Cost of Iran War, Quiet Southern Border, and Anglican Church Split

The Bulletin

Christianity Today

News, News Commentary, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.4 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The first six days of the war with Iran have cost more than $11.3 billion, and 140 US troops have been injured, according to Pentagon officials. Tom Nichols, professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College and staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Russell, Mike and Clarissa to discuss military strategy and the costs of war. Since President Trump’s inauguration, border crossings at the US’s southern border have slowed. Bri Stensrud from Women of Welcome joins talk about how women are responding to the immigration policies of the Trump administration. Then, CT’s Bonnie Kristian stops by to discuss the reordering of the global Anglican church, and how to think about evangelicals’ approach to staying in or leaving a church or denomination. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the US Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School. He has served as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts House and the US Senate. His books include The Death of Expertise and Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy. Bri Stensrud is an author, human dignity advocate, and the Director of Women of Welcome. Her passion is to equip the Church to engage more consistently and tangibly in holistic human dignity issues. Bri holds a Masters of Biblical & Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and has authored two books: Start with Welcome: The Journey toward a Confident and Compassionate Immigration Conversation, and a children’s book: The Biggest Best Light: Shining God’s Light into the World Around You. Bonnie Kristian is the deputy editor at Christianity Today. She is the author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today. Her writing has been published at outlets including The New York Times, The Week, USA Today, CNN, Politico, and others. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Russell Moore, inviting you to join me on The Russell Moore Show, where we look for signposts in a strange land standing fast to what really matters.
0:09.7	Every week, I talk with thinkers, artists, and leaders about faith, culture, and living a life of integrity, kingdom over culture wars, truth over tribalism, pilgrimage over partisanship, witness over winning,
0:22.3	and Christ over everything. Join us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:36.0	From Christianity Today, you're listening to The Bulletin, a podcast about the people, events, and issues that are shaping our world.
0:43.3	I'm Clarissa Mall.
0:44.9	Today, Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, and I join with guests to talk about military strategy in the war with Iran,
0:51.0	how women are shaping the immigration conversation, and what the split in
0:55.5	the Anglican Communion means for your church family. Welcome to the show.
1:04.1	Good morning, listeners. Welcome to our Friday roundtable. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported
1:09.5	that Pentagon officials briefing the Senate
1:11.7	shared that the war with Iran has cost more than $11.3 billion in the first six days.
1:18.0	The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Pentagon said 140 U.S. troops have been injured
1:23.5	since Operation Epic Fury began. Joining us to better understand military strategy and the
1:29.1	costs of war is Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College
1:34.7	and staff writer at the Atlantic Tom Nichols. Tom, thanks for joining Mike and Russell and me today.
1:40.7	Thanks for having me. Good morning. Tom, we're 13 days into the war as of this recording.
1:45.4	Can you give me a basic cost-benefit analysis in regards to these numbers? What's our return
1:50.8	on investment of $11.3 billion and counting? You know, it's hard to say. I mean, it depends on what
1:57.0	you think you're doing. If the cost is to prevent a nuclear weapon, then we should
2:04.0	be willing to spend almost anything, because the cost of a preventive war to stop a nuclear
2:10.1	weapon is a lot cheaper than dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear weapon. I don't think Iran
2:16.1	was close to a nuclear weapon. I think the administration's
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christianity Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Christianity Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.