If you think it is respectable to consider babies, whether born or unborn, to be an inferior stage of human life, you can easily come to think that they have few rights that fully developed persons are bound to respect.

How did our society become so accepting of a culture of death - from Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Terri Schiavo, and Planned Parenthood?

Apple and art house film company A24 are in early development on a film about convicted crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried with a script written by Lena Dunham, Variety reported. The project will be based on the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon that many critics found overly deferential to Bankman-Fried. 

The book describes the dizzying rise and equally vertiginous fall of Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange and Alameda hedge fund. However, it paints the FTX founder as a benevolent prodigy and glosses over the fact that he embezzled billions of dollars from customers and spent it on things like celebrity endorsements, political donations and high-end real-estate purchases.  

FTX was worth billions at its peak, but the exchange eventually collapsed and Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Most FTX customers will get their original investments back, plus interest, but that's based on a bitcoin price of around $17,000 — and the current price is nearly five times that.

Basing the film on Lewis's fawning hagiography isn't a promising start. Hopefully, Dunham or other writers will also draw on far better books (like Numbers Go Up by Zeke Faux) that show the dark, scammy side of crypto promoters like Bankman-Fried and the entire industry in general.

Apple Original Films and A24 have announced other collaborations recently, including the Spike Lee and Denzel Washington film High and Low. Other scripted FTX projects are also in the works, including a limited Amazon Prime series from the Russo brothers based on the 2022 FTX collapse. 

Today Dr. Rossi reflects on a sermon given by a student priest at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. The topic was the action taken to get the paralytic in front of Jesus.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the inevitability of surprises occurring in our lives and how our mindset directs the way in which we receive them.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the quote, "Fear is the opposite of love."

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on St. Paul's words in Philippians, chapter 4.

The recent vote in North Carolina outlawing same-sex marriage prompted this commentary from Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick about Calvinism and the politics of the damned.

Fr. Lawrence Farley, priest at Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Langley, B.C., and the host of Coffee Cup Commentaries, thoroughly dismantles the recent Newsweek article by Kurt Eichenwald titled "The Bible: So Misunderstood It's a Sin."

Fr. Philip LeMasters discusses the sexualized culture of Hollywood.

How does one attain spiritual wisdom? This week offers reflections grounded in the sayings of St Isaac of Syria, on wisdom approached through humility, prayer in the scriptures, and love of neighbor.

Shortly after the death of his dear wife, Lynette, we get a very touching first-hand account of the ordeal they endured and a glimpse at the ongoing work in Albania. For more information, see Orthodox Christian Mission Center and prayforlynette.org.

We talk with Alexander Lingas about this new beautiful 2-CD production from Cappella Romana. Also available from Liturgica.

On a new Ancient Faith Presents, Bobby Maddex interviews Andy Lekos, the Mission Teams Director of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), about some exciting new missions opportunities. Will you answer the call?

John talks with composer Nicholas Reeves about a coming concert in New York City to honor the work of composers who were banned or controversial due to their connection with or influence from the Orthodox Church under Communist oppression. The concert and lectures are entitled "Devotion: The Triumph of Orthodox Music Over Oppression." More information about tickets for this May 8 event is available HERE. Or you can call 646-450-4077.

John Maddex talks with Daria Petrykowski of the Department of Christian Education at the Orthodox Church in America about an important parish ministries conference the end of June. The dates are June 27-30 and speakers include Metropolitan Jonah, Fr. John Behr, David Drillock, Bishop Melchizedek and many others. For more information, click HERE.

Ancient Faith Radio presents an interview with Georgia Williams, one of the founders and an administrator of the Russian Orphan Opportunity Fund (ROOF), about this important organization's needs and ministry opportunities.

On this special episode of “Ancient Faith Presents,” Bishop John Abdalah, an auxiliary bishop for the Antiochian Diocese of Worcester and New England, offers the first keynote address at a conference at Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology titled “Pastoral Challenges in Marriage: O God, Replenish Their Life with All Good Things.”

Bobby Maddex interviews Mark Ohanian, the Director of Programs at International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), about IOCC's relief efforts in the Philippines following Super Typhoon Haiyan. Click here to find out how you can help.

From a Behind the Scenes blog, Marketing Director Melinda Johnson reflects on why someone should consider supporting AFR here in December.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Samuel Seamans, the founder of the Orthodox Christian Anxiety and Depression Support Group.

Have you downloaded the new AFR app yet? If so, this little tutorial will help you navigate. If not, get it now in either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store for Android.

