My New Podcast!

Download and subscribe now, please!

It’s been almost two years in the making, and I’m so glad it’s finally here. Introducing our new podcast, Wisdom & Practice, brought to you by PRX, The Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, and The John Templeton Foundation.

The trailer launches today. You can listen to it anywhere you get podcasts, including Apple and Spotify. It would be huge if you would subscribe to the podcast, and rate and review it too. Those actions would help so much to get the show off the ground.

A few years back, I hosted another podcast—Spirited—which I loved so much. It was fun and meaningful, and I couldn’t believe I was getting to hang out with and learn from people I admired. It was such a privilege and honor.

I loved what we produced. The show was beautiful and of the highest quality, and we even landed some amazing sponsors. But we weren’t distributed by a major platform, which meant building our audience was next to impossible. We ultimately decided to let that show go.

I promised myself then that I wouldn’t commit to another podcast until it was the right opportunity, one where we could be proud of the substance and quality, and also have access to stronger distribution and audience development. We had some near successes with some of the biggest platforms, and it was hard to stay patient.

But now, here we are, partnering with PRX, the same company that distributes some of the world’s biggest podcasts and some of my personal favorites, such as This American Life, The Moth, and The Ted Radio Hour.

In our new show—Wisdom & Practice—we connect with spiritual leaders, philosophers, artists, and more, to learn about what we can bring into our lives for more meaning and more happiness.

I’m excited by the incredible guests we are bringing in, including friends who I’ve known and learned from for years upon years (like Hussein Rashid and Rabbi Sharon Brous), people whose work and wisdom I’ve followed and gained from for years upon years (such as Krista Tippet and Nick Kristof), and writers and philosophers whose work I’ve encountered more recently (like Katherine May and Starsky Wilson).

[Not to brag or anything, but even though it made me super nervous, I managed not to poop my pants while interviewing Dwight from The Office (aka Rainn Wilson), which is no small feat.]

Wisdom & Practice is also being supported by the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, which I love, because it was my professional home for the past few years and a place that sincerely believes in the promise of religious pluralism. The show is underwritten by the John Templeton Foundation, without which, I would not have the support or the courage to pursue this new podcast.

We will release the first episode of Wisdom & Practice next week, which is an interview with a person who, over the past year, I’ve come to deeply appreciate and admire: Miroslav Volf, who is a Croation theologian, Yale professor, and a New York Times Bestselling Author of Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most.

After Miroslav’s interview, we will drop an episode every other week. My hope is to include a snippet from each conversation in this newsletter, perhaps with a brief reflection from me on each. I’ll also try to include photos with some of these cool people, to prove that at least some of them like me enough to spend a little time with me.

More than anything, I’m hopeful that this show will serve you all in the way that it serves me: helping us find more joy, satisfaction, and meaning in our everyday lives. As we say on the show, “Life is hard, but it doesn’t have to be this hard.” Here’s hoping that you’ll join me on this journey of making our lives lighter and sweeter, together.