Immigration and education anxieties, “torpedo” bats, Val Kilmer & one listener’s embarrassing story | Ep. 13

Join hosts Conner Jones and Micah Tomasella in this week’s episode of Culture Brief, where they discuss hot topics from a Christian perspective. This week, they talk about the complex issues surrounding the deportation of immigrants under the Trump administration and the dismantling of the US Department of Education. Additionally, they discuss the innovative “torpedo” bats used by the New York Yankees, Senator Cory Booker’s record-breaking Senate speech, the death of American icon Val Kilmer, and the latest developments in US-Iran tensions. Don’t miss the listener mailbag segment and a teaser for the upcoming Masters week. Engage with today’s top stories across politics, sports, pop culture, and technology, all while reflecting on how these issues intersect with faith and values.

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Topics

• (00:41): Senator Cory Booker’s record-breaking speech
• (02:27): Remembering Val Kilmer
• (03:13): Immigration controversies and deportations
• (19:10): Dismantling the Department of Education
• (26:47): Pros and cons of dismantling the US Department of Education
• (32:09): Shoutout to educators and Abbott Elementary
• (32:53): Listener mailbag: Fun stories and opinions
• (38:21): US-Iran tensions and nuclear deal
• (39:43): Trump’s tariffs and Liberation Day
• (41:10): Trump’s third term tease
• (42:06): TikTok deadline and March Madness
• (43:45): “Torpedo” bats in baseball
• (46:02): Masters Week and conclusion

Resources

• Mailbag: [email protected]
• DenisonForum.org/subscribe
• Culture Brief on Instagram
• Americans want Trump’s focus more on prices, not tariffs; most approve of deportation efforts — CBS News poll
• Foreign-born population highest since 1890 — shock new figures show how much Biden changed America
• Border czar Tom Homan says he will visit Rochester cops who were blasted by their own city for helping ICE
• US Undocumented Population Increased to 11.7 Million in July 2023: Provisional CMS Estimates Derived from CPS Data – The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS)
• Joe Rogan calls the possibility of non-criminals being deported with violent gang members ‘horrific’
• Exclusive: How the White House ignored a judge’s order to turn back deportation flights
• How the Trump administration is using tattoos to lock up immigrants in El Salvador | The Independent
• What to know about the wartime authority Trump invoked for mass deportations
• Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in ICE detention in Louisiana after first court hearing | CNN
• Should we support deportation?
• Who is Mahmoud Khalil and why is Trump trying to deport him?
• What to know about the wartime authority Trump invoked for mass deportations
• Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in ICE detention in Louisiana after first court hearing | CNN
• Damning nationwide test shows US kids’ reading levels plummeted to lowest level in 32-year history — and Republicans are blaming ‘woke’ education
• NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics
• A Half Century of Student Progress Nationwide – Education Next
• Trump signs executive order to dismantle US Department of Education | Trump administration | The Guardian
• The cases for and against dismantling the Department of Education
• How Dismantling the Department of Education Would Harm Students | NEA
• US Education Department closure imperils law school finances, deans say | Reuters
• Coalition Sues Trump Administration For Dismantling Department of Education, Hurting All Students
• Val Kilmer, Top Gun and Batman actor, dies at 65

About Micah Tomasella

Micah Tomasella is the Advancement Officer at Denison Ministries and co-hosts Denison Forum’s “Culture Brief” podcast. A graduate of Dallas Baptist University, Micah is married to Emily, and together they are the proud parents of two daughters. With an extensive background in nonprofit work, finance, and real estate, Micah also brings experience from his years in pastoral church ministry.

About Conner Jones

Conner Jones is the Director of Performance Marketing at Denison Ministries and Co-Hosts Denison Forum’s “Culture Brief” podcast. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. Conner passionately follows politics, sports, pop-culture, entertainment, and current events. He enjoys fishing, movie-going, and traveling the world with his wife and son.

About Denison Forum

Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

NOTE: This transcript was AI-generated and has not been fully edited. 

[00:00:00] Conner Jones: Hi, I’m Connor Jones. 

[00:00:04] Micah Tomasella: Hi, I’m Micah Tomasella.

[00:00:06] Conner Jones: and this is Culture Brief, a Denison Forum podcast where we navigate the constant stream of top stories and news, politics, sports, pop culture, and technology. And we’re doing it all from a Christian perspective. Micah, you wanna give us a rundown on what we’re gonna be talking about today?

[00:00:20] Micah Tomasella: Yes, Connor, thank you for asking. So we’re gonna talk about immigration controversies today, the dismantling of the Department of Education, US Iran. Tensions, for example, what’s a torpedo bat? And so much more we’re, we’re gonna hit it all. So let’s jump into the brief. 

[00:00:37] Conner Jones: The brief. Yeah. We’ve got a jam packed show.

So I honestly, right up top, let’s just, let’s just address two things that happened in the last, I’d say 24 to 48 hours here. Yeah. First and foremost, did you see that Senator Cory Booker, who is a Democrat out of New Jersey, that man has some endurance. Yeah. He, he broke the speech record on the floor of the Senate.

He stood up there and talked for 25 hours and four minutes on the Senate floor, which is a new record. He broke, I think it was like a 24 hours, was the record, 24 hours, like eight minutes, something like that was the record from 68 years ago. And he did all this. He was protesting Trump policies and he drew attention to what he was protesting.

So this might be something that the Democrats. Get invigorated about, this is something we’ve discussed. Who’s somebody that can help lead the way for them? Anyways. Yeah. Micah, how in the world did he stand up there for that long and talk? 

[00:01:30] Micah Tomasella: It, he told reporters that he hadn’t eaten since Friday, and then he stopped drinking water on Sunday.

So he said he intentionally dehydrated himself. So when he went up and started, he was dehydrated. So he had. You know, every, he had evacuated himself. He had stopped eating, he evacuated himself. He had stopped eating and drinking anything. And he was like, I’m gonna go up there. I wanna read the transcript of everything that he said, because, I mean, I’ve seen this, I’ve seen this stuff before where they’ll read children’s books or, you know, have casual conversation.

Just as long as they don’t yield the, the floor, it’s theirs. Yeah. So as long as you can stand up there. So he didn’t go to the bathroom, he didn’t eat anything and he didn’t drink anything for 25. Hours and four minutes. You know what man, that’s, that’s putting your money where your mouth is. Good for you.

