Acton Line

Progress on a Work in Progress

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When celebrated American novelist and short story writer Flannery O’Connor died at the age of 39 in 1964, she left behind an unfinished third novel ...

AI, Disruptive Technology, and the Future of Work

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is no question today that new technology is changing the way we think about and experience work. Speculation abounds about how the rapid evoluti...

The Historian's Craft: Gertrude Himmelfarb

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gertrude Himmelfarb was one of the foremost historians of Victorian life. She produced page-turning biographies of some of the age’s most intriguing...

Understanding Hybrid Worship

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many Christian congregations now offer hybrid worship services: you can worship in person or online. While these options have become increasingly popu...

The Reformation, the Body, and a Murder

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Noah Gould, Acton’s alumni and student programs manager, speaks to Jane Clark Scharl about her verse play, Sonnez Les Matines, wh...

The Failed Experiment of Over-Parenting

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our culture tells parents there’s one best way to raise kids: enroll them in a dozen activities, protect them from trauma, and get them into the mos...

Closing the Gap Between Work and Life

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we bring you a conversation from our recent Business Matters virtual conference between Acton’s director of marketing and communica...

Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman released a 10-part documentary series on PBS called “Free to Choose,” with each hour-long...

Building a Strong Company Through Culture

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Growth and Development in Africa [Rebroadcast]

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Education for a Free Society

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger sits down with Acton research fellow and Journal of Markets & Morality execu...

Questioning Questions

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Rise of Religious Anti-Liberalism

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we bring you a recent Acton Lecture Series event with Kevin Vallier. The 20th century featured an unusual phenomenon: global seculari...

How to Experience Everyday Freedom

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger speaks with lawyer and chair of Common Good Philip K. Howard about his new boo...

Misconceptions About China

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After decades of trade and investment with advanced democracies, China is far richer and stronger than it otherwise would have been. Simply put, the W...

Connecting Family, Property, and Liberty

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, Acton research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality, interviews Dr. Clara Pi...

Imagining Hope for the Future

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Acton, director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, speaks with AEI economic policy expert James Pethokoukis about his n...

The Great Unlearning

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1960’s as the hippie movement was shredding norms of hygiene and cleanliness in order to live more ‘authentically’, diseases emerged...

A Christian Perspective from Visiting Israel

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Mike Cosper, director of podcasting for Christianity Today,...

Canceling Cancel Culture

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Ind...

Can We Solve Poverty?

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode of Acton Line, we bring you a conversation about poverty recently held on our sister podcast, Acton Unwind. Acton’s Eric Kohn a...

Entrepreneurs Serving Entrepreneurs

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Your strengths, relationships, and self-awareness are all essential in determining how your business will operate—and whether it will succeed or fai...

A Classical Education for Contemporary Students

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, Thales Academy was born with a simple vision: provide an excellent and affordable education through the use of Direct Instruction and a Class...

A Consensus for the People

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably heard the phrase “America isn’t a democracy—it’s a republic.” This is typically trotted out to make a salient point about ...

Aquinas and the Market

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we present the most recent installment of the Acton Lecture Series, with Dr. Mary L. Hirschfeld. Economists investigate the working...

Maximum Innovation for Maximum Social Impact

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Acton director of programs and education Dan Churchwell speaks with Leah Kral, an expert facilitator and author who helps nonprofits ...

Shining a Light on the Darkest Place in the World.

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about Acton UniversityOn today’s episode, we present a discussion from Acton University 2023 between director of marketing and communicat...

The History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, Eric Kohn, talks with Jonathan Greenberg, the Jack Miller Family Foundation’s d...

Bill Courtney and a Life Undefeated

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Acton director of marketing and communications Eric Kohn speaks with Bill Courtney about coaching football, running a successful lumb...

The Gender Wage Gap with Dr. Angela Dills

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Angela Dills is a labor economist who teaches at Western Carolina University and whose work focuses on the economics of education, crime, and heal...

Enlightenment about the Enlightment(s)

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Dr. John Pinheiro speaks with Dr. Joseph Stuart about the complexity of the European Enlightenments: namely, the most common misconce...

Mythic Realms

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Bradley J. Birzer, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College, discusses his new book, Mythic Real...

Freedom and Prosperity Around The World

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joseph Lemoine, deputy director of the Freedom and Prosperity Center at the Atlantic Council, joins Stephen Barrows, Acton’s COO, to discuss the Atl...

Engaging Homelessness with Better Way Detroit

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Better WAY Detroit engages, pays, feeds, and counsels homeless persons, and connects them to services for housing, medical and mental health care, and...

Organizational Culture with Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America, shares his thoughts o...

Navigating the Rising Tide of Political Polarization

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Dylan Pahman interviews Dr. Rachel Ferguson about her lecture at Acton University on the problem of political polarization. From so...

