Ep. 657: Medication Abortions, Christianity Today, Narnia, Museum of the Bible

Here are some resources mentioned in today’s podcast episode:

• You can watch Roland Warren give his melancholy assessment of the current state of abortion in America here.

• The turmoil at Christianity Today continues. Now, the mess has made its way into the New York Times. Reporter Ruth Graham does not break any news here. Most of what she covers Warren wrote about two weeks ago here.

• Columnist and provocateur Rod Dreher is always interesting and often helpful. In his latest column he laments that people are reading less today than in the past. But the data are not clear on this point. According to Pew surveys, Americans are reading less literature for pleasure than they did 30 years ago, and some surveys show that frequent readers are reading fewer books. However, the percentage of adults who read at least one book in any format has been comparatively stable.

• Demographics, technology, and shifting attitudes about a college degree have created a crisis. That is why I was taken by a recent PBS report. The report focused on the cost of these college closures on the small towns they call home. As each school shutters, students, faculty, and the surrounding community struggle to find a way forward. Paul Solman reports on one such school, Hampshire College, and the effects of its demise. It is part of a PBS higher education series, Rethinking College, and produced in collaboration with the Hechinger Report.

• The first Narnia movie has a budget of $300 million, so the stakes are high. Test screenings went poorly, and Netflix executives are demanding re-shoots. On October 14, Netflix laid off roughly 1,000 employees, including film executive Doug Belgrad. Chief content officer Bela Bajaria’s departure was announced later that week, and film chief Dan Lin’s departure followed on October 19. Netflix has said it wants to improve its programming and execution. But industry trade Variety, on Oct. 20, published, “Why Netflix Fired Dan Lin (and the Truth About His Tension With Greta Gerwig Over ‘Narnia’).” It discusses tensions surrounding the film alongside broader questions about Netflix’s film strategy.

• If you are just discovering our podcast, welcome aboard. We now have more than 650 episodes for you to binge on. This week, we dropped a new interview with Carlos Campo, president of the Museum of the Bible. We recommend this conversation, which you can find here.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh.

Until next time, may God bless you.

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