[00:02:12] Conner Jones: is. This is also how I learned that he played tight end at Stanford and so I guess he’s just got some of that athletic, he’s an athlete build and then, yeah. Yeah. So anyways, good job Cory Booker, that, that’s impressive. And then second before we get into the full brief here is Micah. We lost an American icon.

Val Kilmer died on Tuesday. Of course known for Top Gun. Yeah. Playing Iceman Iceman movie Tombstone. He played Jim Morrison in the movie, the Doors. He was in Heat. Great movie. He played Batman in the nineties. He was really a big nineties star. Yeah. Late eighties, nineties star. He did some stuff here in there in the two thousands and 2000 tens.

But he also, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, I don’t know, a little over a decade ago. So he kind of dropped out of movies. Yeah. Yep. Then he made a return in Top Gun Maverick with that just awesome tribute to his character and to him. Yeah. In general, where he was able to speak through the computer and all of that.

So just sad to lose Val Kilmer and we’re praying for him, 

[00:03:07] Micah Tomasella: his family. RIP man. RIP to the American Legend Val Kilmer. I. Truly, 

[00:03:13] Conner Jones: Micah, let’s, let’s talk about something that’s been really hard. We got a listener who I’m not gonna name, but they did reach out and they asked for some clarity on a current situation happening in America, and that is regarding immigration and deportations.

They specifically cited that some of their coworkers are immigrants who are on visas and they are extremely worried. Thank you to this listener for reaching out and sharing that, but also asking about this. This is something Mike and I have been talking about. Discussing on the podcast. So this kind of just really got us to do a deep dive here.

And it is a complicated issue and so we need to discuss it and Americans need to decide, and Chrises need to decide where they land on these different things. So let’s just get some background here. In March of 2025, so last month. 

[00:03:51] Micah Tomasella: Yep. 

[00:03:51] Conner Jones: Illegal crossings at the US Mexico border, Micah dropped dramatically by 94% compared to last March in 2024.

There were only about 7,000 illegal crossings, whereas in March of 2024, there were 137,000. So wow, this decline is, I know, just an insane drop. This decline is attributed, of course, to stricter enforcement policies and increased consequences for unauthorized entry. From the Trump administration. So Trump came in and he made it very clear he’s gonna crack down on this.

Yeah. And they have started doing that. They campaigned heavily on that. I think a lot of people are totally fine with cracking down on crossings at the border, southern border. That is an 

[00:04:28] Micah Tomasella: issue. That’s an issue. And immigration. And then for the most part, deportation. When you kinda look at the statistics, which I’m sure you’re gonna talk about, that’s that’s a.

A popular point for Trump. He has a lot of points that aren’t so popular right now, but that’s, that’s a popular one. 

[00:04:42] Conner Jones: Yeah. This one is being seen as a win. A, a, a big success. Yeah. Like the, the, the people have known that they cannot come to the border and cross as easily anymore. Yeah. So that is something that a lot of Americans are seeing.

But Micah, do you know how many foreign born immigrants live in the us? Just a guess. Yeah. Okay. No worries. I’ll, yeah, I don’t, I’ll tell idea a lot. It’s a lot. It’s, I honestly, this, this shocked me. There are approximately 53 point a half million Wow. Foreign born immigrants on US soil living here.

That’s 15.8% of the total population, which is the highest percentage since 1890 when there’s a big. Just boon of immigrants coming in in the late 18 hundreds, early 19 hundreds. 

[00:05:21] Micah Tomasella: And these are people on visas that aren’t citizens yet 

[00:05:24] Conner Jones: on Visa? No, this is just anybody who was not born in America that is now here.

Oh, okay. Okay. So it could be Visas green card. They could be illegal immigrant. They could be an illegal immigrant. Anybody that’s just Got it. Okay. Yeah. You know what I’m, that makes sense to me then. Okay. Anybody born on a, in a different country soil. So yeah, some of these are illegal, some of them are legal, whatnot.

The guesstimate right now is that of the illegal immigrant population. Of that 53 and a half million, 12 million are e illegal. Mm, not here in an authorized sense. So obviously since Trump took office in January, we’ve seen a lot happen. Federal agents have made 113,000 arrests and carried out more than a hundred thousand deportations with a focus mostly on removing those with a criminal history, violent history, anything that is known there.

But. All of this has many immigrants and activists on edge, as we discussed with our listener, who wrote in with the constant worry, you know, that law enforcement may come knocking at any minute. The Trump administration’s been very public about this. They’ve posted videos and images of them doing raids in big cities.

Yeah. On restaurants and neighborhoods and all of that, which of course puts you on edge if you are an immigrant or mm-hmm. You’ve got a family member who you know is not here legally. This, this, of course, has brought just fears in regards to two things. One. That the government may accidentally or intentionally deport individuals who are actually here legally, right?

That could be a massive issue. And then two, splitting up families in these deportations, even when they are here illegally. So you know, you got, you got families, you got kids maybe who were born in the us. They’re American citizens. The parents are not. What does the government do there? Do they split the family?

Do they deport the parents, but keep the kids here? And there’s just a lot of worries there. Of course. And this all really came to a head in recent weeks when Trump’s administration deported alleged Venezuelan. MS 13, and I’m gonna butcher the way you say this, but Trenda UA gang members to El Salvador, they’ve sent them off to El Salvador.

[00:07:15] Micah Tomasella: Yeah, you, you absolutely butchered that. 

[00:07:16] Conner Jones: I don’t I, my Spanish is so bad, so I am so sorry. I can’t say some of these it’s okay. It’s okay. El Salvador, they sent them to this notorious mega prison in shackles. They had their head shaved. They filmed all of this in a high quality video. It felt like a, almost like a movie scene where they just handed them off to these El Salvadorian special forces.

Quite an intense thing that blew up because. It went viral. The videos, a lot of people saw this and honestly, a lot of people were like, okay, this is fine. You’re sending off these gang members who are known for violent actions in their home countries, but also in America even. So that’s not a big problem for a lot of people.

But where this came to head is the White House ignored a federal judge’s court ordered to turn around two plane loads of those alleged gang members. Yeah, as they were headed to El Salvador. And the White House did not have them turn around and they said that they did not defy a court order. It just came too late because the planes were already over international waters.

Obviously that’s just controversial in a lot of ways. He said she said 

[00:08:17] Micah Tomasella: type of thing. 

