Tov! A Podcast About ”The Good Place” and Jewish Ideas

On “The Good Place”, Janet’s glitching prompts Michael and Janet to talk about the lies at the beginning of their relationship and now, and Michael realizes that they are friends. On the podcast, Myra and Ben and Jon overinterpret paper clips. Then they look for a broader view of lying and truth-telling, and discuss how friendship relates to speaking in error and learning truth. Click here for show notes.

On “The Good Place” Michael turns the famous trolley problem into another form of torture for Chidi, while Jason says being mean to someone who is being nice to you is bad but he can’t put his finger on why. On the podcast, Geoff Mitelman (rabbi/science guy!) and Jon discuss how philosophical models torture us and teach us, and how understanding our brains with the insights of neuroscience can help us become better at ethical decisions. Click here for show notes.

On “The Good Place” both Michael and Tahani experience their own crises — existential, midlife, and otherwise — and Eleanor and Jason help them through it. On the podcast, Julee Levine and Jon wonder which dimensions of such crises spur us forward, with some help from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. Click here for show notes!

On “The Good Place”, Michael reboots the neighborhood hundreds of times but the humans and even the demons outmaneuver him every time in a new way. So finally he offers the humans to stop erasing their memories and to work together with them against Shawn and Vicky. On the podcast, Daniel Kirzane (new rabbi co-host!) and Jon discuss reboots of the universe in the Torah and the midrash. Is it possible we are helping God design better and better universes? If we have a good week, does God get better too? Click here for show notes!

We’re publishing this episode out of sequence to link up with Purim, the festival of costumes and the story of Esther! On “The Good Place”, the humans and Janet put on costumes and assume new identities to pass through demon headquarters on their way to the Judge. On the podcast, Ilana Schachter (rabbi), Daniella Risman (hazzan=cantor), and Jon Spira-Savett talk about how costumes relate to, obscure, or help bring out our true selves, and how from the Bible to “The Good Place” 45-year-old men create impossible messes and tell women only they can fix it. Click here for show notes!

On “The Good Place”, Michael reboots, Janet gives Eleanor back her Chidi note, and the humans find each other again. On the podcast, Jon and Dan connect teshuvah with losing and finding things, animals, and people, and explore a classic Jewish teaching that “twists” what it means to be wise, honored, rich, or happy. Click here for show notes!

We celebrate the end of our first podcast season with some reflections from Jon and Dan, and our first young person interview with Lela Spira-Savett! Find out the score after one quarter of the series in the which-Good-Place-character-are-rabbis-most-like sweepstakes! Click here for show notes.

On “The Good Place” Eleanor figures out that they are not in the Good Place after all, and on the podcast Jon and Rebecca discuss the essence of a Good Place and whether Eve was on to something when she got the two of them out of the Garden of Eden! The parallels between Eleanor and Eve and Moses really fly, so strap on tight! Find complete show notes for the episode here!

On “The Good Place” Eleanor, Jason, and Janet visit Mindy St. Claire, and on the podcast Jon and Sari discuss many ways of being medium, and how medium relates to isolation, selfishness, and possibility. (But funnier than it sounds!) Find complete show notes for the episode here!

On “The Good Place” Eleanor can’t make up points while that’s her main motivation, Chidi can’t fall in love unless he’s sure he has the right motivation, and Jason has purity of motivation and no ability to translate it into appropriate action. On the podcast, Jon and Rebecca explore when pure motivation might necessary and when mixed motivations or even bad motivations are just fine! Find complete show notes for the episode here!