Ministry of Ideas

Ministry of Ideas episodes:

• 12.20.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 8: The Enemy of Morality Is Not Modernity, It’s Me

  The great English essayist and linguist Samuel Johnson was writing during the Enlightenment – the period some historians identify as the beginning of the modern age. American author and philosopher David Foster Wallace worked more than two centuries later, in...

  
• 12.13.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 7: A Genealogy of Gun Violence

  The problem of gun violence is as old as guns themselves. According to historian Priya Satia, America’s present epidemic of gun violence has its roots in the industrial revolution. Satia tells the story of British gun-maker Samuel Galton, Jr., who...

  
• 12.06.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 6: A Medieval Anti-Racist

  What if racism shared an origin with opposition to racism? What if the condemnation of injustice gave rise both to an early form of anti-racism and to the racial hierarchies that haunt the modern era? Rolena Adornol, David Orique, María...

  
• 11.29.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 5: Picturing Race in Colonial Mexico

  Race is sometimes treated as a biological fact. It is actually a modern invention. But for this concept to gain power, its logic had to be spread – and made visible. Art historian Ilona Katzew tells the story of how...

  
• 11.22.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 4: Jamestown and the Myth of the Sovereign Family

  What is the “traditional American family?” Popular images from the colonial and pioneer past suggest an isolated and self-sufficient nuclear family as the center of American identity and the source of American strength. But the idea of early American self-sufficiency...

  
• 11.15.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 3: What Is Genealogy?

  Genealogy, in Charles Darwin’s terms, is the study of “descent with modification.” Taken as an analogy for the study of history, genealogy can guard against the potential dangers of claiming modernity. Against the effort to erase the past, genealogy asserts...

  
• 11.13.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 2: What Is Modernity?

  We often think of modernity as a distinct time period in history – one that is said to start at different places, but which always includes us. Yet people have been claiming to be modern since at least the third...

  
• 11.09.2023

  Genealogies of Modernity Episode 1: Climbing the Mountains of Modernity

  We all know many stories about how modernity came about. But what does it mean to be “modern”? This episode comes at the question through the test case of mountain climbing and rock climbing. Claims to becoming modern through climbing...

  
• 08.02.2023

  Illuminations Episode 10: Universal Knowledge

  At the dawn of European exploration, the Renaissance polymath Francis Bacon dreamed of resurrecting the Garden of Eden. Driving this vision was a relentless quest to fully understand—and catalog—God's created order. Guests Lorraine Daston, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Ann...

  
• 06.22.2023

  Illuminations Episode 9: Rituals for a Dying World

  Absorbing the full reality of climate change will require more than a scientific approach. Some American Jews are showing how religious ritual can help us metabolize catastrophic grief while also pointing towards a future rebirth. Guests: -Jennie Rosenn, Founder & CEO of...

  
• 05.16.2023

  Illuminations Episode 8: Watching Heaven

  The story of Galileo has long been cited as evidence the Catholic Church is inherently opposed to scientific research. But in fact, astronomy has been built into the history of the Catholic Church – sometimes built literally into the churches...

  
• 04.19.2023

  Illuminations Episode 7: Mirrors of Morality

  Scientific origin stories promise to tell us who we really are. But that deepest question of human existence can never fully be answered by science.  Guests Erika Milam, Princeton University Cecilia Heyes, Oxford University This episode was produced by Simon Brown and Maria Devlin...

  
• 03.20.2023

  Illuminations Episode 6: Manifest Mars

  A sense of divine destiny drove Americans to expand West. A similar spirit is behind the modern quest to conquer space.  Guests Lois Rosson, Bergruenn Institute (Los Angeles) Catherine Newell, University of Miami Joni Kinsey, University of Iowa Episode produced by Liya Rechtman. Learn more about...

  
• 03.16.2023

  Illuminations Episode 5: Moveable Feasts

  God, we know, is outside space and time. But the need to date one faith’s most sacred feast drove a cutting-edge technological quest to accurately locate ourselves in time.  Guests Simon Brown Philipp Nothaft Robert Poole Producers Simon Brown Maria Devlin McNair Voice Talent Blair Hodges Learn more about your...

  
• 03.15.2023

  Illuminations Episode 4: Quantum Buddhism

  What’s the spiritual significance of quantum mechanics? One answer comes from the Dalai Lama - a surprising but genuine lover of scientific investigation.  Guests Jose Perillan - Associate Professor of Physics and Science, Technology and Society and the Pauline Newman Director of...