The Law of Conservation of Welfare—And What Energy Source Can Transform It?

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The law of conservation of mass dates from Antoine Lavoisier's 1789 discovery that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. Eviden...

Cronyism, Corporate Welfare, and Inequality

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality, and a research fellow here at Acton, interviews ...

Filthy Rich Politicians

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you asked people to describe our current cast of politicians in America right now, they might say that some, if not most, are slyly taking advantag...

The New Catholic Integralism

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Vallier, political philosopher and associate professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University, joins Dan Hugger to discuss Catholic...

Christian Workers and the Entrepreneurial Vocation

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Father Roger J. Landry, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Catholic Chaplain to Columbia University in New ...

The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re bringing you one of the plenary lectures from this year’s Acton University, featuring Bishop Robert Barron speaking on “The Phi...

Economic Potpourri with David Bahnsen

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the campaign themes that launchd Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992 was, “it’s the economy, stupid.” While much of our politics is...

The Informant's Path to Faith and Redemption

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode starts with a clip from the trailer for 2009 comedy/drama “The Informant!,” directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon,...

Storks Don't Take Orders From the State

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s 2007. Spider-Man 3 is the top grossing film at the box office. Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” is the biggest hit song. American Idol is the mo...

Growth and Development in Africa

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

The China Nexus

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

June 4 marked the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in which the Chinese Communist Party put down a pro-democracy protest movement th...

Friendship in a Democratic Age

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we dive into some of the profound changes occurring in American society. Back in the day, social scientist Robert Putnam observed a c...

Rev. Tim Keller on The Problems of Modern Identity

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you the remarks by Rev. Timothy J. Keller at the Acton Institute’s Annual Dinner in 2018, in which ...

Against the New Paganism

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There’s been much discussion of how “wokeness,” for lack of a better term, operates as a form of civic religion for the political left. Less dis...

Mere Natural Law

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We live in what appears at first glance to be a highly skeptical age, one characterized by moral relativism in public discourse and ‘value-freedom’...

A Closer Look at Aircraft Industrial Policy

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The last time you took a commercial airline flight, odds are that you were on a plane that was manufactured by one of two companies: American-based Bo...

Free Enterprise and the Common Good

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of Acton Line, Dylan Pahman, the editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality and a research fellow here at Acton, speaks with Alexa...

Unleashing the Entrepreneur

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of Acton Line, we’re bringing you a panel discussion from the Grand Rapids edition of the Free Market Road Show, an event the Acton...

The Mainstreaming of Marx

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Karl Marx. If you’re listening to this podcast, it’s unlikely that I need to explain to you who Karl Marx is. You know he’s the author of The Co...

Hope and Transformation at New City Kids

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of the last year here at the Acton Institute, we’ve been bringing in local social providers so that our staff can gain a better unde...

Unrestrained Government Spending and Economic Prosperity

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of Acton Line we’re bringing a panel discussion from the Free Market Road Show - Grand Rapids, a recent special event we hosted her...

The Right’s Economic Left Turn

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A belief in the positive power of free markets has been a part of the political and philosophical program of the political right for virtually all of ...

Religious Freedom in a Secular Age

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Religious freedom is a bitterly contested issue that spills over into political, public, and online spheres. It's an issue that's becoming ever more h...

Should Businesses Embrace Remote Work?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Should businesses allow their employees to work remotely? Almost all employers and employees have wrestled with this question. More and more job-seeke...

Connecting Cops and Community

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When people think of interactions between the police and the public these days, for many, the first thoughts that come to mind are of horrific inciden...

The Intellectual Life

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“The feminine genius,” a term coined by Pope St. John Paul II, has become something of a buzzword in the Catholic world. But has the fullness of f...

Are Artists Really Free to Express Themselves?

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2021, Winston Marshall was the banjo player and guitarist for Mumford & Sons, the highly popular and award-winning folk rock ensemble.  That...

The Legacy of Ed Koch

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If money is the mother’s milk of politics, then rhetoric is its currency. And few political characters of the late 20th century had a sharper wit th...

The Errors of the 1619 Project (Rebroadcast)

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since debuting in the New York Times Magazine on August 14, 2019, the 1619 Project has ignited a debate about American history, the founding of the co...

Company Culture and the Human Person: A Compelling Vision

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Colin Duff, a co-founder and head of operations at Styx Golf, delivers a speech on how to align company culture with the human experience to create a ...

Martin Luther King Jr. and Russell Kirk: A Consensus of First Principles

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In their own time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Russell Kirk occupied different ends of the political spectrum. Their philosophies inspired the two ...

The Social Teaching of Pope Benedict XVI

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI—scholar, teacher, theologian, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and finally supreme pontiff of th...

