"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton

Acton University 2008 Audio

Update - Tuesday, 5:00 PM: The full menu of lecture recordings is now available. We’ll likely post some video of the evening speakers as well sometime this week. Enjoy!

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It’s hard to believe, but AU 2008 has come to a close. From a staff perspective, it’s a strange feeling after a week of nonstop running (and in my case, sweating) to realize that, by golly, I don’t have any lectures to record tomorrow!

A hearty thanks goes out to all of this year’s participants from around the world, as does a fond farewell. A big part of what makes AU great is the quality of the people who come to Grand Rapids for a week in order to engage the big ideas that are presented in the lectures below. We hope to see many of you back in 2009.

And I’d be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the amazing work of Kara Eagle and her army of staff and interns, without whom the impossible task of planning, organizing, and actually putting on AU would remain impossible.

Tuesday, June 10

• Thoughts on Human Dignity - Rev. Robert A. Sirico

Wednesday, June 11

• Economic Thought Before the Enlightenment - Dr. Stephen Grabill
• Traditionalist Economics: A Critique - Jeffrey Tucker
• Wealth and Poverty in Scripture - Dr. Jonathan Witt
• Enemies of the Inner City - Ismael Hernandez
• The Limits of Markets: Law and Moral Culture - Fr. Peter Laird
• Civil Rights and Social Cooperation - Rev. Robert A. Sirico
• Tensions in 18th Century Social Thought - Michael Miller
• The Economic Way of Thinking - Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
• Christianity and the Idea of Limited Government - Michael Miller
• Myths About the Market - Dr. Jay Richards
• Why Keynesianism Failed - Dr. Victor Claar
• 19th Century Christian Political Thought - Dr. Carlos Hoevel

Thursday, June 12

• A Theology of Stewardship - Dr. Stephen Grabill
• The Catholic Social Encyclical Tradition - Kishore Jayabalan
• Market Economics and the Family - Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
• Economics and Human Action - Dr. Carlos Hoevel
• A Biblical Approach to the Environment - Dr. Jay Richards
• Islam, Markets, and the Free Society - Mustafa Akyol
• Beyond Contracts: Marriage and Sustainable Markets - Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
• The Social Teaching of John Paul II - Fr. Roger Landry
• The Nature and Function of Money - Jeffrey Tucker
• A Theology of Market Capitalism - Lord Brian Griffiths

Friday, June 13

• The Ethics of Capital and Interest - Jeffrey Tucker
• Europe: The Future of the Social Market - Christof Zellenberg
• Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities - Dr. Carlos Hoevel
• Liberation Theology - Rev. Robert A. Sirico
• Christianity, International Law, International Institutions - Kishore Jayabalan
• The Bad News About the Prosperity Gospel - Rev. John Nunes
• Poverty in the Developing World - Michael Miller
• Business as a Moral Enterprise - John Beckett
• Divorce: Social and Economic Consequences - Fr. Paul Hartmann
• Healthcare and Markets - Grace Marie Turner
• Piety and Technique - Rev. Robert A. Sirico

Anthony Bradley on Headline News

Acton Research Fellow Anthony Bradley was featured on The Glenn Beck Program on Headline News Network to discuss black liberation theology with host Glenn Beck on Wednesday night. If you didn’t catch his appearance, you can watch it right here on the PowerBlog. And for more on the topic with Anthony Bradley and Rev. Robert A. Sirico, check out the most recent edition of Radio Free Acton - Obama and Religion, Part I.

Acton Media Roundup: Jay Richards on Studio B with Shepard Smith

Dr. Jay Richards made an appearance on Studio B with Shepard Smith on the Fox News Channel this afternoon. If you didn’t catch it live, we have the clip right here, courtesy of Fox News:

Radio Free Acton hits the Web!

The Acton Institute is proud to unveil the first edition of our brand new audio podcast, Radio Free Acton! We’re excited about the possibilities of taking our podcast to the next level, and we hope that if you haven’t already subscribed to our feed, that you’ll do so now. Just add this link to whatever podcasting program you use, or subscribe through iTunes right here.

For our first show, I’m joined by Jordan Ballor, Ray Nothstine, and John Couretas to discuss the upcoming Republican primary in Michigan. This particular race has provided a rich vein of material for those interested in the intersection of religion, economics, and politics, and we dig into all of those issues as they relate to candidates Romney and Huckabee especially. Additionally, we hear from Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse on how Marxist thinking about the traditional family still influences the modern left.

To download the podcast, click here (13.6 mb mp3 file).

Acton Media Roundup

A few radio appearances to let you know about today:

• Michael Miller made an appearance today on the Accent Radio Network to discuss the role of faith in the public square, especially in light of the ongoing presidential primary process. You can listen to the audio from The Right Balance with Greg Allen by clicking here (2.2 mb mp3 file).
• On Monday, Dr. Jay Richards joined host Jim Brown on WRNO in New Orleans, Louisiana to discuss the impact of religion on Mike Huckabee’s win in the Iowa Republican Caucus last week. If you haven’t had a chance to check out that audio yet, you can do so by clicking here (1.4 mb mp3 file).

The Call of the Entrepreneur on Fox Business Network

Rev. Robert A. Sirico joined host David Asman tonight on America’s Nightly Scoreboard on Fox Business Network to discuss The Call of the Entrepreneur. If you missed the appearance, you can catch the video below:

Acton Media Roundup: Jay Richards on Fox and Friends

Acton Research Fellow and Director of Acton Media Jay Richards joined the Fox and Friends crew on Fox News Channel this morning to kick off this presidential election year with some analysis of the role of religion in the Republican presidential primary. For those of you who missed it, here’s the clip:

Is Benedict XVI “The Green Pope”?

Kishore Jayabalan, the Director of Acton’s Rome office, took to the airwaves this morning on Relevant Radio’s Morning Air program to discuss recent media speculation about Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on the moral responsibility of Catholics to care for creation. Does this make Benedict “green”? Or is this simply a continuation of long-standing Vatican policy dating to the pontificate of John Paul II and prior?

Kishore answers those questions and sheds light on how the Holy See approaches environmental issues and treaties in general during his conversation with host Sean Herriott. You can listen to the interview by clicking here (3.5 mb mp3 file).