  
• 03.14.2023

  Illuminations Episode 3: Divine Technology

  It’s common to feel that technology removes the magic of the world, but Hindu worshippers in Bangalore have shown that it's all in the approach.  Guest Tulasi Srinivas, associate professor of anthropology at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College. Fellow of...

  
• 03.13.2023

  Illuminations Episode 2: Beyond Belief

  Do scientists ever reject science? Research data on the controversial topic of extraterrestrial life has met with resistance from some in the scientific community and openness from communities of faith.  Guests Avi Loeb, professor of astrophysics and cosmology at Harvard University, where...

  
• 03.12.2023

  Illuminations Episode 1: Experimental Methods

  Have faith and science always been enemies? The story of Robert Hooke, a revolutionary working in the Scientific Revolution, exemplifies the ways in which Christianity has actually provoked scientific inquiry.  Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison...

  
• 03.11.2023

  Illuminations Introduction

  Illuminations is a limited series that reveals the untold friendship of religion and science. Through interviews and stories drawn from a range of cultures, faiths, and eras, this series reveals the unknown and unexpected histories of how religion and science...

  
• 03.10.2023

  Illuminations Teaser

  Illuminations is a limited series from Ministry of Ideas that reveals the untold friendship of religion and science. Through interviews and stories drawn from a range of cultures, faiths, and eras, this series reveals the unknown and unexpected histories of how religion...

  
• 03.09.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 8: Star Ladder

  Scientists discovered that some stars have heartbeats and that some of them can be used to measure the longest distances that exist. This episode was produced by Andrew Middleton  and Liya Rechtman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  
• 03.08.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 7: Kinsey

  Scientist Alfred Kinsey tried to differentiate human sexualities on a seven-point scale. In so doing, he brought us the basics of bisexuality. But the scale leaves a lot to be desired. Instead of a spectrum, Special Guest Kate Sisk leads...

  
• 03.07.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 6: IQ

  The Intelligence Quotient is a measure of intelligence that has life-or-death consequences. Should we trust it? GUEST Alan Gouddis is a Partner with Sherman & Sterling. He was recognized by The Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” in M&A Litigation Defense in 2021.   This episode...

  
• 03.06.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 5: Scoville

  Taste is a subjective experience. We know this because eggs pickled in human urine, cheese with live maggots living in it, fertilized and mostly-developed duck eggs, rotten shark, calf blood and cheese whiz are all delicacies somewhere. But there is...

  
• 03.05.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 4: Movies

  We’d rate today’s episode a ten out of ten, five star, certified fresh, two thumbs up. But we can’t speak for its IMdB score. This episode was produced by Andrew Middleton and Liya Rechtman. Measure for Measure is a limited series from Ministry of Ideas. Learn more...

  
• 03.04.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 3: Mohs

  We’re hitting up against the very nature of measurement: How can we best describe the world around us, in its infinite complexity, with finite measures? In other words, how hard are rocks? This episode was produced by Andrew Middleton and Liya Rechtman. Measure for Measure...

  
• 03.03.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 2: Olives

  Jews are ritually obligated to eat matzah during Passover. But how much matzah? Well, that depends on your views on the size of an olive.  This episode was produced by Andrew Middleton and Liya Rechtman.  Special thanks to Rabbi Natan Slifkin, founder of RationalistJudaism.com for...

  
• 03.02.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 1: Fathom

  We love a good chart or graph but we think measurement is more complex and interesting than the data points. The fathom is a measure of depth from the surface to the ocean floorwhich is critical for navigating the Mississippi...

  
• 03.01.2023

  Measure for Measure Episode 0: Birds

  Could you pick a white-breasted nuthatch out of a lineup? We explore the value - and limits - of birdwatching, categorization, and measurement. This episode was produced by Andrew Middleton and Liya Rechtman. Measure for Measure is a limited series from Ministry...

  
• 02.28.2023

  Introducing Measure for Measure

  Introducing Measure for Measure, a new limited series from Ministry of Ideas. We love a good chart or graph but we think measurement is more complex and interesting than data points. In each episode of the Measure for Measure, we look...

  
• 02.27.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 24: The Shining Surface

  It's common to equate meaning with depth, but the surface of things, with its wild and rapturous beauty, can coax us into life. GUEST Stephanie Paulsell is the Susan Shallcross Swartz Professor of the Practice of Christian Studies in the Harvard Divinity School...

  
• 02.26.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 23: Limits and Love

  We are finite creatures who struggle to accept our finitude. But if we can learn to embrace our limits, we will find that our relations with one another, the created world, and God allow us to experience a love so...

