Acton Line

On June 29, violent riots between alt-right groups and antifa broke out in Portland, Oregon, leaving several people with severe injuries. Portland is becoming a hotbed for violent, left-wing groups. Who is antifa and what are they protesting? Rev. Ben Johnson, senior editor at Acton, joins the podcast to explain the events of the protest and antifa's objective. After that, Craig Bruce Smith, professor of history at William Woods University, joins the show to bring attention to an increasing dismissal of America's founders and how some are trying to erase the founders' legacies from history. America's founders were slaveholders and not without faults. How should we approach this history of slavery in the context of America's founding? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, nearly 2 million Hong Kong residents gathered to protest a newly proposed extradition bill. Helen Raleigh, senior writer at the Federalist, joins the show to explain the current extradition agreements held between Hong Kong and China, why so many in Hong Kong are angry about the bill and how the extradition bill, if passed, would threaten Hong Kong's rule of law. After that, Acton's Trey Dimsdale is joined by Anne Rathbone Bradley, affiliate scholar of economics at Acton, and Adam MacLeod, professor of law at Faulkner University. Together, they break down Kisor v. Wilkie, a case currently pending in the Supreme Court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, Romanian author and public intellectual, Mihail Neamtu, joins the show to talk about what he calls the "ghost" of Marxism. What defines Marxism and what remnants of the ideology are we seeing today? After that, Daniel J. Mahoney, writer and professor of politics at Assumption College, speaks with Acton's Director of Communications, John Couretas, about the legacy of the 20th century Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn's writings are said to have contributed greatly in bringing down the Soviet Union and brought wide attention to the atrocities of the Soviet Gulags. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, we talk about HBO's new miniseries, 'Chernobyl' and the events surrounding the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1986. Kyle Smith, writer at National Review, joins us for this segment and explains how 'Chernobyl' is an indictment of socialism. Afterwards, Aaron Rhodes, human rights activist and co-founder of the Freedom Rights Project weighs in on the Department of State's new Commission on Unalienable Rights and explains why he's hopeful about the new commission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, we first cover the Equality Act, a bill recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Keisha Russell, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute joins the podcast to break down the basics of the bill and explain how the bill would threaten religious liberty. Afterwards, Charlie Weimers, a Swedish politician newly elected to the European Parliament joins the podcast to discuss "Sweden's Dark Soul: The Unravelling of a Utopia," by Kajsa Norman, a book depicting cultural censorship in Sweden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, Bradley J. Birzer, History professor and the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, joins the podcast to talk about the movie Tolkien, explaining what the film got right about the life of British author J.R.R. Tolkien and what the film missed. Afterwards, Bruce Ashford, professor of theology and culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, talks about his new book, "The Gospel of our King," and how Biblical narrative relates to our understanding of vocation, culture and even the role of government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, Jordan Ballor and Tyler Groenendal break down the last season of Game of Thrones, discussing positive and negative aspects of the show as well as lessons on the role of government and the danger of power. Afterwards, Caroline Roberts speaks with Li Ma, senior fellow at the Henry Institute, about Ma’s book The Chinese Exodus. Ma explains how the current economic system in China drives agricultural workers to the city, setting them on a path for family disintegration, poverty and alienation from community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, National Review senior editor Jonah Goldberg speaks about his latest book, "Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Nationalism, Populism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy." Jonah will also be speaking at our upcoming annual conference in Grand Rapids, Acton University, and you can still register to hear him during the plenary dinner on Wednesday, June 19. After that, James Patterson, professor of politics at Ave Maria University, joins us to talk about the legacy of Fulton J. Sheen, a catholic priest in America who was primarily known for his popular books, radio broadcasts and Emmy-award winning television show Life Is Worth Living. Sheen was also a deft and serious thinker on efforts to bring Americans in closer alignment with the Christian tradition, especially that of the Catholic Church. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the episode of Acton Line, Andrew Klavan, award winning novelist, screenwriter, and regular host at the Daily Wire, joins the show to talk about the new Netflix documentary, "Knock Down the House." The new political documentary follows four far left-leaning women during their run for congress in 2018, eventually leading up to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's congressional win. Klavan explains the ideas under girding the movie and why he defines it as propaganda. After that, Acton's co-founder and president, Rev. Robert Sirico, addresses religion on the left and lays out the connections between religion and liberty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Acton Line, Caroline Roberts speaks with Andrew Kloster, the deputy director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University, about the student debt crisis. Kloster claims that the student debt crisis is the greatest moral hazard of our nation and explains how he sees the crisis panning out in the future. On the second segment, Acton's director of research, Samuel Gregg, sits down with Mustafa Akyol, senior research fellow at the Cato Institute, to address the topics of Islam and Freedom. Reformist trends in Islam reinterpret religious law by referring to the moral teachings at its core resulting in an intellectual battle going on in the Muslim world, where some believers condemn freedom as a Western invention while others praise it as Allah’s blessing. Is Islam compatible with ideas of individual freedom? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.