Bobby interviews Patricia Colling Egan, author of A Book of Hours: Meditations on the Traditional Christian Hours of Prayer.

Bobby interviews Fr. Lawrence Farley, author of The Gospel of Luke: Good News for the Poor.

Bobby interviews Fr. James Guirguis, the author of the new Ancient Faith Publishing book Ask for the Ancient Paths: Discovering What Church Is Meant to Be.

Bobby interviews Katherine Hyde, an acquisitions editor at Ancient Faith Publishing, about the new Ancient Faith Prayer Book.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Michael Shanbour, the author of the new AFP book Know the Faith: A Handbook for Orthodox Christians and Inquirers.

On another live version of Ex Libris, Bobby Maddex interviews Melinda Johnson, the author of The Barn and the Book.

Bobby Maddex interviews Summer Kinard, the author of the new Ancient Faith Publishing book Of Such Is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability.

Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Philip Mamalakis, the author of the new AFP book Parenting Toward the Kingdom: Orthodox Christian Principles of Child-Rearing.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Evan Armatas, priest at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Loveland, Colorado, the host of the AFR live Sunday-night call-in show Orthodoxy Live, and the host of the AFR podcast Transforming Our Lives in Christ. And now he has published his first book with Ancient Faith Ministries titled Toolkit for Spiritual Growth: A Practical Guide to Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.

Readers Sarah Werner and Catherine Kostyn review Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Mind by Dr. Jeannie Constantinou.

John Mark talks about character formation and what to look for in higher education opportunities.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds discusses the book "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music"by Chancellor Gregory Alan Thornbury of the King's College.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds talks about the importance of celebrating Black History Month. He also addresses what happens, what goes wrong, when the church is co-opted by *anything,* even good things.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds speaks with teacher Miray Katrib about languages, growing up in Lebanon and Miami, and staying in the Faith.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds speaks with teacher Miray Katrib about coming to the St. Constantine School, and the importance of language learning.

Does it matter what happens to our bodies after we die? The Orthodox Christian faith says, "Yes!"

Do the words that we use to describe the various stages and conditions of human life really matter?

Wesley J. Smith shares the story of his friend, Robert Salamanca, who died peacefully with dignity of ALS.

Will the United States follow the lead of other countries who have put into law the most radical euthanasia policies?

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's research center responsible for robotic space missions, will lay off more workers before the year ends due to budget constraints. JPL Director Laurie Leshin has announced in a memo addressed to employees that the reduction will affect 325 people, or about five percent of its whole workforce. Leshin explained that the lab took various measures to meet its budget allocation for the 2025 fiscal year and to minimize the adverse effects of a limited budget on its workers. In the end, though, JPL "reached the difficult decision" to make "one further workforce reduction."

The lab already cut 530 employees and cut over 100 contractors from its roster earlier this year because of uncertainty over the final budget that the Congress will give NASA for 2024. It also froze hiring in response to the dilemma. The main reason why the lab had to implement those measures was because the Mars Sample Return Program was allocated a much smaller budget than it needed. NASA had requested $950 million for the mission, but only $300 million was allocated for it. 

NASA's original plan was to bring home the samples collected by the mission in 2040. But its budget ballooned from $7 billion to $11 billion, and as The Washington Post notes, the government found the return date "unacceptable." For the 2025 fiscal year, NASA only requested $200 million for the project that could go through significant changes. The agency is now looking for ways to alter the mission and is even considering proposals from private companies. 

Leshin said that the layoffs will affect all areas of the lab, including its technical, business and support divisions. "[W]e had to tighten our belts across the board, and you will see that reflected in the layoff impacts," she said. JPL's director also said that the US presidential election results have nothing to do with the reduction that the "action would be happening regardless" of its outcome. 

It’s 2024, and chances are you know at least one person who works remotely in some fashion. While the WFH life has its perks — nobody likes a long commute — it certainly comes with its own set of challenges, from lacking pro-level equipment to dealing with household disturbances. If you’re looking to give a gift to someone who spends much of their time in their home office, we’ve rounded up a few techy gift ideas that should make their days a little more delightful, or at least easier to manage.

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

Apple and art house film company A24 are in early development on a film about convicted crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried with a script written by Lena Dunham, Variety reported. The project will be based on the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon that many critics found overly deferential to Bankman-Fried. 

The book describes the dizzying rise and equally vertiginous fall of Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange and Alameda hedge fund. However, it paints the FTX founder as a benevolent prodigy and glosses over the fact that he embezzled billions of dollars from customers and spent it on things like celebrity endorsements, political donations and high-end real-estate purchases.  

FTX was worth billions at its peak, but the exchange eventually collapsed and Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Most FTX customers will get their original investments back, plus interest, but that's based on a bitcoin price of around $17,000 — and the current price is nearly five times that.

Basing the film on Lewis's fawning hagiography isn't a promising start. Hopefully, Dunham or other writers will also draw on far better books (like Numbers Go Up by Zeke Faux) that show the dark, scammy side of crypto promoters like Bankman-Fried and the entire industry in general.

Apple Original Films and A24 have announced other collaborations recently, including the Spike Lee and Denzel Washington film High and Low. Other scripted FTX projects are also in the works, including a limited Amazon Prime series from the Russo brothers based on the 2022 FTX collapse. 

Dr. Christine Mangala Frost has lectured widely on comparative religion and is a published novelist with two books to her name exploring the consequences of religious belief for human action. She is currently working on a study comparing and contrasting Hindu and the Christian Orthodox beliefs. Here she presents a reflection on the theme of theodicy in relation to the Book of Job.