John and Maria visit on changes in the education landscape. They discuss the power of technology to not only inform our understanding of the world, especially in education, but how technology forms us. They consider the addictive nature of technology and how it can be associated with increasing numbers in things ranging from facial tics to gender dysphoria.

Maria then asks John's perspective on China's crackdown on technology, especially for adolescents. China is limiting video game access for young people, and Maria asks if this is right, knowing the impact of technology on teens, or if this is an infringement on the family sphere.

To close, Maria shares an amicus brief filed by hundreds of women who are opposing the Mississippi abortion law. The brief states that limiting access to abortion will infringe on the rights and progress of women in society. Maria pulls the veil back on the brief, showing the way the arguments fail to recognize the strength and opportunity women have.

-- Stories Mentioned In-Show --

The Cost of Digital Addictions?

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, psychiatrist Anna Lembke offered a stark warning: our favorite technologies are "drowning us in dopamine." Dopamine is the brain's natural feel-good chemical. It rewards us when we do enjoyable things like connect with friends, laugh at a joke, or eat a taco. Today, that powerful reward cycle is being hijacked by digital technology.
BreakPoint>>

 

You Are What You Binge

Pediatricians are growing increasingly concerned about an explosion in facial and vocal tics in teenagers, especially teenage girls. According to the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, case numbers in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and Australia have skyrocketed over the last year. They've even called it a "parallel pandemic" alongside COVID-19. A UK journal has reported similar findings.
BreakPoint>>

College and the Decline of American Men

In yet another indicator that they are not ok, men in America are abandoning higher education in record numbers. According to the Wall Street Journal, at the end of the 2020 academic year, the percentage of male college students dropped to just over 40 percent. Soon, if current trend lines continue, one expert predicts, for every man who earns a college degree, two women will earn a degree.

BreakPoint>>

Leaving Church

The pandemic policies, social unrest, and political division that's left so much of our culture on edge have created quite a bit of tumult for churches, too. A few weeks ago, in a blog at Mere Orthodoxy, Pastor Michael Graham offered a new way to categorize how Christians are reorganizing amidst the chaos.

The Point>>

Learning Loss From Covid-19

Like most of the damage from this pandemic, the key factors for education were pre-existing conditions. Students already accustomed to facing challenges can grow more resilient in adversity. Students whose education was already more than information transfer were able to build curiosity in new ways. Parents who accepted that their kids' education was primarily their responsibility made necessary pivots.

BreakPoint>>

China's New Video Game Restrictions Are About Far More Than Kids' Habits

China has twice as many gamers as the U.S. has people—some 700 million of them. That ubiquity, especially among young people, has worried China's central government. So at the start of this month, it banned people under 18 from playing video games for more than three hours a week. They could only play from 8 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

But it's not just video games. The government has gone after tutoring companies and big tech players in this "season of crackdowns," in an attempt to bring these sectors more in line with what they perceive as socialist values and to strengthen control over Chinese society and the Chinese economy.

Slate>>

 

More than 500 female athletes file amicus brief against Mississippi abortion law

More than 500 of the U.S.'s most prominent professional female athletes filed an amicus brief on Monday that voices their opposition to a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The Hill>>

 

-- Recommendations --

Louise Penny>>

 

The Third Education Revolution with Vishal Mangalwadi

Most recently, Vishal has written The Third Education Revolution, in which he traces both the history of the Christian promotion of education around the world and the opportunity we have in front of us right now. Here's a segment of that interview with Vishal Magalwhaldi

BreakPoint Podcast Special>>