The Veritas Forum

In today’s episode, a concert pianist and Beethoven scholar takes us on a musical journey through the life of one of history’s greatest composers.   You’ll hear from Mia Chung-Yee, an accomplished musician and faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music. In this lecture and performance, she tells the story of Beethoven’s struggle with deafness and explores the connection in his music betw...

In today’s episode, two scientists with different spiritual worldviews explore this question: How can science and spirituality co-exist?   You’ll hear from Praveen Sethupathy, a genomics professor at Cornell, and Michael Hecht, a chemistry professor at Princeton. In this conversation, they explore what science and spirituality can learn from one another and how they experience wonder in their...

In today’s episode, two professors with different approaches to faith discuss the question: Can I be spiritual but not religious?   You’ll hear from Tim Muehlhoff, a professor of communications at Biola University, and Elizabeth Barrett, a lecturer in psychology at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). They discuss their spiritual and religious worldviews, how they define spirit...

In today’s episode, two professors discuss how we should live when facing limited time. What does it mean to live each day like it’s your last? Is that a bad idea?   You’ll hear from Lydia Dugdale, a medical ethicist at Columbia, and Timothy Bono, a psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). They explore why considering our mortality is important for living well and what prac...

In today’s episode, two professors explore questions like: Is there more to life than meets the eye? Or, what do we turn to when we face challenging circumstances?   You'll hear from Jamie Smith, a philosophy professor at Calvin University, and Ted Fischer, an anthropology professor at Vanderbilt. In this conversation moderated by a Vanderbilt student, Isabella Gomez, they discuss the desire...

In today’s episode, a Christian and an atheist engage in a wide-ranging discussion about what makes humans special. Are we just advanced animals or part of a larger story with a beginning, middle, and end?   You’ll hear from Joshua Swamidass, a professor of biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and Peter Langland-Hassan, a philosopher at the University of Cincinnati. I...

We’ve made it to the end of another amazing year on the podcast — all thanks to you, our listeners! We loved exploring the ideas that shape our lives with you this year!   In this episode, Seth (our podcast host and video producer at The Veritas Forum) shares some stats from the podcast in 2024 and our top three episodes of the year. We feature excerpts from Molly Worthen (UNC), Jonathan Haid...

During the Christmas season, we love experiencing wonder and magic. Santa Claus, presents, Christmas music, and twinkling lights make us feel the “Christmas spirit.” But Christians believe the ultimate Christmas wonder was a baby. A miracle. God became human. Something so unlikely and incredible that it altered the world forever. In today’s episode, you’ll hear Oxford mathematician John Lennox exp...

In today’s episode, an English professor explores the question of meaning. What compels us to look for meaning? And, is meaning found within ourselves or outside of ourselves?   You’ll hear from Lori Branch, an English professor at the University of Iowa. In this talk, she explores why we seek meaning, how we find meaning in our relationship with others, and how her Christian faith fulfills h...

In today’s episode, two professors discuss this question: Why is it so hard to admit when we don’t know something? And why does it matter in the academic environment?   You’ll hear from Cullen Buie, professor of biological engineering at MIT, and Marcelo Gleiser, professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth. In this conversation, moderated by Hannah Eagleson (Emerging Scholars Network, Int...

It’s not hard to figure out what to do with our phones. But what is hard to figure out is what our phones are doing to us.   Today’s speakers have written a lot about this topic. The first speaker is Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at NYU and author of, The Anxious Generation, which has topped the New York Times bestseller list for 27 weeks in a row. In dialogue with Jon is Andy Crouch,...

It’s election season in America, and that brings a lot of questions about how we interact in the public square. How do we disagree respectfully across our differences? What do we do with competing truth claims in a pluralistic society?   In today’s episode, you’ll hear pastor and author Tim Keller (1950 — 2023) discuss these questions. Tim lays out a brief history of pluralism in America, fou...

