Acton Vault

Communism took power in Cuba through deceit and intrigue in 1959. While Fidel Castro denied he was a communist, promising to restore democracy in the island, he began consolidating totalitarian rule and exporting revolution in Latin America and Africa. 

As the totalitarian dictatorship became evident, Cuba's democratic resistance defied the Castro regime in two phases: 1959-1966 (violent resistance) and 1976 - present (non-violent resistance). US Cuba policy would undergo dramatic changes between 1959 and the present with consequences for the entire hemisphere. 

In this episode, we're bringing you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2018 Acton Lecture Series featuring John Suarez as he explores Cuba’s history and looks to its future in this address.

Bio | John Suarez 

Center for a FREE Cuba 

Cuba Libre: Protestors call for an end to communism and oppression 

How global leaders used COVID-19 to restrict religious liberty 

Acton Lecture Series 

Acton Institute Events Podcast 

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For decades, the race to space was the domain of the state.  Today space is rapidly becoming commercialized, opening vast opportunities for entrepreneurs.  The commercialization of space also brings challenges.   

In this episode, we're bringing you a panel discussion featuring Daniel Britt, PhD., Joel Sercel, PhD., and Paul Stimers, PhD., that was delivered as part of Acton University Online 2021. The discussion was moderated by Stephen Barrows, PhD., Managing Director of Programs here at the Acton Institute.

This panel celebrates the role of the new space entrepreneurs and discusses the legal and philosophical principles which should underlie humanity’s shift from space exploration to industrialization and settlement.  

Bio | Daniel Britt, Ph.D. 

Bio | Joel Sercel, Ph.D. 

Bio | R. Paul Stimers, JD 

Bio | Stephen Barrows, Ph.D. 

Acton Line | Joel Sercel on the ethics of space exploration 

Acton Institute PowerBlog | The stewardship of space 

Acton Lecture Series 

Acton Institute Events Podcast 

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In January 1982, Marina Nemat, then just sixteen years old, was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for political crimes. Until then, her life in Tehran had centered around school, summer parties at the lake, and her crush on Andre, the young man she had met at church. But when math and history were subordinated to the study of the Koran and political propaganda, Marina protested. Her teacher replied, "If you don't like it, leave." She did, and, to her surprise, other students followed. Soon she was arrested with hundreds of other youths who had dared to speak out, and they were taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Two guards interrogated her. One beat her into unconsciousness; the other, Ali, fell in love with her. Sentenced to death for refusing to give up the names of her friends, she was minutes from being executed when Ali, using his family connections to Ayatollah Khomeini, plucked her from the firing squad and had her sentence reduced to life in prison. But he exacted a shocking price for saving her life -- with a dizzying combination of terror and tenderness, he asked her to marry him and abandon her Christian faith for Islam. If she didn't, he would see to it that her family was harmed. She spent the next two years as a prisoner of the state, and of the man who held her life, and her family's lives, in his hands. Her search for emotional redemption envelops her jailers, her husband and his family, and the country of her birth -- each of whom she grants the greatest gift of all: forgiveness.

Marina Nemat was born in 1965 in Tehran, Iran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, she was arrested at the age of sixteen and spent more than two years in Evin, a political prison in Tehran, where she was tortured and came very close to execution. She came to Canada in 1991 and has called it home ever since. Her memoir of her life in Iran, "Prisoner of Tehran" (Penguin Canada 2007), has been published in 28 other countries, and has been an international bestseller. In 2007, Marina received the inaugural Human Dignity Award from the European Parliament, and in 2008, she received the prestigious Grinzane Prize in Italy. In 2008/2009, she was an Aurea Fellow at University of Toronto’s Massey College, where she wrote her second book, "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed" (Penguin Canada 2010). Marina regularly speaks at high schools, universities, and conferences around the world and sits on the Board of Directors at CCVT (Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture) and on advisory boards at ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture) and PEN Canada. She also teaches memoir writing, in Farsi and in English, at the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto and writes book reviews for The Globe and Mail.

This presentation was delivered as part of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series. 

Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison 

Religious liberty versus secular tyranny 

Marina Nemat speaks at Acton University 2013 

An interview with Marina Nemat 

Acton Lecture Series 

Acton Institute Events Podcast 

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Saul Alinsky might be called the "anti-Acton". As Lord Acton warned that power corrupts, Saul Alinsky, the father of modern "community organizing", rejoiced that corruption empowers. Decades after Alinsky's death his ideas and teaching continue to shape the American political and social landscape. This lecture given by Joseph A. Morris, President of The Lincoln Legal Foundation, supplies an overview of Alinksy's thinking and shows its application in current events.

This presentation was delivered as part of the 2010 Acton Lecture Series. Although this lecture was 11 years ago, the influence of Alinksy’s writings are more dominant now in our political culture than ever before. 

