Tim, Ed and Ray talk with Chris on top news headlines of the day including a discussion on how it's not clear yet if Iran will send a delegation to discuss peace talks with the U.S. Also, Drew Shoemaker joins the program to discuss how it's tomato season.
Watch Culture Warrior today for free to help Christians win the cultural war
>> Ed Vitagliano: If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic, humanistic society. Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. The movement Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture. Watch Culture Warrior today for free. Visit culturewarrior movie.
Welcome to Today's Issues on American Family radio
Welcome to Today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning everyone and welcome to Today's Issues on American Family radio. Today's Tuesday, April 21, 2026. And, joining me in studios, Ed Vitagliano. Good morning, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: Krish Woodward.
>> Chris Woodward: Hello.
>> Tim Wildmon: And I like your enthusiasm. Krish.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Krish.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's ready to go. And Ray Pritchard's in Kansas City.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, Tim, how you doing this morning?
>> Tim Wildmon: Good morning. Welcome.
Ed Kim went to South Korea to teach college students about Jesus
Welcome back to the U.S. yeah, we
>> Tim Wildmon: made it quite trip last week. Marlene and I were on Jeju island in South Korea. We made a, ah, we flew over. I taught the book of Galatians to a group of college age students at Word of Life Bible Institute and then hopped on the plane and flew back across the Pacific. And so if you ask me on this Tuesday morning, where am I? I'm somewhere between Japan and Alaska, up in the sky there.
>> Tim Wildmon: How do you get from Kansas City to I guess Seoul, Right?
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: How do you get there?
>> Tim Wildmon: We flew Kansas City. Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City on that great, great circle route. You kind of go, you go right over the Aleutian Islands and come down over Japan and then you land in Seoul and then you take another plane to Jeju Island. 14 time zones. And they say, Ed, you know, they say it's one day for each time zone. So, I'm only about five days in the right direction so far.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wow. Where is Jet?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Jeju Island?
>> Tim Wildmon: Jeju.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I used to, I used to buy those when I would go to the movies. Yeah, those little Jeju's chewy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Where is that? Is that.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's an island just off the south end of South Korea. in whatever that, whatever that, whatever that ocean is right there, sort of between South Korea and Japan. And it's a garden spot. folks in Asia, from all over Asia come to Jeju island for their vacation.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, wow, Jeju Islands.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, we were there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So how come you went there and then didn't stay for a couple of days?
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, the truth is, if If I was smarter and younger and had more time, I would do that. But I'm not that smart, I'm not that young. And the real problem is kind of reached a stage in life where to do a trip like this. And this is like a seventh time I've been there to teach. either you go when you have a free week or you don't go at all. Yeah, so we went to teach the word of God to those young people. And, yeah, I'm a little blurry headed. So I want to say, folks, I'm not responsible for anything that may or may not say.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What's our excuse?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, right, right. So, tell us just real quickly. So you're training, what pastors?
>> Tim Wildmon: these are college age students from, this year they came from Bermuda, all the way from Bermuda to South Korea, some from the US some from Canada, some from Japan, several from Korea. And in years past, there have been students there from the Philippines and from Vietnam, and there were prospective students there all the way from NewSong Zealand. And if you look on the map, it's a long way from NewSong Zealand to South Korea. So it's fun. You're just, you're teaching these young people from, all over Asia and then different parts of the world.
>> Tim Wildmon: But as far as Asia goes, South Korea is the most Christian country, right?
>> Tim Wildmon: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Except, you know, the only other, I suppose, contender would be the Philippines.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which, and there's a strong Christian presence in the Philippines, but the, the evangelical church is growing in South Korea, tremendous turning to the Lord. You know, they've had, well, that, I was going to say political problems, but they've lived up against North Korea, what, 70 years. So they live with the reality of that. There's been turmoil probably the last five or six years politically, and so a lot of the young people are looking for answers.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, we tell them, come on in, we've got the answers you need.
>> Chris Woodward: I have a question. Do they still, do people in South Korea still smuggle Bibles into North Korea?
>> Tim Wildmon: yes. And they don't talk much about it. It's interesting because I've asked that very question and you get sort of a nod of the head. Right. It is so dangerous. It is. The North Koreans are good at catching the smugglers and the people who slip in to do that. So, are there folks who still go in to preach the gospel? Yeah. But you are taking your life in your hands every time you cross that border.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So good job, Krish. announcing it on national radio.
>> Chris Woodward: Listen. I hope Kim Jong is listening. He'll learn about Jesus.
>> Ed Vitagliano: By the way, just so our listeners know, I'm not making this up, Juji Fruits is what I was talking about. You ever heard of those little box of.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, I haven't, but they are a real thing, huh?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Juju Fruits.
>> Tim Wildmon: Are they still around?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, because you can buy them at Walgreens. Brent Craley just sent me. Just looked.
>> Tim Wildmon: I've heard a Juicy Fruit gum. You know, I think that's fruits. Juju Fruits.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know if they come from that island, but anyway.
American Family Radio welcomes colleague and friend home from South Korea
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio, where we welcome our colleague and friend home from South Korea. Ray is back in kcks. And, by the way, at the bottom of the hour, we're going to take a break from the end of the world stories.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Amen.
>> Tim Wildmon: And we're going to talk about tomato, farming tomato. We, got a gentleman on our staff here, and I use that term lightly, Drew, Shoemaker, who's a good friend and colleague of ours.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And he wouldn't call us necessarily, quote, gentlemen either, in the truest sense of the word.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: But he is, he's a master tomato farmer.
