Acton Line
Episodes
Dave Hebert Rings in 2026 by Analyzing America’s Economy
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dave Hebert, a senior research fellow at AIER and an affiliate scholar here at the Acton Institute, about the ...
Isaac Willour Is Helping Corporate America Move on from ESG
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Isaac Willour, an analyst at Bowyer Research, America's leading pro-fiduciary proxy consulting firm, about all...
Dylan Pahman Breaks Down the History of Economic Thought
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dylan Pahman, research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas I...
Acton Rundown | January 2026
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown Dan & Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Winter 2025 Religion & Liberty: Why Orwell Stil...
Kris Mauren Is Thinking About Think Tanks
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Kris Mauren, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, about all things Acton. What was the original, a...
Father Robert Sirico on What Christmas Is All About
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Father Robert Sirico, co-founder and president emeritus of the Acton Institute, about the true meaning of Chri...
Stephen Barrows Explains the Jimmy Lai Verdict
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Barrows, chief operations officer of the Acton Institute, about the recent conviction of entrepreneur ...
Peter Boettke Is Teaching the Humanistic Foundations of Austrian Economics
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Peter J. Boettke, Distinguished University Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as the d...
Stephanie Slade Is Chronicling the New Right
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephanie Slade, senior editor at Reason magazine and a fellow in liberal studies at the Acton Institute, abou...
Acton Rundown | December 2026
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown Dan & Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Essays: Fall 2025 Religion & Liberty American ...
Andrew Abela Is Popularizing the Virtues with “Superhabits”
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Andrew Abela, founding dean of the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and affiliat...
John Wilsey Is Priming Conservatives for Religious Freedom
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Wilsey, professor of church history and chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology...
Peter Lipsett Is Podcasting to Answer the Question, "What Is the Right?"
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Peter Lipsett, vice president at DonorsTrust, about the recently concluded 11-part series “What Is the Right...
Anne Bradley Interrogates Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s Abundance
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Anne Bradley, vice president of academic affairs at The Fund for American Studies and professor of economics a...
Acton Rundown | November 2025
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown, Dan & Dylan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Essays and Books:The Kingdom of God and the Comm...
John Pinheiro Interrogates Thomas Jefferson on Limited Government
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, about his feature essay in the latest issue of Re...
Dylan Pahman Is Starting the Conversation on Orthodox Christian Social Thought
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dylan Pahman, research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas I...
Anthony Bradley Finds the Answer to Anxiety in Exodus
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Anthony Bradley, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Acton Institute and research professor of Interdisciplin...
Pope Leo XIV Exhorts Us in DILEXI TE to See Christ in the Poor
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, and Caleb Whitmer, project manager at the Center f...
Brent Beshore Stewards Companies That Care About the Future
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton’s director of research and programs, Dan Churchwell, talks to CEO and founder of Permanent Equity Brent Beshore. Subscr...
Acton Rundown | October 2025
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown, Dan and Dylan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Essays and Books:Universal Basic Community N...
Jeffery Degner Says the Family Has a Future
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Acton’s director of program and education, Dan Churchwell, interviews Dr. Jeffery Degner following his participation in an Acton Le...
Noah Gould Links Corporate Social Responsibility … and Fraud
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Noah Gould, Alumni and Student Programs manager at the Acton Institute. They discuss two recent pieces Noah ha...
Brad Birzer Wonders if Russell Kirk’s Conservative Movement Has a Future
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Bradley J. Birzer, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College, ...
Stephen Barrows Integrates Catholic Social Teaching and Economics
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Barrows, chief operating officer at the Acton Institute, about the relationship between Catholic Socia...
Acton Rundown | September 2025
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown Dan, Mark, and Nathan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this p...
Nathan Mech on Interfaith Dialogue at the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Nathan Mech, Founding Director of the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage at the Acton Institute. They discu...
Clara Piano on Markets, Morals, and Vocations Professional and Personal
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Clara Piano, visiting assistant professor of economics at the University of Mississippi and an affiliate schol...
Jenna Robinson on the Crisis in Higher Ed and the Prospects for Academic Renewal
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. They discuss current crises in A...
Samuel Gregg Remembers the Thoroughly Catholic Capitalist Michael Novak
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Samuel Gregg, president of and Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institu...
Dave Hebert Unpacks America’s Recent Economic Policy Missteps
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dave Hebert, a senior research fellow at AIER and an affiliate scholar here at the Acton Institute. They discu...
Acton Rundown | August 2025
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown: Dan and Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and announce two new affiliate scholars. Subscribe to our podcasts Wa...
Acton’s 2025 Emerging Leaders
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Noah Gould, Acton’s Alumni and Student Programs manager, speaks to three members of the Emerging Leaders Program. The Acton E...
