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PODCAST

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas

New Books Network

Interviews with thought-leaders about their new books. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/van-leer-institute

arts books

All Episodes

38:43

James Davison Hunter, "Democracy and Solidarity: On...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/04/09

Liberal democracy in America has always contained contradictions—most notably, a noble but abstract commitment to freedom, justice, and equality that, tragically, has seldom been realized in practice. While these contradictions have caused dissent and even violence, there was always an underlying and evolving solidarity drawn from the cultural resources of America’s “hybrid Enlightenment.” James Davison Hunter, who introduced the concept of “culture wars” thirty years ago, tells us in Democracy and

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42:55

On Barak, "Heat, a History: Lessons from the Middle...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/03/10

Despite the flames of record-breaking temperatures licking at our feet, most people fail to fully grasp the gravity of environmental overheating. What acquired habits and conveniences allow us to turn a blind eye with an air of detachment? Using examples from the hottest places on earth, Heat, a History: Lessons from the Middle East for a Warming Planet (U California Press, 2024) shows how scientific methods of accounting for heat and modern forms of acclimatization have desensitized us to climate

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31:36

Anthony Grafton, "Magus: The Art of Magic from...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/03/08

Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa (Harvard UP, 2023) is a revelatory new account of the magus―the learned magician―and his place in the intellectual, social, and cultural world of Renaissance Europe.In literary legend, Faustus is the quintessential occult personality of early modern Europe. The historical Faustus, however, was something quite different: a magus―a learned magician fully embedded in the scholarly currents and public life of the Renaissance. And he was hardly the only

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40:39

Josef Stern, "Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/02/09

There is a common misconception that the Jewish religion does not believe in an afterlife. While it’s true that Judaism is focused on actions, intentions and thoughts in this life, it also believes in an afterlife, and has a variety of points of view about what happens after death. Today’s guest, Professor Joseph Stern, will discuss Maimonides’ unique understanding of the afterlife, per his recent article, "A Guide to the AfterDeath: Maimonides on olam ha-ba’", Religious Studies (2024), 60,

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34:16

Eric Cline, "After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/02/07

At the end of Eric Cline's bestselling history 1177 B.C., many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost and the so-called First Dark Age had begun. Now, in After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations (Princeton UP,

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35:58

On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/01/26

In this episode we delve into one of the most profound and enduring works of sacred poetry: the Book of Psalms. Emotional and spiritual, joyful and despairing, triumphant and trembling with terror, the psalms have given voice to humanity's deepest yearnings for millennia. These timeless prayers and hymns have offered solace, inspiration, and a path to connection with the Divine, both individually and collectively.Traditionally attributed to King David, the psalms were sung by the Jewish priests in

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38:15

Anthony Bale, "A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2025/01/11

A captivating journey of the expansive world of medieval travel, from London to Constantinople to the court of China and beyond.Europeans of the Middle Ages were the first to use travel guides to orient their wanderings, as they moved through a world punctuated with miraculous wonders and beguiling encounters. In this vivid and alluring history, medievalist Anthony Bale invites readers on an odyssey across the medieval world, recounting the advice that circulated among those venturing to the road

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35:01

Writing on the Wall: A Conversation with William...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/11/23

"Writing on the Wall" is a global platform founded by Professor William Kolbrener and novelist Ronit Eitan in response to the traumatic events of October 7th and the alarming rise in global antisemitism.The co-founders, despite their differing perspectives on many issues, share a steadfast belief: the fight against antisemitism can begin by uniting diverse voices through poetry and art. In a world where some wield literature, art, and scholarship as tools of intimidation and exclusion, efforts to

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40:21

Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman, "What Are Children...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/11/12

Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman's book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice (St. Martin's Press, 2024) presents a modern argument, grounded in philosophy and cultural criticism, about childbearing ambivalence and how to overcome it.Becoming a parent, once the expected outcome of adulthood, is increasingly viewed as a potential threat to the most basic goals and aspirations of modern life. We seek self-fulfillment; we want to liberate women to find meaning and self-worth outside the

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39:49

The Failed Concepts That Brought Israel to October 7

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/11/05

The essay "The Failed Concepts That Brought Israel to October 7" (Mosaic Magazine) by Shany Mor, dated October 7, 2024, examines the intellectual and policy failures leading up to the October 7 attack on Israel. Mor critiques several conceptual frameworks that have guided Israeli and international policy, particularly in dealing with Gaza and Hamas. These failed ideas include: 1. Netanyahu’s Leadership - Mor argues that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-standing skepticism,

