The Death of a Christian Economist

By: Willard Losinger

Narrated by: John Delino Ziegler Jr

Otto Steven was an idiot who held a doctoral degree in agricultural economics. Otto performed sophisticated-looking analyses of data from surveys of livestock producers for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and got papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Otto’s work was pure garbage, but was exactly what the scientific journals wanted.

Patsy Nowak was a bright young university student who had a part-time internship, thanks to a special USDA program for individuals with disabilities. Otto was her supervisor. Otto invited Patsy to his church, but remained suspicious that she might harbor “liberal” political views, and that she might not fully share his religious beliefs. One day, Otto happened to notice Patsy on the opposite side of the street when he attended a rally in support of two men who had been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming. Sensing his suspicions against Patsy confirmed, Otto’s fury erupted.

©2023, 2024, 2025 Willard Losinger (P)2025 Willard Losinger