Millions are without power after Hurricane Milton tears across Florida. / The Tampa Bay Times

The hurricane also tore open the Tampa Bay Rays' roof and felled a crane. / The Weather Channel, X

Photographs of Los Angeles's 400-mile network of aqueducts and hydropower plants. / Science History Institute

New Mexico works to preserve its network of ancient gravity-fed irrigation ditches. / Undark Magazine

A theory tries to explain why more Latinos are supporting Donald Trump—basically, because they're a diverse group of people with diverse interests. / The New Yorker

A round-up of under-discussed political races. / Wake Up to Politics

A few things learned from Melania Trump's new memoir. / The Cut

Fashion experts analyze outfits worn by the presidential and vice presidential candidates. / GQ

Unrelated: An analysis of the top fanfic pairings—"who gets shipped and why?" / The Pudding

Abu Dhabi overtakes Oslo to become the world's richest city in terms of assets managed by sovereign wealth funds. / Semafor

Elon Musk has long promised a fully autonomous vehicle, but don't expect him to follow through this week. / The Verge

Caitlin Dewey: Silicon Valley has—alarmingly, and increasingly—never looked more macho. / Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends

Wimbledon will replace line judges with electronic line calling next year, ending a 147-year tradition. / sky news

Rafael Nadal plans to retire next month at age 38. / Tennis & Beyond

South Korea's Han Kang receives this year's Nobel Prize in Literature "for her intense poetic prose." / The Literary Saloon

A profile of Kang from 2023: "That will be a problem when I die—I won't be able to finish all my ideas." / The Independent

Selections from Tara Booth's comics that were made to "cope with life" or "just lighten the mood." / It's Nice That

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North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile, perhaps looking for attention prior to the US presidential election. / USA Today

The Economist magazine endorses Kamala Harris, saying "being independent and being opinionated" aren't in conflict with each other. / Semafor

Election officials in battleground states are trying—and mostly failing—to fact-check Elon Musk in real time. / CNN

An argument that social scientists don't seem to know how to incorporate the nonlinearity of chaos. / Aeon

Unrelated: Dodgers fans set a Metro bus on fire after their team wins the World Series. / KTLA

Facebook is auto-generating militia group pages. / WIRED

Users report still being able to use Microsoft's controversial AI-powered gender classifier. / 404 Media

Schools are banning Crocs because the shoes are said to be a distraction, and dangerous. / Fortune

Related: How the font Comic Sans became the Crocs of typefaces. / FastCompany

An eating tour of eastern France's choucroute garnie, pretzels, and pork knuckles. / The Financial Times [+]

Diwali and Halloween overlap this year, producing "Diwalloween." / The Washington Post [+]

An annual favorite, a round-up of "mundane" Halloween costumes from Japan. / Spoon & Tamago

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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick journeys into the hollers of central Appalachia and encounters one of the least-known forms of American Protestant religion, exploring their faith, their music and one of their churches, through the eyes of an Orthodox priest raised in that tradition.

Fr. Pat explains that what God's Son did for the crippled woman is what He came to do for all mankind—to raise us up and straighten out our twisted lives.

The Christian must guard against anything antithetical to the Holy Spirit, whom, in 2 Corinthians 1, Paul calls the downpayment and guarantee of salvation. Fr. Pat considers three such things which should be of special concern given the world in which we live.

When we are baptized, we are made a child of God, a member of the body of Christ, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

On Palm Sunday, at the beginning of this saddest of weeks, St. Paul exhorts us, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice."

Fr. Pat shows us how the Roman centurion who comes to Jesus for healing for his servant can be a model to us of how to approach Jesus. The text is Matthew 8:5-13.

Many of us seek wealth, or stuff, or other temporary pleasures. Yet God wants us to seek something more. Christ chose the Cross. What do you choose?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 If your parish suddenly disappeared, would anyone notice? Are we living out the Gospel in our neighborhoods and communities? Because we believe the same things that the first Christians taught. But do we act like them? Last week, we talked about the importance of prayer. But we can't forget almsgiving in our spiritual practice. We've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you work through how you can better love your neighbor. https://mailchi.mp/goarch/be_be_bee_148 Questions you might be struggling with, that we'll touch on in the video: How do we act like Christians? How do I love my neighbor? How to act like a Christian? What is unchristian like behavior? What are Bible rules to live by? What is social justice in Christianity? What does the Bible say about social justice? What is social justice really mean? Social justice and the Gospel? Why do young adults leave the Church? Why do people quit going to Church?

If we are faithful, does God reward us? Does He promise wealth and blessings? Or is true happiness so much more... Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, joins Steve at the start of Holy Week.

Dr Jeannie Constantinou, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Theology, and Religious Studies, University of San Diego and AFR podcaster (Search The Scriptures), speaks with Kevin about all things biblical, and how the Orthodox Tradition relates to and interprets the Holy Scriptures.

Guests: Father John Whiteford (ROCOR) and David J. Dunn, PhD, author of the Huffington Post article, “Gay marriage: An Eastern Orthodox Perspective.”

Rather than zapping us, God choses to fix us.

Conversion copywriters follow a simple 3-step process to get the ‘yes’ in email campaigns: First, they dive deep into understanding their audience, figuring out exactly what makes them tick. Then, they craft emails that are not just engaging but hit right at the heart of the reader's needs and desires. Every word is fine-tuned for clarity and impact. Finally, they test and tweak, ensuring the message not only resonates but also drives real action.

The post How To Write Emails: The Conversion Copywriter’s Approach appeared first on Coaching and training to scale your copywriting business, plus programs for new copywriters, startups, and marketers.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by PJ Taei, Founder and CEO of Uscreen, an all-in-one video monetization platform for content creators that helps them build their brands and grow their businesses. The creator economy has changed a lot since PJ first founded Uscreen in 2015. And in that time PJ has managed to grow Uscreen […]

Tagging has been all over the place recently and apparently Google couldn't resist. Now you can tag sites in your search history for later retrieval.