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34:53

Judaism is About Love: A Discussion with Shai Held

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/10/11

A dramatic misinterpretation of the Jewish tradition has shaped the history of the West: Christianity is the religion of love, and Judaism the religion of law.In the face of centuries of this widespread misrepresentation, Rabbi Shai Held―one of the most important Jewish thinkers in America today―recovers the heart of the Jewish tradition, offering the radical and moving argument that love belongs as much to Judaism as it does to Christianity. Blending intellectual rigor, a respect for tradition and

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39:03

Seth J. Frantzman, "The October 7 War: Israel's...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/09/18

A harrowing account on the frontlines of the war between Israel and Hamas, The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (Wicked Son, 2024) War tells the story of how Hamas surprised Israel with its deadly attack, killing more than 1,000 people and kidnapping more than 250. With unparalleled access to the Israeli soldiers and units that faced the Hamas onslaught and their epic battle to defeat the terror group in Gaza, this is the story of the men and women who faced one of the world’s

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33:06

Marilynne Robinson, "Reading Genesis" (FSG, 2024)

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/09/12

For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true.Both of these approaches preclude an

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40:42

Cary Nelson, "Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/09/04

Completed shortly before Hamas carried out its barbaric October massacre, Cary Nelson's Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles (Academic Studies Press, 2024) takes up issues that have consequently gained new urgency in the academy worldwide.It is the first book to ask what impact antisemitism has had on the fundamental principles the academy relies on for its identity—academic freedom, free speech rights, standards for hiring or firing faculty members and

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27:03

Jay Garfinkel, "Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/08/27

Dive into the timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes in Jay Garfinkel's groundbreaking work, Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the Pursuit of Happiness (Illuminated Press, 2024) This exquisite "illuminated" digital masterpiece marries the ancient with the avant-garde, offering a fresh, poetic voice to the biblical text that has resonated with humanity for millennia. The book contains:• 83 Stunning Illustrations: Each piece is a visual symphony that invites you on a visual journey through Kohelet's philosophical

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35:04

Samuel C. Heilman and Mucahit Bilici, "Following...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/08/09

Two academics, one Jewish and one Muslim, come together to show how much their faiths have in common—particularly in America.This book provides a braided portrait of two American groups whose strong religious attachments and powerful commitments to ritual observance are not always easy to adapt to American culture. Orthodox Jews and observant Muslims share many similarities in their efforts to be at home in America while holding on to their practices and beliefs. As Samuel Heilman and Mucahit

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36:58

Eyal Regev, "The Temple in Early Christianity:...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/08/07

Eyal Regev's The Temple in Early Christianity: Experiencing the Sacred (Yale UP, 2019) is he first scholarly work to trace the Temple throughout the entire New Testament, this study examines Jewish and Christian attitudes toward the Temple in the first century and provides both Jews and Christians with a better understanding of their respective faiths and how they grow out of this ancient institution. The centrality of the Temple in New Testament writing reveals the authors’ negotiations with the

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32:44

Judith Lewis Herman, "Truth and Repair: How Trauma...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/06/07

Judith Herman is renowned for her groundbreaking work with survivors of trauma, including sexual trauma. Her earlier books include Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror (Basic Books, 2022) and Father-Daughter Incest (Harvard UP, 2000)The #MeToo movement brought worldwide attention to sexual violence, in both domestic and work settings. However, the movement did not address the crime of sexual violence in war, and the use of rape as a weapon of war

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25:59

Thomas Sparr, "German Jerusalem: The Remarkable Life...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/06/04

In the 1920s, before the establishment of the state of Israel, a group of German Jews settled in a garden city on the outskirts of Jerusalem. During World War II, their quiet community, nicknamed Grunewald on the Orient, emerged as both an immigrant safe haven and a lively expatriate hotspot, welcoming many famous residents including poet-playwright Else Lasker-Schüler, historian Gershom Scholem, and philosopher Martin Buber. It was an idyllic setting, if fraught with unique tensions on the fringes

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36:28

Carl Zimmer, "Life's Edge: The Search For What it...

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas ·

2024/05/10

Carl Zimmer investigates one of the biggest questions of all: What is life? The answer seems obvious until you try to seriously answer it. Is the apple sitting on your kitchen counter alive, or is only the apple tree it came from deserving of the word? If we can’t answer that question here on Earth, how will we know when and if we discover alien life on other worlds? The question hangs over some of society’s most charged conflicts - whether a fertilized egg is a living person, for example, and when

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158 results

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