Best Lueken Podcasts (2025)

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Lanterns In the Morning: Joy 40:07

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11d ago40:07

40:07

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase the God of the Bible? What's the demeanor of the God who lives in your head? How does he feel about this world? Maybe more personally, how does he feel about you? Don't polish it up. Don't pretty it up when you think, "What does God think about me? How does God feel about me? Does God think about me? Does…

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Why Missouri Needs Early Literacy Reform with Cory Koedel and Avery Frank 23:23

14d ago23:23

23:23

Susan Pendergrass is joined by Cory Koedel, director of education policy at the Show-Me Institute, and Avery Frank, policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute, to discuss Missouri’s early literacy crisis. They walk through the need for a universal reading screener, the evidence behind third grade retention, why banning three cueing matters, how teache…

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Lanterns In The Morning: Peace 36:22

18d ago36:22

36:22

Jesus incarnated the way of shalom. He taught us about it. He showed us what it does and how it drastically differs from the ways of this world. See, in the way of shalom, in the way of peace, people love their enemies. They confront violence with love. In the way of shalom, the strong care for the weak. The forgotten are included. The marginalized…

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Lanterns In The Morning: Hope 37:15

25d ago37:15

37:15

May this God of hope help us be lanterns of hope, in the world that we live, in the circumstances we are in, with the people we interact with as we go through Advent, that we may be lanterns of hope. That we may be people whose words and lives and attitudes and actions convey to a hurting world that there is hope and his name is Jesus. And this hop…

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Eliminating Missouri’s Income Tax, Subsidies for Gas Stations, and Early Literacy Reform 30:54

1M ago30:54

30:54

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join host Zach Lawhorn to outline what a responsible plan to eliminate Missouri’s income tax should include, from revenue triggers and spending restraint to rethinking other taxes. They also break down St. Louis County’s Bill 182 expanding prevailing wage and DBE mandates, Independence’s proposed TIF pa…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Forgiveness 37:17

1M ago37:17

37:17

The step to take here is not to try to forget. The step here is not to try not to remember the event. To not remember what that person said or did to you. The step here is to simply forgive, again. You see forgiveness is more than just a singular event. A one-time thing we got through. Forgiveness is more of a posture. More of a perspective that we…

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What the Government Shutdown Was Really About with Elias Tsapelas 23:49

1M ago23:49

23:49

Susan Pendergrass is joined by Elias Tsapelas, director of state budget and fiscal policy at the Show-Me Institute, to explain what was actually at stake in the recent federal government shutdown. They break down the debate over extended Affordable Care Act subsidies, why health insurance costs keep rising, how COVID-era provisions distorted the ma…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Kindness & Compassion 38:20

1M ago38:20

38:20

So you're in the pool and you got a beach ball and it's full of air and you know, so obviously, in in our little example here, the air is our anger, right? So, you’re trying to keep anger under the water. You all can kind of picture what that would feel like. And we spend so much time in life like trying to keep the beach ball under the water, tryi…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Anger 38:20

2M ago38:20

38:20

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.” Ephesians 4:31 Today’s verse is about pivoting away from whatever degree of anger is in us, whatever form it takes, whatever level it’s at, toward a new Kingdom way of being, responding, reacting that is far more beautiful and good. Today is a…

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The Long Fight for Educational Freedom with Neal McCluskey and James Shuls 32:25

2M ago32:25

32:25

Learn more about the book here: https://www.cato.org/books/fighting-freedom-learnSusan Pendergrass speaks with Dr. James Shuls, fellow at the Show-Me Institute and head of the Education Liberty Branch at Florida State University, and Dr. Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute about their new book, Fighting for the Freedom to Learn: Examining America’…

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Ep. 50: Danielle Vergnaud-McKinnon of Sky Puppy Brewing talks about bats, walls, and community building a brewery 1:02:48

2M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

Send us a text A crumbling Ybor firehouse. Three brick walls and a floor of dirt. A bronze bat that sparked a movement. We sit down with Danielle Vergnaud-McKinnon of Sky Puppy Brewing for a vivid look at how design, community, and patience turned near-ruins into one of Tampa’s most thoughtful taprooms. Danielle shares how her retail and visual des…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: The Power of Encouragement 36:40

2M ago36:40

36:40

Life in the kingdom of God is not a life of just not saying unwholesome things, but of saying things that spread God's grace out into the world.By David Holcomb

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From Milton Friedman to Modern School Choice with Robert Enlow 31:11

