Why are stories important? What exactly makes them so powerful? How should great stories—whether you encounter them in literature, poetry, painting, the cinema—help human beings cultivate the good life? And can great stories, as such, really be an important part of the religious experience?To unpack this, Ari spoke with Jennifer Frey, host of the extremely popular literature, philosophy, and theology podcast “Sacred And Profane Love”, and professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina. They talked about the countercultural act of choosing religion in a secular age; Thomas Aquinas; sidekicks from the Bible to Shakespeare to Lord of the Rings; how literature can form character; oral and textual cultures; Iris Murdoch; studying the Bible in public schools; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Who’s the most influential figure in American political history? Washington? Lincoln? Martin Luther King? The answer, for any student of American history, should be clear: it’s Moses.But how does this influence pan out? And how do Moses, and other Biblical figures, help us tell our own stories…even today?To unpack all of this, Ari spoke with bestselling author and New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, author of “America’s Prophet: Moses and the American Story”. They talked about the Age of Exploration; Moses as lawgiver vs. Moses as liberator; Lincoln’s Second Inaugural; the Bible as text vs. the Bible as map; why Abraham’s story comes before Moses’; how to improve July 4th; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

The Bible is the most important and influential work ever. And nothing has been more influential on the development of the English language over the last 500 years than the translation of the Bible into English. And whether from literary, political-institutional, cultural or religious perspectives, the Bible has been deeply formative in shaping the West as we know it.So how should we engage with this text? Some say we should heed its commands; others that we should try to understand it in the context of ancient history; still others say we should examine how it has influenced the world we live in. But probably the most underrated way to engage the Bible is just…to read it.So what would it look like to attune our ears to the Bible’s literary character?To unpack this Ari spoke with the most influential living Biblical scholar, and author of a magisterial translation of the entire Hebrew Bible, Robert Alter. In this epic conversation they spoke about what makes translation different than other types of interpretation; Biblical terms for physical relations; the King James Version of 1611; various “untranslatable” phenomena; the Biblical concept of “soul”; Samuel and Saul; whether the Bible thinks political order is possible; reader questions (!); Rashi; rabbinic midrash; Franz Kafka and Jewish mysticism; Moby Dick; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Why does American policy in the Middle East look the way it does? Has it always been this way? How is it intertwined with religious life and literacy in America? And how does the Jewish story—from the Bible to today—help us understand something important about the American story?To unpack all of this, Ari spoke to Walter Russel Mead—Global View columnist at the Wall Street Journal, Professor of Foreign Affairs at Bard College, and author of the fantastic new book “The Arc Of A Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People”.They spoke about John Adams’s proto-Zionism; the English Reformation; Erastianism and religious toleration; the two sides of nationalism; Balaji Srinavasan and Theodor Herzl; Cyrus the Great in both Iranian and American politics; Russian Middle East policy from Stalin to Putin; what rising antisemitism teaches about the health of the American republic; and how the American story properly understood relates to the fate of the Jewish people.You can find Walter’s latest book here: https://www.amazon.com/Arc-Covenant-United-States-Israel-ebook/dp/B01EQ2S3RYGood Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg is one of the most prominent journalists on the planet covering global antisemitism. He’s also an excellent recording artist in the Jewish music space.How do these two things fit together?As Ari and Yair discuss together, this mix is deeply emblematic of the current moment in Jewish, American, and even world history -- both fraught with existential danger and brimming with creative and moral possibility. On the latest episode of Good Faith Effort, they unpack what this means together, discussing everything from Jewish historian Salo Baron; the Biblical Hebrew word for “Passover”; Lil Wayne; the Miami Boys Choir; whether Jews are a race; the place of Israel in the Western imagination; normie cultural sensibilities; Yair’s musical influences; singability in Jewish music; and much more!To listen to Yair’s latest album, “Az Yashir: Songs for Shabbat”, check it out on Spotify here.Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

