Acton Unwind

This week, Eric, Noah, and David Hebert, making his maiden voyage on the podcast, discuss squatters’ rights: Do they really exist? And if so, how big a problem are they really?. Then, has the problem with industrial policy been that we just weren’t doing it right all these years? Sen. Marco Rubio thinks so. Oh, and a new California minimum-wage law for fast-food workers has taken effect. Our future fast-food robot overlords are appreciative. And finally, Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for the fraud he perpetrated. Is this sentence too harsh, too light, or just right?

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What’s Behind Recent ‘Squatters’ Rights’ Disputes? | Reilly Stephens, The Dispatch 

Why Christians Should Be (the Best) Landlords | Rachel Ferguson, Religion & Liberty Online

Why I believe in industrial policy—done right | Sen. Marco Rubio, Washington Post

Beware the Bipartisan Folly of Industrial Policy | Noah Gould, National Revie 

California’s Crazy ‘Fast Food’ Minimum Wage Takes Effect | David Neumark, Wall Street Journal

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years for crypto fraud, to pay $11 billion in forfeiture | CNBC

This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan are joined by Mike Cosper of Christianity Today to discuss his cover essay in the latest issue of Religion & Liberty, “There Shall Be None to Make Him Afraid: American Liberty and the Jews.” Then they turn their attention to controversial LSU basketball coach Kim Mulkey to explore how hard-driving and tough-coaching styles fit in the modern world and what it means for a perspective on leadership.

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There Shall Be None to Make Him Afraid: American Liberty and the Jews | Mike Cosper, Religion & Liberty

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Promised Land podcast | Christianity Today

Why do some people hate the Jews? | Acton Line

The History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Acton Line

A Christian Perspective from Visiting Israel | Acton Line

The Kim Mulkey Way | Washington Post

The Bobby Knight Problem | The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill

They’re Coming After Us | John Podhoretz, Commentary Magazine

This week, Dan Hugger, Noah Gould, and Emily Zanotti discuss the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Maryland. They then turn their attention to the announcement of the God Bless the USA Bible, the only Bible endorsed by President Trump and country music sensation Lee Greenwood. What does this reveal about the state of religion, politics, and culture in America today? And finally, is it time to rethink the culture war?

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The impact of the Baltimore bridge disaster | Economist.com

Lawyers Gear Up for Swift Start in Legal Fight Over Baltimore Bridge | WSJ

Donald Trump Is Selling a 'God Bless the USA' Bible for $60 | NPR

God Bless the USA Bible

The New Culture Warriors | Religion & Liberty Online

This week, Eric, Anthony, and Dan discuss the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple for alleged monopolistic practices in the smartphone market. They then turn their attention to a strange essay in National Affairs on the “Soft Tyranny of Smartphones” and explore whether a desire to use a smartphone less requires government action. And finally, should we be concerned about Elon Musk’s brain-chip company, Neuralink, or should we celebrate such a technological advancement?

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U.S. accuses Apple of illegally maintaining monopoly in broad lawsuit | Axios

The Apple Antitrust Case and the ‘Stigma’ of the Green Bubble | Wired

Brandon Sanderson Says Deal with Audible Is in the Works | Publishers Weekly

The Soft Tyranny of Smartphones | National Affairs

Patient of Elon Musk’s Neuralink Shows Off New Life With Implant | Wall Street Journal

This week, Eric, Noah, and Emily discuss the legislation moving through Congress that would force the sale of TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or ban the app’s availability in the United States. Are the national security issues serious enough to trump all other concerns about setting such a precedent? Then the panel turns its attention to Ben Shapiro’s comments about work and retirement. How should we think about work and its role in our lives—now and when we’re older?

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House passes bill that could lead to TikTok ban | Axios

Acton Institute on TikTok

TikTok Suspends a Film on Jimmy Lai | Wall Street Journal

Ben Shapiro on work and retirement | X

Closing the Gap Between Work and Life | David Bahnsen, Acton Line

This week Eric, Dan, and Emily discuss President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and give their own takes on the state of the union, the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that implicates IVF treatment, and the recent remarks by Pope Francis calling for Ukraine to have the “courage of the White Flag” in bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine.

