Beauty At Work

A discussion at the New York Encounter 2025 on the role of wonder in scientific research with Martin Nowak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology, Harvard University, and Rob Phillips, Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics at the California Institute of Technology, moderated by Evelyn Tang, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Rice UniversityIt has become increasingly difficult to pay attention to what is in front of us. We have lost the habit of marveling at things and are thus often deprived of a fundamental human experience. The speakers dialogue on the essential role that attentive observation and wonder play in scientific research and education. They also address how the practice of science, starting from the experience of awe and curiosity about nature, can evoke existential questions that lead to ultimate meaning.This panel is sponsored by the Meaning and Mystery in Science initiative funded by the John Templeton Foundation.Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iaUV4QWbZcISupport the show

A discussion at the New York Encounter 2025 on the role of wonder in scientific research with Martin Nowak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology, Harvard University, and Rob Phillips, Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics at the California Institute of Technology, moderated by Evelyn Tang, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Rice UniversityIt has become increasingly difficult to pay attention to what is in front of us. We have lost the habit of marveling at things and are thus often deprived of a fundamental human experience. The speakers dialogue on the essential role that attentive observation and wonder play in scientific research and education. They also address how the practice of science, starting from the experience of awe and curiosity about nature, can evoke existential questions that lead to ultimate meaning.This panel is sponsored by the Meaning and Mystery in Science initiative funded by the John Templeton Foundation.Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iaUV4QWbZcISupport the show

How do you find true love—within yourself and in your relationships? To answer this question, we’re joined by Francesca Hogi, a love coach, TED speaker, and host of the Dear Franny Podcast. Francesca’s journey from corporate lawyer to internationally recognized dating and relationships expert is nothing short of inspiring. With her upcoming book, How to Find True Love, releasing in April 2025, Francesca shares how self-love, compassion, and humility are essential for attracting the love you deserve.Francesca’s work has been featured on The Today Show, Marie Claire, and The New York Times, and she’s the founder of The True Love Society—a community for those seeking deeper romantic and self-love. In this episode, Francesca dives into the transformative power of self-love and how it shapes our ability to form healthy relationships.In this second part of our conversation, we talk about:Importance of VulnerabilityLove ConfidenceBreaking Negative Dating PatternsCommitment and Cultural ConditioningShifting Negative Beliefs About LoveTune in for an episode that will empower you to nurture love in every aspect of your life.To learn more about Franscesca visit these links:Francesca on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dearfranny?igsh=bmNqZWNycHh1OThi How to Find True Love by Francesca Hogi - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/francesca-hogi/how-to-find-true-love/9781538769577/?lens=balance Dear Franny Podcast -https://pod.link/1475127865 Francesca’s TED Talk - https://www.instagram.com/dearfranny?igsh=bmNqZWNycHh1OThi This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/ )Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Tags:#LoveCoach #FindingLove #TrueLove #SelfLove #DatingTips #RelationshipAdvice #HealthyRelationships #DearFrannyPodcast #SelfCompassion #Confidence #SpiritualConnection #ValentinesDay #Matchmaking #JourneyToLoveSupport the show

How do you find true love—within yourself and in your relationships? In this Valentine’s Day episode, we’re joined by Francesca Hogi, a love coach, TED speaker, and host of the Dear Franny Podcast. Francesca’s journey from corporate lawyer to internationally recognized dating and relationships expert is nothing short of inspiring. With her upcoming book, How to Find True Love, releasing in April 2025, Francesca shares how self-love, compassion, and humility are essential for attracting the love you deserve.Francesca’s work has been featured on The Today Show, Marie Claire, and The New York Times, and she’s the founder of The True Love Society—a community for those seeking deeper romantic and self-love. In this episode, Francesca dives into the transformative power of self-love and how it shapes our ability to form healthy relationships.In this first part of our conversation, we talk about:Love is an Active Practice, Not Just a FeelingThe Dangers of the "Fairy Tale" NarrativeSelf-Love as a Foundation for Healthy RelationshipsRejection and its Impact on Self-WorthAttraction Shifts as You Grow in LoveTune in for an episode that will empower you to nurture love in every aspect of your life.To learn more about Franscesca visit these links:Francesca on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dearfranny?igsh=bmNqZWNycHh1OThi How to Find True Love by Francesca Hogi - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/francesca-hogi/how-to-find-true-love/9781538769577/?lens=balance Dear Franny Podcast -https://pod.link/1475127865 Francesca’s TED Talk - https://www.instagram.com/dearfranny?igsh=bmNqZWNycHh1OThi This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/ )Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Tags:#LoveCoach #FindingLove #TrueLove #SelfLove #DatingTips #RelationshipAdvice #HealthyRelationships #DearFrannyPodcast #SelfCompassion #Confidence #SpiritualConnection #ValentinesDay #Matchmaking #JourneyToLoveSupport the show