Taxes, Spending, and Powerball Winnings

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On November 7, 2022, the jackpot for the Powerball lottery reached an astonishing $2.05 billion. Even after the federal and state governments take the...

Who Was Lord Acton?

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Acton Institute is named in honor of John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (1834–1902), 1st Baron Acton of Aldenham, a historian of freedom. Known a...

The Beatles and Economics (Rebroadcast)

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Beatles will go down in history as one of the most prolific music acts of all time. Their music is still played in our homes and around the world ...

The Godly Path to Adam Smith’s Liberal Plan

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Klein is professor of economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he co-leads a program in Adam Smith. The...

Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we’re presenting the final evening plenary from Acton University 2022. This plenary was a panel discussion on Hong Kong medial mo...

The Wounds of Beauty

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Sarah Negri, research project coordinator at the Acton Institute, sits down with Margarita Mooney Clayton, professor of practical the...

Who Is To Blame For Poverty?

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we're bringing you a session from our recent Poverty Cure Summit, a debate between between Bryan Caplan and Chris Arnade. The Povert...

Mary Kissel at Acton Institute’s 2022 Annual Dinner

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're bringing you the keynote address from Mary Kissel at this year's Acton Institute Annual Dinner. Mary Kissel is executive vice ...

The Gift of Disillusionment

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can leaders respond to discouragement in their work? Noah Gould sits down with Peter Greer, President & CEO of HOPE International, to discuss his ...

Men Without Work

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016, Nick Eberstadt’s book “Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis” brought to light the grim reality that millions of working-age men...

No Free Lunch

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Common economic perceptions pervade our discourse on policy. Dr. Caleb Fuller’s latest book, No Free Lunch: Six Economic Lies You’ve Been Taught ...

The Next American Economy

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of America’s greatest success stories is its economy. For over a century, it has been the envy of the world. The opportunity it generates has in...

Conservatism and Its Current Discontents

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

American conservatism appears to be coming apart at the seams. What, if anything, can bring the various factions together to fight the much greater th...

Blockchain Technology with Alexander Romanowski

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Hernandez Romanowski is a crypto research analyst at Tribal.  Formerly a blockchain research analyst at the Mcnair Center for entrepreneur...

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

5G. Microchips in vaccines. Crisis actors. Chemtrails.  It seems that tales of conspiracy theories are in the news, and on social medial, constantly....

Free Trade and Globalization

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philip Booth is professor of finance, public policy, and ethics and director of Catholic Mission at St. Mary’s University explores all aspects of fr...

Judaism and the Market Economy

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin serves as the president of the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and is also a resident research fellow at the Tikvah Fund...

The Rise of the New Puritans

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In The Rise of the New Puritans, Commentary Magazine associate editor Noah Rothman explains how, in pursuit of a better world, a relatively new and fe...

How History Frees and Forms Christians

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David George Moore, founder and president of Two Cities Ministries, discusses his recent book Stuck in the Present: How History Frees and Forms Chris...

Economic Inequality and Envy

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

P. J. Hill, professor of economics emeritus at Wheaton College (Illinois) and a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozem...

Does the university have a future?

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Rev. John Arthur Nunes, Ph.D., is a Lutheran pastor and senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, discusses the current ch...

7 Deadly Economic Sins

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve heard of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Each is a natural and recurring human weakness that imp...

Emerging Leaders at the Acton Institute

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Acton Institute’s Emerging Leaders Program is a leadership development initiative that brings together a cohort of students from across the nati...

Taking rites seriously with Francis Beckwith

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Francis Beckwith, professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University, discusses the lecture he gave at Acton University 2022 entitl...

Check your financial privilege

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, discusses his new book, “Check Your Financial Privilege,” and how cryptocur...

Mike Cosper on ‘The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill’

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is one of the most popular Christian podcasts of the past year. It chronicles how Mars Hill Church in Seattle wen...

Fatherhood, fraternities, and moral formation

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Bradley, professor of religious studies at The King’s College, NYC, and Acton research fellow, sits down with Dan Churchwell, Acton’s dire...

Literature and the scandal of holiness

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson has written an exciting new book—“The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of ...

Betsy DeVos on fixing education

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Betsy DeVos joins Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, in the studio to discuss her new book, “Hostages No More.“   In ...

How savings banks and credit unions help prevent poverty

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of program outreach, sits down with Dr. Richard Turnbull, the director of the Center for Enterpris...

Reason, nature, and the human good

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of philosophy at Aquinas College, sits down with Dan Hugger, Acton’s librarian and research asso...

'Conservatism: A Rediscovery'

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Sam Gregg sits down with award-winning political theorist Yoram Hazony to discuss Hazony’s new book, “Conservatism: A Rediscovery...