>> Fred Jackson: I know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And I wanted to talk about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He brings them every year. He brings. Because he. He grows a lot of tomatoes. And there is nothing better than homegrown tomatoes.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: In the summertime.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In the summer garden. And he makes salsa.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We pay. We pay for it. It's that good.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's that good. So we're gonna have a little fun. Talk to Drew about. Because. Because a lot of our listeners, you know, they plant tomatoes. But this is a whole different level we're about to talk about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. and I do have one person, one quick, quick, quick, quick tomato story.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're going to share it now or later?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I'm just going to share it when he comes on. Okay, we can do that.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think that would be good to get his reaction. Yes. He would know whether you're telling a whopper or not.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, it's not a Whopper.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Anybody from down south is going to know I am speaking the truth when I tell this story. All right? Yeah, I will.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's a good teaser for our listeners.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right. Stick around, folks. You don't want to miss this.
Here's an early, uh, in advance of Trivia Friday trivia question
>> Chris Woodward: Here's an early, in advance of Trivia Friday, trivia question for you.
>> Fred Jackson: Okay.
>> Chris Woodward: What is another name for tomatoes?
>> Tim Wildmon: Like a tomato.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: See what I did there.
>> Chris Woodward: Tomato.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Tomato.
>> Tim Wildmon: Pretty good, wasn't it?
>> Chris Woodward: does anybody know?
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know the word for tomato, like, in another language.
>> Chris Woodward: Like another, Like a term or a nickname for
>> Ed Vitagliano: them, like tommy toes or something.
>> Chris Woodward: Love apples.
>> Ed Vitagliano: love apples.
>> Tim Wildmon: I've heard that.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I've been told I have love handles.
>> Chris Woodward: Well, you can lose some if you go on a tomato diet.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Love apples.
>> Chris Woodward: It originated, from a 16th century French term.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, Krish, I appreciate you bringing that to us.
>> Fred Jackson: You're welcome.
>> Chris Woodward: I'm not sure palm Damor is the 16th century French term. If you.
>> Tim Wildmon: If I translate that word in years. What was that again?
>> Chris Woodward: Palm d'. Amore.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: If you put that French word in English, it means apple love. And we put, we do our language a little bit different than French.
>> Tim Wildmon: My first date with Allison, I asked her, do you want to go out for some palm de Moores?
>> Chris Woodward: Hey, you like them?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Love apples.
>> Tim Wildmon: You mean s'? Mores. No, pom de moors.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Love apples.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, hamburger.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Wow. We have certainly gone off the rails.
>> Tim Wildmon: We're gonna get this show back on track. Gear right here.
>> Chris Woodward: Tomorrow. I'll find something to mention about okra or. Ok, as some people say in these here parts.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All right. Thank you for getting us back off track. Sorry, Krish.
Talks between the US And Iran are scheduled to resume today
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, Krish, what's going on in the world of the news?
>> Chris Woodward: Well, as we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in South Korea to have a great day and, save times there being near North Korea, we need to be in prayer for the situation, in. And I say that because in a story we have on our story on our website, afn.net, talks are resuming today. It's the second round of talks between the US And Iran. Vice President Vance is one of the people that we have sent to Pakistan for these talks. It's anyone's guess as to whether or not Tehran, is actually going to send a delegation, to represent Iran in these talks. Both sides have dug in. President Trump is warning that, quote, lots of bombs will start going off if no agreement is reached before tomorrow, which is the deadline, he said. Meanwhile, Iran's chief negotiator, saying that Tehran has, quote, new cards on the battlefield that haven't yet been revealed.
Is it possible that Jared Kushner and J.D. Vance show up for breakfast
Back to you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So let me. Let me ask this question. Is it possible that J.D. vance, Vice. President Vance and the rest of the team, Steve, Wyckoff. Wyckoff. And, who's it Jared Kushner going to.
>> Chris Woodward: He is, yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Are they going to show up and. And are going to be at the Holiday Inn, you know, meeting room. Nobody else shows up. They're just going to go where you guys want to go for breakfast. I mean, is that possible?
>> Chris Woodward: It is definitely possible. It is definitely possible, but possible? It's, you know, it's possible.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't think they have buffets at all ends anymore. I think we're down.
>> Chris Woodward: They're just sitting around having a love
>> Ed Vitagliano: Love sandwich continental breakfast.
Chris Bell: Iran may or may not send delegation to discuss nuclear talks
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so, in all seriousness, the Vice President, United States, J.D. vance, has been dispatched and he's traveling to Islamabad. Islamabad, Islam, however you want to say it. Okay. But the country of Pakistan.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which is where they're. They're basically the neutral host, if you will, mediators, geographically place to meet. Are you telling me, Krish, that Iran may or may not send a delegation?
