Good Faith Effort

One of the great blessings of the digital age is that we can connect to more people, and have access to more information, than any other time in history. So our core challenge today is not letting this embarrassment of riches overwhelm us. Yes, we can know anything we want to know, but is knowledge the same thing as wisdom? Yes, we can connect to anyone in the world, but is a retweet the same as a...

On today's installment: The Song of Songs, and growing closer to God by loving those who are radically different from you. This week people all over America and the world will start planning for St. Valentine's Day. You might not expect a Rabbi to care. Instead, we decided to drop four special episodes each covering a different angle on love, the Bible, and, of course, the Beatles. Sign up for mor...

On today's installment: David and Bathsheba, and the value of healthy self-love. This week people all over America and the world will start planning for St. Valentine's Day. You might not expect a Rabbi to care. Instead, we decided to drop four special episodes each covering a different angle on love, the Bible, and, of course, the Beatles. Sign up for more events here: https://thejoshuaproject.co...

Nowadays, it’s common to think of Silicon Valley and traditional religion as the new Athens vs. Jerusalem. But in many ways this betrays a failure of imagination. These are the only two major forces, certainly in American life, with ambitious visions — which seem crazy to everyone else — for transforming the world that is into the world that ought to be. So what are the factors driving these two t...

On today's installment: Jeremiah, the end of days, and the love of family and community. This week people all over America and the world will start planning for St. Valentine's Day. You might not expect a Rabbi to care. Instead, we decided to drop four special episodes each covering a different angle on love, the Bible, and, of course, the Beatles. Sign up for more events here: https://thejoshuapr...

On today's installment: Jacob, Rachel, and love that runs deeper than mere attraction and romance. This week people all over America and the world will start planning for St. Valentine's Day. You might not expect a Rabbi to care. Instead, we decided to drop four special episodes each covering a different angle on love, the Bible, and, of course, the Beatles. Sign up for more events here: https://t...

The Exodus is justly celebrated as the earliest triumph for freedom in human history. But as everyone from the American founders, to Frederick Douglass, to Cecil B. DeMille understood, the story of Israel’s freedom—and the American freedom modeled on it—would be incomplete without the Ten Commandments. Because what the Revelation at Sinai introduced to civilization was the idea that there is no la...

For some, “almost” doesn’t count. But America takes the mantle of being “an almost chosen people” with pride. So what sort of obligations come with being “almost” chosen? This week Rabbi Lamm speaks to the CEO of the Christian Broadcast Network, Gordon Robertson, about identifying the ways we can follow in the footsteps of the Biblical chosen people.

Whether the challenges we’re facing are personal, communal or even national, how do we make sure we each take an active role in addressing them, while at the same time realizing that we can’t do everything on our own, and that we need the support of a community to get us through? This week Rabbi Lamm speaks to cancer survivor, legendary healthcare advocate, and Host of the Out Of Patients podcast,...

It’s a pretty scary time in American life. We’re suffering with a bout of physical, civic, and maybe even spiritual sickness. Is there a way out of this? Is there a way for us to remember our values and rediscover a common moral language during a time of fear? Rabbi Lamm speaks to award-winning author Cambria Gordon - whose new novel, The Poetry of Secrets, is due out in February - to find out!

We Americans live in a place and time of incredible plenty. But just beneath the surface, you can see this incredible loneliness at the heart of American life. But what if there were a way to be surrounded by people who love you and care for you and would do anything for you? Rabbi Lamm speaks with investigative journalist and author Annika Hernroth Rothstein about how she traveled to far-flung co...

The Golden Rule of modern life is: be yourself. You don’t have any obligations unless you choose them. Is this just good self-care…or a recipe for loneliness and misery? To think through what we owe to our past, to our children, and to each other, Rabbi Ari Lamm is joined by Michael Brendan Dougherty, author of “My Father Left Me Ireland,” senior writer for National Review, and fellow at the Ameri...

We often think about the worlds of technological progress, and ancient tradition and faith, as being in opposition. The battle of Silicon Valley and Jerusalem, you might say. But do they have to be? In this week’s episode, Rabbi Lamm talks this out with Tommy Collison , the Lambda School’s Head of Comms and Business Development, and creator of Interintellect.’s “Reading the Greats” series.

Can we still dream big dreams even in such dark and lonely times? This week Rabbi Ari Lamm talks to two major journalists - one Israeli, one Arab - about how big dreams are even now reshaping the Middle East and the wider world of faith as we know it.

America’s facing a lot of problems these days, from loneliness to the loss of community. If we want to fix these problems, one thing we definitely need is a few good men. So in this week’s episode, Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm speaks with acclaimed actor and author Michael Ian Black about his new book on being a better man.

We’re living through some difficult times here in America. How do we get in the Thanksgiving spirit at a moment like this one? In this week’s episode, Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm discusses the practice of gratitude with author and Biblical scholar Dr. Erica Brown.

Nothing illustrates difference in the Bible more than the story of Jacob and Esau, whose life choices led them down different paths. In the United States today, despite us being part of the same American family, we’re letting ourselves be torn apart. Hear Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm discuss how to bring us back together with David French, Senior Editor of  The Dispatch .

What is kindness, and what does it have to do with faith? How can being kind change your life and change the world? In this week’s episode, Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm and Professor Karen Swallow Prior break down the importance of kindness.

What would you do if God asked you to sacrifice the thing you hold most dear? How would you reconcile what God wants with your desires? In this Episode, listen to Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm speak with Professor James Goodman about the binding of Isaac and putting faith to the test as we drive down the highway of life.

What would prompt you to deviate from the status quo and start a revolution? Would a message from God? Would the idea of a new music genre? Hear Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm get the inside scoop from Bill Adler, formerly of Def Jam Recordings, on the similarities and lessons to be learned from Abraham's story in Lech Lecha and the 1980s hip hop scene as they illustrate how staying true to oneself can have l...

What would you do if God told you to jump on a boat and prepare for the rest of humanity to be destroyed? Would you try to warn your friends and neighbors? Would you risk your life to save strangers? The Biblical Noah didn't, but a young Polish girl named Stefania did: Sharon Cameron, the author of the new critically acclaimed novel The Light in Hidden Places, joins us to tell us this unsung hero'...

As far as creation stories go, the Bible’s, let’s admit it, is messy: in the first few chapters alone, we see trials and redos, sin and murder, and much more failure than success. What can this deeply flawed account of the beginning of all things teach us about ourselves? Sohrab Ahmari , prominent writer and opinion editor for the New York Post, joins us to tell the story of his own recreation, wh...