Podcasts by Re-Enchantment

"Awakening is not a one-shot experience." | Chuck Ceraso from 2023-02-13T23:06:06

A dialogue between artist Chuck Ceraso and Daniel Lev Shkolnik on the nature of spiritual awakening and consciousness.  

Chuck had an awakening experience in college which for a time...

Teaser from 2022-04-22T04:15:21.297826

Daniel Lev Shkolnik is a Humanist looking for deeper, more meaningful ways to live as an atheist. Each week, he dives into ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology to find fresh ways of m...

Teaser from 2022-03-07T10:56:38.459200

Daniel Lev Shkolnik is a Humanist looking for deeper, more meaningful ways to live as an atheist. Each week, he dives into ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology to find fresh ways of m...

Teaser from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.866701

Daniel Lev Shkolnik is a Humanist looking for deeper, more meaningful ways to live as an atheist. Each week, he dives into ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology to find fresh ways of maki...

Why Do Atheists Study Religion? from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.865911

I interview my friend and roommate Owen Cook about why we - two atheists - have spent so much time studying religion. We talk about Buddhism, gnosticism, our origin story as roommates, and about "d...

The Crisis of Meaning from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.865161

Professor Anthony Kronman writes that we live in "a powerful but pointless age." Science gives us awesome knowledge and abilities, but it may sabotage something just as important: our sense of sign...

The Power of Ritual with Casper ter Kuile from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.864404

Daniel interviews Casper ter Kuile about his new book, "The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices." — We talk about the epidemic of loneliness, sacred movies, and why ...

Thriving with Psychology | Bob Faw from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.862462

I speak with Bob Faw about how positive psychology can help Humanists develop a rich and flourishing internal life. Religions give people ways to feel ecstatic, empathetic, humble, or part of a gro...

Art and Mysticism | Kythe Heller from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.861608

I speak with Kythe Heller about mysticism, both old and modern, and how it intersects with art. We delve into the activism and writing of 13th century mystic Marguerite Porete, the word-weaving of ...

Einstein's Religion from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.860852

Einstein's ideas about religion have often been misunderstood. He neither believed in God nor was he an atheist. In this episode, Lecco Morris and I discuss the complex beliefs of the most famous p...

Changing Christianity | Anton Faynberg from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.860076

Can a rave be worship? If an atheist meditates on Jesus, are they still an atheist? Can a changing Christianity remain vital in an increasingly secular world?

Anton Faynberg and I had very...

The Untold Stories of Atheism | Nick Fish from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.856711

Daniel speaks with Nick Fish, the president of American Atheists, about how he's changing the narrative around atheism using real-life stories of nonbelievers.

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Sign up for actio...

Communism and Other Pseudo-Religions | Nathan Robinson from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.853427

Is communism religious in nature? Is capitalism? The line between ideology and religion is more porous than it might first seem. Daniel talks with Nathan Robinson, editor of Current Affairs magazin...

The Friendly Atheist | Hemant Mehta from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.849872

Hemant Mehta is the author behind the popular atheist blog The Friendly Atheist. Daniel and Hemant speak about how churches inspire charitable giving and what nonbelievers can learn from them. And ...

Ansley Sawyer | A Life Well-Lived from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.849059

Ansley Sawyer is a filmmaker and world-traveler. She is one of the most bravest people I know. She lives with gusto and taught me by her own example how to heed the call to adventure.
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An...

Philip Morris | A Life Well-Lived from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.801320

Philip Morris is the CEO of Proctors, the largest performing arts organization in the Capital Region of New York. He helped lift a struggling theater from the brink of collapse, and with it, revita...

Gnosticism Part 1: A Library in the Desert from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.797860

Gnosticism was believed to have been lost to time—a relic of history—until two boys stumbled upon a hidden library in the desert. Enter into the Nag Hammadi Library, where the scrolls are kept in j...

Ethics of Corporate Ritual Design | Ezra Bookman from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.793703

Ezra Bookman, ritual designer and founder of Ritualist, talks about his view on the seven components of ritual and the ethics of creating ritual spaces in corporate settings.

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Re...

Crypto-Religions | Devin Singh from 2022-02-22T02:55:56.779897

How does the faith, fanaticism, and utopic vision surrounding crypto-currencies mirror age-old patterns of religious fervor and salvation? Daniel talks with Devin Singh, an associate professor of r...