In today’s episode, a physicist explores this question: Where do you see beauty in the world, and does it point to a higher purpose? You’ll hear from Ard Louis, a professor of theoretical physics at Oxford. Ard shares why he finds his research beautiful, where he believes the laws of nature come from, and how his Christian worldview helps him make sense of science. This forum was held at MIT in 20...

In today’s episode, you’ll hear the story of Molly Worthen. As a journalist and historian at UNC, Molly has written about Christians for years as an outsider. But in this conversation, she shares how something unexpected happened to her recently: she became one. Molly talks with Lorien Foote, a history professor at Texas A&M. They explore Molly’s worldview before becoming a Christian, the evid...

Today’s episode is about worldviews. What is one? Do you have one? And, if so, how does it influence your daily life? You’ll hear from Dallas Willard (1935 — 2013), a philosophy professor from USC. Willard explores how we can identify worldviews, why we should question ours, and how Jesus offers a unique and satisfying one. This forum was held at UCLA in April 2003. Thank you to the forums team fo...

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from two scientists as they discuss the topic of knowledge. Is scientific knowledge the only true form of knowledge? Or are there other equally valid ways of knowing? You’ll hear from Praveen Sethupathy, professor of physiological genomics at Cornell, and David Rudge, professor of biological sciences at Western Michigan. Praveen and David discuss other forms of know...

Advances in artificial intelligence and computing technology are happening at breakneck speed. Yet even the best A. I. today still falls short. Whether it's a frustratingly unhelpful chatbot, the uncanny valley of immersive virtual reality, or the nonsensical answers of ChatGPT. Are these glitches a short-term problem? Or is there something about human experiences that make them impossible to prog...

The speakers in today’s forum engage with two main questions: What stories are you telling yourself? And how can you learn to tell better ones? You’ll hear today from practicing psychiatrist Curt Thompson and Health Behavior and Health Education professor Victor Strecher (UMichigan). Curt and Vic discuss what it looks like to tell better stories, the role community plays in storytelling, and what...

For many of the key issues today, it’s challenging to simply agree to disagree . Not only do we have serious differences in opinion and belief, but how we choose to act in light of them can have profound consequences. How, then, should we live together? Is compromise a necessary component of community? In a forum originally titled “Can Truth and Tolerance Coexist,” theologian Mir...

In college, it's common to feel the pressure to do everything —overload classes, join clubs, apply to internships, and more. But rarely do we stop to ask why . Behind all of our striving, what’s the purpose of our work anyway? The speakers in this episode ask this question. You'll hear from Lydia Dugdale, a primary care physician and director of the Center for Medical Ethics at Columbia University...

What if there was a way to alleviate the symptoms of depression in just five days by changing a person’s brain activity? Obviously, this kind of shift would radically change a person’s life, finally letting them find happiness and satisfaction. Our guest today in this episode is David Carreon. He’s the co-founder of Acacia Clinic, a mental health clinic in Silicon Valley that uses a radically fast...

One of our faculty partners and frequent Veritas Forum speakers, John Inazu (WUSTL), has a new book out — Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect. His book isn’t about the election per se, but so many of his ideas and tools will be helpful this year. As November approaches, we'll have to decide not just who or what we will vote for, but how we w...

It would be great if the world was a better place. More kindness and friendship. Less war and injustice. For “everything sad to become untrue” (to paraphrase Tolkien).  Our speaker in this episode is Mary Poplin (Claremont), and she cares about making the world a better place. In fact, she’s dedicated her life to it. Yet her dedication was challenged when she encountered som...

We spend — on average — 90,000 hours of our life working. So it’s no wonder we want our jobs to bring us happiness. Yet, all too often, work doesn’t make us happy. Why is that? And is there anything we can do about it? In this episode, we discuss just that. You’ll hear from social scientist and New York Times bestselling author, Arthur Brooks (Harvard). Arthur talks w...

The concept of a “multiverse” — formerly an obscure idea in philosophy and theoretical physics — is now mainstream. Movies like best-picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once or Marvel’s Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse invite us into an expansive vision of the cosmos: one where there are infinite worlds, possibilities, and comparisons. Even though these multiv...