432 episodes

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. 
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Acton Line Acton Institute

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 201 Ratings

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. 
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Closing the Gap Between Work and Life

    Closing the Gap Between Work and Life

    In this episode, we bring you a conversation from our recent Business Matters virtual conference between Acton’s director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, and David Bahnsen, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of the Bahnsen Group.
    They discuss Bahnsen’s new book, Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, in which he makes the case that our understanding of work and its role in our lives is deeply flawed—we are unmoored from what he calls “created purpose.” He argues that the time has come to stop tiptoeing around the issues that matter, that separating our identity from what we do is deeply damaging, and that this era of alienation is for many a direct result of a low view of work. It is in work of every kind—effort, service, striving—that we discover our meaning and purpose, and a significant and successful life is one rooted in full-time productivity and the cultivation of God’s created world.
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    Acton On-Demand
     Business Matters 2024
    “Full-Time: Working and the Meaning of Life” | David Bahnsen

    • 41 min
    Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative

    Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative

    In 1980, Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman released a 10-part documentary series on PBS called “Free to Choose,” with each hour-long episode giving his perspective on important public policy debates and social issues. The series was a hit and possessed a staying power far beyond the 1980s. Through this and much of his other work, Friedman became one of the leading public intellectuals of his time, and his ideas have influenced economics and public policy deeply.
    In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks to Jennifer Burns, author of a new biography, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative. In this important contribution to understanding Friedman’s legacy, Burns explores the great economist’s life, ideas, and the important women with whom he worked.
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    Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative | Jennifer Burns
    Milton Friedman: The Conservative Institution Builder | James M. Patterson

    • 48 min
    Building a Strong Company Through Culture

    Building a Strong Company Through Culture

    Managing a business is a challenge no matter the context. Talent comes and goes, supplies change, and you can’t always achieve everything you want. Every day, new constraints create roadblocks to the next goal. There may not be one solution to these problems, but co-founder and managing partner of Michigan Software Labs Mark Johnson says strong company culture is the foundation of any successful company. 
    In this episode, Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell speaks to Mark about becoming an entrepreneur, managing the ever-changing challenges of managing a business, and why it’s important to be a good steward to both clients and colleagues.
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    Mark Johnson | Michigan Software Labs
    Serving Trough Technology | Cornerstone University

    • 57 min
    Growth and Development in Africa [Rebroadcast]

    Growth and Development in Africa [Rebroadcast]

    Anyone of a certain age will remember the massive hit that was “We Are The World,” the Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Quincy Jones produced charity single by USA for Africa. The considerable profits from the that hit song went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa and specifically to 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.
    Even though Africa is an enormous and diverse continent with 54 sovereign countries, many people in the United States, and the west more generally, were left with the impression of Africa as destitute and poverty-stricken.
    What they may not realize is the enormous amount of growth and development Africa has been seeing. To help us better understand this growth and development, particularly in the country of Nigeria, today Eric Kohn talks with Wiebe Boer and Danladi Verheijen.
    Wiebe Boer is the president of Calvin University, here in Grand Rapids, MI, and Danladi Verheijen is the co-founder and managing partner of Verod Capital Management, a leading West-African private equity investor. Eric talks to them about their experiences growing up in Nigeria, and what they are seeing with the booming growth that country is experiencing.

    • 52 min
    Education for a Free Society

    Education for a Free Society

    On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger sits down with Acton research fellow and Journal of Markets & Morality executive editor Dylan Pahman to talk about education. They begin with the 18th-century vision of education advanced by America’s Founders. Why did they believe education was necessary for a free society, and what kind of education did they have in mind?
    The discussion then turns to attempts by St. John Henry Newman, F.D. Maurice, and Abraham Kuyper to build institutions of liberal learning in 19th-century Europe. What innovations did these men introduce to education? How did their approaches differ from what came before (and each other), and where were there continuities? What can we learn from these attempts in addressing the crisis in education today?
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    Benjamin Rush Proposes a system of public schools for Pennsylvania | Monticello
    Discourse 5: “Knowledge Its Own End” | John Henry Newman
    Learning and Working | F. D. Maurice
    Like Bright Stars: Abraham Kuyper on the Nature and Vocation of the Scholarly Sphere | Dylan Pahman
    Pano Kanelos on the University of Austin | Acton Line
    The Next Generation of Church Leaders | Acton Line

    • 56 min
    Questioning Questions

    Questioning Questions

    We are living in the age of deconstruction. We are constantly bombarded online, in schools, and sometimes even in our homes by attitudes and arguments aimed at deconstructing our faith. Through this, do we know what it means to question well?
    Faith is not the sort of thing that endures so long as our eyes are closed. The opposite is the case: Faith helps us see, and that means not shrinking from the ambiguities and the difficulties that provoke our most profound questions.
    Professor Matthew Lee Anderson says we need not fear questions. By the grace of God, we have the safety and security to rush headlong into them and find ourselves better for it on the other side.
    In this episode, Professor Anderson joins Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell to discuss his latest book “Called into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning Within the Life of Faith”.
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    Matthew Lee Anderson
    Called into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning Within the Life of Faith
    Reality: A Post-Mortem | Jon Askonas 

    • 1 hr 3 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
201 Ratings

201 Ratings

stegj ,

Beatles

The only thing missing from the excellent Beatles episode was a discussion of Brian Epstein and his crucial role as manager.

LisafromtheMidwest ,

Daring and humble - A positive path forward

Fearless in taking on controversial topics, but in a kind and thoughtful way. I love the emphasis on virtue, and the ideas on how to navigate our society and promote democracy.

NtwaliB ,

Captivating and arousing episodes!

There are few institutions that so faithfully promote the free and virtuous society. This podcast unpacks the big questions and tensions that surround this society.

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