http://radio.nationalreview.com/betsyhart/ en-us Copyright 2009 National Review Online National Review's Betsy Hart talks books with influential conservative authors. Betsy Hart National Review's Betsy Hart talks books with influential conservative authors. Betsy Hart betsyhart@nationalreview.com Betsy Hart This week's guest is writer Megan Basham, author of Getting the Life you Want by Helping Your Husband Get Ahead. She's got some pretty provocative things to say about the age-old husband-wife relationship. I think we're both pretty good at taking apart the feminists, who have made things harder, not easier, for women -- particularly when it comes to marriage. Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart There have been a lot of negative news reports about Americans and their drop in religious affiliation. But the news is better than those reports might indicate. I touched on this topic in this week's column, and will talk more about it on the show. I'll also look at whether it's true that when it comes to men and religion, "they're just not that into Him," as Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times put it. The science is simply that men are not has "hard-wired" for religion as women are. Among other things, I'll make the case that this is a practical argument for why women shouldn't occupy positions of authority in the church. Fri, 8 May, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Well, yes according to Christina Hoff Sommers. In a great piece last week in the Washington Post, she described how the Obama Administration is now applying Title IX regulations (those which essentially try to force women into varsity level sports, which always leads to the guys losing spots on their varsity teams) to college science programs. There is only one problem: inspite of mass recruitment efforts, only about 20 percent of hard science courses in college are made up of women. So, once again to make things "equal" this could have the effect of fewer science spots available to men. Please notice that the Obama administration is not trying to equalize ratios between men and women in English or education departments which are overwhelmingly female. Here's Christina's piece: A Threat in Title IX Fri, 24 Apr, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Today on "It Takes a Parent" I have a lot to talk about in the "Hart Beat" part of the show. To start with I'll be discussing research indicating that men, too, have "biological clocks" and how the feminists are spinning that story. And I'll look at the spate of recent studies which appear to show that people who have kids are not has happy as those who don't have kids. Somehow that doesn't sound right. Fri, 17 Apr, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Hi all! We have lots of fun topics in the extended Hart Beat part of the show, including an exchange about just what it is with runway models and the nasty facial expressions they make. Fri, 10 Apr, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart I hope you tune in today to hear this week's guest, cultural critic Marybeth Hicks of the Washington Times. We'll talk about everything from the hook-up culture on college campuses (a local FOX 5 report this week made me crazy!), the fact that a report showed that fewer people in the U.S. are calling themselves religious and going to church, and more. Fri, 20 Mar, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart We have a bit of a double-header today. My first guest is Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. He notes studies - and a lot of anecdotal evidence - that the recession is making folks a lot more grateful and less grumbly. What a silver lining, right? Kids, listen up! Then we talk internet safety with Larry Magid, founder of connectsafely.org - which you'll definitely want to visit on behalf of your children! Fri, 13 Mar, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Well, yes. Research according to TRU, a Chicago based youth research firm, shows that while marriage rates overall are declining and the average age of first marriage is later than ever, most young people surveyed (18-30) still hold a high view of marriage. They are just a little intimidated. The feds have started a public relations program to talk about the positive benefits of marriage. What's holding these young people back in the first place? Peter Picard of Tru provides some answers. Fri, 6 Mar, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart There's lots to talk about in the Heart Beat part of the show, including people who think, in the wake of a New York Times news reports about larger families that we ought to go to a "one child" policy in the United States - give me a break! Then my main guest will be Will Cunningham, director of K'Kaui Family Camp for Kanakuk Kamps (Branson, Missouri) who answers the question "Why camp?", and then offers his opinion on which camp might be the best fit for your kids this summer. And are parents the ones who more and more getting "homesick" for the kids at camp, not vice versa? Such were the news reports last summer - we'll talk about that. I love Kanakuk - which is where my kids have been "Kampers" for years - and I hope you check them out at kanakuk.com Fri, 27 Feb, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart On this week's show I talk to Mike Nawrocki, one of the co-creators of the wonderful Veggie Tales franchise. If you are a parent or if you know a kid, you know all about Bob and Larry and the Christian message of the wildly successful Veggie Tales. We'll talk about the several new projects the Big Idea company is working on (the first Veggie Tales Bible, for starters) why they came up with the idea for vegetables to tell Christian truths in the first place, and how they respond to the criticism that they "caved" to Hollywood in the making of their feature films Jonah and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. You'll love this discussion, especially if you are a parent - or if you know a child! Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Hey friends, you're definitely going to want to tune in to today's radio show: just in time for Valentine's Day, it's all about the chemistry of love. I get to talk with Dr. Helen Fisher, noted anthropologist and expert on what our brains do when we are in the middle of that dopamine high called by its street name . . . romantic love. Fri, 13 Feb, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart My guest today is Karen Blumenthal, who writes the "Family Money" column for the Wall Street Journal. Karen and I discuss money-saving tips for these tough times, focusing on her latest column, "In The Fight Against Bill Creep, Every Extra Fee is the Enemy." Fri, 6 Feb, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Dr. Paul Randolph of Insight Christian Counseling has some great wisdom on how to manage your teens and their turbulent years - and see your marriage thrive in the midst of it all. On his website (www.insightcounsel.org) there's a button that includes bullet points for much of what we talked about. Be sure to visit and pass it on to a friend in need. Fri, 30 Jan, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Hey, friends - you will want to tune in today as Dr. Paul Randolph, the head of Insight Counseling in Pennsylvania, does the first of a two-part show on teens and the stress they can inflict on their parents' marriage. What can couples do to see their marriages not just survive what are typically the most difficult years for a marriage, but thrive during them? Fri, 23 Jan, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart I'll be talking about all kinds of things as we head into the new year, including the Hedonic Treadmill - why getting more stuff just makes us want more stuff - the Gardisil vaccine for nine-year-old boys (are these people nuts?) and why men don't write advice columns, for starters. Fri, 16 Jan, 2009 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart I'll be talking to Michael Josephson, head of the Josephson Institute for Ethics in Los Angeles, California. Among many other projects, the institute tracks teenagers and their ethics (or lack thereof) through blind surveys, and issues regular public reports every two years. It's most recent report was, again, shocking. The vast majority of teens admit to cheating on tests in high school, and more than half of the boys says one has to lie and cheat to get ahead in life. The reports seem to get increasingly ominous. Not a good sign. Fri, 19 Dec, 2008 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Today, I interview Max McLean, star of Screwtape Letters, currently playing to soldout houses at the Mercury Theater in Chicago. Based on the brilliant satire by the same name by C.S. Lewis, the story follows one of Hell's chief tormentors, Screwtape, as he helps his nephew navigate the "hoped for" snatching of a particular soul on earth. I saw the play, it's fantastic! Max, who is based in New York, is also the President of the Fellowship for the Performing arts, a Christian performing arts company, and has starred in or been a part of many performances typically based on great Christian literature or histories. Today on the show we'll talk about the Screwtape Letters, Christians and the arts (I sometimes think we Christians are too "afraid" of the arts), and for those of us who have kids who want to go into the arts how can we encourage them to go about it in a way that's redemptive? Fri, 12 Dec, 2008 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Well, according to Dr. David Popenoe, yes! He's a professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University, and director of the prestigious National Marriage Project there. He has a lot to say on the matter. For one thing? He thinks our high expectations concerning marriage today doom too many of them to failure before they start. (Think of Eharmony's promise to help you find your "soul mate." It may be no wonder that already, the evidence seems to be that marriages which come from Eharmony have a higher break-up rate than the culture as a whole!) Personally, I'm beginning to think we might want to bring back arranged marriages - okay, I'm kidding but then again. . . Fri, 21 Nov, 2008 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart Dr. Michael Horton says "yes"! He's the author of the new book, "Christless Christianity." (He's written many other books, including Putting the Amazing Back into Grace.) Horton argues in his provocative new book that it's not about "liberal" or "conservative" theology. It's not even about the vigor of American evangelicalism. It's that in churches across the board, Christ is being taken out of the gospel, and replaced with a therapeutic message that misses the cross, even in ways that sound…Christian. Fri, 14 Nov, 2008 09:00:00 EST Betsy Hart This week, David Staal is my guest on "It Takes a Parent." Until this summer, David was the head of the children's ministry Promiseland at Willow Creek Community Church. He recently left that position to head a ministry in Michigan called Kids Hope USA (www.kidshopeusa.org). What he has to share is amazing. Kids Hope pairs churches with public schools and kids at risk around the country - and the schools are glad to have the churches involved! You are going to want to hear how and why that's possible. More public schools are asking for the ministry than there are churches available to provide it! David will also talk about his own kids, and helping them through a difficult transition with the move which in their words "ripped them away" from their friends. With the economy the way it is and various transitions in our own homes, a lot of us may need his insights. Fri, 24 Oct, 2008 09:00:00 EST