# Ben Sasse on Faith, Family, and Facing Death

An episode of [EconTalk](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/135066958), 10 Aug 2026, 1 h 21 min.

Audio: https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/14ea66f7-768f-433c-bff1-0b34ab517bf9/6fdba516-8381-43b0-b29f-59d05512b693/episodes/audio/group/469adebf-cb94-464c-ae2d-c4740496fad8/group-item/33f84de0-b92d-4fb0-8df7-bc0e713076ee/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=wgl4xEgL

Six months into a stage-four pancreatic cancer diagnosis that gave him 90 days to live, Ben Sasse sits down with EconTalk's Russ Roberts for a conversation that refuses easy comfort. The former U.S. senator and University of Florida president is candid about his physical challenges but the heart of this exchange is elsewhere: what actually matters when time is short. Sasse reflects on faith and mortality, the "shattering of idols" like his own workaholism, and his pride in his marriage. Along the way he offers sharp diagnoses of Congress's abdication of responsibility, the crisis inside American universities, and a republic distracted by the "digital casino" in its pocket. Funny, unflinching, and deeply human, it closes with a meditation on raging against the dying of the light while walking with your head bowed.

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