[00:08:18] Conner Jones: Yeah, and the judge was not happy. A lot of people on the left were not happy. A lot of people on the right were like this is what happens. This is, you gotta get the order out in time, but. There was a lot of behind the scenes drama to get those planes up as fast as they could so they could get them over international waters before a geo a judge could make that order.

And the, the judge, some are saying he overstepped his authority by issuing an order that blocked the president from deporting gang members under the get this Alien Enemies Act of 1789. So Trump used a law from the 17 hundreds to deport these individuals. So that’s just interesting. And that wartime law gives the executive extreme and immense power to deport non-citizens deemed to be a threat to the homeland without a Judi judicial hearing, which is very crucial to this, right?

That just hasn’t been used very much, and typically it’s just used in wartime. So that’s kind of why this is drawing an outcry from the left and from Congress. Members on the left who are warning Trump. And warning us that Trump is entering dangerous territory and constitutional precedent by not abiding to the judge’s order.

And by granting those, deported, by not granting those deported any sort of due process, what are your, what are your thoughts on all of that, Micah? 

[00:09:30] Micah Tomasella: I mean, it’s one of those things where it’s like we follow a constitution that’s that old, we follow a, a Bill of Rights and amendments that a lot of them date back to, you know, before 1789.

Yeah. But the context of it. It was so specific to like that war and that time and the war with the Brits and with other countries in Europe and stuff like that. As, as America was a newer country. And so I I, I mean this whole thing, I mean, what, what you’re about to get into is, I think the thing that bothers me the most is are we the.

Supporting people who are not here illegally. Yeah, I think that that’s, that’s what I kind of want to get into. 

[00:10:06] Conner Jones: Yeah. So let’s talk about that. So White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, in response to all these people on the left, did say, if the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murders, and gangsters back to the United States.

That’s a fight we are more than happy to take. So she’s recognizing that they’ve got the optic advantage here for sure. But reports have started to emerge of non-criminal individuals being deported alongside these violent offenders and being sent to these really brutal prisons, which is of course raised concerns about the due process.

Did they get a judicial hearing? The answer right now is. No, but did they deserve a judicial hearing? That’s the question. And some high profile cases that have gone pretty viral on social media have highlighted some of the potential errors in the deportation process, which of course have prompted calls for increased, you know, oversight and accountability.

Let’s hit on some of those. The first one is gonna be. Andrea Jose Hernandez Romero, who is a gay makeup artist from Venezuela, and he was seeking asylum in the US before he was taken into custody by ice. This is because he was saying he was prosecuted and persecuted in Venezuela over his sexuality and was allegedly to ported without any notice according to his lawyers.

They also say he was lumped into this group of gang members on these planes over some tattoos that he has with his lawyers saying that the mix up allegedly happened because he has a crown tattoo on each arm with the words mom and dad. Supposedly ICE agents and border patrol agents are told to look out for certain tattoos that identify members of gangs.

Yeah. And Latin America. So that could be an issue. I, I’m not privy to all the information there. Yeah, none of us really are, but this is where the case comes in. He was just picked up and deported. He did not get a hearing of any sort to prove any evidence. Another one, Kmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian National who resided in Maryland with his US citizen wife and their disabled child.

He came here in 2019 when a judge granted him protection from deportation due to credible fears of persecution if he did return to El Salvador. Despite that protection. He was detained by ICE on March 12th and deported to El Salvador to that same prison with that group of of alleged gang members.

According to the Trump administration, they do believe there was a potential administrative or clerical error. However, officials argue that the US courts lack jurisdiction to order his return as he’s no longer in US custody and not a US citizen. Yeah, he’s not a us. Yeah. So was he accidentally sent because of an administrative error?

The White House has kind of pushed back on that. They said that they do still stand firm on the belief that Garcia was affiliated with MS 13, which is a gang, and they, they have intelligence indicating he was involved with human trafficking. That’s what Caroline Levitt said at the press briefing in the White House yesterday.

So it depends on who you ask, right? In these situations, yeah, 

[00:12:55] Micah Tomasella: it’s tough. Is 

[00:12:56] Conner Jones: this person just an innocent person here under protection from the us? That got swept up in these big raids or whatnot and then deported to these horrible prisons? Or was there gang affiliations there? The thing is, we just don’t know because typically in a situation like this, this is where you say we’ll let the courts figure that out.

We’ll let a jury decide. We’ll, let a judge look at all the evidence and make a decision, but that’s just not happening here. And of course there was also the, the big one a couple weeks ago with Mohammad Khalil, the Columbia University graduate, who was in the US on. Mahmud. Klio. Mahmud. Sorry I said that wrong.

Yeah, my bad. Thank you for correcting that. But he was here on a green card. He is here on a green card. Was arrested last month for his role in pro-Palestinian protests last spring, and he could potentially be deported. He’s currently going through the court cases there, so he is potentially gonna get a hearing, but it still is freaking people out because why was he picked up for this?

Does he not have free speech rights? Green card holders can live permanently in the United States provided they do not commit any actions that would make you removable under immigration law, which is what the Trump administration is saying He did, he was. Loud and proud about pro-Palestine, pro Hamas.

Just feelings on the campus of Columbia last spring, and so we’ll just see what happens there with him. All of those cases though, Micah, they do cause worries and I honestly think those worries are warranted for a lot of immigrants in the us how should we respond? Mm, couple points here. 53% of the country so far approves of Trump’s handling of immigration.

More specifically, 58% approve of his administration’s program to deport immigrants illegally in the US according to a survey that came out from CBS this week. So yeah, his policies are popular, which I honestly don’t think is shocking. I think Americans were frustrated with the influx of evidence illegally.

No, that was a 

[00:14:46] Micah Tomasella: big, that was a big reason why he got elected. 

[00:14:48] Conner Jones: Yeah, and, and people don’t mind the hard line policies and the board security. It’s in the military down there and the executive orders that he’s published. And Americans generally like the idea of deporting violent criminals. But this survey, this is interesting, clarified that as a general principle, it’s not acceptable to most if some legal US residents were to be mistakenly detained by immigration authorities, of course, but half of the Republicans who responded said that it is acceptable to potentially.

Grab somebody on accident and deport them. That’s where this gets dicey, right? 