>> Chris Woodward: That is correct. That is from the Associated Press. Fox had it this morning. Other, news. Well, it's even cnn.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know. I don't know what's going on here, people. Anybody got a clue?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, Ray was closer. You were closer to that part of the world. Tell us what's going on, man.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, look, I wish I had a clear answer. It does feel to me a little bit like we're in a situation where we're trying to get out of this war. And it's hard to find the exit ramp. It's hard to find a way out of the situation that we're in. Because in some ways, I know there's been, quote, regime change. The president, you know, in his truth, social posts, he keeps saying regime change, but it's hard to tell if the new guys are any better than the old guys over there. So really, what. What happens if our guys, the people, JD and the others show up in Islamabad and the. And the other side just says we're not coming. What are we left with? Where do we go from there?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I think we talked about this yesterday on, the show. I think Iran, whoever's in charge of Iran, and from everything I've read it, leadership possibilities are down to, like, second tier, third tier, even so. And there may be. There may be several factions vying for control of the country. Okay, so, whoever, though, is making some of these calls, I think they understand that the President, President Trump needs to find an off ramp, and they're not going to make it easy on the US and they would love to try to embarrass President Trump. They would love to try to make it look like Iran has taken our hardest blows and is still left standing and we're still in control of the strait, and we're going to do whatever we want. That's going to put President Trump in the position of saying, well, we do need to get out. But before we do, guess what? More pain. Send more pain their way so that we can claim that there's hardly anything left standing over there. They want to. They want to brag. Go ahead. I've read estimates that, Iran, in terms of what President Trump and the US Military has done, and by the way, it's been nearly flawless what the military's done, not only last June, but also with what has gone on here most recently, may have destroyed a half a trillion dollars worth of military equipment that Iran has been buying for the last 25, 30 years. Whatever happens out of this, they have suffered a tremendous loss in military strength. Now, the problem would be they may just pick back up where they left off and start trying to, buy it all back up again. and then the president and whoever comes after him will have to decide what to do after that. But this is confusing to all the. All of us over here who don't know exactly what's happening. It may very well be confusing to the Trump administration.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, President Trump told pbs, News on Monday morning, be yesterday that if the ceasefire with Iran aspire, expires Tuesday, quote, then lots of bombs start going off. So that doesn't sound like a deceleration. No, it sounds like a, you know, upping it. So we'll see what happens. But, you know, I, I think we've all come to expect the unexpected with this particular conflict, slash war, because it changes every hour, seems like. And we get conflicting. We get. All right, you can't tell necessarily from what President Trump says or what's really happening, because they're, And I'm not blaming him, I'm just saying what that, his interpretation of we got a deal, then we don't got a deal. Yeah, that gets. You just go, we're going to bomb. And no, we're not going to bomb. We're going to give them next two. No, we're not going to give them. You know what I'm saying? It just gets very fluid.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He may very well either be, being played by people pretending to be negotiating in good faith, or he may be negotiating with people who are negotiating in good faith, but they're not actually in charge. or it could be some combination of things.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So it is hard. I'm sure it's hard for the Trump administration to figure out, you know, once you have knocked off, let's say, those estimates about the, the tier of leadership in Iran, going from, you know, top tier to second tier, maybe even third tier. They may be trying, they may, the US And Israel maybe, struggling to figure out who those people are down there at the third tier and how to get in contact with them to figure out who's in charge.
>> Tim Wildmon: So, yeah, anyway, I guess we'll know more tomorrow. Or would that be later today?
>> Chris Woodward: it's possible by the end of business day today, 4 or 5pm Central, we should have some details,
>> Tim Wildmon: whether Iran shows up at the Holiday Inn or not.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, we'll know by that point.
>> Tim Wildmon: We'll know the storyline there. All right, so we'll see what happens.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
There's a special election in Virginia on Tuesday over redistricting
>> Tim Wildmon: So, okay, you're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed, Krish and Ray, what's next?
>> Chris Woodward: Krish, something else that we're going to have to wait and see. What happens is this redistricting effort in Virginia. For those that have not listened to the radio or visited AFN Net in recent days, there's a special election today in Tuesday in, in Virginia. And one of the issues involves redistrict. there are people, Democrats that want to make Virginia even more blue or more blue. It's already a blue state. and Abigail Spanberger and other liberals want to do some things in the way of redistricting. Yes. To make it even more likely that a Democrat is going to be elected to Congress and possibly even increase the number of Democrats in Congress. Just from Virginia. A number of people,
>> Tim Wildmon: In the US Congress.
>> Chris Woodward: In the US Congress, yes, sir.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Why this People might say, what do I care what happens in Virginia if I don't live there? Well, what they're trying to do here is in this redistrict is redistrict. the state of Virginia to German, Germanic. What's the right word?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Gerrymander.
>> Tim Wildmon: To gerrymander. Well, that's sad, huh? say it for me.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Gerrymander.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that word right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Just think salamander. A salamander named Jerry.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Gerrymander.
>> Tim Wildmon: It was a children's book if I remember correctly. Anyway, so, there's a certain number of, you know, that, of House of Representative seats that you get based on your population.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Virginia gets 11.
>> Tim Wildmon: 11. And the state, your states are supposed to be basically divided up, you know, to reflect, the, the, the Republican Democrat voter difference in your state or, you know, so what the Democrats are trying to do here. Basically, Basically Virginia is a 50. 50 state. Maybe, maybe it's a 40, maybe it's 53. 47 in favor of Democrats. But it's slight. But what the Democrats are wanting to do is re. Redistrict to give the Democrats how many.
>> Chris Woodward: Oh they want to like increase the number. It would be like a 10 to 1 margin.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. So currently because of their population, Virginia gets 11 seats in the House of Representatives. It is currently six to five in favor of the Democrat which is about what the population, which is about what the population is. And by doing this gerrymander trick which is totally legal, they're hoping to make that 10 to 1 in favor of the Democrats. So they would probably draw a weird looking district shape that would include most of the Republican voters. So that would go from a 1 seat margin from Virginia to a 9.
