Cultural historian Joe Moran joins Joseph Dweck to discuss the overlooked beauty of the mundane.

From queuing to scrolling, he reveals how the routines and rituals we ignore are actually the scaffolding of human life. Together they reflect on shyness, language, and how studying motorways or meetings can illuminate deep truths about society, identity, and history.

Joe explains why ordinary moments deserve our attention, why he resists generational stereotypes, and what Gen Z gets right about the modern condition.

Joe Moran is Professor of English and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University. His acclaimed books include Queuing for Beginners, Armchair Nation, and If You Should Fail. His work focuses on the cultural and historical significance of the everyday.

Supported by: The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Science journalist Caroline Williams joins Joseph Dweck to explore the powerful connection between body and mind.

They delve into how movement can reshape our mental health through neuroplasticity, why we’ve become so sedentary, and how even simple physical habits can rewire our brains and reduce anxiety. Drawing from her books Override and Move, Caroline shares insights from her personal experiments with brain training and neuroscience labs around the world.

Whether it’s building strength, dancing with others, or walking in the fresh air, she explains how physical activity can be a form of self-knowledge and mental resilience.

Caroline Williams is a journalist and author focused on human biology, the brain, and the mind-body connection. Her books include Override: My Plastic Brain and Move: The New Science of Body Over Mind. She writes for New Scientist, BBC Future, and The Guardian.

Supported by: The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph Dweck speaks with robotics and AI pioneer Professor Hod Lipson about machine creativity and what it reveals about being human.

From robot artists to self-aware machines, they explore the philosophical and practical boundaries of artificial intelligence. Can machines ever truly feel? What does it mean to be conscious? And how should we prepare for a future shared with AI that is exponentially more capable than us?

Hod unpacks how AI works by ‘filling in blanks,’ how imagination might be the root of consciousness, and why he believes we’re on an inevitable path to meeting a new intelligent species - one we’re building ourselves.

Hod Lipson is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University and a world-renowned expert in AI and robotics. His work on evolutionary robotics, machine learning, and autonomous systems has shaped the future of human-machine interaction.

Supported by: The Sephardi Centre and Mr Louis Ades

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social psychologist Richard E. Nisbett joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss the role of environment in intelligence, the importance of stories, and some of the differences in thought and perception between East and West.

Richard E. Nisbett is co-director of the Culture and Cognition programme at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and the Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of social psychology. His published works include Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count, Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South, and The Geography of Thought.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans

Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychotherapist Judi Keshet-Orr joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss the difference between mental health and mental illness, how our relationship to sex affects our lives, and how transgenerational issues can impact us in the present day.

Please note that this episode contains references to sexual trauma that some listeners may find upsetting.

Judi Keshet-Orr is an accredited psychotherapist, a former social worker, and the first person in the UK to earn an MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. Judi has over 30 years of clinical, teaching, supervisory and mentoring experience, is a Fellow of both the National Council of Psychotherapists and COSRT, and is one of the few people in Britain to hold the European Certificate in Psychotherapy.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss the relationship between science and spirituality, the ways evolution impacts how we see the world, and his ground-breaking research into the nature of reality.

Donald Hoffman is a cognitive psychologist, author, and a Professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where he holds joint appointments in the Department of Philosophy, the School of Computer Science, and the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science. He is the author of books including Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See and The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music commentator Norman Lebrecht joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss why music moves us like nothing else can, the nature of genius, and how recent technologies like streaming are revolutionising the music world.

Norman Lebrecht is a writer, broadcaster, and commentator on music and cultural affairs, known for his world-renowned classical music blog Slipped Disc and his extensive work for BBC Radio 3. He was formerly a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, an assistant editor of The Evening Standard, and is the author of twelve books on music and the Whitbread Award-winning novel The Song of Names.

This episode is dedicated in memory of Samuel Adwar (Shmuel Ben Yosef) by Lauren and Keith Breslauer.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entrepreneur Anabel Maldonado joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss the relationship between fashion and psychology, how our clothes can affect our behaviours and how we think about ourselves. Do we make the clothes or do the clothes make us? And is there a difference between fashion and style?

Anabel Maldonado is a Canadian, London-based fashion journalist and entrepreneur. In 2019 she founded PSYKHE, the first e-commerce recommendation aggregator powered by machine learning and psychology. She also runs media site The Psychology of Fashion, and has contributed to publications such as The Business of Fashion, T The New York Times Style Singapore, and Marie Claire. 

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philosopher AC Grayling joins Rabbi Dweck to discuss the big questions of existence, the importance of living meaningfully, and the value of free speech at a time of growing extremism in public discourse.

AC Grayling is a Professor of Philosophy, the Master of the New College of the Humanities, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He is the author of over thirty books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays, and was for a number of years a columnist on the Guardian, the Times, and Prospect magazine.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Humans Being, Rabbi Joseph Dweck speaks to thinkers, innovators and creators from across society about the meaning and value of what they do.

Guests from the worlds of philosophy, fashion, music, science and psychology share lessons learned from their professional and personal lives. The series delves into the human, philosophical and spiritual aspects of modern life and work, and explores how the wisdom of Jewish tradition and thought can be applied in today’s world.

Credits

Hosted by Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited, mixed and mastered by Audio Culture

Music by James Cook

Design by Ellen Jane London

Media consultancy by Giselle Green

Executive produced by James Pont

Humans Being is grateful for the support of The Sephardi Centre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.