[00:15:21] Micah Tomasella: Yeah. Yeah. I mean it’s just, it’s just one of those things where, you know, what I think about is personally, Connor, I think you feel the same way I. You’re allowed to disagree if you’re a listener. I, I’m all about enforcing the rule of law, whatever that might be.

We have to enforce the rule of law in this country. I mean, we’ve talked about that before. Yeah. And a, as we are tightening up the border, which illegal immigration was a huge issue, and it was having rippling effects across this country. It wasn’t a good thing. Now it’s been shut down for the most part.

But then you’ve got people who are being deported and they’re being deported. For the most part, it does seem like they are violent criminals, but at the same time. Is it okay with you, with me, with all of us? Are we okay with as a, as a person only? I can answer this personally and you can answer this personally as you’re praying and processing through this.

Is it okay if you know you’re deporting a hundred people and I. 95 of them are violent criminals, and five of them are here legally. And maybe they’re being torn away from their families in their way of life and the life that they’ve created here. You know what I mean? I think about, on one hand, I’m okay with it, and on the other hand, I’m not because Jesus left the 99 for the one.

And so I do believe that we should be compassionate. And so it’s, it’s a, it’s a difficult one that I do not have a perfect personal answer to right now as I’m processing through this topic. 

[00:16:39] Conner Jones: I’m right there with you. I think one thing we gotta remember is there are laws set up to protect two things.

One, this country and security. Yes. And two, there are laws to protect immigrants. Yes. So we don’t want either to be broken. That’s right. And, and the government can easily break the laws set up to protect immigrants. And that’s what some are saying they’re doing. I don’t know that that’s fully the case. It depends on the evidence here, but.

That’s where it just gets dicey. Yeah. I do think cheering on the deportation of people who are just trying to make the best possible lives for themselves and their families, I don’t think that’s necessarily Christ-like, no, it’s not. Instead, we should see this as an opportunity to love and minister to immigrants and Americans.

You know, you can choose to see immigration as a blessing or curse, but Christians. Should choose to see it as a blessing for two reasons. One, we are just so blessed to live in a country that so much of the world longs to be in, right? Undocumented immigrants have greater motivation to risk imprisonment.

Or worse by coming here illegally to our country than they do to remain at home. They wanna be here that badly, that they would risk all of this many come here and work hard and contribute to making this country a better place. Not all of them. And that’s where, and some of them are criminals and some of them are bad.

That’s, that’s, that’s the issue. But we just need to keep that in mind. And then we’re also commissioned to make disciples of all nations, and the nations come here to us. I just told you, 53 million. People in America are from other countries born in other countries, keep that in mind. And will you pray today for our leaders to seek God’s wisdom as they address this very complex issue?

Will you pray for immigrants to hear and respond to the gospel? Will you pray for immigrants and their families that are anxious and fearful for what the future holds? And will you pray for law enforcement officers going into harm’s way to protect this country and its citizens from violent people? So many different angles here, but so many things to pray for and all we can do.

Is pray right when we’re not the ones in charge of the situation. But as you pray through this and make up your mind and discern what’s right and wrong here, just lean into God, lean into scripture and find what you believe is true according to the Lord. Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:42] Micah Tomasella: Great. Thank you for that, Connor. That’s a great breakdown and a great understanding, guys.

I know that that. That story took a little bit longer, but we’ve just been hearing a lot about people in our lives who have people in their lives who are worried about this and who are struggling with this, and who work with people like this and who have friends yeah. Who are on the edge of their seats right now.

And so we just wanted to speak to that, speak how we’re processing through it and what God’s word has to say about it. Connor, thank you so much for that. We really appreciate that breakdown. Let’s jump into another fun conversation. Let’s talk about the dismantling of the Department of Education, which is a, again, another one that’s just not an incredibly clear cut from my perspective.

So we had a listener write in. We actually had a lot of dms on Instagram, a lot of emails this past week. Thank you guys for stepping up and sending us some stuff. We’re working to incorporate that every single week. So this listener specifically wrote in, hi guys. I’ve really enjoyed your podcast and have, and so is my Christian millennial son.

That’s great. I would love to hear more about the dismantling of the Department of Education and the drawback of grants that were given during covid from Nancy. Thank you for that, Nancy. So let’s talk about the, the dismantling of the US Department of Education. Let’s, let’s do an entire overview of what’s happened and kind where we’re sitting right now.

In March, 2025, president Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the US Department of Education, and he was aiming to transfer educational authority back to states and local communities. This move aligns with a longstanding Republican view, favoring reduced federal involvement in education, and has sparked significant debate amongst policymakers, educators, and the public.

So Trump campaigned on this. And this isn’t a new idea. I mean, ever since the Department of Education was established in 1979, this has been an argument of what places the federal government play in local schools, local public schools that already have heavy city, county, and state involvement. So what part is it do they have to play?

So here’s the background of the department. In 1979, the Department of Education was created to centralize and oversee federal education programs, manage student loans. So again, I. They were created to oversee federal education programs, manage student loans, and enforce civil rights laws in education settings.

So its mission has been to promote student achievement and ensure equal access to education across the nation. That’s just what you find when you go to their website and stuff like that. That’s, that’s been their goal. So let’s talk about the the specific executive order that came down from Trump. So in early 25, following his reelection, Trump began drafting plans to dissolve the department.

The executive order was signed in March last month and officially commenced the process. Key actions included these, these three things, shifting federal education programs back to state control. Moving student loan management to the small business administration and transferring civil rights oversight to the Department of Justice.

So all, just to clarify, all of the functions are being placed somewhere else? Mm-hmm. Okay. You can argue it’s not being placed in the right place, but it’s being placed somewhere else. And again, before 1979, there was no Department of Education. So there was a time where all of these things were being overseen by the state governments or by other departments within the federal government.

So here’s the legal and political reactions to this. I know everybody has, has heard an opinion on this so far. The move prompted immediate legal challenges from civil rights groups, state officials arguing that dismantling the department would harm marginalized students and violate federal education statutes.

I think that that’s a fair argument too. So what’s gonna happen to those who are in poorer communities or people who don’t, you know, states that don’t have a great structure in place for their education system? What’s gonna happen in those situations? Teachers unions and advocacy organizations warn that eliminating federal oversight would widen educational disparities, which we all know exist.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers and conservative think tanks really liked the decision and said it’s a victory for state’s rights and bureaucratic efficiency, meaning. The federal government not having their hand in too many things or more than they should. And there’s been, and will be congressional hearings on this topic that are intensifying the debate with testimonies, highlighting potential disruptions in student loans and civil rights enforcement.