>> Tim Wildmon: So this is on this ballot.
>> Chris Woodward: It's the only statewide issue today on the ballot in Virginia.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so the people of Virginia are voting whether or not to do this or not.
>> Chris Woodward: Correct.
>> Tim Wildmon: And it's the people of Virginia are, have more Democrats and Republicans. Why wouldn't they vote that in?
>> Chris Woodward: That's a good question.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean now they may be blocked. You see these Jarro gerrymandering efforts blocked by federal judges sometimes because they see it for what it is and it's a it's basically trying to you know, trying to rig the system.
>> Chris Woodward: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And Republicans have, you know they, they
>> Ed Vitagliano: try, publicans are doing it, they try
>> Tim Wildmon: to do it too to favor themselves. So we'll see what happens here.
Congressman James Comer says search for missing government scientists is critical
Your next story.
>> Chris Woodward: Krish, man, man, let's do a missing scientist. The search continues for these people that worked for the government in a scientist capacity.
>> Tim Wildmon: they've all got the search continues where.
>> Chris Woodward: Well we don't know where to sit. They're still missing. and so these people are the government scientists that worked in things like space, science, they did stuff with nuclear science. Many of them have just vanished. We're not sure where they are. somebody that wants to get to the bottom of this is Congressman James Comer. He was on Fox just before it went to a commercial break. Here's what James Comer had to say about the search for missing scientists. Clip 7 well it does appear that
>> Tim Wildmon: there's a high possibility that something sinister is taking place here. Congress is very concerned about this. Our committee is making this one of our priorities now because we view this as a national security threat. I've been watching this story. You've been watching this story? Yeah, it pops up in the news. But it's kind of. I don't know, I don't want to make of it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, you have these instances, which, on one hand, the guy in NewSong Mexico, you know, he goes out and takes a walk, he goes on a hike, and suddenly he disappears. And there's no sign of him. And you have these other, top scientists, all of whom are connected with the highest security clearances and the most secret information. M. They're all disappearing at once. Is this just, what, they all decide to go off the grid at once? Were they kidnapped? Did they go over to the other side? how do you even. How do you even begin to investigate? if it's what, 10 different guys. It's 10 different investigators.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ladies, too.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, there's there's at least one lady in the. In the group there.
>> Tim Wildmon: So what the common denominator, Krish, among these people there. Scientists having to do with our. Ah, they're scientists having to do with us.
>> Chris Woodward: what secrets? special information about space and nuclear science.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And also tied to, specialized defense, projects.
>> Tim Wildmon: So if you believe the worst about the situation. You're saying maybe some foreign enemy of the United States are taking these people out?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Either taking them out or kidnapping them?
>> Tim Wildmon: Kidnapping him. Trying to get information.
>> Ed Vitagliano: To get information.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's. We don't know that for sure. Could be called coincidental. Yeah, but it just. It's very suspicious looking. And that's what, James Comer there, the
>> Chris Woodward: congressman.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chairman, some of one of the important committees.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: House Oversight.
>> Tim Wildmon: House Oversight. Are you the. Who's the House Oversight Committee chairman at your house? Ed,
>> Ed Vitagliano: Let me see, Let me see what time of day it is.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My wife's probably. She's probably a Kroger. I'm the boss.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. There.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You're not listening. I'm the boss.
>> Chris Woodward: Sleeping at Tony's tonight?
>> Tim Wildmon: No.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Unless somebody gives me away, we will be back.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's tomato planting season, and we're going to talk about that when we get back.
Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app
>> Ed Vitagliano: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28 to donate. Dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com afr the AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. They won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device, or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app,
>> Tim Wildmon: This is today's Issues.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts
>> Chris Woodward: of today's Issues are available for listening
>> Ed Vitagliano: and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of today's issues.
Brent: Getting distracted is becoming more common as I get older
>> Tim Wildmon: Are we live?
>> Ed Vitagliano: We are now.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. We're not live. We weren't live.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, so Brent saved you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. That's inside radio talk right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, listen, coffee is important.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you left.
>> Tim Wildmon: I went down to get coffee, and somebody got to talking to me and got distracted, which is happening more frequently.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Getting distracted.
>> Tim Wildmon: The older I get, the more distracted, easily distracted.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Sometimes you don't even have to quote, unquote, get distracted. when you walk into the. Proverbially, you know, walk into the room and go, I don't know why I'm here.
>> Tim Wildmon: I've also quit. you know, I don't text and drive. I mean, right? If I do, I sort of really slow down at a stoplight. Maybe I don't. Well, let me just say, all right, I don't text and drive any more than you people do. And you know what I'm talking about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I Listen, my kids called me Captain Safety for a reason. I do not text and drive. And furthermore, I don't know how many times I've come up on someone going slow on the road.
>> Fred Jackson: And.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I. And I turned to my wife, I says, I bet this is some joker texting. Well, now I know who's doing.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't text and drive beyond. this time I. Getting out of this one, a thumbs up or something like that. Yeah, a thumbs up.
>> Chris Woodward: I once saw a man who was either writing a check or balancing his checkbook while driving down the highway.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, what's bad when they do an album?
American Family Radio Network welcomes Drew Shoemaker to today's issues
All right, so we're here. We're not here to talk about being distracted. Raised in Kansas City, Ray. We were distracted. Didn't welcome you back.