The American experiment—even the future of liberalism—feels exhausted. What’s a theologian to do about this? How can serious thinking about religion contribute uniquely to a flourishing political and moral discourse? How can it be done with both a sense of conviction, but also a spirit of humility?To unpack this, Rabbi Ari spoke to his good friend, fellow podcaster and professor of theology at Baylor University, Matthew L. Anderson. They talked: how to do public theology; is there an evangelical intellectual tradition?; religion and digital media; what you learn as a preacher’s kid (or grandkid!); pronatalism; the perils and value of nations; the future of liberalism; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

“What’s the biggest problem with America these days?” Imagine if someone answered that question by saying that Americans don’t spend nearly enough time in…cemeteries?Well, on this episode of Good Faith Effort, it’s precisely that thesis that we try to defend! Rabbi Ari had on brilliant up-and-coming writer Chaya Sara Oppenheim to discuss the ‘cemetery culture’ that has grown up around the town of Monsey, New York, just 45 minutes north of Manhattan.Along the way they discuss why dead people are more important than you think; how prayer works; the importance of localism; some unexpected ways you can learn about the place you live; Fiddler on the Roof; Cynthia Ozick; the tension between homeland and diaspora; belief in miracles; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

One of the climactic moments of the Renaissance was the European rediscovery of the Hebrew language. Knowledge of Hebrew—and intensive study of both the Hebrew Bible and Jewish rabbinic literature—would sweep across Europe, and end up fundamentally reshaping everything from personal spirituality to the nature and structure of politics in the West.And yet, at the very same time all of this was underway, a plot was hatched to completely eradicate Judaism forever in the Holy Roman Empire—a plot that, had it succeeded, could have swept across the rest of Europe as well. Only one person was prepared to take a principled stand against it. That man was a Christian scholar named Johannes Reuchlin. And his fight to defend Jews and Jewish learning would shape the moral and political trajectory of the West to this very day.Reuchlin studied Hebrew and Jewish literature with some of the legendary figures in Jewish history—including Rabbi Obadiah Sforno—and would be remembered by towering figures of later periods as one of “the righteous among the nations”. But few people today know his story.So on this episode, Rabbi Ari unpacked it together with the Vanderbilt University historian, David Price, who literally wrote the book on Reuchlin!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

How do we navigate in an age where our access to information is limitless? How do we read better? How do we write well? How do we seek out valuable new things? And why is it also more important than ever to hold on to—or discover!—the virtues of ancient wisdom?To unpack all of this, Rabbi Ari spoke with David Perell—one of the most prolific writers, teachers and podcasters in the world of new media; host of the North Star podcast; author of the “Friday Finds” and “Monday Musings” newsletters; and teacher of the legendary masterclass for online writers, “Write of Passage”.They talked about how to cope with information overload; the virtues of orality vs. writtenness; informational monotheism vs. informational paganism; why Westerners should read the Bible; the value and perils of a canon; Cain and Abel; the Tree of Knowledge; VCs and prophecy; how to be productive in the digital age; and much more!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

If you want to tell the story of popular music globally in the last century, you really can’t do it without telling the story of American pop music. And if you want to tell the story of AMERICAN pop music, well, that story begins and ends with the Black American community: jazz, the blues, gospel music, rock n’ roll, R&B, and hip-hop. And if you want to tell the story of that community, you also need to understand the Bible—the Exodus, the prophets, and beyond.But who could possibly tell this entire story from start to finish? Basically only one person: multiple Grammy award winning artist and producer Warryn Campbell. He’s worked and won awards with the biggest names in music, from Kanye and Alicia Keys, to Mary Mary and Missy Elliott, and more. And he’s also an ordained pastor out in California who has a deep understanding of faith and spirituality in American life.This week Ari and Warryn talked about the history of American music; what it means to bear the divine image; religious and secular music; the backstory behind one of Kanye’s earliest hit singles; Abraham and counterculture; what we can learn from Dr. Dre; Moses in the Jewish and Black American communities; and the next great artist you need to keep your eye on!Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.