While some states might successfully be able to take control of this, there’s worry that some states will not be able to successfully take control of this. Sure. But since, since this is all kind of starting, the jury’s out on how this is gonna work out. We don’t know exactly how this is gonna work out yet.

Connor, do you know, so let’s talk about student performance since the department’s inception, this is an important statistic that whether, if you know how we feel about it or not, I do feel it’s important to bring this up. Connor, do you know some of the statistics that have come out about the decline of student testing and outcomes in the last 30, 40 years here in this country?

[00:23:26] Conner Jones: That’s something I definitely study all the time. I know these numbers right off the top of my head, 

[00:23:31] Micah Tomasella: dude, for a second I was like, oh, okay. 

[00:23:34] Conner Jones: No, really, this is like when I asked you a minute ago about how many foreign born immigrant are here. I know, I know. Why did I ask you that? There’s no one you would’ve known.

[00:23:39] Micah Tomasella: Okay. There you go. There you go. So despite the department’s establishment. In 1979, data indicates persistent challenges and educational achievement and outcome for students. Let’s talk about it. Reading proficiency, the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress in a EP revealed that reading proficiency for eighth graders in the US has fallen to its lowest level in 32 years.

Mm-hmm. With over a third of students failing to exhibit basic reading skills. Over a third of eighth graders in this country are failing to exhibit basic reading skills. I know Covid attributes to that, but when you look at data over time, it’s just kind of a steady decline overall. Okay. And obviously more of a decline whenever Covid hits.

Which makes sense. The covid part. Mathematics performance in 2022. Nine year olds scored 15 points higher in mathematics compared to 1973. However, there was a seven point decline compared to 2020 indicating recent setbacks and then international assessments on the program for international students.

Assessment, P-I-S-A-U-S student performance has declined over time with steeper drops in math scores and in reading and math scores declined by 10% and then in reading they fell by 2% per decade. So per decade, boom, boom, boom. 2% decline. So these trends suggest that despite the department’s efforts, challenges, and student achievements persist, prompting debates about the effectiveness of federal involvement in education.

No matter how much emotion there is around this topic, Connor, we must look at the data and we must acknowledge that there is an issue here. Something needs to change. We just have to figure out what the best solution is. So I, I think the data can indicate, and just even personal experience can indicate that there’s a, there’s an issue with public education.

There’s so many hardworking teachers, administrators, God bless ’em, for waking up every single day and doing what they do. I have several in my family, but there, but there are some issues that need to be addressed outside of just, you know, we have these great teachers, but there are issues outside of that, that need to be addressed as well.

So just like with the immigration issue, we’ve gotta look at the data and say, no matter what our emotions are telling us right now, no matter how this affects me or affects me emotionally, we gotta do something. But we definitely need to have some recourse on what’s the best way to accomplish it, what’s the best way to fix it, it’s kind of the way that I’m framing this conversation or thinking about this conversation. So here’s the pros and cons. I’m just gonna give you a couple of dismantling. The, the Department of Education, a pro increase local control, empowering states and local communities to tailor education policies to their specific needs.

So the federal government tailoring something for the entire country when each state, each county, each region. Has different needs, has different things that they need to be focusing on. Another pro financial efficiency, potential cost savings by reducing federal administrative expenses. Okay, here’s some cons.

You’re risking inequality, potential widening of disparities in educational quality and resources across the state. So this does risk that when there’s already an inequality that’s happening. And then secondly. I, as I said, the Department of Education being dismantled these roles, it was taking, are being transferred to different departments.

There’s, there’s a fear that there’s gonna be a disruption in services, challenges in managing student loans and enforcing civil rights laws and protections without a centralized authority. I. Fair. Fair pros and cons. Connor, is there anything that kind of hits you from those pros and cons or anything that you might agree or disagree with?

[00:27:05] Conner Jones: Yeah, I just, I, I think it’s true that every city, every county has different ways that they probably want to educate. Different areas of the country focus on totally different things. If you are in rural Mississippi in a school, you don’t probably need to learn all the exact same things as somebody in New York City does.

That’s right. That’s right. It’s just, it’s just different. So the idea of having more localized. Governance, I guess, 

[00:27:26] Micah Tomasella: yeah, 

[00:27:26] Conner Jones: over these school districts and systems makes more sense to me, but I also, yeah, the cons are a good point to point out as well. 

[00:27:33] Micah Tomasella: Yep. Yep. So the decision to dismantle the US Department of Education, it, it does represent a, a significant shift in federal education policy.

Again, the Department of Education has been active and has had an active role since 1979. So it has potential far reaching consequences for students, educators, and institutions nationwide. But proponents see it as a step towards greater efficiency in local control and opponents fear. It may lead to increased inequality and disruption in essential education services.

So as the situation evolves, it remains a critical topic of national discourse reflecting broader debates about the role of federal government and education. And I think right now what the Trump administration is doing is we’re having debates about things that we’ve kind of accepted as normal. For a long time and it continues to come up, whether if it’s immigration or education or, I mean, whatever it might be.

We’re having these debates now of what’s the government’s role in it, and I think that those are healthy discussions we can disagree with. Just kind of the sledgehammer it seems trump and Musk and Doge takes to certain things, and we’ve talked about that before, but I do actually personally think that it’s a, it’s a good discussion for us to continue to have as a country of what is the government’s role in things?

What should we be spending money on? What should we be doing? I, I do think that that’s a, a positive conversation. So definitely is I think so too. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So lemme give you kind of a spiritual application of this, of this is really what God is putting on my heart. And that’s the, you know, we pick these stories, but we also really try to give you guys how we’re wrestling with God or how we’re talking to God, or how we’re talking with each other when we’re not on the mic and things like that.

So the debate over dismantling the US Department of Education is really about how we balance three things in my mind. There are other things to include, but these are the three that come to mind right now. How do we balance the biblical principles, which I’m about to give you scriptures for of excellence, stewardship, and compassion.

Hmm. How? How can we be excellent in our approach to how we educate students? How can we be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and money, but how can we have compassion for kids who are growing up in difficult environments or, you know, these kids aren’t choosing. Their environments. They’re not choosing to be born in the homes that they’re born in.

