The Eric Metaxas Show - Ron Howard & Colin Farrell

Episode Date: August 5, 2022

Ron Howard has a new Hollywood blockbuster, "Thirteen Lives," the true story of boys trapped in a Thai cave -- Eric interviews Ron, as well as one of the stars of the film, Colin Farrell.

Folks, welcome to the Eric Mattaxas show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy pm investments.com. A Texas show with your host, Eric Mettaxas. Hey there, folks. Welcome to Thursday. My guest today is the great Ron Howard, the director. Yes, the director of how many movies? Apollo 13. Anyway, look, the new film, he played Opie. We know that in the Andy Griffith show.

He played Richie Cunningham in Happy Days. And Albin, you know what? I need to warn people. Yeah. The film that he just made, it's called 13 Lives. I want to talk to you about that in a second so people understand why Ron Howard was willing to be interviewed by Eric McAxis. but before we get into the film 13 lives, which of course I discuss with Ron Howard in the interview,

which we're going to air in a minute. When I interviewed him, whenever I am confronted with somebody in whom I am somewhat, well, I would say of whom I am in somewhat in awe, I tend to joke around because, you know, when I interviewed, when I spoke to Clarence Thomas on the phone, when I met Woody Allen, when I interviewed Mel Gibson, I always got to start out with a joke kind of for my mental health. I got a joke my way through it. So with Ron Howard, most people know, a lot of people know that in the 70s, he was the star of Happy Days, you know, with Fonzie, Arthur Fonzarelli. It was just this celebration of the 1950s, which was a sitcom on ABC in the 70s. And so I watched it growing up. And there was another show that was pretty famous. in the 70s on another network.

And it was called the Walton's. It was huge. So the star of that show was John Boy, John Boy Walton, who was the actor, Richard Thomas. So in my interview with Ron Howard, I opened it up just to knock him off of his balance. I opened up by saying, Ron, I'm interviewing you from my parents' home, my childhood home where I grew up, which is true because it was last Friday. and I was in my parents' home on the computer, and I said, I'm in my childhood home, where I watched you every week as John Boy in the Walton's.

And of course, I watched him every week as Richie Cunningham on happy days, but just to play with his head, you know, because I'm a jerk. So I said that to him. And as you'll hear in the interview, he roared with laughter because he was like, what? And then he realized, oh, this idiot probably thinks that I play John Boy. So he has to kind of correct me, whatever. And then I think I let him know that I was in on the joke and whatever.

But I closed the interview by saying and in closing, let me simply say, good night, John Boy. And he praises me. He goes, I see you've got the structure there. You got the, can imagine being praised by Ron Howard for structure? The man who makes films. Speaking of the film, Albin. Yes, sir. You and I saw the film with Chris Himes a couple weeks ago, the special screening here in New York City.

it's a harrowing film. It's not a fun film, but it's an important film. It's an excellent film. And it's, there are a lot of films like that. Like, you know, you don't go to see Schindler's list because you think,

hey, it's going to be, it's going to be a blast. It's a fun. It's like Jurassic Park. It's actually, it falls more under the category of important, but it's so well done that you submit yourself

to the unpleasantness of going on this ride of these 13, most people know that in 2018, 13 boys, members of a soccer team in Thailand were trapped in a flooded cave. It's a story like you talk about you can't make it up. It's an unbelievable story. And it's harrowing. If you're not a fan of cave diving, which I'm not.

You know, I'm not a fan of caves or diving. but when you live through this, because the film is so well made, you really feel like you were there. Yeah. And I talked to Ron Howard about that. Yeah. And you did the entire interview soaking wet. As an homage, as an homage to Ron Howard's work in these flooded caves. Yes, I conducted the interview sopping wet.

We might be joking about that, actually. But seriously, it was, well, when we were in the theater album, you blow my mind. you saw this film twice. Yes, I did. I mean, I was surprised. I mean, after seeing it once, I thought, okay, this is, this is, it's an important film made by an important filmmaker, but I don't know that I'd want to see it a second time. I hid under the seats the first time.

