Acton Line

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Barrows, chief operations officer of the Acton Institute, about the recent conviction of entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, who was found guilty by a Hong Kong court on Monday in a landmark national security trial. Who is Jimmy Lai, and what is his long-standing relationship with Acton? What were the charges brought against him, and why are there reasons to doubt their fairness? How does Jimmy’s arrest, trial, and conviction show the erosion of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the rule of law in Hong Kong? What has been the reaction of the international community to the conviction? How can freedom-loving people show solidarity with Jimmy Lai? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Hong Kong Court Finds Jimmy Lai Guilty in National Security Trial Governments and groups condemn conviction of Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai Rev. Robert A. Sirico Responds to Jimmy Lai's Guilty Verdict #freejimmylai The Hong Konger (document

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Peter J. Boettke, Distinguished University Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as the director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, about the importance of the history of economic thought and the Austrian School of economics. Why read the classics in economics? What is the place of the Austrian School in economics today? How is the humanistic and scientific nature of the Austrian School related to political ideology and commitments? What is the prehistory of the Austrian School in the theologians and jurists of early modern Europe? How do figures in the Austrian tradition relate economics to religion? Why have GMU and Mercatus been so successful in fostering research and educating the next generation of scholars in the Austrian tradition? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Why Read the Classics in Economics? | Peter J. Boettke Aft

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephanie Slade, senior editor at Reason magazine and a fellow in liberal studies at the Acton Institute, about the “New Right.” Who comprises the New Right, and what is their approach to politics? Has the old conservative movement failed? How does the New Right’s rhetoric relate to their larger political project? Who were the forerunners of the New Right? What are the religious currents of the New Right? Why should conservatives appeal to ideas rather than passions? Is there a moral dimension to conflicts within the American conservative movement? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Against Game of Thrones Christianity | Stephanie Slade The New Right Isn't So New | Stephanie Slade Liberalism Isn't Rule by Elites | Stephanie Slade The Devil Went Down to Wall Street | Dan Hugger National Conservatism and the Great Controversy Reborn | Dan Hugger Frank S. Meyer's Fusionism Melded Classical Liberalism with Traditional Religion | Stephanie Slade If yo

This month on the Acton Rundown Dan & Mark chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Essays: Fall 2025 Religion & Liberty American Religion by the Numbers by Miles Smith A Pope for the 21st Century   Video content: Anne Bradley Interrogates Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s Abundance Yasir Qadhi on LEAVING Salafism and Rejecting Sectarianism Peter Lipsett Is Podcasting to Answer the Question, "What Is the Right?" How to Rebel John Wilsey Is Priming Conservatives for Religious Freedom Andrew Abela Is Popularizing the Virtues with “Superhabits” Upcoming events: Artificial Intelligence, Human Dignity, and the Free Society | Acton Institute Acton University 2026 | Acton Institute

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Andrew Abela, founding dean of the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and affiliate faculty member at Harvard University’s Human Flourishing Program, about his book Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life. How do we best popularize virtues? How does the positive psychology account of the virtues differ from St. Thomas Aquinas’s theological account? What are “superhabits,” and how do they differ from mere “habits”? How do constituent virtues relate to the four cardinal virtues? What resources has the Busch school developed to help students, faculty, and business leaders cultivate the virtues? How do you decide which virtues to cultivate?   Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life | Andrew Abela Superhabits Substack The Anatomy of Virtue | Andrew Abela Virtues, Jordan Peterson, and Thomas Aquinas | Andrew Abela Busch School Virtues Diagnostic GrowVirtue: Th

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Wilsey, professor of church history and chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, about his new book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer. How have the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty existed harmoniously in the American tradition? What contrasts between French and American society did Alexis de Tocqueville observe in his own day? Has the American experiment failed? How does Peter Viereck’s conservative nostalgia for the permanent beneath the flux chart a course distinct from both progressive and reactionary utopian politics? Is religious traditionalism antithetical to dispositional conservativism? Why does the human imagination loom so large in conservative thought? What should secular dispositional conservatives make of religion? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer | John Wilsey The Man vs. the Myth: Who Was John Foster Du

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Peter Lipsett, vice president at DonorsTrust, about the recently concluded 11-part series “What Is the Right?” for the Giving Ventures podcast. What is “the Right”? What are its largest and most influential factions? Does it share a common intellectual culture or merely political interests? How does the bottom-up nature of populism complicate the story we tell about intellectuals’ influence on political movements? What are the prospects for conservatives after the Trump administration? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here DonorsTrust Giving Ventures Podcast Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 85 — Freedom Conservatism Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 86 — The Libertarians Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 87 — The New Right Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 88 — The Traditionalist Conservatives Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 89 — The Fusionists Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 90 — Catholics on the Right Giving Ventures Podcast: Episode 91 — Jewish

