Acton Line
Dedicated to the promotion of a free and virtuous society, Acton Line brings together writers, economists, religious leaders, and more to bridge the gap between good intentions and sound economics.
Episodes
July 2, 2025 • 74 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Marcel van Hattem, a Brazilian politician, journalist, and political scientist who is an elected federal representative of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brasilia. They begin by discussing Brazil’s history, people, and culture. The conversation then turns to the ongoing constitutional crises and how the Supreme Court’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies have threatened the rule of law, ...
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June 25, 2025 • 50 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dan Churchwell, director of programs and education at the Acton Institute, and A. Trevor Sutton, senior pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, about their essay “The Gospel According to Silicon Valley,” which is the cover story for the Summer 2025 issue of Religion & Liberty.
Is there a Christian revival going on in Silicon Valley? How might technology shape and be shaped by a renewal of Chr...
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June 18, 2025 • 36 mins
On today’s episode, Dan Hugger speaks to Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of programs and education, about what people can expect at Acton University 2025. They share some favorite memories from past years, look forward to some special guests this year, and dive in to what makes this conference unique.
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June 16, 2025 • 11 mins
Today, Acton librarian Dan Hugger and podcast producer Mark Townsend announce that the podcast will be on video going forward. They reveal the new podcast studio, talk about how recent economic events forced them to move quickly, and discuss the joys of flailing-arm tube men.
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June 11, 2025 • 63 mins
On today episode, Acton’s director of programs and education, Dan Churchwell, speaks to Philip Bunn, assistant professor of political science at Covenant College. They discuss his Acton Lecture Series presentation “The Heart of a Machine: Technological Threats to Liberty in Adam Smith and Beyond.”
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Acton Lecture Series
Philip D. Bunn
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June 4, 2025 • 45 mins
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 about the role of business in society.
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Acton University
Acton On-Demand
James Otteson | Mendoza College of Business
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May 28, 2025 • 59 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Isaac Willour, journalist and analyst at Bowyer Research. They discuss his Religion and Liberty Online essay “America Poured Billions into DEI Initiatives. Who Benefited?” What ideology underlies diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives? How did DEI take root in corporate America, and why is it now in retreat? What roles do journalism, shareholder activism, and employee initiative play in...
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May 21, 2025 • 54 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Dylan Pahman, research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality at the Acton Institute. They discuss his recently published essay “An Ascetic Way of Life in a World of Abundance,” an adaptation of a chapter from Dylan’s forthcoming book, The Kingdom of God & the Common Good (Ancient Faith, 2025). How is Orthodox Social Thought shaped by liturgical theology? Why shoul...
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May 14, 2025 • 58 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with John Pinheiro, director of research at the Acton Institute, and Daniel Wagner, chair of the philosophy department and director of Catholic Studies at Aquinas College, about the election of Pope Leo XIV. Why is the election of an American pope so surprising? How is his choice of name significant? How will the legacy of Pope Leo XIII in philosophy and Catholic Social Teaching inform Leo XIV’s p...
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May 7, 2025 • 59 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with the Acton Institute’s John Pinheiro, director of research, and Michael Miller, director of the Center for Social Flourishing, about all things conclave.
Why are conclaves important? What should people make of the horse race coverage in the media? What sort of qualities does the Church need most in her next pope?
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What to Expect at the Conclave | Religion & Liberty...
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April 30, 2025 • 60 mins
On today’s episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton's director of programs and education, interviews Raymond Harris, author, architect, and a venture capitalist in God’s kingdom. They discuss his new book, “Enduring Wealth: Being Rich in This World and the Next,” where Raymond shares how he has seen God multiply human efforts when people faithfully steward all God has given them.
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Raymond Harris
Enduring Wealth: B...
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April 23, 2025 • 63 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with the Acton Institute’s Stephen Barrows, chief operating officer, and John Pinheiro, director of research, about the life and legacy of Pope Francis. This wide-ranging conversation covers Pope Francis’s perspective on the market, the environment, liturgy, synodality, business, ecumenicism, and the poor. Which parts of Pope Francis’s legacy will endure? What was his contribution to the life of t...
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April 16, 2025 • 36 mins
The 2024 PovertyCure Summit “Dignity, Agency & Charity” was a virtual event put on by Acton’s Center for Social Flourishing. Over two days, participants learned from scholars and practitioners involved in the global struggle against poverty—and against the “toxic charity” that hinders people’s ability to rise.
On today’s episode, we bring you the keynote presented by Dr. William Easterly entitled “Beyond Material Progress: Market...
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April 9, 2025 • 64 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Marvin Olasky, executive editor for News and Global at Christianity Today and the founder and chairman of Zenger House. They discuss many of the news stories that won the 2025 Zenger Prizes. What is the state of journalism today? How does honoring excellence in journalism encourage better journalism? What makes for a good story, ethically and technically? How can those who love reading great ...
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April 2, 2025 • 60 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Ryan Bourne, R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, and Alex Nowrasteh, VP for Economic and Social Policy Studies, both at the CATO Institute, about all things DOGE. What does efficiency mean in the context of government? What has DOGE been doing? Is its process as chaotic as it has been portrayed? What are some useful models for understanding DOGE? What will it do in...
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March 26, 2025 • 51 mins
In his latest book, “Broken Altars: Secularist Violence in Modern History,” Thomas Albert Howard presents three principal forms of modern secularism that have arisen since the Enlightenment: passive, combative, and eliminationist. Howard argues that the latter two have been especially violence-prone and says Westerners do not fully grasp this because they often mistake passive secularism for secularism as a whole. But a disconcerti...
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March 19, 2025 • 68 mins
On today’s episode, Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of programs and education, talks to James Hartley, professor of economics at Mount Holyoke College, ahead of James’ Acton Lecture Series event. They survey the discipline of economics and how James came to study it for over 30 years.
The lecture, entitled “Tariffs, Trade Wars, and the State of the Economy,” sifts through the noise of the often-bewildering claims and counterclai...
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March 12, 2025 • 62 mins
The 2024 PovertyCure Summit, “Dignity, Agency & Charity,” was a virtual event put on by Acton’s Center for Social Flourishing. Over two days, participants learned from scholars and practitioners involved in the global struggle against poverty—and against “toxic charity” that hinders people’s ability to rise.
On today’s episode, we bring you a presentation from Dr. Seth Kaplan, author of the book ‘Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing Am...
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March 5, 2025 • 45 mins
On today’s episode, we bring you a conversation from Acton University between Acton’s director of programming, Dan Churchwell, and Scott Rae, professor of philosophy and Christian ethics at Biola University. They discuss medical and business ethics, death, and the Resurrection.
Acton University is Acton’s flagship conference, focused on building the foundations of human freedom and exploring the intersection of faith and free mark...
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February 26, 2025 • 59 mins
In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Stephen Smith, dean of the humanities, Temple Family Chair in English Literature, and professor of English at Hillsdale College, about St. Thomas More, William Shakespeare, and Christian humanism. What is the Christian humanist tradition? How does St. Thomas More exemplify that tradition? How was William Shakespeare inspired by More’s life, scholarship, and sensibility? How can we revive the ...
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