Kevin Vallier Is Infusing Fusionism with New Arguments
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Kevin Vallier, professor of philosophy at the University of Toledo, where he is associate director at the Inst...
How the CEO of America’s Future Is Preparing for America’s Future
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Eric Kohn, CEO of America’s Future. They discuss just that—and what the organization Eric leads is doing t...
David Bahnsen on the State of the U.S. Economy
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with David Bahnsen, founder, managing partner, and CIO of The Bahnsen Group. With an ever-shifting policy environme...
Acton Rundown | July 2025
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Acton Rundown: Dan and Mark recap Acton University 2025 and discuss Acton’s upcoming events and publications. Subscribe to our po...
Marcel van Hattem on the Fight for Freedom in Brazil
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Marcel van Hattem, a Brazilian politician, journalist, and political scientist who is an elected federal repre...
Silicon Valley Revival?
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dan Churchwell, director of programs and education at the Acton Institute, and A. Trevor Sutton, senior pastor...
A Preview of Acton University 2025
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Dan Hugger speaks to Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of programs and education, about what people can expect at Acton Univers...
Acton Line: Now on Video!
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Acton librarian Dan Hugger and podcast producer Mark Townsend announce that the podcast will be on video going forward. They reveal the new pod...
Technological Threats to Liberty
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today episode, Acton’s director of programs and education, Dan Churchwell, speaks to Philip Bunn, assistant professor of political science at Cov...
The Role of Business in Society
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton librarian Dan Hugger speaks with James Otteson from Acton University 2024. They discuss Adam Smith and what he tells us ab...
Who Benefitted from DEI Initiatives?
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Isaac Willour, journalist and analyst at Bowyer Research. They discuss his Religion and Liberty Online essay ...
An Ascetic Way of Life in a World of Abundance
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dylan Pahman, research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality at the Acton Institu...
Pope Leo XIV and 'New Things'
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, and Daniel Wagner, chair of the philosophy departm...
All Things Conclave
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with the Acton Institute’s John Pinheiro, director of research, and Michael Miller, director of the Center for So...
Being Rich in This World and the Next
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton's director of programs and education, interviews Raymond Harris, author, architect, and a venture capitali...
The Legacy of Pope Francis
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with the Acton Institute’s Stephen Barrows, chief operating officer, and John Pinheiro, director of research, abo...
Markets and Dignity in the Fight Against Global Poverty
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 PovertyCure Summit “Dignity, Agency & Charity” was a virtual event put on by Acton’s Center for Social Flourishing. Over two days, part...
Encouraging Better Journalism
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Marvin Olasky, executive editor for News and Global at Christianity Today and the founder and chairman of Zeng...
Understanding DOGE
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Ryan Bourne, R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, and Alex Nowrasteh, VP for Econom...
Secularist Violence in Modern History
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In his latest book, “Broken Altars: Secularist Violence in Modern History,” Thomas Albert Howard presents three principal forms of modern seculari...
Lessons from Three Decades of Studying Economics
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of programs and education, talks to James Hartley, professor of economics at Mount Holyoke Co...
Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 PovertyCure Summit, “Dignity, Agency & Charity,” was a virtual event put on by Acton’s Center for Social Flourishing. Over two days, pa...
Medical and Business Ethics
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, we bring you a conversation from Acton University between Acton’s director of programming, Dan Churchwell, and Scott Rae, prof...
The Christian Humanist Tradition Today
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Smith, dean of the humanities, Temple Family Chair in English Literature, and professor of English at ...
Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Andrew M. McGinnis, assistant director of research at the CRCD and managing editor of the Journal of Religion...
Finding Solutions to America’s Housing Shortage
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 PovertyCure Summit, “Dignity, Agency, & Charity,” was a virtual event put on by Acton’s Center for Social Flourishing. Over two days, p...
Leading Citizenship
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton’s director of research, John Pinheiro, speaks to Gerard Wegemer, founding director of the Center for Thomas More Studies...
Presidential Transitions
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, host Dan Hugger is joined by John Pinheiro and Dylan Pahman to discuss the presidential transition. What have past presidential transitions...
American Fusionism
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Kevin Vallier, professor of philosophy at the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership, abo...
Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations Today
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Director of the Acton Institute’s Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage Nathan Mech mediates a discussion between Mustafa Akyol and Rabbi Reuven Fir...
What Financialization Does and Doesn’t Mean
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Though often used, the term “financialization” is largely misunderstood. In order to address this issue, the American Institute for Economic Resea...
Thinking About Think Tanks
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton librarian Dan Hugger sits down Kris Mauren, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute. They discuss why the Acton In...
REBROADCAST: A chat with the filmmakers behind 'The Chosen'
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, we’re bringing you a rebroadcast from December 1, 2021. Eric Kohn, Acton’s former director of marketing and communications...