>> Tim Wildmon: You did good, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ray Pritchard with us. Ray, Ed, Krish and Tim here on today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. We're here every Monday through Friday. We thank you for listening. Well, we talk. We thought we'd take a break from,
>> Ed Vitagliano: the End of the World.
>> Tim Wildmon: The End of the world stories and thank you and talk about, something, just as important or more important, that is, tomato planting season. Yeah. I was with my uncle the other day, and he said, hey, I planted my tomatoes. And I thought, man, I know a guy who knows more about tomato planting than anybody, and that's Drew Shoemaker. Welcome, Drew, to today's issues.
>> Fred Jackson: Thank you for having me.
>> Tim Wildmon: Now, you walked over here from the mailroom, Right? Your mailroom supervisor.
>> Fred Jackson: I'm the mailroom king. Well, besides Mitch.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, besides Mitch. Yeah. So you've been. You've been with our. Our staff here how long? I mean.
>> Fred Jackson: Thirteen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Thirteen. You went to church with my dad. And, so you've been 13 years. So. But beyond, when you go home and you leave this building and you. You're. You. You work a day of. Of mailroom, supervising, and then you. It's time to, plant your. It's tomato season, right?
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah. Wide open.
>> Tim Wildmon: What got me interested in this was last year I saw your, I call it a tomato kingdom. From. From you. How many. How long you been, interested in this or doing this?
>> Fred Jackson: Years and years. My dad, was a doctor and a farmer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: And, you know, he had the giant garden, and I hated it. Why?
>> Tim Wildmon: Because he made you work?
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: Pulling peanuts. But, you know, you get a little older. And I said, you know what? I want these things. Tomatoes, whatever. Vegetables, Mainly tomatoes. He was very good at growing things, but I was actually better at tomatoes than he was for some. The only thing he could grow. Watermelon. I can't grow watermelon for some reason.
>> Tim Wildmon: So how many different types of tomatoes do you grow? maybe not this year. I know you scale back some, but, I mean, that's amazing.
>> Fred Jackson: I've had usually three or four different types. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: What are the types of tomatoes?
>> Fred Jackson: Aromas, for sauce? My main one is the better, boy. And the better boy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Plus, is the microphone working right, Brent, or not? Because, working. So it's. Does he need to move?
>> Fred Jackson: Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because it's important stuff and people miss it. Sorry. They're only going to get half of the tomato, so. So you grow. How many tomatoes would you grow in a summer?
Ray Vitagliano grows hundreds of tomatoes in his garden
>> Fred Jackson: I have had much as a couple of hundred plants.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why yourself?
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, that and that was a few years ago and I've aged a little bit. I have that, I have that age disease.
>> Tim Wildmon: How do you, how did you keep I guess that's just amazing to me that. What all can you do with all those?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, I make sauce.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's a full time job though.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, it's a lot.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean you go home from work, you're out there till 8 o' clock every day.
>> Fred Jackson: Like I said, I've got a few years so. But yeah, it's a lot of work and that's my main thing is I'm no master gardener, no guru. But you have to stay with it, you have to be with it all the time. You know, I have a.
>> Tim Wildmon: You bond sort of with the tomatoes. Yeah, you, in a way you become a tomato yourself.
>> Fred Jackson: Not intimate, but kind of like veggie tail.
>> Tim Wildmon: You come to have veggie tails.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So there, there's a what kind of, what's the care look like? You have to what, you have to spray for pests, you have to weed. I mean what's the constant.
>> Fred Jackson: All those things. Beware your enemy. Ah, I like that he roars around. And those are disease.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Insects, drought.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What about like critters, rabbits and stuff like that that might try to eat your tomatoes or.
>> Fred Jackson: Two years ago I put up a seven foot fence by myself. It's about 50 by 40 something.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Wow.
>> Tim Wildmon: A seven foot fence for what?
>> Fred Jackson: The deer.
>> Ed Vitagliano: To keep them out.
>> Tim Wildmon: Deer were coming.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh yeah. I live in a neighborhood but they're, they come around, I can hunt farm.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey Ray, there's nothing better than ah, in the summertime than a fresh tomato out of the garden is there on the sand.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know you can tell the difference immediately, can't you? Between a quote, store bought tomato.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And one that's right from the garden. It's sweet, it's fresh. That's a beautiful meal right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That was the story that we, I wanted to tell.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, you tell.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I grew up city boy in NewSong England.
>> Tim Wildmon: Go ahead.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. And my mom was Greek, my dad was Italian. My mom cooked lots of sauce. Okay. But when it came to putting tomatoes on salads or whatever, I hated them. They were store bought tomatoes, they were tasteless to me, they were mushy. I didn't have tomatoes my whole time growing up. After I figured out I don't like them and I met my wife Dianne, Mississippi girl at Bible college. We got engaged after dating and came home on spring break to meet her family. And she said to me for getting ready for lunch. She said, you want a tomato? My dad grows them in a garden right behind the house. I said, no, not for me. I don't like tomatoes. She said, just try these. It was like an entirely new exotic food.
>> Fred Jackson: It's a mood altering drug.
>> Tim Wildmon: I thought, this is.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is what a tomato's supposed to taste like. now I eat tomato sandwiches, anytime I can get.
>> Tim Wildmon: It made a big impression on your life. It.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It really saved me from. From a. A life not worth living, almost. I would say that they're amazing.