It was so scary and so claustrophobic. But I wanted to see it again because now I could relax because I knew it was a happy ending. That's why it's called 13 Lives. Oh my gosh. Anyway, we're going to play that interview with Ron Howard. Now, the two main divers in the film are played by Vigo Mortensen. Most of you know him from, you know, like Lord of the Rings and Colin Farrell. You know, these are two big deal Hollywood movie stars.

And they play these kind of humble roles in the film, the roles of these divers that. And you know what? what I didn't talk to Ron Howard about because we didn't have the time, but anybody who says there's no God, you got to ask yourself, why would human beings risk their lives to save strangers? Why would you do that? If this is all there is, why do people do these heroic things? I argue, I would argue, I do argue now that it's because deep inside every one of us, we're made in God's image and we know what is right and we know what is right. wrong. And there's no other explanation. I mean, what does an atheist say? I mean, they have all

these sad excuses. They'll say something like, oh, it's just evolution programs us or whatever. Well, then if that's true, there is nothing heroic about what these divers did. There is nothing commendable about what these divers did. Inumerable divers. I mean, I don't know how many are involved. One of them loses his life. So it's a beautiful film. I just want to say that. By the way, they're turning it into a ride over at Universal. Yes, a fun ride. They sedate you and then they drag you 2.5 kilometers through tight passageways. It's a barrel of laughs.

I tell you, Albin, you're nuts. So let's say before we get into all of that, let me remind my audience, folks, there's some things that you need to do. You need to do. you need first of all to go to our radio website, which is metaxus talk.com. And if you haven't yet, give to food for the poor, we need your help. We won't stop talking about it. We need your help.

There are folks really suffering in Ukraine, and they need our help. And we want to show the love of God by helping these folks, many of whom literally don't have food. been chased out of their homes. They've escaped their war-torn communities. They're suffering. And our job is not to ask why or the details. We're just, we're there to show up and to help people and to be God's hands and feet in these situations. So we want you to go to the website, my website, my radio website, metaxis talk.com. If you're able to call, I'm asking you to make a phone call 844-863 hope. 844-863 hope.

And I really do want to say thank you because there's so many of you that step up. We need you to step up this week. The situation is really dire. 11 million meals have been delivered. Five million meals have yet to be delivered. They can't do that without your help. It's why they came to the Eric Metaxa show so that I would ask you to help. So there are people who are literally hungry and suffering, really suffering, and we want you to do what you can.

You can call 844-8663 Hope, 844-863 Hope. 844-8663 Hope. Please do that today, 844-863 Hope or go to Metaxistalk.com. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at erikmetaxis.com. It is vital. We cannot communicate with you. Eric Mataxis. com.

Sign up for the newsletter. And then finally, let me say, go to SalemNow.com because there's a new film there that we want you to see. It's called Uncle Tom 2. Our friend Larry Elder has made it. It is just another one of these tremendous offerings at SalemNow.com. We have to educate ourselves. Yeah. And if you saw Uncle Tom 1, which was a great film, by the way, this is Uncle Tom 2, which is the Uncle Tommyist.

It's a good one. It's the Uncle Tommy of the Uncle Tom films. All right. We'll be right back and Ron Howard and yaddy, yada, yada. In case you haven't been paying attention, the Biden administration has caused a financial crisis and they have no clue how to fix it. Oil prices have skyrocketed.

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I think that's pretty obvious. Good to see all of you. And I've got some basic questions. I want you to pay close attention. These are going to be tough, hard-hitting journalistic questions. Now, Poo, is that your name? My name, yes, sir. What was your relationship to the, are you Thai?

That's my first point. I am Thai, yes. I thought so. What was your relationship to this story as it was unfolding in real time? In other words, while this is happening in Thailand, the whole world's paying attention, but as somebody who is Thai, what were you thinking at the time? Obviously, you weren't thinking you're going to be in a film about this in a few years. Or did that cross your mind?