Limits of Rationality | Eliot Red from 2022-02-14T12:00

Daniel speaks with Eliot Red about his transition from the rationalist movement to a broader way of looking at reality and what prompted him to make that shift.

The Making of a Sacred Cemetery | John "Crow" Constable from 2021-12-15T11:00

Crossbones Cemetery sits in the heart of London, and thanks to two decades of activism, John Constable has helped transform this outcast's burial ground into a protected sacred space.

Memo...

How to Actually Apply Existentialism to Your Life | Yannick Jacob from 2021-11-16T12:00

Yannick Jacob is an existential coach. He talks about how to apply this 20th century philosophy in a practical way to help us find a greater sense of meaning and purpose in our lives.

Beyond Experience Design | Paul Bulencea from 2021-10-27T11:00

Paul Bulencea speaks about creating the College of Extraordinary Experiences—an immersive, Harry-Potter-style conference around experience design. But even more interesting than his work with the C...

Think and Grow Rich | Mitch Horowitz from 2021-10-21T11:00

Think and Grow Rich was a seminal book of American success and self-help literature that Napoleon Hill wrote in the wake of the Great Depression to help Americans pick up and start their lives over...

Disruption: Why Things Change | David Potter from 2021-09-22T11:00

Daniel speaks with Professor David Potter about his new book which looks at five periods of major historical change to better understand when and where the next big change might come from.

Live Talk: Impossible Goals and How to Achieve Them from 2021-08-25T12:00

What does it take to free-climb El Capitan? What does it take to survive a Vietnamese POW camp? How do seemingly regular people rise above and beyond to achieve seemingly impossible things? In this...

Psychology of Subtraction | Leidy Klotz from 2021-08-18T12:00

Our brains have a difficult time subtracting. It's often easier for a doctor to add a medication than figure out which to take away. It can take less brain power to rent another storage unit than s...

Meditating on Captain Picard & Other Imaginary Heroes | Christopher Cotter from 2021-08-11T12:00

We used to sit around fires and tell epic stories of mythic heroes. Today, our most widespread epics play out on our glowing screens. It's no surprise that when we try to find heroes and ethical ro...

The Meaning of Life from 2021-07-14T09:40

Yes, there is an answer. No, it's not 42.

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If you’re interested in more go do my website daniellevshkolnik.com where you’ll find more of my writing and ideas, as well as info abo...

Thought Viruses and How to Fight Them | Andy Norman from 2021-06-23T10:00

Despite our access to information (or because of it?) bad ideas spread faster than ever. Andy Norman's new book, Mental Immunity, seeks to give readers tools to strengthen their mental immunity so ...

The Two Kabbalahs from 2021-04-28T10:00

This episode is about the difference between Jewish Kabbalah and the hermetic Kabbalah. Daniel and Mike talk about why this difference matters and how can understanding these relatively obscure tra...

The Two Kabbalahs: Bonus Episode from 2021-04-28T10:00

A bonus episode where we get into all our favorite aspects of the Jewish and hermetic Kabbalahs we didn't have time to talk about in the main episode.

With Eternal Life, Do Things Still Matter? from 2021-04-21T10:00

Religious traditions often promise the immortality of the soul. More recently, technology has been promising the immortality of the mind. But some philosophers believe that immortality isn't all it...

'If You Don't Believe in Magic...Your Art Probably Sucks' from 2021-03-31T10:00

Mike Myers is back on again. We kick off the episode with words from Maynard James Keenan, the lead sing of Tool: "If you don't believe in magic on some level, your art probably sucks." It's a bold...

Mystical Humanism & Meta-Mysticism | Jeff Kripal from 2021-03-17T10:00

Jeffery Kripal is a religious studies professor at Rice University and he studies everything from UFO encounters to Tantra to Christian homoeroticism. I deeply enjoyed reading his ideas in his book...

Cheat Sheet for the Open Div Summit from 2021-02-24T10:00

This episode is dedicated to the Open Div Summit! The summit is happening Thursday Feb 25th - Sunday Feb 28th. To help make sense of the many amazing speakers and live events we've organized, I've ...

