Birzer reveals how Kirk's relationships shaped his thoughts and his involvement with the Goldwater campaign. The conversation highlights the emotional landscape of writing in conservatism and how today's political challenges affect traditional values.

Sep 10, 2025 • 48min
Stephen Barrows Integrates Catholic Social Teaching and Economics
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Barrows, chief operating officer at the Acton Institute, about the relationship between Catholic Social Teaching and economics. In what sense is economics a science? How does Catholic Social Teaching relate to social science? How well has the Catholic Church integrated the insights of economics into its social teaching? What can economists learn from Catholic Social Teaching? How does the Acton Institute apply the best insights of economists vis-à-vis Catholic Social Teaching in service of the common good?
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Acton On-Demand
Rerum Novarum | Pope Leo XIII
Pope Francis’ Plea for Migrants and Acton’s Core Principles | Stephen Barrows
Labor Economics and the Development of Papal Social Encyclicals | Stephen Barrows
CORE: Economic Way of Thinking | Anne Rathbone Bradley
The Call of the Entrepreneur—Full Movie | Ed O’Brien | Peter Boettke | George Gilder
The Humane Economist: A Wilhelm Röpke Reader | Dan Hugger, Editor
A Value Judgment on Value Judgments (1941) | Wilhelm Röpke
A Value Judgment on A Value Judgment on Value Judgments | Samuel Gregg
Economics in One Lesson | Henry Hazlitt
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

Sep 8, 2025 • 17min
Acton Rundown | September 2025
This month on the Acton Rundown Dan, Mark, and Nathan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content.
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Acton On-Demand
Nathan Mech on Interfaith Dialogue at the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage
DEBATE: Carl Trueman & Vincent Phillip Muñoz | Christianity and Liberalism
Is There a Future for the Family? | Acton Institute
Acton Experience Brasil | Acton Institute
2025 Pittsburgh Dinner | Acton Institute
2025 Portland Dinner | Acton Institute
Acton's 35th Annual Dinner | Acton Institute
Acton Institute Fifth Annual Academic Conference: Character, Commerce, and Human Flourishing | Acton Institute
Virtues, Not Values: Reclaiming the Human Core of Business | Acton Institute
Rethinking Charity: Local Agency, Commercial Society, and the Human Person | Acton Institute
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

Sep 3, 2025 • 1h
Nathan Mech on Interfaith Dialogue at the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Nathan Mech, Founding Director of the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage at the Acton Institute. They discuss the history and work of the Collins Center. What makes up the Abrahamic heritage? Why is dialogue between Christians, Jews, and Muslims important? How does interreligious dialogue enrich participants from different faith traditions? What contributions have different faiths made to the history of freedom?
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Collins Center | Acton Institute
Collins Center: Christianity and Liberalism
DEBATE: Yasir Qadhi vs. Mustafa Akyol | Islam and the State
DEBATE: Sebastian Morello vs. Kevin Vallier | Christianity and the State
Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism | Benedikt Koehler
Nathan the Wise: A Dramatic Poem in Five Acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing | Project Gutenberg
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

Aug 27, 2025 • 51min
Clara Piano on Markets, Morals, and Vocations Professional and Personal
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Clara Piano, visiting assistant professor of economics at the University of Mississippi and an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute. Clara tells the story of how Fr. Robert Sirico, along with Pope St. John Paul II and Michael Novak, inspired her to start thinking through the moral case for the free economy as an undergraduate as well as her trajectory as a scholar. How is the idea that markets are opposed to morality historically naive? Who is doing great research today exploring the relationship between markets and morals? How do you bring your research and values into the classroom? How should religious leaders understand the relationship between morals and markets? What should young people consider when discerning their professional calling and forming relationships and families?
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Clara E. Piano
Economics as an Antidote to Envy | Clara E. Piano
The Economics of the Parables | Fr. Robert Sirico
Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy | Fr. Robert Sirico
Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life | Michael Novak
Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991)
An Economic Theory of Economic Analysis: The Case of the School of Salamanca | Clara Jace
Dylan Pahman | Acton Institute
The Political Economy of Distributism | Alexander W. Salter
Hannah's Children | Catherine Ruth Pakaluk
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
The Fertility Gap and Economic Freedom | Clara E. Piano
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

20 snips
Aug 20, 2025 • 1h 2min
Jenna Robinson on the Crisis in Higher Ed and the Prospects for Academic Renewal
Jenna Robinson, President of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, dives into the crises facing higher education today. She explores the balancing act of funding, the role of universities in preparing students for real-world careers, and the importance of civic education. Robinson highlights the need for reinventing general education requirements and discusses the potential of AI in enhancing academic experiences. She also critiques the ideological bias in academia and emphasizes the necessity of preserving cultural heritage in education.

23 snips
Aug 13, 2025 • 59min
Samuel Gregg Remembers the Thoroughly Catholic Capitalist Michael Novak
Samuel Gregg, President at the American Institute for Economic Research, shares insights on the life of Michael Novak, a pivotal figure in Catholic thought and capitalism. They discuss the evolution of Catholic identity in 20th-century America and Novak's journey from journalist to public intellectual. Key topics include Novak's ideological shift from liberalism to a capitalist perspective, his critiques of liberation theology, and his lasting influence on the Acton Institute, enriched with personal anecdotes that highlight his passionate engagement with faith and economics.

Aug 6, 2025 • 1h 2min
Dave Hebert Unpacks America’s Recent Economic Policy Missteps
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dave Hebert, a senior research fellow at AIER and an affiliate scholar here at the Acton Institute. They discuss the American economy from all angles. What do the latest GDP numbers mean in the real economy? Why are the new tariffs announced by the White House troubling? How does the Bureau of Labor Statistics do its job—and are the latest jobs numbers “rigged”? Will new tariff revenue put a dent in the national debt? What are the economic consequences of erratic policies, undermining of the legitimacy of economic data, and suspicion of the science of economics by policymakers?
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David Hebert | AIER
No Jibbering | Dave Hebert | Substack
Trump Administration Updates: White House Announces Sweeping New Tariffs for Much of the World | The New York Times
Economy Updates: After a Weak Jobs Report, Trump Fires That Agency’s Commissioner | The New York Times
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
David Bahnsen on the State of the U.S. Economy
Oren Cass Has Learned Just Enough Economics to Be a Nuisance | RealClearMarkets
The Devil Went Down to Wall Street | Dan Hugger
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

Aug 4, 2025 • 13min
Acton Rundown | August 2025
This month on the Acton Rundown: Dan and Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and announce two new affiliate scholars.
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Acton’s 2025 Emerging Leaders
Marcel van Hattem on the Fight for Freedom in Brazil
Why I Slept on the Streets for a Year – Religion & Liberty Online
Why Brazil?: Pursuing Freedom in the Americas: Berlanza, Lucas, Catharino, Alex, Pinheiro, John C: 9798218700645: Amazon.com: Books
2025 Pittsburgh Dinner | Acton Institute
Acton's 35th Annual Dinner | Acton Institute
The Heart of a Machine: Technological Threats to Liberty in Adam Smith and Beyond
The Meaning of Work: What Skilled Trades Can Teach About Forming Workers of Character
Silicon Valley Revival?
If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.