No, no, it's not. I think you answered it already. It's the fact that I am Thai. And this is a very cultural thing. We are people that love to help one another. And when this situation happened, this is what we would do. I wanted to help. But like I mentioned before, I don't know how to dive.

I could go up and cook for them because I do have a restaurant. I would take the time out to do that. But there were a lot of people there already. So it's best I say out of the way. So like many others, we just keep up with the news and wish for the best and hope for the best. It was a very, it made you closer to your friends and your family and your loved ones. Because like I said also, I have four kids. and if one of my kids were stuck in there at the time,

Lord, I don't know what I would do, and I would end up thanking all these divers and everybody who would be there to help them as it turned out to be that these guys turned up and help the tight children. Okay. Colin, let me ask you, the most basic question, what was the appeal to you in taking on a role like this?

Well, one of the most heroic things about John Valentin and indeed many of the other people who were involved in this rescue, was their humility and was the apparent lack of the desire to be perceived as heroes that they had, which is not just for show, talking to John and spending the hours on FaceTime that I spent with John and researching all the guys that were involved, the humility was very, very clear and present. And plus, I was very humbled by the magnitude of the story, by all the things that Poo is spoken about by the emotional and psychological and cultural importance of what was happening

in real time in Thailand and how the Thai people came together. And also to be an actor, to be somebody who involves oneself in the artifice of make-believe and the attempt in trying to present it as a reality to portray these men of incredible strength and bravery was almost embarrassing. I couldn't be further from the kind of steel that they lived in and that they used and the kind of psychological strength that they have, that they leaned into to save these boys. So all those reasons. And look, I just, it was a great script. It's a beautiful story. I wanted to work with Ron Howard. I've loved his film since Splash and Parenthood and what have you. So it was ultimately as much of a no-brainer as they ever speak about, you know?

Well, it's interesting because I think anybody who's seen the film, you do feel a sense of inadequacy. When you see what these people did, it's sort of horrifying and mesmerizing and compelling and almost humiliating in a way when you realize what people do for other people, which I guess- That's the most beautiful thing about it all. Sorry, it was honest to God, because it's a world that we're all living in the same world. And however we feel about the world we're living in, we must recognize the existence. of separation and division, which is more prominent now than any of the years I can remember as a 46-year-old man. So to have a story that isn't Hollywood-eyes, that wasn't created from the imagination of somebody that wants to present a more beautiful world, but was actually for a moment in time,

in Thailand and globally for two weeks in 2018, a beautiful moment, albeit a scary moment, to be a human being because the world's attention was focused on the dire need of these 13 people, 12 of which were young kids and one adult. It was an extraordinary. thing to see everyone come together. And it just proved in a very practical way that we are at our best when we're considering the well-being of each other. Okay, so that was my interview with Colin Farrell. And right now we want to play for you my actual interview with the director, Ron Howard. Here it is. I have to say to you, Ron Howard, I'm in my parents' home where I grew up watching you play John Boy on the Walton's every week. And I want to thank you for your work in that film.

You know, I was, I wasn't John Boy. I, uh, the, uh, just, I, I, I, I was on other shows. And I was a guest star. I was just testing. I was just testing you. I just wanted to play with your head. I was actually paying attention. I was actually listening to your question. But you know, no, but it's, it's true actually, you know, watched you growing up, uh, not just on Andy Griffith in this house, but also obviously on happy days. But what I want to ask you about this film, it made me think of the film that you were in The Shootest. The idea that we have made films once upon a time with characters like John Wayne and obviously Jimmy Stewart, whom you were privileged to work with at such a young age. But I think of that film that you were in,