Technology, Psychedelics, and the Future(s) of Religion | Erik Davis from 2021-02-17T10:45

This episode is an exclusive sneak-peak at the Open Div Summit I'm co-hosting at the end of this month, Feb 25-28th. Register for the summit by going to Summit.OpenDiv.org — it's free and welcoming...

Gnosticism Part 2: A World of Little Gods from 2021-02-10T10:20

How does a two-millennia old myth find relevance in the modern age? Gnosticism can be interpreted as both a critique of an overly simplistic, human-like God, and an empowering story about our own p...

Philosophy of Psychedelics | Chris Letheby from 2021-01-27T10:00

On psychedelics, people claim they see the face of God. They claim the existence of energies and universal consciousness. But if you're a naturalist like Dr. Chris Letheby, how do you interpret the...

Afrofuturism, Paradise(s), and Who's Really 'Human?' | Taj Smith from 2021-01-20T10:00

Science fiction isn't just entertainment. It's not just about technology. It's also about imagining, and reimagining, the future. That future includes the ways in which we live together and the way...

The Urantia Book | Angie Thurston from 2021-01-13T12:00

The Urantia Book appeared in the 1950s. It doesn't have a known author. It doesn't have churches or temples built in its name. What it has is 2,000 pages of imaginative writing that tries to combin...

Believing in Dawkins? | Eric Steinhart from 2020-12-23T12:00

Most people know about Richard Dawkins's atheism. Few people know about his spirituality. I speak with Professor Eric Steinhart about his new book, "Believing in Dawkins: The New Spiritual Atheism....

Judaism's "Other" Gods from 2020-12-16T12:00

In this Hanukkah special, I talk about my favorite conceptions of God from across the centuries, from Maimonides to Spinoza to various mystical views. Some of these visions of God were considered h...

Genya Shkolnik | A Life Well-Lived from 2020-11-25T13:00

This episode is about the life of Genya Shkolnik, my grandmother. This is the first in a new series of episodes about "lives well-lived." I sat down with my mother and sister to talk about her stor...

We Need New Temples from 2020-11-18T12:00

A bar can be a sacred place. So can an alley, or a mountaintop, or an abandoned power plant. As people increasingly search for spiritual fulfillment outside the walls of religion, we need a new way...

How to Talk Politics at Thanksgiving | Anthony Magnabosco from 2020-11-11T12:00

The U.S. election may be over but healing the division and rancor in the country will take years. Anthony Magnabosco uses a dialogue technique called Street Epistemology to get people to think more...

Can We Coexist? | Christian Watkins from 2020-10-28T11:00

Pluralism can be difficult. Sometimes, it might seem impossible. But as the world globalizes, we must learn to coexist in increasingly complex and even paradoxical communities. Daniel speaks with l...

What is "Real?" | Chris Stedman from 2020-10-21T10:00

Daniel talks with Chris Stedman about his new book, "IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives." When we cross the thin glass screen of our digital devices do we enter an a...

Let’s Admit We Liked Church | Bart Campolo from 2020-10-14T11:00

Daniel speaks with Bart Campolo about how to create a congregation of nonbelievers. Bart is a former Evangelical preacher who has since left his faith. He is now the Humanist chaplain at the Univer...

Atheistic Mysticism | Eric Steinhart from 2020-09-30T09:00:10

Mystical experiences are not supernatural events but psychological ones. Daniel speaks with Professor Eric Steinhart about how atheists understand and interpret mystical experiences as well as prom...

The Only Sin Would Be To Pretend | Sasha Sagan from 2020-09-23T09:00:21

Carl Sagan was a beloved popularizer of science. His daughter, Sasha Sagan, carries on his legacy with "For Small Creatures Such As We," a book that gives practical ideas for how to live out the hu...

The Rise and Fall of New Atheism | Mike Myers from 2020-09-16T09:00:08

New Atheism was a movement that spanned from roughly 2001 to 2013. It was characterized by an aggressive online debate style that often satirized religions, idolized science, and made many enemies ...

Occult Atheism as Kayfabe | Mike Myers from 2020-08-10T17:00

On this episode I talk with Mike Myers about the occult as "kayfabe"—a term from professional wrestling that's all about suspending disbelief. Occultism comprises many different practices such as r...