Good Faith Effort

Eli Lake is one of the best journalists and foreign affairs commentators in America. This week he joins Ari to talk about American foreign policy; the defense industry; the case for gangsta rap; the most underrated hip hop city; why Van Morrison is amazing; how to talk about Israel in this generation…and then turns the tables and interviews Ari about Judaism and politics!

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Russ Roberts is one of the greatest educators alive. He hosts one of the most legendary, popular educational podcasts of all time—EconTalk, on economics, culture, politics—he’s a well-known academic, and even produces viral hip hop videos viewed millions of times about great economic debates. And at the apex of this remarkable career…he picked himself up and moved to a foreign country, Israel, where he took over as President of a college dedicated to studying great texts and asking big questions. Why?

On this episode, Ari spoke with Russ about his journey. They talked about pronatalism in Israel; the narrative thrust of the Book of Genesis; a political economy perspective on Deuteronomy; where Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek and the Bible converge; why Jewish tradition would be helpful in the era of crypto; the role of oral tradition in Russ’s creative work and society at large; and so much more.

How do we ensure that our society is educating well? How can we transmit to the next generation the wisdom they need to be thinkers and the practical knowledge they need to be builders? And crucially, how do we avoid siloing these two essential components of a healthy civilization? To unpack this, Rabbi Lamm spoke to one of America’s preeminent thinkers and builders -- the Founder and CEO of Signature Bank and bestselling public thinker about everything from religion, to education, to culture: Scott Shay!

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Can the NBA teach us something about real life? Why has the political culture around sports gotten so insane? And seriously why did everyone hate that Kevin Durant-era Warriors team?

This week Ari spoke about all this and more with sports journalist Ethan Strauss, formerly the Warriors beat writer for ESPN and The Athletic, and now the proprietor of the fantastic SubStack, House of Strauss!

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Disability. It’s one of those things many Americans just don’t like to talk about. And yet, not only should justice impel society to engage with disability, legendary disability rights activist Judy Heumann makes the point that actually all of us, at some point or another, will experience disability. So we better get to thinking about it! Ari and Judy sat down this week to unpack all this and much more on a moving, insightful episode.

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Are comedy and Biblical tradition in opposition to each other? Is humor an obstacle or an aid to a serious life, or a life of faith? This week Rabbi Lamm spoke to Columbia University professor Jeremy Dauber about the history and future of comedy in American society. They talked about individualism and community in the comedy business; how comedy can help shed light on some of the most important stories in the Biblical tradition; the role of animation and weirdness more broadly in pop culture; and, of course, the British Office vs. the American Office!

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

When comedy comes from a super specific, unique perspective, does that make it inaccessible? Or, on the contrary, is that exactly what people are searching for: authenticity.

To unpack all this, Rabbi Lamm spoke to stand-up, actor and comedic genius MODI. Along the way they talked about how the purpose of comedy, what Hasidic Jews have to teach the world, the evolution of the Jewish voice in comedy from Jackie Mason to today, where antisemitism appears in the entertainment industry, and, of course, why Ari needs to ask shorter questions!

What is the relationship between religion and crime? What impact does faith have on and in America’s prison system? What role does faith have in accomplishing the goals of the criminal justice system?

To unpack all of this, Rabbi Lamm spoke with the world expert on religion and criminology, Baylor University’s Byron Johnson.

They talked about what the data tell us about the impact of religion on crime and criminality, what role faith can and does play in the prison system itself, how to bring the values of repentance and personal redemption deeper into American life, whether in the context of life-after-prison or even cancel culture, what we can learn from the fact that the Bible doesn’t use incarceration as a punishment, and much more!

We’re living in a time of great upheaval , from the biological (a pandemic), to the social (the state of faith in America), to the political (deep polarization). It can be tempting to give into the darkness and just assume we’re all doomed. 

But is there a case for optimism and hope that the next generation might even be better than the current one?

Rabbi Lamm had on the President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, #1 New York Times best-selling author, and amazing friend of the pod, Pastor Sam Rodriguez to talk about all this. Along the way they covered the the state of faith in America, the continued relevance of the Book of Kings, the role of pop culture in religious life, why Dune has killed it at the box office, and how the Hispanic community is changing the face of American culture for the better!

If you’re an immigrant to a new society, one of the first things you need to do is learn the local language. So what happens when humans immigrate into the world of machines? Rabbi Lamm spoke about this with Ami Dror the founder of the world’s largest edtech company teaching kids to code, LeapLearner.

Along the way, they talked about the divine image in the Book of Genesis; what you can understand about a society by studying its cultural heroes; what ancient Hebrew and modern computer code have to do with each other; why India is going to play a massive positive role in the global future; and the importance of both local and international travel