Acton Lecture Series

Rooted in the tradition of the Orthodox Church and its teaching on the relationship between God, humanity, and all creation, Fr. Michael Butler and Prof. Andrew Morriss offer a new contribution to Orthodox environmental theology. Too often policy recommendations from theologians and church authorities have taken the form of pontifications, obscuring many important economic and public policy realities. The authors establish a framework for responsible engagement with environmental issues undergirded not only by church teaching but also by sound economic analysis.   Fr. Butler and Prof. Morriss take the discussion of Orthodox environmental ethics from abstract principles to thoughtful interaction with the concrete, always sensitive to the inviolability of human dignity, the plight of the poor, and our common pursuit of communion with God.   This presentation was delivered as part of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series.   Subscribe to our podcasts   The False Promise of Green Energy | Acton Institute    Fr. Michael Bu

The Honorable Janice Rogers Brown, retired judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, delivered an evening plenary address as part of Acton University 2018.   Subscribe to our podcasts   Apply now for Acton University 2022    Register for free — The Islamic Case for Liberty — Acton Institute    Janus v. AFSCME: Political freedom for public employees — Acton Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2022 Acton Lecture Series, featuring Matthew Tuininga, Ph.D., associate professor of Christian ethics and the history of Christianity at Calvin Theological Seminary, speaking on Abraham Kuyper's principles for Christian liberalism. Kuyper was a staunch critic of the secularist liberalism he identified as the legacy of the French Revolution, but in its place he advocated what might be described as Christian liberalism.    Subscribe to our podcasts   Apply now for Acton University 2022    Calvin Theological Seminary    About Matthew J. Tuininga    The Abraham Kuyper Collection – Acton Bookshop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Acton Vault, John O’Sullivan, president of the Danube Institute in Budapest, accepted the 2011 Faith and Freedom Award on behalf of Lady Margaret Thatcher during Acton’s 2011 Anniversary Dinner.    Subscribe to our podcasts Apply now for Acton University 2022    About John O'Sullivan    Danube Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Acton Vault, John D. Wilsey, associate professor of church history and philosophy at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, dissects Alexis de Tocqueville’s understanding of self-interest and how it helps preserve liberty within the bounds of democracy.    Subscribe to our podcasts   About John D. Wilsey    The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary   Alexis de Tocqueville, socialism, and the American Way | Acton Institute    Video: John Wilsey On How To Read de Tocqueville's 'Democracy In America'  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you an insightful conversation between Michael Matheson Miller, Acton Institute senior research fellow and producer of the documentary Poverty, Inc., and the late George Ayittey, Ghanaian economist, author, and president of the Free Africa Foundation.  The Acton Institute’s Poverty Cure series includes supplementary conversations with renowned scholars, businesspeople, and nonprofit leaders. This is a conversation that took place in 2020.  Ayittey died on January 28, 2022, at the age of 76. Subscribe to our podcasts Poverty Cure Summit — Acton Institute  HRF Mourns the Passing of Ghanaian Economist and Freedom Champion George Ayittey — Human Rights Foundation  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In October 2018, Brazilian professor Lucas Freire delivered the 18th annual Calihan Lecture here at the Acton Institute. Freire was the 2018 recipient of the Novak Award, a $15,000 grant that rewards those early in their academic career who can demonstrate the relationship between religion, economic freedom, and the free and virtuous society. Recipients of the Novak Award make a formal presentation at an annual public forum known as the Calihan Lecture. Freire’s lecture was part of an international two-day conference, “Crisis in the Public Square: A Response from the Kuyperian Tradition.”  Subscribe to our podcasts About Dr. Lucas G. Freire   About the Novak Award | Acton Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you a keynote address that was delivered as part of the 2017 Education and Freedom Conference, featuring Jeff Sandefer, co-founder of Acton Academy, a new and innovative K–12 school that offers a nontraditional approach to education—an alternative to standardized testing and rote memorization.    Sandefer opens his address by questioning the typical education model: “Common Core, standardized tests, control, regurgitation, [and] oversight—19th-century solutions in the 21st century. Perhaps this makes sense to some until you ask the question, ‘What if children really are far more capable than we ever imagined?’”   Subscribe to our podcasts   Acton Academy   Jeff Sandefer — Acton Academy Co-Founder   A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey — Acton Bookshop   Ian Rowe on “Agency”: Empowering all children to achieve success —  Acton Line Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s it like to be the son or daughter of a dictator? Not just any dictator, but a genocidal monster on the level of a Josef Stalin? What’s it like to bear a name synonymous with oppression, terror, and evil?   Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor of National Review, set out to answer that question in his book “Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the Sons and Daughters of Dictators.” He looks into the families of the worst of the worst: Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and so on.   Some of the kids are down-the-line loyalists. Some even succeeded their fathers as dictators themselves (as in North Korea and Syria). Some have doubts. A few defect. All have been rocked by prison, war, exile, and the like. These men and women lead all-too-interesting lives.   This is a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series.   Subscribe to our podcasts   About Jay Nordlinger    Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the Sons and Daughters of Dictators    When Dad Is the Devil | Natio

