In the first episode of what will be a weekly series, the three Providence editors—Mark Tooley (editor), Mark Melton (managing editor), and Marc LiVecche (executive editor)—speak about some of the latest news and some recent Providence articles. In this week’s episode, they discuss a recent controversy surrounding R.R. Reno, editor of the journal First Things, and his latest tweets on wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic. They then discuss Tooley’s interview with Christian pacifist Shane Claiborne. Tooley and LiVecche give some of their criticisms of this strand of thinking, asking how advocates for Christian social justice expect such justice to exist absent the powers of states and the rule of law.

The editors then discuss nuclear weapons in light of Daniel Strand’s article on nuclear weapons “The Bible is Not Enough: Evangelical Thinking about Nuclear Weapons is Confused.” They address the New START Treaty and the relationship between biblical principles, wisdom, and policy prescriptions.