>> Fred Jackson: A lot of people don't know this, but how it got to. How the, tomato got to America. There was a guy named Christopher Columbus Fattagliano. He said, there's no. We need sauce for our pasta.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We accomplished. Vitagliano's accomplished something. Are you kidding?
>> Tim Wildmon: What kind of fertilizer you gotta put on these tomatoes?
>> Fred Jackson: I try to do organic, but I do use a little bit of, 13. 13, 13. Which is an unlucky number, but good fertilizer. It works pretty well.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. So how many tomatoes this summer?
>> Fred Jackson: And then right now, 65. And I'll probably grow a few more. I make sauce.
Today's Issues takes a look at Drew Shoemaker's tomato kingdom
>> Tim Wildmon: Give me 65 different plants.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And mainly they are hundreds of tomatoes that you harvest.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because you bring them to our staff.
>> Fred Jackson: Got some pictures.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Your average tomato plant, how many tomatoes will it produce, in a season?
>> Fred Jackson: You know, I don't know. I don't have broken it down, though. But year before, I was selling some, and I had a scale, and before the summer was even out, I had picked £400.
>> Ed Vitagliano: £400 of tomatoes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And I.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I know you sell salsa here at work.
>> Fred Jackson: When I have a good year.
>> Ed Vitagliano: When you have a good year. And I've. I've bought your salsa before. It's fantastic.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so we put some pictures up of Drew Shoemaker's tomato kingdom from last summer. Ah. Which I wanted people to see. And we put them on our Today's Issues Facebook page.
>> Chris Woodward: That's a lot, man.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. By the way, Ray.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: I did take your recommendation. I went to Slaps in, Kansas City.
>> Tim Wildmon: You'll tell me. How did you like Slaps?
>> Fred Jackson: It was good.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah?
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: What? Slaps Barbecue.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: When were you in Kansas City?
>> Fred Jackson: I went to a NASCAR race there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Real deal. That's a real deal.
>> Tim Wildmon: NASCAR tomato 500. Would you go?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Anyway. Well, Drew, that's good luck with your, We look forward to your Salsa this summer.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, good luck. I do pray. When I put every little plant in the ground, I'd say a prayer might be fruitful.
>> Chris Woodward: That's a good approach.
Ted: Does Drew have tomatoes and salsa at work
>> Fred Jackson: All right, now this knows he's a. Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is bizarre. All right. This is a bizarre thing. My wife just texted me. She said, ed, does Drew have tomatoes and salsa at work? I said, are you listening to the show? She said, no. So she just thought about it.
>> Tim Wildmon: I bet somebody called her. Text her. So she. Dianne doesn't listen to you?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Dianne, we're working on me on the show. She barely listens to me at the house. But I'm just kidding.
>> Chris Woodward: I think you're doing a great job, Ted.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm just.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, Drew. Thanks so much, my friend walking over from the mail room, but, man, I've never seen a, one person tomato kingdom like Drew.
>> Chris Woodward: He's got a picture of fried green tomatoes.
>> Fred Jackson: That's the early benefit to fried green tomatoes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, the fried green tomatoes. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
>> Fred Jackson: I do have a recipe for that, too.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah, for fried green tomatoes.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, it's real simple. You, lightly batter them with flour and mix cornmeal, mix, and as they're cooking, put a little mozzarella.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So my wife wants to know when the tomatoes are gonna start coming in.
>> Fred Jackson: Usually around July 4th.
>> Ed Vitagliano: you mean that's not soon enough?
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean that Drew brings to the office here.
>> Chris Woodward: That's when mine come in.
>> Tim Wildmon: Usually.
>> Fred Jackson: That's my main reason, is keeping leadership.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, It's working.
>> Chris Woodward: It's working.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely working.
>> Tim Wildmon: Keep the salsa coming, Drew.
Are you a gardener at all? I do, yes sir
All right, you're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. You can go to our Today's Issues Facebook page and see those pictures that we're talking about here. All right, you're listening. Yeah. You do any farming? I mean, you do any gardening at all, Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: just flower. Flower beds. I keep. I keep up our flower beds. I. I built a lot of flower beds. And. No, I don't. I. I am. You know, like when Drew was talking about he can't grow tomato. I mean, watermelons. I can't grow anything. My wife grows peppers and spices, you know, like, basil and oregano and that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Really? Out in the yard?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, in. In. In pots.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, mint. We tried. We planted some mint once in one of the flower beds and realized it's a very invasive plant. Could barely get rid of it. But it's. I mean, when you have. She'll break off like a Basil leave and, and break it and oh my goodness, it smells so good.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Fresh stuff is just amazing.
>> Chris Woodward: Rosemary. You rub some rosemary on your hand, man, that's m. Oh.
>> Tim Wildmon: What about you, Krish? You. Are you a gardener at all?
>> Chris Woodward: I do, yes sir. I have, I currently have 21 tomato plants. I planted some cantaloupe, I've planted some, zucchini.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Comes in pretty good.
>> Chris Woodward: it does, yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Cucumber.
>> Chris Woodward: and I've got some watermelon seeds that I have not yet planted. I've had difficulty, with watermelon as well. but my.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why is that?
>> Chris Woodward: It just it doesn't come in very well.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you know, one of the things I've, I've learned from talking to people.