2M ago31:11

31:11

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Robert C. Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, about the expansion of school choice and the organization’s work advancing parental freedom in education. They discuss Milton Friedman’s original vision, how states like Florida, Arizona, and Indiana have moved toward universal choice, Missouri’s legal fight over its scho…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Something To Give 36:41

2M ago36:41

36:41

Ultimately, work is not about how much money it brings into us. It is about how much of us we put into what we do. See, ultimately our work is not about earning our own living. Our work is not about us being able to achieve comfort and self-sufficiency for us and for our family. Our work is not a way to establish our status in society. Our work, us…

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Election Day Preview, SNAP Shortfalls, and Missouri’s Data Center Debate | Roundtable 35:16

2M ago35:16

35:16

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss local ballot measures in Missouri, including new hotel taxes in Springfield and Jefferson City, municipal use and gas taxes, how the ongoing federal shutdown could jeopardize food stamp benefits for hundreds of thousands of Missourians and what the federal Rural Health Trans…

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The Future of Federal Education Policy with Christy Wolfe 28:11

2M ago28:11

28:11

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Christy Wolfe, director of K–12 policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, about major shifts in federal education policy. They discuss recent Department of Education layoffs, the push to give states more flexibility through waivers, how Indiana is leading a new accountability approach, what it all means for states like M…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Truth and Anger 42:03

2M ago42:03

42:03

When you think of anger, where is it in you? How does it show itself? And maybe the most important question of all, what is the story behind your anger? Do you know it? Does anyone who loves Jesus and is near you know it?By Mike Lueken

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Ancient Wisdom For A Modern Life: Old Self, New Self 25:11

2M ago25:11

25:11

One reason why the people of God are called to be mature is because our vocation, yours and mine in this world, is to be Jesus's representatives. To demonstrate the goodness of his way to proclaim the gospel, through our deeds and words, to show the world what it looks like to love God and to love others.…

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Ep. 49: Khris Johnson of Green Bench Brewing believes beer brings people together 1:12:30

3M ago1:12:30

1:12:30

Send us a text The history of a city lives in its landmarks—some beautiful, some painful, all part of the collective story. For Khris Johnson, head brewer and co-owner of Green Bench Brewing in St. Petersburg, reclaiming one such symbol became the foundation of a brewing philosophy that balances exceptional beer with social responsibility. Green Be…

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Unsafe Schools and Parental Empowerment with Tiara Jordan-Sutton 18:02

3M ago18:02

18:02

Susan Pendergrass talks with Tiara Jordan-Sutton, Founder and Executive Director of Activate Missouri (formerly Activate STL), about school safety, parental power in education, Missouri’s failure to implement the federal Unsafe School Choice Option, and more.Produced by Show-Me OpportunityBy Show-Me Institute

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: A New Way To Be Human 31:23

3M ago31:23

31:23

Jesus is our model for attitude, and behavior, and perspective, and concepts. You see, only Jesus, is the whole package. Only Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. If we want to have life, real life, where we don’t just pick and choose aspects of Jesus to incorporate. We don’t pick his death for our sins so that we can get to heaven when we die…

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The Fiscal Facts Behind School Choice with Marty Lueken 22:22

3M ago22:22

22:22

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Marty Lueken, director of EdChoice’s Fiscal Research and Education Center, about the 2025 Fiscal Fact Book. They discuss how much is really spent per student, where the money comes from, why staffing has grown even as enrollment has declined, the fiscal impact of school choice programs, and more.Produced by Show-Me Opp…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: Dangers Of A Hard Heart 41:52

3M ago41:52

41:52

By Mike Lueken

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MetroLink Line Canceled, SNAP Reform, and Missouri’s Reading Crisis | Roundtable 31:06

3M ago31:06

31:06

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss: the cancellation of the St. Louis MetroLink Green Line and what bus rapid transit could mean for the city, major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under the One Big Beautiful Bill, and Missouri’s worsening reading crisis and how other states ha…

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Ep. 48: The New Reality of Beer Hunting with Jimmy DeFrank of Lueken's Liquors 46:51

3M ago46:51

46:51

Send us a text What happens when rare treasures become everyday finds? Jimmy DeFrank, beer buyer for Lukens Liquors since 2001, takes us on a journey through craft beer's evolution from obscurity to mainstream and beyond. When Jimmy convinced his boss to let him stock $9.99 Belgian beers in 2001, skepticism quickly turned to amazement as weekend be…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: The Lost Art Of Good Things 46:09

