139 episodes
Acton Unwind Acton Institute
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- News
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4.9 • 106 Ratings
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Acton Unwind is a weekly roundtable discussion of news and current events through the Acton Institute's lens on the world: promoting a free and virtuous society and connecting good intentions with sound economics. Host Eric Kohn is joined by Acton Institute experts for an exploration of news, politics, religion, and culture.
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No Longer Biden His Time
This week, Eric is joined by Dylan and Peter Balos from Acton’s Emerging Leaders class to discuss President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection. Is this a sign that our institutions are healing and that they’re starting to act in furtherance of their long-term interests? Then they examine former president Donald Trump’s choice of Ohio senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate, both of whom appeared at a rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday. Does this suggest a victory for the National Conservatives and their desired economic program?
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Peter Balos, Acton Emerging Leader
Acton’s Emerging Leaders Program
Statement from President Joe Biden
The Constitution Is Still the Answer | Acton Line
Pray for Our Nation | Acton Unwind
J.D. Vance, Breaking the Beard Barrier | New York Times -
Pray for Our Nation
This week, Eric is joined by Dan Hugger, Anthony Bradley, and Stephanie Slade of Reason magazine as they discuss the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump over the weekend. Then they turn their attention to the National Conservatism 4 conference that took place last week in Washington, D.C. What is the state of this movement, where does it seem to be headed, and who were the standouts from the conference?
Questions Surround Attempted Trump Assassination | The Morning Dispatch
NatCon 4 Speakers
Vivek Ramaswamy Debuts 'National Libertarianism' at NatCon 4 | Stephanie Slade, Reason Magazine
What I Saw at the National Conservatism Conference | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty
National Conservatism One Year Later | Dan Hugger, Religion & Liberty -
Is the Constitution Broken?
This week, Eric is joined first by Justin Brierley to discuss his essay in the Summer 2024 issue of Religion & Liberty, “The ‘God' of the ‘Philosophers,’” a review of the book “Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence,” edited by Jack Symes. Then Eric is joined by Dylan and Dave to discuss the current state of America and the Constitution in the wake of the country’s 248th birthday. They then turn their attention to the recent elections in the United Kingdom and France to wonder if there’s any theme, like anti-establishment/anti-incumbency, that ties it all together.
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The “God” of the “Philosophers” | Justin Brierley, Religion & Liberty
Subscribe to Religion & Liberty
The Dream of Scalable Democracy | Dylan Pahman, Law & Liberty
5 Takeaways from France’s Snap Election | New York Times
Keir Starmer confirmed as Britain’s new prime minister after Labour Party’s decisive win | NBC News -
When Politics Trump Caring
This week, Eric, Anthony, and Emily are joined by Aaron Pomerantz, a post-doctoral research fellow at Rice University who specializes in conspiracy theories. They begin by discussing the first presidential debate through the lens of an observation by Anthony: that what we’re seeing is people caring more about politics than about Joe Biden’s well-being. Then Aaron shares his thoughts on why conspiracy theories still abound in this election and in modern society. And finally, the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference. What will this mean for representative governance and the rule of law?
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Video of the Presidential Debate
The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories | Acton Line
Can Americans Learn to Trust Again? | Christine Rosen, Religion & Liberty
Supreme Court Overturns the Chevron Doctrine | The Morning Dispatch -
A Matter of Trust
This week, Eric, Dan, and Dylan are joined by AEI’s Christine Rosen to discuss her cover essay for the Summer edition of Religion & Liberty, "Can Americans Learn to Trust Again?” Why has social trust eroded in America, and what can be done to restore it? Then, would warning labels on social media like we have on cigarettes protect children, or anyone, from its harms? And finally, Cornerstone University here in Grand Rapids has laid off its humanities and music faculty, in addition to making other cuts. Is Christian higher education in a crisis?
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Can Americans Learn to Trust Again? | Christine Rosen, Religion & Liberty
Christine Rosen | American Enterprise Institute
Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms | Vivek Murthy, New York Times
Decay and Reform in Christian Higher Education | Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute -
A False Flag Attack on SCOTUS
This week, Eric, Noah, and Emily discuss the secret recording of SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. What will be the long-term consequences of these attacks on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court—one of the few institutions left that Americans still have faith in? Next, actor-director Rob Reiner has co-produced a new documentary on the threat of Christian Nationalism. Noah discusses his review of the film and if there’s any there there. And finally, former President Donald Trump proposed eliminating the federal income tax and replacing it with import tariffs to raise revenue. Bad idea? Or the worst idea?
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Filmmaker who recorded Alito, Roberts says she did it ‘in service of a public good’ | NPR
The Smear Campaign Against Justice Alito | National Review
A Christian Nationalist on Every Corner? | Noah Gould, Acton Institute
The Will to Power Is Not the Christian Way | Jonathan Clark, Acton Institute
Can Trump Eliminate the Income Tax? Maybe with an 85% Tariff | Forbes
Customer Reviews
One of my go-to podcasts
The title says it all—interesting and informative discussions on timely topics.
Synodality in reality
This was a well presented podcast, reflective, balanced, intelligent. Clearer on synodality than other things I’ve read. The other items were interesting as well, but the lay theology articulated gave me hope for both Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
A Critical Review
Permit me to begin on the good foot. The content or subject matter of the Acton Unwind Podast is always interesting, relevant to current events, and timely. As others have observed, the crew members are thoughtful and usually mostly well informed abut the subjects they address. My criticisms are primarily matters of delivery. Eric does a superlative job of moderating the discussions. Occassionally, rarely, his observations about a particular topic are expressed in a condescending and dogmatic fashion. The reader and he will ask for specific examples. I have one. I do not recall the podcast date or title, but he asserted tha the American Civil War was about slavery and nothing else. Then he went on to make his point. Let me just say he is not current on the subject of the causes of the American Civil War. Perhaps if he had stated that in his view of the matter the Civil War was solely about slavery, he would have been on solid grounds upon which a discussion could be had. Dan pontificates when he delivers his knowledgeable and well informed comments. Unfortunately for the clarity of his remarks, he constantly punctuates his remarks with the annoying verbal place holder "you know." Please stop saying "you know." The Buckley School of Public Speaking in Camden, SC will cure you of this awful habit. Emily's audio cuts in and out too often. I recognize this issue may not be her fault. I have a hard time following her train of thought - probably my issue. Also, her terminology frequently is incorrect. The specific example I will give is in the discussion of in vitro fertilization in episode 122 she (and Eric) referred to the Catholic Church's teaching about IVF as a stance. No, the Church has a teaching about IVF, not a stance. "Stance" communicates the idea of a negotiable position or opinion. A teaching is a firm statement of belief,and in the case of the Catholic Church a teaching is binding on the faithful. While I do not always agree with Dylan (or the others), when he is on the crew he is just about perfect. Despite my fault finding, I am a faithful listener, although I frequently fall a month or two behind in listening.