The Heartland Institute - Joseph A. Morris 

Events | Acton Institute 

The roots of radicals' rage 

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In this episode, we're bringing you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2021 Acton Lecture Series featuring Dr. Carl Trueman on his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. In this timely work, he explores the development of the sexual revolution as a symptom—rather than the cause—of the human search for identity. Trueman surveys the past, brings clarity to the present, and gives guidance for the future as Christians navigate the culture in humanity’s ever-changing quest for identity.

Book: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self 

Why the Market Needs the Family 

The libertine road to serfdom – Acton Institute PowerBlog 

What do the Cold War and the Sexual Revolution have in common? 

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The greatest civilization of ancient times expired more than 1,500 years ago but the lessons to be learned from its experience are eternal. In this lecture, Lawrence W. Reed focuses on the Roman Republic—the key features, personalities and events that defined its rise as well as those that caused its decay in the First Century B.C. into an imperial autocracy. Many of the trends of our day echo those of the ancient Republic, which make its lessons all the more relevant, even pressing, for us now.

Reed became president of the Foundation for Economic Education in 2008. Prior to that, he was founder and president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan. He also taught economics and chaired the department of economics at Northwood University in Michigan from 1977 to 1984. He holds a B.A. in economics from Grove City College and an M.A. in history from Slippery Rock State University.

Foundation for Economic Education

The History of Freedom in Antiquity 

Romenomics: How to understand the present through the commercial past

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In this episode, we're bringing you a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2021 Acton Lecture Series featuring Jessica Hooten Wilson speaking on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his fight against propaganda using art to force "even an opposing heart to surrender." Through fiction, Solzhenitsyn provides a way to love our so-called enemies, encourage conversation rather than silencing, and, even when all appears despairing, open the door to hope.

Solzhenitsyn: Prophet to America

Solzhenitsyn's advice to the free world

Solzhenitsyn: Freedom's habits and hindrances

Alexander Solzhenitsyn - Religion & Liberty

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the dragon slayer

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In this episode we bring you an Acton Lecture featuring Dr. Patrick Gerry as he addresses the false promise of big government. 

The debate over the size and scope of the federal government has raged since the New Deal. So why have opponents of big government so rarely made political headway? Because they fail to address the fundamental issue.

Patrick Garry is a law professor with a Ph.D. in constitutional history. He has testified before Congress on constitutional issues and is a contributor to The Oxford Companion to the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the author of numerous constitutional law books, including Wrestling With God: The Court's Tortuous Treatment of Religion and An Entrenched Legacy: How the New Deal Constitutional Revolution Continues to Shape the Role of the Supreme Court.

Is big government a near occasion of sin?

Fearing Big Government 

Class warriors for big government

Rev. Sirico: The dangers of accepting government money, even in a crisis  

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Beginning with a conversation prompted by African American scholars like Dr. Alvin Poussaint of Harvard Medical School, to the current Black Lives Matter movement, there has been much debate about what led to the death of George Floyd as well as other systemic challenges that undermine black thriving. 

Anthony Bradley provides a distinctly Christian perspective on what is needed for black communities to thrive from within. In addition to the social and structural issues that must be addressed, within black communities there are opportunities for social change based on God's vision for human flourishing. 

Although the Black Lives Matter movement keeps the church on the margins, Bradley believes that enduring change cannot happen without the church and other civil-society institutions.

Why do black lives matter?

Black Marriage Matters

The rise of the black entrepreneur: A new force for economic and moral leadership 

How Christians should think about racism and police brutality 

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On June 17th, 1997, United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the keynote address at the Acton Institute's 7th Annual Anniversary dinner. His remarks were entitled "On Interpreting the Constitution."

Justice Scalia was arguably the Supreme Court’s most famous originalist in interpreting the Constitution. Scalia was equally known for using a textualist approach to statutory interpretation of the law.

Back when he gave this address, originalism and textualism were essentially synonymous. Today however, there is a clear distinction between the two. Originalism is the interpretation of the Constitution as it would have been understood when it was first adopted. Textualism is the idea that what the text says, is simply the law. 

According to Scalia, the constitution is static - it cannot change and should not be open to discussion surrounding historical or present inquiries.

This approach directly opposes the idea that the Constitution is a living document which should adapt to our ever changing culture and societal norms. Scalia’s argument is that instead of examining the intentions of the drafters, we should look to the common understanding of the text at the time it was written.

Scalia believed that the law does not allow room for hearsay or subjective interpretations, and is often quoted as saying, “The text is the law, and it is the text that must be observed.”

Biography on Justice Scalia

5 Facts About The U.S. Constitution

What is our Constitution? - by Justice Antonin Scalia

The Constitutional Way to Defeat Cancel Culture

Acton Video - Justice Antonin Scalia's Keynote Address

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