Research Bites

Research Bites, season 6: The Public and the Sacred

In this season of the MBSF podcast, 5 Buber fellows are sharing their cutting-edge research.

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Roser is joined by Dr. Eilat Maoz and Dr. Uri Eren for an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon known as "fake news." Together, they discuss the critical questions it raises and consider how it influences our perception and understanding of the core functions of news. This episode sheds light on the complex challenges misinformation presents across political and public spheres, revealing its far-reaching impact.

In this episode, Dr. Carolin Müeller offers a brief history of Brass music, its unique sounds and rhythms, and the way it has developed into a vibrant genre that connects people around the world. This episode looks into the connection between Brass music and different belief systems and religious rituals. It investigates the way Brass music changed people and lives as it connects between music and movement.

*The podcast was created for research and teaching purposes and not for profit. The podcast uses short, temporary musical excerpts, and if anyone believes their rights have been violated, please contact us via email [email protected]

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Pe'er (stoll) looks into one of Kafka’s short stories: “The Animal in the Synagogue.” Through the story, we learn about the Jewish community in the 20th century, its struggles and conflicts. The episode also allows a wider discussion of the dynamics and subtleties that the Jewish community in Europe faced in light of the changing world.

In this episode, Dr. Kathatrina Palmberger takes us back in time to the foundation of the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem. By looking at the unique art and architecture of the church, this episode sheds light on the people who created it: the Crusaders'. This episode will uncover the historical significance of this extraordinary church and the Crusaders' efforts to integrate their identity into its architecture.

This episode is about food and people; Dr. Limor Yungman examines why food matters and why it is more than just eating. Looking at recipes from long ago, she discusses how food impacts places, cultures, and economic trade. Through these recipes, we can learn not only about the history of food but also about the role that food plays in the world.

In this mini-series, Dr. Anna Gutgarts, Dr. Amit Gvaryahu and Dr. Idit Ben-Or will talk about how money makes the bonds that connect us to other people – and separates us as well. It's about how money constitutes what is public and what is private. 

In the third act of the mini-series about money, Dr. Amit Gvaryahu will talk about how paying money would constitute the body politic of the ancient Jewish people and the Jerusalem temple, year after year.

This mini series is about how money makes the bonds that connect us to other people – and separates us as well. It's about how money constitutes what is public and what is private.

In this mini-series, Dr. Anna Gutgarts, Dr. Amit Gvaryahu and Dr. Idit Ben-Or will talk to each other about the role of money in making the bonds that connect us to other people – and erecting the fences that separate us from them, too. 

This is the first act, in which Dr. Idit Ben-Or will talk about enterprising English individuals who made their own coins, and what exactly other people did with them, besides, of course, buying beer.

Some things seem like they just can't be coincidences. They seem to call for explanation. If you toss a coin many times and it repeatedly lands heads, that might be an example. Philosophers have used this idea to argue for some far-reaching conclusions, such as that there aren't really any numbers, that other universes exist and, more famously, that an all-powerful god exists. But what does it mean for something to call for explanation? And, are these arguments good ones?

In the 5th century C.E. the Greek philosopher Proclus wrote that “the same argument that keeps the whole world perfect posits evil among beings.”

In the eighteenth century, the satirist Bernard Mandeville would inspire the economist Adam Smith with his poem describing a city where “every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradise.” Connecting these two distant thinkers is the claim that evil somehow contributes to the good of the whole. How can such an articulation of good and evil make sense? And how can studying such historical arguments be relevant to understanding our situation today?