  
• 02.25.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 22: Head and Heart

  Meaning paradoxically has to be both made and discovered, an inescapable entanglement of the singular and the universal. And though the fruit of such wrestling may not be uncomplicated happiness, it often leads to a deeper awareness of the sweetness...

  
• 02.24.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 21: Throbbing with Life

  Science often draws a picture of the world as a giant machine, a meaningless mechanical clock ticking and tocking forever. But religion and poetry offer a different view, one that is teeming with life and overflowing with spirit. Guest:  Michael Ruse is a...

  
• 02.23.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 20: Love, Work, and Play

  Though life’s ultimate meaning may be elusive, the goods of love, work and play are so deeply rewarding that for most people they are sufficient for creating a happy life. And with new advances in neuroscience, we increasingly understand why...

  
• 02.22.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 19: Mysteries and Metaphors

  There is a deep mystery to the existence of the universe. And although a final answer to the question of meaning is not possible, it is our highest responsibility and greatest hope to seek one. Guest:  Francis J. Ambrosio is Associate Professor in...

  
• 02.21.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 18: Unfolding Narratives

  Meaning is less an objective thing to be discovered than a life-project, a narrative that unfolds over time. This doesn’t mean that every detail of our life fits a perfectly coherent plot, but rather we forge a beautiful expression of...

  
• 02.20.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 17: Remaking the World

  We inherit a world that is already made, full of stories and structures and significance. But all of us have the capacity to remake the world and the meanings available in it. Guest:  Simon Critchley is the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at...

  
• 02.19.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 16: Passionate Engagement

  Meaning is more than pleasure or even happiness—it is an intense and fulfilling engagement in projects and relationships that bring forth the best within us and disclose mysterious, beautiful worlds of love. Guest:  Susan R. Wolf is the Edna J. Koury Distinguished Professor...

  
• 02.18.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 15: Subjectivity and Significance

  We have a tendency to view our lives as meaningful only if we are involved in heroic acts of service, creativity, or achievement. But this is misguided. Even when we are ordinary, we are all, as living creatures, capable of...

  
• 02.17.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 14: The Challenge of Choice

  The vast range of choices we can make about our lives is one of the great blessings of modernity. But that very freedom makes it hard to know what to believe or where we belong. Even more difficult is that...

  
• 02.16.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 13: Flickers of Light

  The realization that our lives are incredibly brief and we are almost certainly not going to be remembered by anyone 100 years from now can cause deep angst—but it can also liberate us to abandon work and activities that smother...

  
• 02.15.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 12: Expansion of Life

  Experiencing a crisis of meaning, a time when our life and world no longer cohere, is painful and wrenching. But these encounters with the abyss can also be moments of rebirth and expansion, when we lay down our smaller selves...

  
• 02.14.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 11: Living Music

  Music is not merely entertainment—it is a living tradition, a connective tissue linking generations together in a shared pursuit of joy and significance. And through those links across time and space, we build a world of meaning, one improvisation at...

  
• 02.13.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 10: Connection in Community

  Meaning is more than an abstraction—it is a sense that we matter to one another, woven together with threads of reciprocity. But in those times when we feel lost and cut off from our sources of strength, we may have...

  
• 02.12.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 9: Questing Spirits

  The experience of existence is one of bewilderment and even anguish. Anguish because we feel that we are incomplete beings longing for completion, mired in immanence yet yearning for transcendence. Often, that questing spirit can lead us on the journey...

  
• 02.11.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 8: Gifts of Belonging

  In music, Kimbra found a way to create and share gifts. And through that gifting, she provides space for others to find deep connection and belonging. But music also offers something more mysterious—a language to wrestle with meaning, an attempt...

  
• 02.10.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 7: Virtuous Stories

  The human being is a storytelling animal, and no story is more important to us than our own. But we don’t write that story in a vacuum. We are born in media res and must develop ways of making sense...

  
• 02.09.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 6: Here and Now

  It’s common to look beyond life—to eternity or God—for meaning. But as the experience of seeing a cherry tree in bloom reveals, there is deep value in the immanent, the immediate, the now. Guest:  Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author...

  
• 02.08.2023

  Making Meaning Episode 5: Beyond Happiness

  Organizing our lives around the pursuit of happiness—defined as positive feelings—can ultimately leave our souls hungry. Instead, we should try connecting ourselves to deeper things: compassion, community, ritual, and awe. Guest:  Emily Esfahani Smith is a writer, editor, and speaker in Washington DC....