3M ago46:09

46:09

Did God really say you can't do this, or you can't do that? This kind of thought gets in our minds and then we nurture the thought. We cultivate the thought and so begins the process of eventually firing God and replacing him with me, ourselves, and off the rails we go to live happily ever after, or maybe not. So let me just bring this down to us a…

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The Rise of Equitable Grading with Adam Tyner 25:09

3M ago25:09

25:09

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Adam Tyner, national research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, about his new report, “Equitable” Grading Through the Eyes of Teachers. They discuss what “equitable grading” means, how widespread policies like no zeros, unlimited retakes, and no late penalties have become, and what teachers really think of t…

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Ancient Wisdom For Modern Life: part 2 46:17

3M ago46:17

46:17

The politics of the world matters; right, left, Democrat, Republican, conservative, progressive. But the church is a community of those whose first identity is who they are in the Trinity and to the Trinity. So, our first passion and first agenda and first focus is not right, left, progressive, conservative, Democrat, Republican. It is kingdom. It …

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Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life: Grow Up-part 1 42:41

4M ago42:41

42:41

Immaturity is one of the glaring problems facing the church in our country right now. Immaturity. Christian immaturity. Christians acting immature. There are far too many who claim to be Christian, standing in their highchairs with nothing on but a diaper, demanding dessert right here and right now. Christians who have not and are not, allowing the…

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A Free-Market Guide to Zoning with David Stokes 24:00

4M ago24:00

24:00

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Show-Me Institute Director of Municipal Policy David Stokes about his new paper in the Free-Market Guide to Missouri Municipalities series on planning and zoning. They discuss how fragmentation among local governments can limit overly strict zoning, how zoning rules affect housing affordability, and why “last house syn…

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The Story Continues 33:32

4M ago33:32

33:32

You see, whether we realize it or not, we are all living a story. I know some of you in your mind, are in your head just saying, "No, I'm not. I live in the real world.” But you see the real world is a story. The real the real world is a series of connected events and actions by significant characters that are leading to a particular end. You are l…

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Missouri’s Nuclear Opportunity with Avery Frank 16:18

4M ago16:18

16:18

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Show-Me Institute policy analyst Avery Frank about his new report, Connecting Nuclear Energy’s Past and Present: Guiding Missouri’s Future. They discuss why electricity demand is rising again, why major companies are turning back to nuclear, and how Missouri can position itself to benefit. From data centers and AI to r…

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Why America Can’t Build Enough Housing with Edward L. Glaeser 22:27

4M ago22:27

22:27

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Edward L.Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about America’s housing crisis. They discuss why affordability is a supply problem, how zoning and land-use rules drive up costs, the decline of suburban building, and what states like Miss…

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The Never Ending Story: Messiah 33:23

4M ago33:23

33:23

Jesus comes though not to abolish the tedium of God's laws, but to actually live them out, to show us what a life lived by God's system under God's government looks like. And not only that, he teaches us the details of how with God's ongoing help, we can live that way.By David Holcomb

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What the Media Gets Wrong About School Choice with Matthew Ladner 22:25

4M ago22:25

22:25

Susan Pendergrass talks with Matthew Ladner, senior advisor for education policy implementation at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, about a recent Washington Post article blaming Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts for school closures in the Roosevelt Elementary School District. They unpack the real reasons behind decli…

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Ep. 47: Jack Hendler of Jack's Abby Craft Lagers on Evolving American Lager Beyond German Traditions 50:47

4M ago50:47

50:47

Send us a text Jack Hendler of Jack's Abbey Craft Lagers shares his journey from an ice manufacturing family to becoming a pioneering force in American craft lager brewing. His vision goes beyond recreating European styles, challenging American brewers to develop their own lager identity using local ingredients and innovative techniques while honor…

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Faith-Based Charter Schools and the Future of School Choice with Andy Smarick 28:55

4M ago28:55

28:55

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Andy Smarick, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, about a recent U.S. Supreme Court case that could reshape the debate over faith-based charter schools. They explore the constitutional questions at the heart of the case, including the tension between the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, and why …

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The Never Ending Story: Prophets 33:10

4M ago33:10

33:10

If I were to give you two words for the role of the prophets, they would be, WAKE UP! Remember, they were a people who were to represent the way of God, the alternative to the systems and cultures of the world, but they like us, continue to believe that their ways were somehow better than God's ways. And as we see not just in the Bible, but in both…

