Jason Shron won’t finish building the model railroad in his basement - a scaled down replica of the Toronto-Montreal route circa 1980 - until he is 95 years old. But that’s OK: for him, model railroading is a kind of spiritual practice. Brian Bachand was passionate about his work as a Catholic priest in Boston, but he made the decision to leave. Lena Felton shares expert advice on when and how to quit a book, a relationship, or a dream.

Rachel Meyer is a theologian and the mother of a six-year-old boy. She speaks to Mary Hynes about how she’s trying to pass on the best of her Lutheran upbringing, yoga and Buddhist philosophy, and an ecofeminist appreciation for nature to her son, while ditching the more toxic elements. Musician Daniela Andrade on navigating the conflicting taboos and expectations about being Latina and arriving at her own strong sense of womanhood.

Veteran psychiatrist Manuel Matas on his mission to destigmatize paranormal experiences. A profound mystical experience leads scientist David Yaden to devote his life to researching spiritual experiences. Journalist Jordan Kisner tries to find out why, despite any conclusive explanation, Reiki works.

Michael Schur, creator of NBC comedy The Good Place, gambled that viewers were hungry for discussions about ethics and philosophy, even if they didn't know it at the time. His gamble paid off, making The Good Place a hit show.

If you were to play ‘where are they now’ about pop stars from the 1980s - you’d couldn’t do much better than Richard Coles. Back then, he was a member of the British pop duo The Communards, with a #1 hit single. Today he’s a parish priest in England.

Salman Ahmad and his band Junoon perform an irresistible blend of rock and qawwali. Their lyrics are in Urdu, inspired by the mystical branch of Islam ... Sufism. Junoon is the most popular rock group in South Asia, with sales of over 30 million. In his memoir, Rock & Roll Jihad, Salman Ahmad describes his fight to bring down the wall between east and west, and to overcome the barriers of fundamentalism to bring cultures together through music.

According to Patricia Pearson, about fifty percent of the bereaved sense the presence of the dead. Her book is called, Opening Heaven's Door: What The Dying May Be Trying to Tell Us About Where They're Going.

Dr. Francis Collins is the geneticist who directed the Human Genome Project mapping DNA, which he calls the "first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God."

When asked for a short bio, Bryan Stevenson offered up these 7 words: "Broken by poverty, injustice, condemnation. But hopeful." It's a powerful description, if a little too modest. Other people have called him: Atticus Finch meets Martin Luther King.

In our new COVID-19 world, decisions that were once easy — going to the park, visiting friends and family — are suddenly more complex and morally fraught. Philosopher Alice MacLachlan and moral psychologist Azim Shariff offer some ethical guidance. Plus, a new addition to our Soundtrack for the Soul.