In this episode of Action Vault, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2013 Acton Lecture Series, featuring John Blundell speaking on the topic of “Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American History.” Blundell was director general and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He passed away on July 22, 2014, at the age of 61.    Subscribe to our podcasts   Acton Lecture Series    About John Blundell  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Action Vault, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2014 Acton Lecture Series, featuring F.H. Buckley, Foundation Professor at George Mason University’s Scalia School of Law, speaking on the unchecked presidential power we’re witnessing today in our government. Buckley explains that what we assume was the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of a separation of powers was not what the Founders had in mind. What they expected was a country in which Congress would dominate the government and in which the president would play a much smaller role.   Subscribe to our podcasts   Acton Lecture Series    About F.H. Buckley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you an interview that was conducted as part of our 2022 Business Matters online conference, featuring Mark Murray, former president of Meijer (one of America’s largest private companies), former president of Grand Valley State University, and former budget director for the State of Michigan.    Murray draws from his diverse leadership experience to speak on how each of us can achieve virtuous leadership. Acton’s director of communications, Eric Kohn, asks him about leadership lessons he’s learned in each of the three industries he’s worked in, current crises facing businesses, and the search for fulfillment.   Subscribe to our podcasts Virtuous Leadership vs. Narcissistic Leadership    Magnanimity and Humility Make for Good Entrepreneurs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do private property and religious liberty go hand in hand? Are they truly inseparable? The Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president emeritus and co-founder of the Acton Institute, defends private property as the solid ground of religious liberty in this contribution to the 2016 Acton Lecture Series.  Subscribe to our podcasts Acton Lecture Series  About Rev. Robert A. Sirico  Acton research on private property  Private property and public good The Church, property rights, and the environment In defense of private property  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With more than a million words of trenchant journalism under his byline and more citations in The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations than any writer then alive, P.J. O’Rourke had established himself as America’s premier political satirist. Both TIME and The Wall Street Journal labeled him “the funniest writer in America.”   In this episode, O'Rourke delivers remarks on the current state of American governance at the Acton Institute's 23rd Anniversary Dinner on October 24, 2013.    O’Rourke died at his home in Sharon, New Hampshire, on February 15, 2022, at the age of 74.  Subscribe to our podcasts   About P.J. O'Rourke    Why we need more O'Rourke Conservatives   Acton Line: PJ O'Rourke on capitalism; Peter Jackson's 'They Shall Not Grow Old' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2014 Acton Lecture Series featuring Jay Richards, Ph.D., senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and New York Times bestselling author, speaking on why a belief in God is necessary for libertarianism to flourish.  Subscribe to our podcasts Acton Lecture Series  About Jay Richards  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Gerald McDermott addresses the important issue of the state of public virtue and what might be done to restore it in his address at Acton's "Reclaiming the West: Public Spirit and Public Virtue" event in Washington D.C. on December 6, 2017. Subscribe to our podcasts About Dr. Gerald McDermott  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sam Gregg, director of research at the Acton Institute, delivered the opening plenary lecture of Acton University 2017. Gregg’s lecture focuses on the very real dangers faced by religious believers around the world (and especially in developing nations). He also touches on threats to religious freedom within western nations. These threats, ironically, often stem from modern ideological interpretations of “tolerance.”   Subscribe to our podcasts   About Samuel Gregg, D.Phil. (Oxon.)    Reason, faith, and the struggle for Western civilization Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Organizations commonly face roadblocks when trying to address poverty or engage effectively with people directly affected by it. When it comes to poverty alleviation, organizations tend to think that what is needed is the perfect strategy, a new idea, or a great program. What’s most important, however, are the people involved, the relationships built, and the process we use to get to the solution.   In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2022 Acton Lecture Series featuring Marlo Fox speaking on building solutions with the people directly affected by poverty, creating organization and community cultures that strengthen social capital across economic lines.   Subscribe to our podcasts   Thinktank-inc.org    About Marlo Fox    Acton Lecture Series  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often say what’s right and what’s wrong can be vague and not always easy to discern. The natural law tradition says that’s nonsense: Moral basics are known to every human being. If this is true, then we aren’t ignorant of the good, just self-deceived. So what happens when we tell ourselves that we don’t know what we really do know? In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2017 Acton Lecture Series, featuring Dr. J. Budziszewski speaking on natural law and the revenge of conscience.   Subscribe to our podcasts   About Dr. J. Budziszewski    Acton Lecture Series  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we bring you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 1994 Acton Lecture Series featuring Sister Connie Driscoll speaking on the welfare myth.  Sister Connie (1933–2005) was the co-founder of St. Martin de Porres House of Hope, now the Southside Center of Hope, in an impoverished neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. It’s a community for women and their children who are healing and recovering from substance abuse. Sister Connie believed in personal responsibility and refused any type of government aid. When women entered the community, Sister Connie took their welfare checks and taught them how to pay rent.  She described her practice in a 1997 Forbes interview: “They have to turn over 80 percent of their welfare check and 50 percent of their food stamps. I put the money and stamps into a safe-deposit box and return it when they’re ready to leave. We teach them to pay rent, utilities and food bills first, then prioritize what else they need. The word on the street is that ours is