Acton Line

On today’s episode, we bring you a wide-ranging conversation between Acton librarian Dan Hugger and Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado from Acton University 2024. They discuss the religious heritage of India, democracy, and the promises and challenges of interreligious dialogue today.

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Acton University

Acton On-Demand

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. Dr. Anthony Bradley, Acton Institute distinguished research fellow, delves into the complex relationship between childhood trauma and poverty. Drawing from extensive research, Dr. Bradley discusses how adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction can have long-lasting effects on brain development and overall life outcomes. He emphasizes the importance of compassion and community support in mitigating these effects and highlights the critical role of positive childhood experiences in fostering resilience and thriving. Through compelling case studies and personal anecdotes, Dr. Bradley underscores the need for long-term commitment and community-based interventions to break the cycle of poverty and trauma.

Acton University is Acton’s flagship conference, focused on building the foundations of human freedom and exploring the intersection of faith and free markets. To learn more about Acton University, please visit university.acton.org. To find additional content from previous Acton Universities, please visit ondemand.acton.org.

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Acton University

Acton On-Demand

How should you allocate your personal wealth? How do the decisions you make regarding personal wealth impact your character? In his Acton Lecture Series talk, Kenneth Elzinga discussed Christian stewardship and proposed a new way to think about the relationship between “donor” and “receiver.” 

Before his lecture, Professor Elzinga sat down with Acton Alumni and Student Programs Manager Noah Gould for a preview. They discussed the professor’s journey to faith, his finding a calling in economics, the importance of the NCAA Supreme Court case he testified in, and Christian philanthropy. 

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Ken Elzinga

Giving Is Not God’s Way of Raising Money 

Acton On-Demand

Capitalism didn’t fail—it was ruined, says Ruchir Sharma.

In his new book, “What Went Wrong with Capitalism,” Sharma takes you back to the 19th century to illustrate how the reflexes of government have changed. From hands-off to hands-on, from doing too little to help in hard times to trying to prevent anyone from suffering economic pain ever.

The result? Expensive state guarantees for everyone: bailouts for the rich, entitlements for the middle class, and welfare for the poor. Sharma says this constant government intervention and relentless spread of bailout culture has build an even bigger state, one that’s surely going to double down on what ruined capitalism in the first place.

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What Went Wrong with Capitalism | Simon & Schuster

Too much of the conversation about poverty, whether in government, among social service providers, or in churches, is animated by highly emotional conventions, trite melodramatic comparisons, and comfortable ideological clichés, says Ismael Hernandez.

But how can we change this? How can we do better? In his new book, “Rethinking Charity: Restoring Dignity to Poverty Relief,” Ismael looks at the practical work of authentic poverty relief. The point is to see the poor not as nameless victims but as free, responsible, and creative image-bearers who possess a value far greater than their need.

On today’s episode, Caleb Whitmer, the Acton Center for Social Flourishing project manager, talks to Ismael about his new book, the current state of global charity, and the value of every person.

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Rethinking Charity: Restoring Dignity to Poverty Relief

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. In this talk, Dr. Umi Waheeda, co-founder of the Al Ashriyyah Nurul Iman Islamic boarding school in West Java, Indonesia, shares her journey of transforming lives through education and entrepreneurship. Founded in 1998 during the Indonesian riots, the school provides free education, meals, accommodation, and health services to over 15,000 children, supported by 65 student-run business units. Dr. Waheeda discusses the challenges she faced after her husband's death, her innovative approach to self-sustainability, and her vision of creating entrepreneurs who are job creators rather than job seekers. Her story is a powerful testament to the impact of combining principled entrepreneurship with a commitment to the social good.

Acton University is the Acton Institute’s flagship conference, focused on building the foundations of human freedom and exploring the intersection of faith and free markets. To learn more about Acton University, please visit university.acton.org. And to find additional content from previous Acton Universities, visit ondemand.acton.org.

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Acton University

Acton On-Demand

Heterodox Academy 

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Daniel Silliman, historian and news editor for Christianity Today, about his new book, One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation. Silliman argues that Nixon’s life was framed by a fundamentally theological struggle: He wanted to be loved by God but couldn’t figure out how. From an idiosyncratic Quaker childhood, to an explicitly modernist youth and final embrace of a Cold War Christianity, did the president ever find the grace he craved?

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One Lost Soul | Daniel Silliman

He Told Richard Nixon to Confess | Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today

How Christian fiction shaped a culture and a faith | Acton Line

In this episode, Acton’s director of research, John Pinheiro, speaks to Jeremy Beer from Acton University 2024 about the definition of philanthropy, the importance of philanthropy today, and why finding a way to connect identities is the key to success. 

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Jeremy Beer | AmPhil

Acton University

Acton On-Demand

In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn talks to Kevin Vallier about his book “All the Kingdoms of the World,” the conversations he’s had with young college students interested in ideas like Catholic integralism and post-liberalism, and where he thinks movements rooted in those ideas are at today.

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Acton University

Kevin Vallier

All the Kingdoms of the World 

The Rise and Fall of American Integralism | The Dispatch

In today’s episode, we bring you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. Here Dr. John Tomasi, a distinguished political philosopher and president of Heterodox Academy, delves into the critical role played by universities in supporting a free society. 

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Acton University

Acton On-Demand

Heterodox Academy