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    Overview

    On this week’s Acton Line podcast we hear about a church-based ministry that engages with the homeless and poor “relationally, responsibly, and compassionately.” James Whitford, executive director of Watered Gardens Gospel Rescue Mission in Joplin, Missouri, joins Acton’s Andrew Vanderput in a thought provoking conversation on private charity and the intensely personal nature of the organization’s outreach. In the second segment, Aquinas College economist David Hebert and Acton’s Tyler Groenendal dig into the public’s deep dissatisfaction with America’s political institutions – and Americans’ deep ignorance of how these same organizations work. A 2017 study showed, for example, that more than a third of those surveyed (37 percent) can’t name any of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.


    Check out these additional resources on this week’s podcast topics:

    Learn more about Watered Gardens

    Learn more about Acton Institute’s PovertyCure initiative

    Read “Americans Are Poorly Informed About Basic Constitutional Provisions,” from Annenberg Public Policy Center

    Gallup Poll: Congressional Approval Ratings

    Do you have questions for the Acton Line team that you would like answered in future podcast segments? We want to hear from you! Leave a message at 888-705-4180 or email [email protected]. Lastly, if you like what you heard on today’s episode, don’t forget to give us a rating on iTunes.