Journalist Roxana Saberi Freed
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The Iranian-American journalist jailed in Iran was freed today after a court in Tehran suspended her prison term. Saberi had been convicted of spying for the US in Iran, she denied the charges. Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, is our guest.
‘Waiting for Armageddon’ Film
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A documentary called “Waiting for Armageddon” depicts the thinking of American evangelical Christians who see the end of days approaching in the Middle East. We speak with filmmaker, Franco Sacchi, about what they say their beliefs are, and we ask did those beliefs shape US policy?
Can Healthcare Costs Be Cut?
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President Obama meets today with representatives from the hospital industry, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors. These industry leaders say they’ll reduce spending over the next 10 years — which would allow for more people to become insured. How will they cut costs and will Congress buy it? Gail Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor joins us.
No Escaping Commercials
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TIVO pioneered the digital video recorder (DVR), which allows people to easily record shows and skip over commercials during playback. But now TIVO is helping to pioneer a way to force people to watch commercials – by wedging them into the fast-forward mode of the DVR. Here & Now Media Analyst John Carroll tells us this is one of many ways that television executives are looking to raise ad dollars.
The Quirky Quay Brothers
The Quay Brothers accepting the 2009 Coolidge Award, honoring film artists whose work advances the spirit of original and challenging cinema. (David Fox)
For 30 years, brothers Timothy and Stephen Quay have been producing weird, creepy, yet beautifully animated films which feature mysterious worlds that are populated by dolls, puppets and debris. Here and Now’s Andrea Shea reports on a new exhibition that pulls back the curtain on the Quay Brothers intricate production process.
Music from the show
- The Lickets, “Serial East”
- Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
- Tito Puente, “Royal T”
- Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
- Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place”
- The Ventures, “Green Onions”
- Steve Earle, “Transcendental Blues”
“Waiting for Aemageddon”
Mr. Sacchi equated Iraq with the “Babylon” of Revelation. In Revelation “Babylon” is code for the Rome of the first century. You may recall that the Roman Empire of that time was extremely harsh on Christians, due to Rome’s belief that Christians were a challenge to Rome’s power. (Rome tolerated Jews.)
If one seeks a modern day Babylon one should look for an empire that exercises world-wide hegemony and that is also harsh in its treatment of Christians, and perhaps, Jews.
Posted by Richard Cole, on May 11th, 2009 at 12:37 pmI just listened to your report on the new documentary “Waiting for Armageddon”. I have one simple point that I would love to have you clarify to your listeners. You kept referring to the people in this documentary as “evangelicals” – yet this is misleading. While it is true that some evangelicals believe what these people believe, it is not true that this is an exclusively evangelical position. This position is actually what is called a “dispensational” position. I say this because, as an evangelical, I reject the theology that those in this documentary hold to. I can reject it because evangelicalism does not require me to make a stand one way or another. Therefore, what I ask of you is to call these people dispensationalists rather than evangelicals.
To illustrate my point. Let’s say you met a democrat who believes that diet cola will cause cancer. Does this mean that this is the position of all democrats? What if I gatherred 100 democrats who believe this- would this mean that this is the position of all democarats? In fact, the position of the democratic party has nothing to do with the individual drink choices of its members. So too, within evangelicalism the individual positions on Israel, how to understand the book of Revelation and one’s view of the end of the world all differ. Evangelicalism deals more with one’s understanding of God, salvation and the truthfulness of Scripture. Within Evangelicalism there are many different positions on Israel and the end of the world.
Therefore, I ask you to make this point for your listeners to understand.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
Posted by Steve Leston, on May 11th, 2009 at 1:03 pmDr. Steve Leston
DeKalb, Illinois
re: “Armageddon” story
The term “evangelical” is largely misunderstood as religious zealots who are politically and socially conservative. The word’s roots instead refer to “the word.” Evangelicals, hence, are Christians who emphasize Bible literacy. Literacy doesn’t imply that every word or phrase is applied literally. Please know that many American evangelicals do not share the perspectives expressed in this radio segment.
Also of interest: in his second letter to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul the apostle addressed church members who, like some in your story, had sold their possessions and quit work in hopes that Christ might return to earth any day. Without criticizing trust in God’s promises, Paul instructed them to “lead quiet lives” and return to productive activity.
Posted by C Merz, on May 11th, 2009 at 1:42 pm