Whether if it’s good or bad, they’re not choosing to live in the States or co, you know, cities. That they’re choosing to live in. So how can we have compassion for them too in this topic? Alright, so as Christians, we’re called to do things. Colossians 3 23 says this, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters, which means education, whether handed federally or locally should actually equip students to succeed.

And at the same time, we need to be smart with resources. Proverbs 21, 5 tells us the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty. Only comes to poverty, so making sure money is used wisely and not wasted in inefficiency. But wisdom isn’t just about cutting costs garner, it’s also about caring for people.

Yeah. With wisdom comes an understanding about caring for those who are least of these, who are marginalized, who are struggling, who. Don’t live the same life that we do, who have different circumstances that we do. Wisdom tells us to care about them too. To think about them too. So Jesus made it clear in Proverbs 2140 on how we treat those people, the least of these matters and any changes to education policy has to consider the students who are most at risk about being left behind.

So this moment in time with this topic, and I think with a lot of them, is an opportunity to ask this. How do we build something better? How do we create an education system that sets high standards, uses resources effectively, and ensures every child, no matter their background, has access to a great education?

How? How do we do that? How do we balance all of those? I’m not saying it’s easy, but it should be the goal. We should be pushing for solutions to do all three, not settling for false choices between either have to choose efficiency or I either have to choose equity. That’s a false choice where you’re saying, I have to pick one over the other.

This is where wisdom, discernment, and leadership comes in. Biblical wisdom, discernment, and leadership. If we get this right, it could be a step toward a system that truly works with excellence, integrity, and care for those who need it most. I. 

[00:31:56] Conner Jones: Yeah, 

[00:31:56] Micah Tomasella: that’s good stuff. 

[00:31:58] Conner Jones: There are a lot of issues with the education system that need fixing.

Yep. It’s not gonna happen overnight. It’s gonna take time. I don’t know if the dismantling of this entire department is the first step towards that. We’ll just have to see. Yeah. But I, I love that you gave a shout out to our educators, our administrators, our all the teachers out there. You guys are working hard every day, sacrificing much.

We all have teachers that impacted our lives deeply. And also, I just want to say, if you’re just curious what this looks like in a urban area, in a very big city type of district, watch the show. Abbott Elementary, it’s a comedy, but it also hits on some of these exact issues we’re talking about where That’s a good point, 

[00:32:31] Micah Tomasella: man.

[00:32:32] Conner Jones: Yeah, man, they, they really show like some of the struggles that schools with minimal resources go through, but how much teachers really care. How these kids need school, they need the community that it brings, the education that it brings, the opportunities that they get out of it. So thanks for taking us through that.

That is a crucial, crucial topic. And thank you, Nancy, for sending in that suggestion. 

[00:32:49] Micah Tomasella: Yes. Thank you so much, Nancy. 

[00:32:51] Conner Jones: It’s great. Okay. Speaking of Nancy, let’s, let’s pop over into our mail back. We’ve got several other people that reached out to us with some fun things this week. So let’s pop into the mailbag.

Yep. Okay. Off the bat. Relating to last week’s story around the Signal group chat, we said, Hey, if you’ve got a story similar that we could share as an example, send it to us. And boy did we get a fun one here. 

[00:33:13] Micah Tomasella: Okay, 

[00:33:13] Conner Jones: so this guy reached out to us and he, he mentioned that, and remember this is the journalist was accidentally added to a group chat in signal last week, and it blew up, obviously.

Yep. This listener said that he accidentally added a guy to his groomsmen group text with details where he was sending about his bachelor party, which is gonna be a camping trip. So this, this listener accidentally added this guy. So this guy now thinks he’s gonna be a part of his bachelor group, his groomsmen, one of his standing up beside him on the stage at his wedding.

Mm. Brutal. The guy was super excited and felt honored to be one of his groomsmen and was eager to get all the supplies he needed for the camping trip. The listener had to reach out and inform this guy that he was not, in fact, gonna be a groomsman or a part of his wing. 

[00:34:03] Micah Tomasella: Oh, oh, oh. That’s a great story. God bless.

Cringing. Thank you for sending that in. Thank you for Yeah, and letting us share. Appreciate vulnerability. Let you know, letting us share in. Oh man, that is a travesty on every level. Espe. Because it sounds like this person is close enough to this guy where he wasn’t like, oh, this is so weird that I’d be invited to this.

He got excited. He had no reason to question it. So this is like a borderline guy. I mean, we’ve, I mean, Connor and I, you’ve, you’re married. I’m married. We have wives that we got married to. Amen. Hallelujah. Mm-hmm. But we had groomsmen. And there’s always people who don’t make the cut. And so it sounds like this guy was kind of on the fringe.

Oh, oh, brother. 

[00:34:47] Conner Jones: Brutal. Anyways. Brutal man. Yeah, I mean, that is bad. It’s not as bad as adding a journalist to top seeker information, so no. If you want to feel, if you’re listening to this, we just told your story. If you wanna feel better, just remember that. 

[00:34:57] Micah Tomasella: Just think of Mike Waltz if you wanna feel better.

Yep. 

[00:35:00] Conner Jones: Yeah. We had several people message us on Instagram. Go follow us at Culture Brief Podcast on Instagram. Shoot us a dm. Yep. Drop a comment or email us at Culture [email protected]. But these Instagram dms, we had one guy respond, mic it to your hot take a few weeks ago where you said, Jose, every Jose.

He said he agrees with you. He mows his own grass. But he did not agree with me ’cause I suggested you should change your own oil. He said, but I do not change my own oil because of the hassle of the disposal. You gotta have a bucket and a pan. All true, Jose, I agree with that. And if it leaks, it makes a mess.

It can make a mess. And I have been very guilty of that. You gotta go buy some cat litter clean up. You pour that on the oil that you spill in your garage or driveway or whatnot. So he just avoids the headache. Thank you for letting us know that. Jose. Micah, you got a win there. I took an L. You had another person that says, yeah, I’ll mow my lawn, but I’m not gonna change my oil.

Thank you. And then Josh reached out. This is interesting. This must have been related to a conversation we had a couple weeks ago. He said, Romo should have been paid more than Dak on the Dallas Cowboys. He gave us hope and that is priceless. I know that’s kind of deep. I mean, that’s kind of deep. Did Romo really give us that much hope?