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Crime, Public Safety, and Perception in St. Louis with Braxton Steele 14:27

5M ago14:27

14:27

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Braxton Steele, intern at the Show-Me Institute and student at Missouri State University, about his summer research on crime and public safety in St. Louis. They discuss his personal experiences living in the city, how crime in St. Louis compares to other Missouri cities and peer cities across the country, the gap betw…

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The Never Ending Story: King 33:47

5M ago33:47

33:47

Maybe the choices that you've made have screwed up your life. Maybe they've screwed up the lives of others. But regardless of which mistakes that you are carrying today or maybe even running from today, the mistakes that we're trying to ignore, the the mistakes that we're trying to avoid, the good news of the story of the kings of Israel is that no…

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The One Big Education Opportunity with Shaka Mitchell 26:21

5M ago26:21

26:21

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Shaka Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children, about how a new federal scholarship tax credit, created through the One Big Beautiful Bill, could transform K–12 education across the country. They discuss what this means for Missouri families, the legal threats facing the MOScholars program, how e…

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The Never Ending Story: Land 33:43

5M ago33:43

33:43

The story continues to unfold today as it has for thousands of years. God is creating a community that identifies as God's people and they and he interact, relate, and work together toward the fulfillment of his purposes; land, people, God, place, heaven, earth, co-mingling, interacting, intersecting, roots being set down, and all of this adding up…

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Ep. 46: Talking Halfway There & Cask Fest with Sean Nordquist of TBBW and TBBA 30:52

5M ago30:52

30:52

Send us a text Tampa Bay's beer scene continues to evolve in remarkable ways, with the Halfway There Beer Festival marking its 11th year and an exciting new Cask Festival joining the calendar. Sean Nordquist of the Tampa Bay Brewers Alliance shares the vision behind both events, detailing how they showcase the region's maturing craft beer community…

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Understanding the Decline in Student Test Scores with Jim Wyckoff 21:17

5M ago21:17

21:17

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Dr. Jim Wyckoff, professor at the University of Virginia and director of the Education Policy Ph.D. program, about the long-term decline in student academic achievement. They discuss how national test scores, especially for the lowest-performing students, began falling well before the pandemic, why the usual explanatio…

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The Never Ending Story: Law 40:28

5M ago40:28

40:28

Our service on Sunday was a deep breath from the day-to-day crazy of our lives. Pastor Mike encouraged us to sit in this idea that God's invitation to you to follow him, to trust him, to live in his ways, is immense. It covers quite literally everything.” “The one who loves fulfills the law.” - Romans 13:18 Please use this link from The Bible Proje…

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Ep. 45: Chip McElroy of Live Oak Brewing - Decoction and Tradition 59:46

5M ago59:46

59:46

Send us a text What if brewing beer the traditional way wasn't just nostalgia, but the path to superior flavor? Chip McElroy, founder of Live Oak Brewing Company, has been proving this point since 1997 in the heart of Texas. When most craft breweries were chasing new flavors and shortcuts, Live Oak doubled down on decoction mashing, traditional Eur…

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One Big Beautiful Bill Breakdown, Part II with Elias Tsapelas 25:00

5M ago25:00

25:00

Susan Pendergrass is joined again by Elias Tsapelas, director of state budget and fiscal policy at the Show-Me Institute, for Part II of their conversation on the sweeping federal legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” They unpack what the bill means for Missouri taxpayers, including changes to the standard deduction, tips and overtime,…

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The Never Ending Story – Deliverence 40:28

5M ago40:28

40:28

In Exodus 14:13, Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance that the Lord will bring you today. These Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. You need only to be still.”By David Holcomb

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The Never Ending Story – Covenant 35:31

6M ago35:31

35:31

Was it Abraham and Sarah's choices that made a nation, a people, a world where a poor teenage Judean girl could answer an angel? Yes, I am the Lord's slave. May it be to me according to your word. Or was it all God acting, directing, intervening? Yes. And yes, God has willed and designed his creation to be partnership. That is something we have to …

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Ep. 44: Brad Clark of Private Press Brewing - Every barrel tells a story 1:08:57

6M ago1:08:57

1:08:57

Send us a text Brad Clark, the brewing mind behind Private Press Brewing Company, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable journey from homebrewing enthusiast to barrel-aging virtuoso in this deeply personal conversation about craft beer evolution, artistic brewing philosophy, and entrepreneurial courage. From his teenage experimentation with impor…