The Lightning Podcast

David Wolpe: The Divided Heart S1 E17

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 supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Mark Lilla: Yearning for Questions S1 E16

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 Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Michael Eisenberg: The Theology and Technology of Place S1 E15

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 wisdom in a secular age.Meditations with Zohar is supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Agnes Callard: Socrates, Founder of Conceptual Literacy S1 E14

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 the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Jamal Greene: Law and Justice S1 E13

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 more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Bill Kristol: Philosophy and Politics S1 E12

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 George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg: Rumors of Angels S1 E11

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 George Mason University, bridging the gap between big ideas and real world problems.Read more from Zohar at his Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.

Teresa Bejan: It’s Not Good To Be Alone S1 E10

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 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 Torah newsletter Etz Hasadeh or his philosophy newsletter What is Called Thinking.Meditations with Zohar is a production of SoulShop and Lyceum Studios.