Did you ever think we were gonna make a Super Bowl with Romo? 

[00:36:13] Micah Tomasella: Romo has more of a flash in the pan. He was, you know, he would always like running gun Dak can be accused of kind of. And you know, just for clarity, Romo Tony Romo is the former quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Dak is the current quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

You know, I would say Romo is kind of more of a flash in the pan. Hail Mary kind of guy boomer bust kind of guy would, would make incredible throws, and then at the same time, the next week would throw four interceptions. I mean, I would say Dak is a bit more consistent, right? But the concept of romo being capable of carrying a team on his back if it’s one game. I think I get that idea from Josh, but either way, neither of them have exhibited the ability to win in the playoffs, and that’s really what matters. 

[00:36:54] Conner Jones: Yeah, yeah. Either way, Romo’s doing just fine. Romo 

[00:36:56] Micah Tomasella: couldn’t win in the playoffs. Dak jury’s still out so far, has not really been able to win in the place.

Yeah, 

[00:37:01] Conner Jones: they’re, they’re both as of right now, just middle of the line quarterbacks. We need somebody to take a Super Bowl. Yeah. Thank you Josh for that. That’s a good thought, Josh. And then we got an email in from Isabel who would love to discuss for us to discuss the upcoming season of the Netflix show Black Mirror Once it releases in April.

She sent this in because the trailer came out yesterday, two days ago maybe, of the new season of Black Mirror. Micah, I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to watch that trailer yet. 

[00:37:25] Micah Tomasella: I haven’t seen the trailer. I mean, I’ve seen a few episodes in the past. It’s, it’s kind of a dark show, but. I, it does sound like there’s gonna be some, some biblical perspective that we can bring to that if, oh, there definitely is.

If possible, 

[00:37:37] Conner Jones: I have seen every episode of Black Mirror up to this point. I love that show. Oh, dude, I, okay, there you go. Love Black. I’m pumped for this season. I mean, all what? Oh, great man. Take Season Trailer showed a bunch of bunch of big stars or. Be featured in it. We got a little 

[00:37:48] Micah Tomasella: That’s true. They do have a ton.

They always get random people they bring in. It’s awesome. Yeah, because ’cause each episode is a different story. Yeah. They’re basically like mini movies. 

[00:37:56] Conner Jones: So you can get somebody to come in and and film this like one hour. That is very interesting episode. Yeah. Paul Giamatti, let’s go. He’s gonna be in it.

[00:38:03] Micah Tomasella: I’m a big Paul, ti Paul. Paul. That’s my Italian brother, dude. That’s my Italian brother. He plays a great John Adams, too. Incredible. John Adams. Goodness. 

[00:38:11] Conner Jones: Also the big fat liar. 2003, big fat liar. Three. He turns blue. Anyways, that’s so yeah. Isabel, thank you for sending that in. We will. Yes, thank you. Isabel will look out for the new season.

Yes. Okay. Let’s talk about thanks. To tune into Micah real fast, us and Iran, the tensions are heating up. This was something that was already heating up before Trump took office. It seems to be getting a little more. Weary. It’s depending on if Iran refuses. Or accepts a nuclear deal with the us. Trump says that they’ve got two months to accept a nuclear deal and that they could face secondary tariffs if no deal is reached and that it, the US and Iranian officials are apparently talking and the US has not.

So secretively sent B two stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, which is an airbase on a small island in the Indian Ocean with in range of being able to launch attacks. Stealthily on Iran, potentially on their nuclear research sites and launch sites. That’s a very clear warning. If they wanted to keep those bombers under radar, they could, but they want Iran to know that they are within strike range.

Oh, that’s interesting. 

[00:39:15] Micah Tomasella: Yeah. So it’s just kinda like a visual warning, like you don’t have to say we’re gonna bomb you. You okay That’ss. Interesting. Okay. You send 

[00:39:21] Conner Jones: over these bombers that were all sitting in Missouri, they sent six of them, I think, which is kind of crazy. Yeah. Six stealth bombers overseas and they’ve also, that’s quite the show of 

[00:39:29] Micah Tomasella: force there.

[00:39:30] Conner Jones: Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, also sent off, I think two new groups of aircraft carriers strike groups over to the Middle East. So this is something they, they’re making it clear like they’re putting the pressure on Iran. 

[00:39:41] Micah Tomasella: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Okay, so next we’ve got market and global responses to Trump’s new Tariffs and liberation day.

So today, the day of recording April 2nd, you guys will be hearing this. We release it 5:00 AM Central time on Thursday. So this will be April 3rd. But today when we’re recording, we don’t know yet is Liberation Day where Trump is supposed to slap at least reciprocal tariffs on every country that tariffs our products, right?

Mm-hmm. So whatever their tariff is on our products, like for example, it’s like I was reading something that Great Britain. Or like the UK tariff, something between 14 and 18% on all grape jelly products from the us, right? So things like that. Trump is saying, we’re gonna what? You tariff us. We’re gonna tariff you.

Oh goodness. Obviously the stock market has been not affected well by this at all. Just the uncertainty of what Trump’s end game is with this. Like how far will he take tariffs? We don’t know that that’s on purpose because obviously I am hoping personally this continues to be a tactic to just. Get some better agreements in place for us imports and deports and stuff like that.

I, I’m, I am personally hoping he doesn’t take these tariffs all the way, so we’ll see what happens. Yeah. I just 

[00:40:49] Conner Jones: think it’s funny that they’re calling it Liberation Day. What are we, what are we getting 

[00:40:52] Micah Tomasella: free of? And he’s gonna do this at Madison Square Garden. Oh, so he’s gonna, okay. He’s, he’s packing some sort of arena where he’s gonna announce this.

[00:40:58] Conner Jones: Okay. 

[00:40:59] Micah Tomasella: Today I guess 

[00:40:59] Conner Jones: we’ll just see Very Trump. Yeah, I just, when you hear liberation day, I think of you know when France was liberated from the Nazis, like not when we applied tariffs. I don’t know. Yeah. He’s a little dramatic, 

[00:41:08] Micah Tomasella: but you know, we’ll see what he does. Oh yeah. 

[00:41:10] Conner Jones: Speaking of Trump, there’s been just teases from him and other people that he may seek a third term, so we’ll just keep an eye out on that.