America's Status as a 'Christian Nation'
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In recent years, America’s status as a “Christian nation” has become an incredibly vexed question. This is not simply a debate about America’s...
Focusing Christian Higher Education
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton’s director of research, John Pinheiro, speaks with Joe Creech, executive director of the Lilly Network of Church-Related...
Jimmy Lai: The Troublemaker
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Mark Clifford, award-winning journalist and historian of Hong Kong, about his new book Troublemaker: How Jimmy...
Panel Discussion | Jimmy Lai’s Fight For Freedom Continues
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Acton Institute’s president emeritus Rev. Robert Sirico as he hosts a live panel featuring Mark Simon, Mary Kissel, and William McGurn as they ...
Ronald Reagan: The Peacemaker
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With decades of hindsight, the peaceful end of the Cold War seems to have been inevitable. But in the early 1980s, most experts believed the Soviet Un...
The 2024 United States Presidential Election
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, host Dan Hugger is joined by John Pinheiro, Anthony Bradley, and Dylan Pahman to discuss the results of the 2024 U.S. elections. What do th...
C.S. Lewis on Modern Social Thought
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While the challenge of poverty has always been a part of the human condition, the rise of modernity and the Industrial Revolution have made the proble...
Faithful Christian Political Action
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Jordan Ballor, Director of Research at the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy, about his Religion & L...
The Founding Father of Abolitionism
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Noah Gould, Acton’s Alumni and Student Programs manager, talks to author Caleb Franz about his new book, “The Conductor: The...
Fertility Gap
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Named after distinguished American theologian Michael Novak, the Acton Institute’s prestigious Novak Award rewards outstanding scholarly research co...
The Complementarity of Business and Philanthropy
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. Robert and Berni Neal explore the complement...
Promises and Challenges of Interreligious Dialogue
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, we bring you a wide-ranging conversation between Acton librarian Dan Hugger and Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado from Acton Univ...
The Connection Between Childhood Trauma and Poverty
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. Dr. Anthony Bradley, Acton Institute disting...
Giving Is Not God’s Way of Raising Money
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How should you allocate your personal wealth? How do the decisions you make regarding personal wealth impact your character? In his Acton Lecture Seri...
The Explosion of Bailout Culture
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Ismael Hernandez: Rethinking Charity
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Too much of the conversation about poverty, whether in government, among social service providers, or in churches, is animated by highly emotional con...
Principled Entrepreneurship with a Commitment to the Social Good
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Richard Nixon's Faith
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Daniel Silliman, historian and news editor for Christianity Today, about his new book, One Lost Soul: Richar...
Faith and the Future of Philanthropy
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Acton’s director of research, John Pinheiro, speaks to Jeremy Beer from Acton University 2024 about the definition of philanthropy,...
Potential Truths in Anti-Liberal Ideologies
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn talks to Kevin Vallier about his book “All the Kingdoms of the World,” t...
Universities in a Free Society
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we bring you one of the plenary talks from Acton University 2024. Here Dr. John Tomasi, a distinguished political philosopher an...
Acton's Emerging Leaders
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Each summer, the Acton Institute welcomes a cohort of students to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as part of our Emerging Leaders Program. This leadership-dev...
The Constitution Is Still the Answer
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Common ground is hard to find in today’s politics. In a society teeming with irreconcilable political perspectives, many people have grown frustrate...
Economic Potpourri
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, sits down with financial expert David Bahnsen to discuss the current s...
Fighting for Freedom with Renato Moicano
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the 34-year history of the Acton Institute, never have we had an opportunity to combine Ludwig Von Mises and the Austrian school of economics with ...
Pursuing A Life of Action
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gurcharan Das was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, during World War II. His mother noted in her diary that he was a restless child, and by age 3 was a “tro...
A Preview of Acton University 2024
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For four days each summer, Acton University brings together from around the developing and the developed worlds leaders in business, academia, and the...
Orthodox Communities in the Middle East
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Resources on Catholic and Protestant social thought abound, but where are the resources for answers to the social question to be found in Eastern Orth...
Diet, Health, and the Christian Faith
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
That America has a weight problem is no surprise. According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 70...
DEBATE: Christianity and the State
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2022, the Acton Institute launched The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage. The mission is to advance research and education on economics, libert...
Seeking Civility: Important Principles for Divided Times
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
During times of extreme divisiveness, civility can help us transcend important differences and flourish amid them. It is through true civility, the re...
Fr. James Schall and the Crisis in Higher Education
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger sits down with Acton research director John Pinheiro to talk about the state o...
DEBATE: Islam and the State
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2022, the Acton Institute launched The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage to advance research and education from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic ...
Finding Christ in a Busy World
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The modern world is a busy and complicated place for Christians. Obligations to jobs, friends, and family, along with personal interests, frequently o...