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Remarks by President Biden in State of the Union Address | The White House

Put the State of the Union address out of its misery | Eric Kohn, Religion & Liberty Online

Alabama Supreme Court Sparks IVF Debate | The Morning Dispatch

It’s time for hard conversations about frozen embryos | Emily Zanotti, Deseret News

Alabama Against IVF | Advisory Opinions podcast

Pope Says Ukraine Should Have the ‘Courage of the White Flag’ | New York Times

Kremlin says appeal by Pope Francis for Ukraine talks is quite understandable | Reuters

On this special bonus episode of Acton Unwind, Eric, Dan, Dylan, and Daniel discuss Dune: Part Two, the second entry in director Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy adapting the Frank Herbert novels. The panel discusses the technical filmmaking, how this film compares to the 1984 David Lynch adaptation of Dune, how it compares to the original books, what was left out, and more. Warning: Spoilers!

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Dune: Part Two trailer

Dune: Part Two and the Death of Freedom | Joseph Holmes, Religion & Liberty Online

Discovering human dignity in Villeneuve’s Dune | Dylan Pahman, Religion & Liberty Online

This week, Eric, Anthony, and Dylan discuss the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell and the ethics of using his suicide to advance the Palestinian cause, the online free-speech cases that SCOTUS heard last week, and the story that the fast-food chain Wendy’s was planning to roll out surge pricing in the spirit of Uber and Lyft. Wendy’s isn’t doing that—but should it?

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Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy in Washington, Air Force Says | New York Times

Cornel West tweet about Aaron Bushnell

The History of Self-Immolation as Political Protest | TIME Magazine

US Supreme Court weighs landmark online free speech case | BBC

‘Mainstream Media’ Doesn’t Have a Liberal Bias | Dylan Pahman, The Federalist

Supreme Court justices raise First Amendment concerns in NetChoice oral argument | FIRE

Wendy’s says ‘dynamic pricing’ is different from ‘surge pricing,’ but whatever it’s called may still alienate customers | Fortune

Consumerism, Service, and Religion | Dylan Pahman, Religion & Liberty Online

This week on Acton Unwind, guest host Dan Hugger is joined by Dylan Pahman and Noah Gould. They begin the podcast by discussing two recent essays that call into question Hillsdale College’s “Christian College” bona fides. What makes a college Christian, and does Hillsdale fit the bill? Next, Google’s Gemini generative AI chatbot’s political biases are explored. What does AI bias look like? Why is it important, and what can be done to mitigate it? Is it inadvertent performance art? 

Finally, the group unpacks the recent scandal that has engulfed science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious award, the Hugo. Is it prudent to host such awards in China? Is the Hugo scandal an indictment of democracy? How does this scandal effect the award’s credibility going forward?

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Selling “Christian” Hillsdale | Current 

Some additional thoughts about Hillsdale | Current

On Hillsdale College and Christianity by Dan Hugger | Reign of Conscience

On Constitutions, Confessionalization, and Gandhi | Reign of Conscience (Substack)

More human than human: measuring ChatGPT political bias | Public Choice

Hugo Awards 2024: What Really Happened at the Sci-Fi Awards in China? | Esquire

Authors ‘excluded from Hugo awards over China concerns’ | The Guardian

Your New Aesthetic | YouTube

This week guest host Dan Hugger is joined by Dan Churchwell and Emily Zanotti.

The panel begins by discussing the recent death of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny in prison. How should the international community respond? Will this tragedy cause Americans on the extreme left and right develop a more critical attitude toward Vladimir Putin? Next, recent discoveries of rare-earth minerals in Wyoming promise to give the U.S. a geopolitical and economic edge, but what tradeoffs are involved in the extraction of natural resources? Then—what does OpenAI’s plans for investment in chip production mean for our world and our home? 

Finally, the gang reflects on the penitential season of Lent. What’s behind its increasingly ecumenical appeal? It’s cultural, political, and theological dimensions are explored before the panelists share their spiritual practices for the season.

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Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in Arctic Circle jail, says Russia (bbc.com)

Russian Exceptionalism | New York Review of Books

Wyoming Hits the Rare-Earth Mother Lode | WSJ

Rare Earths Discovery Near Wheatland So Big It Could Be World Leader | Your Wyoming News Source (cowboystatedaily.com)

Sam Altman Seeks Trillions of Dollars to Reshape Business of Chips and AI | WSJ

‘The astonishing Jensen Huang of Nvidia talks about the future of AI. Sovereign AI is the future and more valuable than oil or gold’| Twitter (X) 

More Work For Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave 

The Harried Leisure Class | Marginal Revolution 

2024 Lent Project | Biola University Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts

Tuna Fish and Tollhouse Cookies | Emily Zanotti (substack.com)

Catechism of the Catholic Church