Meditations with Zohar

This week, Zohar is joined by Anna Gát, Founder and CEO of Interintellect to talk about the importance of third spaces, how setting high expectations lead to better dialogue, the future of religion, post-political discourse, online community, European vs. American approaches to the Western canon, and the tension between being an author devoted to self expression and a community builder committed t...

This week, Zohar is joined by entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist Joe Lonsdale to discuss optimism, decadence, globalization and tribalism, virtue ethics and utilitarianism, Romans and Jews, The University of Austin and liberal arts, Rabbi Soloveitchik, Hannah Arendt, Michael Polanyi, Nietzsche, and the conflicting values at the heart of Western Civilization. Meditations with Zohar is suppo...

This week Zohar is joined by Russ Roberts, Economist, Host of the EconTalk Podcast, and President of Shalem College, to talk about Decision Making, Regret, Parenting, Skepticism, Mindfulness, Religious Life, Jewish thought, and the pros and cons of having a theory of everything. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between big idea...

This week, Zohar is joined by Rabbi David Wolpe, a beloved Jewish thinker and community leader, to talk about the blessings and challenges of public life, King David, sincerity and authenticity, religion and politics, study and song, celebrity and sanctity, the past and future of authority, whether intellectual honesty is overrated, and the majesty of the human face. Meditations with Zohar is supp...

This week, Zohar is joined by Mark Lilla, Professor of Humanities at Columbia, and wide-ranging public intellectual, to talk about Great Books and the purpose of humanities education, falling in love with ideas, conversion and deconversion, ignorance and bliss, the theology of accommodation, and the instructive, all too human example of thinkers who err. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the...

This week Zohar is joined by Venture Capitalist and Torah Scholar Michael Eisenberg to discuss his unique synthesis of business, tech, theology, and Biblical interpretation. They discuss the meaning of place in Jewish theology and contemporary life, what's wrong and right with mysticism, how sharing a religious code enables trust, how to create social change, pronatalism, and the possibility of wi...

This week Zohar is joined by Public Philosopher and UChicago Professor Agnes Callard to discuss the life and legacy of Socrates, trolls and sophists, knowledge and inspiration, therapy, color, mysticism, identity politics, the idealism of youth, how to be a good conversationalist, and when to defer. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging th...

This week, Zohar is joined by Law Professor and public intellectual Jamal Greene, to talk about his new book, How Rights Went Wrong, the importance of compromise, Robert Cover, Hegel, parenting, Moses and Aaron, and the pitfalls of juristocracy. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems. Read mo...

This week, Zohar is joined by writer, editor, and public intellectual, Bill Kristol, to discuss the danger of nostalgia and the virtue of moderation, the Biblical conflict between kings and prophets, the wisdom of Talmudic debate, the teaching of Leo Strauss, the ambiguous legacy of the American Founding, and whether history has ended. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at...

This week, Zohar is joined by acclaimed teacher and Bible scholar, Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, to discuss the irony and anguish of the human condition, the grandeur of spiritual life, Midrash as the unconscious of Scripture, how scholars are like saints, and Kafka’s definition of literature as an axe that breaks the frozen sea within us. Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at...

This week, Zohar is joined by political philosopher and public intellectual Teresa Bejan to discuss civil and uncivil disagreement, the virtues of localism, why she might have been a winemaker, the necessity of both conflict and forbearance, how to teach liberal arts inclusively, and the wisdom of Roger Williams and Hobbes. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee...

This week, Zohar is joined by acclaimed poet Rae Armantrout to talk about the meaning of influence, the importance of artistic community, how poetry is like prophecy, whether art guards against paranoia or induces it, and how to juggle aesthetic complexity with ethical commitment and political urgency. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee company using cutting...

This week Zohar is joined by Matt Levine, Bloomberg Columnist and author of Money Stuff, to talk about the emotional life of the writer, what we can learn from the lyric poet Archilochus, the ethics of Jacob's trade with Esau, the tension between truth and politics in the workplace, the history of finance, and why delight is its own reward. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an excep...

This week, Zohar is joined by Tara Isabella Burton, novelist, theologian, and journalist, to discuss new age religion, "best self-ism," the allure of the virtual, remix culture, whether Jesus would have had an anonymous Twitter account, and how to get real. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee company using cutting-edge technology to preserve and deliver speci...

This week, Zohar is joined by Nick Gillespie, public intellectual and editor at large of Reason Magazine, to discuss creative disruption, the legacy of David Foster Wallace, why libertarians and postmodernists should be friends, the underestimated importance of art and culture in politics, and how to live with epistemic humility. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new...

This week, Zohar is joined by John Tomasi, fusionist political philosopher and Brown University professor turned inaugural President of Heterodox Academy, to discuss the agony and the ecstasy of academia, whether philosophers should care about the weather, why skepticism and faith can be friends, the sublime loneliness of public libraries, and the importance of leaving the familiar. Meditations wi...

This week, Zohar is joined by philosopher and classicist Zena Hitz to discuss authenticity, faith, learning for its own sake, moral fragility, Socratic irony, and how to save the humanities. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee company using cutting-edge technology to preserve and deliver specialty coffee in its purest, most original form. Use the link cometee...

This week, Zohar is joined by Noah Feldman to discuss theology, pluralism, Maimonides, "bad Jews," and the importance of striving. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee company using cutting-edge technology to preserve and deliver specialty coffee in its purest, most original form. Use the link cometeer.com/zohar to get $20 off your first order. Read more from...

This week, Zohar is joined by novelist Sheila Heti to discuss artistic inspiration, faith, idleness, and indecision. Meditations with Zohar is sponsored by Cometeer, an exceptional new coffee company using cutting-edge technology to preserve and deliver specialty coffee in its purest, most original form. Use the link cometeer.com/zohar to get $20 off your first order. Read more from Zohar at his T...

On the premiere episode of Meditations with Zohar, economist Tyler Cowen joins Zohar to discuss life in the internet age, what we can learn from empty restaurants and the philosophy of Leo Strauss. Tyler is a prolific writer, podcaster, and thinker, but his latest work is Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World, co-authored with Daniel Gross. Meditations with Zo...

Meditations with Zohar, a new podcast hosted by Zohar Atkins will follow Zohar and his guests discussing big ideas at the intersection of philosophy, theology, art, and culture, bringing a personal and heartfelt touch to ideas that can often seem abstract, impersonal, and merely academic.  Join Meditations for a chance to experience yourself not just as a logical being, but as a being in pursuit o...