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Anne Bradley, vice president of academic affairs at The Fund for American Studies and professor of economics at The Institute of World Politics, about Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s book Abundance, which she reviewed for Religion & Liberty Online. What is the concept of “abundance,” and who comprises the book’s audience? How do Klein and Thompson think through regulatory obstacles to material abundance? For Thompson and Klein, what drives innovation and growth? How much of the book’s rhetorical criticism of markets might be misdirection to potential critics from the left? Do Klein and Thompson really understand the economic way of thinking? Are there better programs for material abundance? How do you respond to conservatives who believe we had greater “abundance” in the past? Why are utopian visions of the future or the past dangerous? Do Klein and Thompson have a conception of civil society beyond the state? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here The Cur

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 Common Good: Orthodox Christian Social Thought God at Work: Loving God and Neighbor Through the Book of Exodus Super Habits: The Universal System for a Successful Life | Andrew Abela Can Nigeria’s Church Survive the Storm | Kelechi L. Nwannunu Are Americans Too Political? | Thomas Dias   Video Content: What We Gained from 8 Weeks in the Emerging Leader Program | Alums Share Their Story   Upcoming Events: Poverty, Inc. in Detroit Acton Institute Fifth Annual Academic Conference: Character, Commerce, and Human Flourishing Virtues, Not Values: Reclaiming the Human Core of Business | Acton Institute Rethinking Charity: Local Agency, Commercial Society, and the Human Person | Acton Institute Annual Calihan Lecture and Novak Award Presentation | Acton Institute Artificial Intelligence, Human Dignity, and the Free Society | Acton Institute Acton University

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 Religion & Liberty: “Thomas Jefferson ant the Virtue of Limited Government.” What is Jefferson’s status today relative to the other Founding Fathers? What was Jefferson’s agrarian republican vision for America? How did that vision clash with those of the other Founders? What is Jefferson’s fundamental anthropology, and what are its underlying assumptions? What does Jefferson make of the commercial society? Where does Jefferson root his case for limited government? What is his conception of subsidiarity? Why should we turn to Jefferson for inspiration to meet today’s challenges? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Thomas Jefferson and the Virtue of Limited Government | John C. Pinheiro The Roots of Jefferson's Union | John C. Pinheiro Lessons from Early America’s Tariff Wars | John C. Pinheiro If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help b

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dylan Pahman, research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas Institute for Orthodoxy & Liberty, about his new book, The Kingdom of God & the Common Good: Orthodox Christian Social Thought. What is the state of contemporary Orthodox Social Thought? What is the “social question,” and how have churches sought to answer it? Why turn to the Bible to answer modern social questions? How does the historical experience of Orthodox churches inform Orthodox Social Thought? Why should economics inform Orthodox Social Thought? What are some uniquely Orthodox Christian perspectives that have been brought to bear on social questions? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here The Kingdom of God & the Common Good: Orthodox Christian Social Thought | Dylan Pahman St. Nicholas Cabasilas Institute for Orthodoxy & Liberty Orthodox Communities in the Middle East | Acton Institute An Ascetic Way of Life in a World of Abundance | Dy

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Anthony Bradley, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Acton Institute and research professor of Interdisciplinary and Theological Studies at Kuyper College. They discuss Anthony’s new book, God at Work: Loving God and Neighbor Through the Book of Exodus. Why is Exodus such a great evangelistic conversation starter? What human emotions drive the narrative of Exodus? How do thinkers like Gerard Van Groningen, Reinhold Niebuhr, Karen Honey, and Abraham Kuyper help us understand the meaning of Exodus? What lessons for individuals, churches, and society are contained in Exodus? What is the role of women in the Exodus narrative? How does Exodus speak particularly to the anxiety of men and boys particularly? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here God at Work | Anthony B. Bradley From Creation to Consummation | Gerard Van Groningen The Nature and Destiny of Man: A Christian Interpretation | Reinhold Niebuhr The Neurotic Personality of Our Time | Karen Horney C

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, and Caleb Whitmer, project manager at the Center for Social Flourishing, about Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te. This exhortation to all Christians encourages us to see Christ in the poor among us. How does Pope Leo use scripture to show us Christ in the poor? Which of the church fathers argue that charity is a matter of justice? Why is it so important to have a wholistic definition of poverty? Can economic data be trusted? Why is meaningful work the best solution to poverty? Do Christians have a duty to accompany migrants? How can we embrace almsgiving today? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te of the Holy Father Leo XIV on Love for the Poor (4 October 2025) Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991) Laborem Exercens (14 September 1981) Universal Basic Community Now! | Rachel Ferguson Pope Francis’ Plea for Migrants and Acton’s Core Principles | Step