How do we foster healing in communities impacted by trauma? And how can leaders and educators adopt a healing-centered approach to their work?  In this episode, we’re joined by Deepa Gulrukh Patel, a creative facilitator blending arts, sciences, and social justice. Her work spans refugee camps, cultural diversity, bereavement support, and contemplative education, collaborating with organizations like the UNHCR, the London College of Fashion, and the Fetzer Institute to build healing-centered, sustainable initiatives.  We’re also joined by Dr. Angel Acosta, a leader in mindfulness, social justice, and healing-centered education. With a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, Angel creates transformative frameworks like the Contemplating 400 Years of Inequality Experience to address structural inequities and foster restorative practices.  Together, Deepa and Angel share profound insights on healing trauma, supporting frontline workers, and building resilience through mindful education and community-centered approaches.In this second part of our conversation, we talk about:Becoming wounded healersThe importance of listening and presenceResilience for frontline workersBurnout in caregiving jobsAgency over labelsTo learn more about Dr. Angel Acosta and Deepa Gulrukh Patel follow these links:Deepa:Jordan Refugee Camps - https://www.dress4ourtime.org/Center for Sustainable Fashion- https://www.sustainable-fashion.com/vital-signsInayitiyya Org - https://inayatiyya.org/Tamasha Theatre Company - https://tamasha.org.uk/The Loss Foundation - https://thelossfoundation.org/Charis Interspirituality Org - https://charisinterspirituality.org/ Dr. Angel:Website - https://www.drangelacosta.comPodcast - https://www.drangelacosta.com/podcastLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-angel-acosta-1886653b This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/ )Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show

How do we foster healing in communities impacted by trauma? And how can leaders and educators adopt a healing-centered approach to their work?  In this episode, we’re joined by Deepa Gulrukh Patel, a creative facilitator blending arts, sciences, and social justice. Her work spans refugee camps, cultural diversity, bereavement support, and contemplative education, collaborating with organizations like the UNHCR, the London College of Fashion, and the Fetzer Institute to build healing-centered, sustainable initiatives.  We’re also joined by Dr. Angel Acosta, a leader in mindfulness, social justice, and healing-centered education. With a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, Angel creates transformative frameworks like the Contemplating 400 Years of Inequality Experience to address structural inequities and foster restorative practices.  Together, Deepa and Angel share profound insights on healing trauma, supporting frontline workers, and building resilience through mindful education and community-centered approaches.In this first part of our conversation, we talk about:Healing through stillnessBeauty as a path to healingHealing ourselves to help the worldHealing-centered educationCreativity healsTo learn more about Dr. Angel Acosta and Deepa Gulrukh Patel follow these links:Deepa:Jordan Refugee Camps - https://www.dress4ourtime.org/ Center for Sustainable Fashion- https://www.sustainable-fashion.com/vital-signs Inayitiyya Org - https://inayatiyya.org/ Tamasha Theatre Company - https://tamasha.org.uk/ The Loss Foundation - https://thelossfoundation.org/ Charis Interspirituality Org - https://charisinterspirituality.org/ Dr. Angel:Website - https://www.drangelacosta.com Podcast - https://www.drangelacosta.com/podcast LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-angel-acosta-1886653b This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/ )Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show

What are the barriers to pursuing our spiritual yearnings in a disenchanted age? Dr. Galen Watts addresses this question in this final presentation from our international symposium held at McGill University in November 2024.Galen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on cultural and institutional change in liberal democracies, with particular attention to religion, morality, work, and politics. He is the author of The Spiritual Turn: The Religion of the Heart and the Making of Romantic Liberal Modernity (Oxford University Press, 2022), which explores the shift from "religion" to "spirituality" and its social and political implications in the West. Currently, his work investigates the cultural dimensions of the "diploma divide," analyzing how symbolic boundaries and cultural practices shape distinctions between urban university-educated professionals and rural nonuniversity-educated workers in Canada and the U.S. Galen has published extensively in leading academic journals, including American Journal of Cultural Sociology, Sociology of Religion, Civic Sociology, European Journal of Social Theory, and The Sociological Review. He also writes for public audiences, bridging academic insights with broader cultural conversations.In his talk, Galen addresses the following themes:Why cosmic connection may be harder to achieve todayThe impact of cultural and institutional change on spiritual yearningThe decline of the humanities and the loss of deep formative experiencesThe "secular sacred canopy" and its barriers to transcendenceThe paradox of ethical progress alongside increasing spiritual disorientationCan modernity be reconciled with cosmic connection?To learn more about Dr. Watts, you can find him at:Website: https://www.galenwatts.com/Linked: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/galen-watts-a8877a212Book: The Spiritual Turn Buy hereThis episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show