>> Tim Wildmon: We're getting to you, right? Hang in there, brother.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. Is that the type of soil you have, the type of fertilizer, the amount of sunshine or the lack of it shade, all that is critically important. And people who do this for a long time, they become experts at it. And if you think you're just going to say, well, I think I'm going to start growing stuff and you don't learn from somebody, you fail.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. Based on that. If you're somebody. Like, I've only been doing it for about four years. My father in law helped me several years ago and I've been doing it ever since. my wife bought me a tiller. Thank you, for that. so, I've been doing it myself and I really enjoy it. I love getting out there early in the morning, when the sun's coming up and I find it relaxing. If you are interested in doing it, I highly recommend that you find somebody in your church, maybe in your neighborhood that's done it for a long time. Bounce some questions off of them. Also, if you're if you have a agricultural and mechanical university in your state, you m. Most likely have what are called extension centers. And those people are there to help you with questions like what do I do with my garden? So in our case, like, Mississippi State University has extension centers all over the place. I've talked to, the lady that runs my county's extension center a lot about my garden.
>> Tim Wildmon: What do you ask her?
>> Chris Woodward: could I plant this? what's the timeframe to do that? How much shade does this plant need versus that plant? Should I use fertilizer?
>> Tim Wildmon: Do you always pick up your calls?
>> Chris Woodward: I've actually known her for years. I went to grade school with her personal friend. Yeah, go Seminoles back in the day. She's probably listening too. She listens to her Ray.
>> Tim Wildmon: What about you? You garden and all.
>> Tim Wildmon: In this great world, Kim, there are producers and there are consumers. And I am firmly on the consumer side of the spectrum. I listen to Chr. I am slightly envious. I've looked at these pictures of Drew's tomatoes and salsa.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is it not a kingdom?
>> Chris Woodward: It's huge.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, it's.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And this fried green tomatoes and where he made the salsa stuff and all the plants. And then I listened to all the stuff that Krish said. I just want to lay down and take a nap.
You really do need to get into somewhat good physical shape to garden
But I appreciate the labors of people like Drew to produce fresh vegetables for the rest of us.
>> Chris Woodward: If you are somebody that's going to try to do like an in ground garden, not one of the box beds, which will alleviate having to bend out and all that stuff. If you're planning on putting something in the ground, start doing some cardio like weeks before you do that because that will help you with the bending down and standing up or whatever it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You.
>> Chris Woodward: You really do need to get into somewhat good physical shape to garden.
>> Tim Wildmon: We've all heard the stories about how so and so, you know, went to be with the Lord in the garden.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right. Met Jesus in the.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I've heard that many times.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My father in law. Yeah, yeah, that's. He died, after working in the garden. He. He had a tiller, and was helping some folks in the neighborhood. Older folk.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: tilling up their, their garden and then came home and.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. But anyway, a lot of people find, as Krish said, a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment.
>> Chris Woodward: I never thought I would be into it, but I I'm probably, I'm very focused at what I do.
>> Tim Wildmon: What I would like to know. I've thought about doing this. I haven't done it yet, but I've thought about a little, you know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Have you, Tim, it's time for honest.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know what?
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's time to be honest.
>> Tim Wildmon: I thought about it, but I've not been moved.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Spirit has not moved me. Yeah. But I thought about how do you keep little varmints from getting your stuff?
>> Ed Vitagliano: you have to do like what Drew does. You have to protect them. He's like, he said, know your enemies
>> Tim Wildmon: because birds, rabbits, squirrel.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: he got all those seven foot
>> Tim Wildmon: fence, a seven foot tall that, that'll
>> Ed Vitagliano: keep out big, huge.
>> Tim Wildmon: And he said he did it by himself.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, but if you got that much, you got that Much invested with that much, tomato that made tomatoes. You got to protect you got to protect you. It's worth putting that seven foot, seven foot fence. Yeah, but he's keeping the deer away.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Deer.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I have deer in my house too.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, No, I do. Mississippi.
>> Tim Wildmon: Even though I live in a neighborhood.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, like, and they'll go where the food is. So you have, if you have food, they'll find it and they'll eat it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I'd become like Bill Murray in Caddyshack.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You remember his character?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, with the, gopher.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, with the gopher.
>> Tim Wildmon: The gopher.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I'd be like that with the varmints.
The event known as America Reads the Bible continues as we speak
All right, you're listening to today's issues. Tim. Ah, Ed. let's see who else is here. Ray and Krish. Krish, go ahead. What do you got?
>> Chris Woodward: The event known as America Reads the Bible continues as we speak. It runs for several more days.
>> Tim Wildmon: What is that exactly?
>> Chris Woodward: America Reads the Bible is an event that bunny pounds with Christians engaged. Got to, she organized, she got the idea several years ago while she was visiting the Museum of the Bible and she's a big fan of the Book of Nehemiah. And she thought, while she was reading over some stuff at the Museum of the Bible about Ezra and Nehemiah, she thought, wow, how great would it be if we had people, politicians, public figures, laymen, get together and we read aloud God's word to the people. And so she organized this and got the help of all kinds of organizations. We have people in D.C. for America reads the Bible. They're going to be participating. And it's a week long event at the Museum of the Bible. And I'm rolling on it right now to get some audio for some stories that we're going to air later today. And I mention all this today because President Donald Trump himself is going to be reading scripture tonight between the hours of 5 and 6pm Central. The President is scheduled to be reading 2nd Chronicles 7, verses 11 through 22. So stay with AFN because I'll be having some, coverage of this this afternoon and on through the evening with President Trump's remarks.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, when do our folks, when, when will their recordings be live and all that?