And it's almost surreal to me that you were with them in a film. But I think of that film, and I think of the film 13 Lives that you have just made, and how almost astonishingly different they are, different kinds of films. And so my question is, why did you choose to make a film like this? Because it really is almost unlike anything that I can think of. Well, thank you. And look, I've been blessed to have decades and decades in the business and go back to a period that was still quite traditional where a Hollywood movie was a very unique thing. And it was a, you know, and audiences have shifted and changed. And it's been very exciting for me and in a way, energizing to recognize that change. Part of that is a kind of. a globalization and an expectation of what a story can mean, what cinema can mean. And honesty and authenticity, particularly in a movie like this, it's based on real events,

has become a standard and an expectation. I wanted to make sure that we push that to its most contemporary sort of limits and really give audiences, you know, use modern technology and cinema to try to give audiences as much as possible, a sense of what it was like to be there, which also means, you know, don't over-dramatize, don't ham it up. Now, in recent years, I've also been working on documentaries, and I have recognized through a lot of the documentary scenes that I've edited together and included in the films, the way people act under duress is often not as hyped up and dramatic as we tend to stage it in movies. And I tried to reflect that in this movie as well.

I'm probably the only person who will ever do this, but I, the comparison for me, I was trying to think, what did this film remind me of? What did the experience of watching this film remind me of? And I think I'll surprise you by telling you that it reminded me of watching Mel Gibson's the Passion because it was harrowing. It was a harrowing experience. It was not kind of an Appalienian, like I'm watching something from a distance. It was like Dionysian, I am there. I don't really want to be there, but there's value in being there, especially if there's a happy ending. But you don't think of it as the kind of a film that you watch like, hey, we're going to have a great time. You watch it almost because it feels like a good thing. I guess like

Schindler's List is an example of that, but I really did think of the passion because it was something harrowing about going through this journey. And your filmmaking is so expert at this point that it, you did an amazing job of making me as the viewer feel like I was actually there, and I didn't want to be there. But somehow, because of the redemptive elements of the story, it was amazing. That's a fascinating comparison, and I can actually understand it as you say it, and that's a movie that impressed me, and I saw a couple of times. And I was also impressed by the, you know, the use of the language, which, you know, is, and part of what Raymond's role was in all of this in joining the producing team was to bridge the gap and make sure that that 30% or 40% of the movie that is in Thai was absolutely authentic, not just in terms of translation, but also freeing up the actors to really, you know, invest themselves in it.

Maybe you could explain the process. Well, yeah, I mean, like, you know, like, you know, there's Aramaic and Passion of Christ. And, you know, in our case, it's another kind of like rare language because what they're speaking most of the time are actually not Thai, but northern dialect. And I think that, you know, trying to bring such a abstract language, it's not really spoken by many people and to make them in a film like this, which is kind of rare because even in Thailand, you don't actually see people ever speaking northern dialect in Thai cinema. And I think that the fact that we went that, you know, went all the way there, thanks to you, because, you know, you know, your dedication because you wanted to make sure that, you know, you wanted to make it as realistic as possible and a lot of the documentary things that you said to me before as well, you know, to really capture that in the most, you know, authentic way possible.

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Holy guacamole. Albin. Albin. Yeah. Last night. Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to tell you, because we're, we're the, the segment you just heard, we recorded a couple of days ago. This segment, we're live today. This is Thursday, August 4th. And yesterday, August 3rd, we taped the first of these four inaugural

episodes of The Talk Show starring Eric Metaxus. And, Albin, I want to say that it, I'm just grateful to the Lord for how it went yesterday. It was so wonderful. I did. I do. I did not expect it to be so smooth, to be so funny. The audience was astonishing, fantastic audience, which makes all the difference. And my guests yesterday, now, by the way, folks, you can come today, tomorrow and Monday. We're filming more. I'll tell you who our guests are. But yesterday was Carol Alt, supermodel Carol Alt, and the comedian Craig Shoemaker.