On today’s episode, Acton’s director of research and programs, Dan Churchwell, talks to CEO and founder of Permanent Equity Brent Beshore. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Permanent Equity Brent Beshore | Permanent Equity If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

This month on the Acton Rundown, Dan and Dylan chat about upcoming Acton events and new video content. Essays and Books:Universal Basic Community Now! | Acton Institute The Evidence of Things Not Seen: Reflections on Faith, Science, and Economics | Vernon L. Smith Video Content: What Is the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage?   Upcoming Events: 2025 Pittsburgh Dinner | Acton Institute Orthodox Christian Social Thought: The Kingdom of God and the Common Good | Acton Institute 2025 Portland Dinner | Acton Institute Acton’s 35th Annual Dinner | Acton Institute Acton Institute Fifth Annual Academic Conference: Character, Commerce, and Human Flourishing Virtues, Not Values: Reclaiming the Human Core of Business | Acton Institute Rethinking Charity: Local Agency, Commercial Society, and the Human Person | Acton Institute Annual Calihan Lecture and Novak Award Presentation | Dr. Kirstin Anderson Birkhaug | Acton Institute Artificial Intelligence, Human Dignity, and the Free Society | Acton Inst

On this episode, Acton’s director of program and education, Dan Churchwell, interviews Dr. Jeffery Degner following his participation in an Acton Lecture Series panel discussion. They talk about themes such as the importance of family as an ideal for community health, the overlooked importance of fatherhood, and how economic factors such as inflation shape the incentive families face. Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Acton University Acton On-Demand Is There a Future for the Family? A Panel Discussion | Acton Lecture Serie Dr. Jeffery Degner If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@acton.org.

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Noah Gould, Alumni and Student Programs manager at the Acton Institute. They discuss two recent pieces Noah has written on corporate social responsibility (CSR). First off, what is it? Why do some oppose CSR initiatives? Is there a relationship between CSR and fraud? How are religious people particularly attracted to CSR? What should be the role of business in society, and does that role change depending on whether a business is privately or publicly held? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here The ‘Religious’ Corporate Social Responsibility Trap | Noah Gould A Friedman Doctrine: The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman Corporate Politics: Fads Can’t Replace Meaning or Community | Noah Gould The Nature of the Firm | R.H. Coase If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at podcast@ac

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Bradley J. Birzer, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College, about Russell Kirk and the American conservative movement. What role did Kirk play in the conservative intellectual ferment of the early 1950s? How does the biographical framing of the Conservative Mind point to its humanistic nature? Who entered and left The Conservative Mind during its revisions? How did Kirk’s relationships and conflicts shape the evolution of his thought? Why did Kirk get involved with the Goldwater campaign and how did it affect his reputation? What is the political legacy of the conservative intellectual movement? Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Acton University Russell Kirk: American Conservative | Bradley J. Birzer Ten Conservative Principles | Russell Kirk Individualism True And False | F.A. Hayek Seven Conservative Minds| Bradley J. Birzer The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot | Russell Kirk The New Scie

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Barrows, chief operating officer at the Acton Institute, about the relationship between Catholic Social Teaching and economics. In what sense is economics a science? How does Catholic Social Teaching relate to social science? How well has the Catholic Church integrated the insights of economics into its social teaching? What can economists learn from Catholic Social Teaching? How does the Acton Institute apply the best insights of economists vis-à-vis Catholic Social Teaching in service of the common good?  Subscribe to our podcasts Watch this podcast here Acton On-Demand Rerum Novarum | Pope Leo XIII  Pope Francis’ Plea for Migrants and Acton’s Core Principles | Stephen Barrows Labor Economics and the Development of Papal Social Encyclicals | Stephen Barrows CORE: Economic Way of Thinking | Anne Rathbone Bradley The Call of the Entrepreneur—Full Movie | Ed O’Brien | Peter Boettke | George Gilder The Humane Economist: A Wilhelm Röpke Reader | Dan Hugger

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 podcast here Acton On-Demand Nathan Mech on Interfaith Dialogue at the Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage DEBATE: Carl Trueman & Vincent Phillip Muñoz | Christianity and Liberalism Is There a Future for the Family? | Acton Institute Acton Experience Brasil | Acton Institute 2025 Pittsburgh Dinner | Acton Institute 2025 Portland Dinner | Acton Institute Acton's 35th Annual Dinner | Acton Institute Acton Institute Fifth Annual Academic Conference: Character, Commerce, and Human Flourishing | Acton Institute Virtues, Not Values: Reclaiming the Human Core of Business | Acton Institute Rethinking Charity: Local Agency, Commercial Society, and the Human Person | Acton Institute If you’d like to support this podcast, you can help by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. If you have questions or suggestions for a future episode, you can email us at po