>> Chris Woodward: I'm not sure on everybody's, but, we talked to Alex last Friday. Steve Jordal gave him a call and we aired a little bit from Alex on Friday and I'm pretty sure Alex told us that he was going to be tomorrow.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.
>> Chris Woodward: You can actually find the the entire schedule and how you can stream it live for free on your own, devices, by going to America Reads the Bible Dot com. A whole host of organizations that we partner with and work with on a number of things are involved with this including Family Research Council, Family, Policy Alliance. There's a number of TV streaming networks like Great American Family that are streaming it.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think Jeff Schrieve and Jenna Ellis and Walker Wildmon.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Are representing us. Well, Jeff's not on our staff but I mean he's ministry partner but he's, he's, he's participating too, so.
>> Chris Woodward: And it's a number of politicians like Bob Vander Plaats at the Iowa family leader. He just read Joni Ernst, senator from Iowa. She's on schedule.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is it a read through the whole Bible and when does it conclude?
>> Chris Woodward: It runs through the 25th, I believe.
>> Tim Wildmon: And it's just people from all over the world or all over the US
>> Chris Woodward: all over the US and it's it's various members of Congress. Mike Johnson is one of the people. But then you have celebrities like Candor's Cameron Bure, who's known for Full House and a number of Hallmark movies. she's one of the people.
>> Tim Wildmon: You wear this, Ray, you wear this. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, it's called a Bible reading marathon.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: You start in Genesis and you read consecutively non stop. And there's various ways of doing it, but the idea is you start in Genesis and you read Leviticus out loud and you read Joshua out loud and you read First Chronicles. And the key of it is it's just the Bible. You don't add testimony, you don't add a, commentary. You're just reading God's word. And the idea that here on the 250th anniversary of our nation, that from the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. we've got all these people reading the Bible out loud. It's a wonderful testimony, Tim, that the Bible, is part of the foundation of this nation. I just think it's a tremendous. And now with technology you can, anybody can tune in. I don't know what they're reading here on Tuesday morning, but if you wanted to, you could, you know, you could watch the livestream and see it happen. It's a tremendous thing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This Friday, Friday's the 24th, right? This Friday. Walker Wildmon, Jenna Ellis, Buddy Smith, Debbie Wuth. Now who's with I Voter Guide, under American Family Association's banner and Then Wesley Wildmon will be reading from Micah 5 through Zechariah 6. So that will be this coming Friday from 12 to 1pm Eastern Standard Time.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, well, that's great. Yeah, that's wonderful. And who is the person who came up with this idea?
>> Chris Woodward: Bunni pounds. Who? Interestingly enough, Bunni. It's B U N N I pounds with Christians engaged. Interestingly enough, this is a God thing. The name B u n N I appears three times in the Book of Nehemiah, which is the book that she studies and was inspired by to organize something like America reads the Bible.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You mean there's a Hebrew word or
>> Chris Woodward: Hebrew name of a person B U n N I. I'm sure it was probably pronounced Bunai or something.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: But, her name as it's spelled, appears in the Book of Nehemiah, which is what was, what inspired her to do this.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issues. That's the name of this here show on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed, Krish and Ray, we go down to about two minutes to go bring forth another story. Krish.
Papa John's under fire for controversial message on pizza boxes
>> Chris Woodward: All right, let's talk pizza for a minute because many people are probably thinking about lunch or something they're gonna, cook or order tonight, for supper, as we call it in these here parts. I, bring all this up because Papa John's, well known pizza place, Papa John's is under fire for what's being built and outrageous message. they're being criticized, Mr. President, for an outrageous message now printed on all pizza boxes. Printed on the front of its pizza boxes, the message reads, quote, delivery fee is not a tip. Please reward your driver for outstanding service. While intended as a reminder, it struck some customers as tone deaf and quickly ignited debate online. A lot of people are saying, how dare you? I can barely afford to order out pizza right now. I can't afford to dip the guy too.
>> Tim Wildmon: so, so they printed on the Papa John's pizza boxes. What does it say?
>> Chris Woodward: Delivery fee is not a tip. Please reward your driver for.
>> Tim Wildmon: What is a delivery fee? Right? You know, I don't know. Price of the pizza.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it's, it's the price of the pizza, plus. Yeah, X. X amount. Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: For the, for the delivery.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so you got the cost of the pizza, right? Then you got the delivery fee.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, I got you. So, what, what Papa John's is reminding customers is that delivery fee is not a tip.
>> Chris Woodward: Correct.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, Tamia? that's what's wrong. Is that offensive? That doesn't offend me.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, I. I understand what Papa John's is saying. The delivery fee is they have to pay someone to take it to your house.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And then I. I don't have a problem with saying, okay, then you're going to tip the guy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because some people don't think. Some people might mistakenly think the delivery fee is the tip.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In fact, I thought that. I don't. I rarely get any pizza delivered or anything. It's been years. But. But I would have thought that. I would have thought that. That's for the driver. listen, I. I'm just shocked at what else you can find on pizza boxes. There's a warning that appears on some pizza boxes.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This open box before eating pizza. I'm looking at it right here.
>> Tim Wildmon: What?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not sure what brand. I don't know. I. I'd have to explore a little further.
>> Tim Wildmon: Open the box before.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Open the box before eats pizza. Now that's the kind of warning I actually need.
>> Chris Woodward: Pizza tastes like cardboard.
>> Tim Wildmon: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.