And I want to tell you, there are people who show up at a thing like this, they completely bring their A game. I mean, Carol Alt was delightful, utterly delightful, sweet, just energetic. I mean, it was really wonderful. It's kind of what you, you know, you understand that's what you want in a TV talk show guest. We had some funny stuff with her, but Craig Shoemaker is very funny. And his, his, well, yeah, I mean, you know, you hope a comedian's going to be funny, but you don't know until they're, He was brilliantly funny and his impressions of Don Nott's and Jimmy Stewart and five other people. It was amazing. So we're going to air this at some point. But folks, if you want to come to the studio, this is our New York studio today, tomorrow, Monday,

go to my website, Eric Mataxis.com, go to where it says schedule. you can sign up. And I want to tell you, I think, I don't know how many people were signed up, but like 40% of them didn't show up, which is classic New York. You know, if you don't pay, you figure like, I got a head cold. I'm not going to come or whatever. It was still an amazing, amazing audience. I just am so grateful the audience for the whole thing, for the pretty, it was amazing.

So we're doing it again today. And I want to say today, I want to read the list of guests that we have. So if you go to EricMetax.com under speaking or schedule, you can see. how to sign up. But if you can get there, folks, today, tomorrow, and Monday, we've got the Partridge family's Danny Banaducci. I'm going to lose my mind, okay? We have Hollywood legend George Hamilton. We have comedian Tammy Pescatelli, who is hilarious. I've watched her stuff. We have TikTok mega influencer Adam Waheed. Young people lose their minds. It's like he's, you know, He's like Elvis.

Adam Waheed. We have the voice singer Ian Flanagan. Ian Flanagan is a big deal. If you watch The Voice, a huge deal. We have the NBA star and the actor John Sally. And no joke, Mike the situation from the Jersey Shore. We've got other surprises. I mean, it's nuts.

And if you want to come, I'm just telling you. You go to Eric Mataxis.com, and you can sign up there. Anybody in the New York area, you're welcome to join us. We were mingling with the crowd yesterday. I mean, Albin, I was just so thrilled. There were a number of old friends that showed up that surprised us from our Redeemer days. Tom Rusak, Larry Schnaff, just a number of Sean Curry. I didn't know they were going to come.

and I was just I was really moved to see so many old friends there I don't know I really it was it was just amazing

it was amazing but the energy from the audience was just it was absolutely spectacular so if you want to be part of this folks I'm not going to tell you who's going to be the today we have Vincent

of Pastori from the Sopranos he's going to be my guest, as well as Constantine Marullis, Tony Award-winning actor, who's also Greek. We're going to have some fun. From a Tony Award-winning actor, just amazing. What can I tell you? What can I tell you?

All right. Now, before I forget, I want to warn everybody, in hour two today, we have Ask Metaxus coming up. That's the first segment of Hour 2 today. and we've got a bunch of other things. We should probably mention food for the poor. Oh, yeah. Fundraiser with food for the poor. We're doing an August campaign.

If you go to metaxis talk.com and click on the Help Ukraine banner, these people are suffering. And I feel that it's our duty to help those who are suffering, who are struggling. We're all going through stuff. We're all going through stuff. when you've been driven out of your home and you can't feed your kids, that's when you hope somebody out there can help you. So food for the poor, they step up. So they deliver food, water, emergency relief throughout this hemisphere, when there's stuff going on in this hemisphere.

But when there's something particular going on overseas, as in this case, as in the case of these folks being chased out of the Ukraine, out of Ukraine, because the war, they step in. So when we come back, I want to tell you more, but you can go to ericmetaxis.com. That's my website for the stuff on the talk show under speaking. And for this, you have to go to metaxis talk.com. Please go there. Please do something.

We are grateful to you. God bless you, and we will be right back. Okay, folks, we're back. Now, Albin, yesterday's show went amazingly well. I have to say, I was really full of gratitude to God for the answered prayers. This is a heart. I mean, well, you and I have worked together for five years now, believe it or not, long time.