I would say don’t take it too seriously. There’s a lot of constitutional hurdles there, but I think he’s just trying to drop it drip drop, see what. The responses from the media, from the American public. There’s, I just don’t see that really happening. But if he starts to be more serious about it, we will dive into that for 

[00:41:32] Micah Tomasella: sure.

Let’s, let’s keep in mind too, Connor, that he’s been kind of hinting at this for a while and he would be 82, close to 83 when 2028 rolls around. Mm-hmm. So we gotta keep that in mind too. And Trump even said it’s early in his administration, but obviously he is. Teasing and maybe being a little bit of a troll to, to say stuff like this.

’cause he’s just trying to get a rise outta people and see what the reaction is. So we’ll see how it turns out. Yeah. 

[00:41:55] Conner Jones: And a lot of people are saying that this was just his way of getting that out in the media sphere so that they’ll stop talking about the signal group chat leak from last week. And 

[00:42:02] Micah Tomasella: honestly it’s kind of working.

I think so. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. One other thing to keep a fair strategy, maybe 

[00:42:08] Conner Jones: eye out on Micah is the TikTok. We’ve talked about this a long time ago. Yeah, the TikTok man deadline is technically Saturday. Supposedly. There’s a deal in the works. They could easily put this, they’ll figure something out. Deadline back again.

We’ve already had a whole eulogy for TikTok back in January and then it stayed alive. So I’m not even gonna dive into this. No, 

[00:42:24] Micah Tomasella: I’m sorry. The angel. 

[00:42:26] Conner Jones: Yeah. So 

[00:42:27] Micah Tomasella: fly away. Anyway from here. Yes. Guys, don’t, don’t worry. I, I really do not think you’re gonna lose your TikTok. I don’t think, know what I mean?

They’re not anymore. I thought so. Back in January, but 

[00:42:41] Conner Jones: not now. 

[00:42:41] Micah Tomasella: No. 

[00:42:42] Conner Jones: Okay. No. One big thing to watch out for, we got the March Madness final four. It is set. And they’re playing this weekend, so this has been fun. I’ve got Duke winning the whole thing. They are still in it. This is the first time since 2008 that the Final four is made up.

Of all the number one seeds. So we got Florida versus Auburn. This is on Saturday at 6:09 PM Eastern. They’ll be playing and then at 8 49 Eastern PM Duke will play Houston. 

[00:43:06] Micah Tomasella: What. What’s so interesting about this March Madness tournament is that this is the first time in a really long time, I don’t remember how many years that all number one seeds made the final four.

Yeah. So if you were to pick your bracket out based off of seeding, you’re doing better, most likely than the people who picked all these upsets. We did have some upsets in the round of 64 and then 32, and then it really kind of became clear cut after that. And what’s interesting for me, I have three brackets.

One of the brackets I had Michigan winning one of the brackets. I have Duke winning one of the brackets. I have Houston winning. So only one bracket’s gonna look good for me right now because. Unfortunately, duke and Houston are meeting, you know, in this set right now before the championship.

They’re meeting in the semifinals. We’ll see how it works out. Yeah. Connor, let’s talk about torpedo bats, man. Yeah, let’s talk about torpedo bats. If you don’t know what a torpedo bat is, let me, lemme tell you. The New York Yankees made headlines this weekend by debuting a new torpedo barrel baseball bat.

On Saturday, the Yankees hit nine home runs, and their first four or five games they’ve hit 17. It like breaks a record, a single game franchise record for that one, and then a record in the MLB for the amount of. Home runs hit in your first five games and it came just one short of tiny all time record for homers in a game.

The bats shift the thickest part of the barrel closer to each player’s sweet spot. And then you can look it up. It, it looks very interesting, kinda looks like a torpedo bat. Literally as determined by the team’s analytics department. They hired this like brilliant. Physicist or something to come up with this and then lay this out.

So each bat is custom made and the MLB confirmed that they’re allowed. And so we’re hearing all these murmurs. We’re seeing a lot of single players for different teams use them. A lot of teams are looking into just instituting this. And so I’d say, I mean, I. We have a Buddy Brady, you know, he said, Hey, I, I think every team’s gonna be using this bat by Easter.

Yeah, probably. So I, that’s, that’s possible. ’cause it seems to be working for the Yankees. 

[00:44:53] Conner Jones: This is, this is very interesting and I think it’s just one of those things where you get the classic, like jocks and nerds coming together to create a superpower. Like they’ve, they’ve just, you got these engineers, this one guy designed this bat, gave it to these players and they’re just.

Cooking the pictures with him. I, 

[00:45:08] Micah Tomasella: I if, if the MLB is saying it’s legal, I don’t have a problem with it. Me either. If anything it’s, it’s on all the 29 other teams, including my rangers to figure out how to institute it and use it. This is, this is, it’s Micah. 

[00:45:20] Conner Jones: This reminds me of the tush push, right? That the eagles do that no other teams been able to figure out, and they’re debating right now if that should be banned or what not.

But they’ve had a few years to do it. They’ve excelled at it. No other team can do it. If that’s one thing you team, that’s competition, man. That’s competition. That’s competition. You guys figured something out. Now the NFL might ban it and the MLB, if they see these torpedo bats become a serious problem, they might ban torpedo bats 

[00:45:41] Micah Tomasella: now, right?

Like now, if you see home run numbers, just if you see home run numbers skyrocket to a level we’ve never seen before where like even the best pitchers, you know, for some reason these bats are just the great equalizer. You might see a change after the season, but I think we’re gonna see a season full.

Absolutely. In major league baseball of these torpedo basketball guys, 

[00:45:59] Conner Jones: why not? Oh, one last thing, Mike. I, I gotta say this real fast. Yeah, go ahead. We’re coming up on Masters week. It’s all starts on Monday, but we will have a special. Segment next week about the masters because that is our just yes, we favorite golf tournaments.

[00:46:13] Micah Tomasella: Yes, we will. And, and I will share my personal experience to go last year’s. What about and seeing Scotty Scheffler win it all and just talk about the majesty, the, the, the mags, the majesty and pageantry. There you go. There you go. Thatty, pageantry of the Masters and how beautiful it is and how. Wonderful and historical, that tournament is in golf.

So guys, thank you so much for joining us for this week’s episode of Culture Brief at Denison Forum Podcast. All articles, videos mentioned we will be linked in the show notes. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please please subscribe, rate and review the show. And remember, we have an Instagram, so follow us.

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