This episode is the sixth presentation in our series from the international symposium on Spiritual Yearning in a Disenchanted Age. Dr. William Barbieri teaches in the Religion and Culture and Moral Theology/Ethics programs in the School of Theology and Religious Studies and directs the Peace and Justice Studies Program at The Catholic University of America. He is also a fellow of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies and of the Center for the Study of Culture and Values. In addition to his monographs Ethics of Citizenship: Immigration and Group Rights in Germany (Duke University Press, 1998) and Constitutive Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), he has edited From Just War to Modern Peace Ethics (with Heinz-Gerhard Justenhoven; De Gruyter, 2012) and At the Limits of the Secular:  Reflections on Faith and Public Life (Eerdmans 2104).  He has also published articles in the areas of human rights, comparative ethics, peace studies, Catholic social teaching, and German studies. His current research addresses the historicity of morals. A member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Christian Ethics, he has also served on the boards of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and the Institut für Theologie und Frieden in Germany. Barbieri is a past recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and a Fulbright German Studies Fellowship. After studying religion and comparative area studies at Duke University, he received a doctorate in religious studies from Yale University in 1992. In his talk, Dr. Barbieri talks about: How agency is ecologicalContextualizing agency through social, historical, and material dimensionsThe way values can be mediated visuallyThe interconnectedness of people, history, and the earthSecularism and excarnationHow the moral life requires perceiving things beyond ourselvesTo learn more about Dr. Barbieri, you can find him at:Website: https://trs.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/barbieri-william/index.htmlEmail: barbieri@cua.edu PublicationsConstitutive Justice: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137263254Ethics of Citizenship: Immigration and Group Rights in Germany: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-World-Cannot-Give/Tara-Isabella-Burton/9781982170073Here in Avalon: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Here-in-Avalon/Tara-Isabella-Burton/9781982170097Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World: https://a.co/d/gOwySUySelf-Made: Curating Our Image from Da Vinci to the Kardashians: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tara-isabella-burton/self-made/9781541789012/ This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show

The Lost Word: Magic, Reality-Creation, and the Pursuit of God’s LanguageThis is the fifth presentation from our international symposium on Spiritual Yearning in a Disenchanted Age, held at McGill University in November 2024.Dr. Tara Isabella Burton is the author of the novels Social Creature, The World Cannot Give, and Here in Avalon, as well as the nonfiction books Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World and Self-Made: Curating Our Image from Da Vinci to the Kardashians. She is currently working on a history of magic and modernity, to be published by Convergent in 2026. ​Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, ​Granta, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and more. She also co-writes the Substack newsletter "Line of Beauty" with her husband, Dhananjay Jagannathan.Tara received a doctorate in theology from Oxford in 2017. She is a Visiting Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center and a Visiting Research Fellow at Catholic University of America's Institutional Flourishing Lab.In her talk, Tara explores:Magic’s influence on modernity, from Hermeticism to transhumanismThe pursuit of a divine language offering truth and creative powerArt as relational creation, distinct from manipulative magical thinkingThe Divine Liturgy as model for creative practices rooted in connection and participationTo learn more about Tara, you can find her at: Website: http://www.taraisabellaburton.com/ Email: taraisabellaburton@gmail.com X: https://x.com/NotoriousTIB  BooksSocial Creature: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564730/social-creature-by-tara-isabella-burton/ The World Cannot Give: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-World-Cannot-Give/Tara-Isabella-Burton/9781982170073 Here in Avalon: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Here-in-Avalon/Tara-Isabella-Burton/9781982170097 Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World: https://a.co/d/gOwySUy Self-Made: Curating Our Image from Da Vinci to the Kardashians: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tara-isabella-burton/self-made/9781541789012/ This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show

Is science a path to cosmic connection? In this fourth episode of our series from the November 2024 symposium on Spiritual Yearning in a Disenchanted Age held at McGill University, I share results of an ongoing study on Meaning and Mystery in Science, which explores the spiritual experiences of non-religious scientists, and how the practice of science might evoke awe, wonder, and a sense of the transcendent.We open the episode with a poetry reading from Marie Trotter, and following my presentation is a discussion with Dr. Rob Gilbert, Dr. Rajeev Bhargava, and Dr. Galen Watts.Here’s a summary of the episode:Marie Trotter opens the episode with original poetry, exploring themes of fragility, hope, and beauty, drawing inspiration from Klimt's paintingsFindings from the Meaning and Mystery in Science study reveal how non-religious scientists experience enchantment and spiritual yearning through their workBhargava notes that spiritual yearning is often disrupted by ideological, social, and political forces, which we need to contend with more seriouslyWatts explores the idea of science as play, contrasting the childlike enchantment of discovery with the institutionalized pressures of professional scienceGilbert highlights the danger of self-satisfaction in science, arguing that humility and vulnerability are essential for true insight This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show