And I really felt while I was up on the stage there with you, but I could tell that you were in the zone. And your ad libs particularly were really funny. You know, some things are scripted, but you're ad libs. And even the opening monologue, you know, you rehearse it and you don't get the laughs because there's no audience. But when the audience is there, they really love the jokes and all that. But what you would tag on to the jokes and the punchlines, that also got a joke. I've got a big laugh because, again, you were in the zone. So people have to come to the theater tonight.

What's that? A lot of people assume it's the cocaine, but I'm telling you it's not. No, it's not. I've seen you on both, with and without, you know, but no. Right. It was, yeah. No, it's, it's, I meant Diet Coke. No, but seriously, it is an amazing experience when you have a live audience there.

It does kind of bring your best out. But it was so wonderful. And I just want to thank everybody who was there and everybody who's going to be there tonight and tomorrow and Monday. you're part of something when you you I mean we've been saying this but we're not blowing smoke folks this is this is we're gonna we're gonna take these four episodes and we're gonna you know take them out to networks and syndicators and and they will air someplace and we will continue to do this this is a late night TV talk show so it's not like what we're doing here right we're probably not going to be political we're

probably not going to it's a it's a mainstream um kind of thing. And I just feel we need this in the culture. We need something that a whole family can watch together and not feel like it's going to offend them or

embarrass them. And they need to feel like discussions about faith or about traditional values. Like that kind of stuff has a place in the media landscape. Where is it?

It doesn't. doesn't exist today. Well, that's part of why we want to do this. But it's very exciting. Now, I just want to say, I have to say this. Today is August 4th, Thursday, August 4th. I got word this morning that one of my best friends in the world, B.J. Weber has gone to be with Jesus. B.J. was one of my dearest friends. I loved him. I've known him for, it was coming up on 30 years, just one of the dearest friends. And you talk about a servant of God, a man who many, many, many, many, many, many, lives have been changed because of BJ's faithfulness in his calling to share the love of God with everybody. So I just had to say that because I was trying to, you know, talking to my daughter and Suzanne about

you know, why are we so sad? We're not sad because where BJ is. BJ is in a place that is the definition of joy and glory. We're sad because I think you're confronted with the love of God. When somebody passes into eternity, you come face to face with the ultimate reality, which is so beautiful. The love of God is so beautiful that it breaks your heart and makes you want to cry. It's like a sunset or anything beautiful. Why do we cry. So that's really what's going on. It's not tears of loss, but tears of a kind of a deep joy, the unbearable joy of being aware of God's love and his mercy. And so anyway, my friend B.J. Weber, one of the great people I have ever known, I just love him and his family, his wife Sheila, his kids, Max, and Rachel. I love them all. And when I got that news this morning, I thought, I just wanted to say something about BJ. He's one of the stalwarts in New York. He has been here for four decades.

And anything good happening in New York is probably related to him in one way or the other over the decades. And I'm really not kidding. That's a whole story. Tell another time. All right. Before we go, I want to remind you, folks, when people are hurting, God wants us to step up. And so we are doing a campaign with Food for the Poor. We want you to go to my radio website.

It's metaxis talk.com and click on the banner and do whatever you can do. If you prefer to call, there's a phone number. I'm asking you, please call today. 844-863 hope. Our hearts need to be moved for the suffering of others. They're people. They've been chased out of their homes. They have no food.

They're suffering. and let's bring the love of God to them through Food for the Poor. 844-863 Hope, 844-863 Hope, or as I said, go to metaxis talk.com. You'll see the banner. But we need your help. They need your help. We're relying on you. We've got a clip.

There's some refugees. You just try to imagine if these are your kids or your grandkids who are experiencing the trauma of leaving home, going to some unfamiliar your place. This is terrible stuff, but I want to play the clip. Let's play that. When there were explosions, we sealed the windows with adhesive tape so that fragments would not hit us. The thing I miss most in my city right now

is my dad, and I really miss his love and care right now. I miss my home, my dad. As long as I don't think about it, I feel very good. But when I start thinking about dad, I feel very bad. This is real. This is real. There are people all around the world, not just in Ukraine, but all around the world that are suffering. And when we have an opportunity to do something, we should take the opportunity. So Food for the Poor has stepped up. They're working with ministry partners in the area to get food and comfort to these families. So we're just asking you to help. By the way, $50 pays for 200 meals. $100 pays for 400 meals.

These are emergency meals for an emergency situation. How many meals could you donate today? Some of you could donate a lot. $100 is 400 emergency meals. That's how far the money goes. So we're asking you please to go to metaxis talk.com today, metaxistalk.com. They really do need your help.

call 844-863 Hope. 844-8-683 hope. Please, 844-8-63. Hope. God bless you. Now they only block the sun. Folks, the headline is we need your help. What do I mean by that?

I mean at least three things by that. Number one, if it's possible for you to get to be part of our studio audience, August 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and 8th in New York. This week, it starts about 4 o'clock every day. We're taping the late night, the talk show with Eric Metaxus. It is a mainstream TV talk show. We don't have time to get into it now, but it's nuts. We've got a lot of mainstream guests. It's going to be a blast.

We can't share most. of it with you yet. But if you can get there, go to Ericmataxis.com. You'll see where it says speaking or schedule, whatever, and you click on it every day. You can sign up through Eventbrite. We'd love you there all four days or just one day. You can bring as many people as you want to sign them up. But this is going to be a wild, fun thing. We need some fun, folks. We need some fun because there's a lot of tough stuff going on. But we want you to be there. Please do what you can. That's number one. Number two, if you follow me on social media, let me just ask you, instead of liking what I put there, would you retweet it or would you share it? Would you share it on Facebook? I'm trying to get a lot of

information out. And I don't think I've ever said this before, but a lot of times people will like something. We need to get the word out. We are being suppressed. We know that what we're doing, whether we're being shadow banned, I don't mean to sound like, you know, like the, like Chicken Little. this is actually, or not chicken little, who am I looking for? Oh, the boy you cried wolf. This is actually happening. We need your help, folks, to multiply our message. Everything we put out, it's a struggle. So whatever you can do to help us. And speaking of helping us, as you know, every couple times a year, we try to raise funds for an organization that we think worthy. At the top of the list is food for the poor. Food for the poor is an amazing Christian non-prime

relief organization. They go where there is a need. And I just want to tell you right now, they are helping families who have fled the Ukraine. Now, we don't need to get into the politics of it. These are people that are suffering. And we want to show them the love of God. We want to help them. Food for the Poor. I can't think of anybody that I would trust more to do that. So Food for the Poor is partnering with a number of Christian organizations, relief organizations, ministry partners to get food, literal food to these families that have fled their homes. They've left everything behind.

If you know anybody who's ever been through anything like this, my parents experienced this kind of thing, it's hellish. And we want to show them the love of God. So I want to ask you simply to call this number to help or you can just go to the banner. Our banner is Metaxis Talk. That's the radio banner. We want you to give. We want you to give generously.

We just want everybody who listens to this program to do what you can. By God's grace, we are able to do something. Let's do what we can. So please go to metaxis talk.com or you can call this number. I'll give it to you right now. 844-863 hope. Please dial that number. Please give what you can now.

It's August 1st. We don't have a lot of time to do this. It's always a struggle. God bless you as you give. 844-863 hope. 844-863 hope. These are people that are struggling, and we need to do what we can to help them.

844-863 hope, 844-8663 hope. Metaxistalk.com. You'll see the banner there. And Albin and I will shortly let you know everybody who gives anything. We will put your names in a, in a in a hat, so to speak, proverbial hat. And we'll have a number of grand prize winners.

We want to give you signed books and all kinds of things. And I always say anybody who can give $10,000 as tax deductible, I'd be delighted to have dinner with you, to spend an evening with you. We always manage to make that work. So remember 844-863 Hope, 844-863 Hope, or go to metaxus talk.com. God bless you.