Templeton Ideas Podcast

A John Templeton Foundation Podcast

A show about the most awe-inspiring ideas in our world and the people who investigate them.

Our Hosts

Thomas Burnett

Tom has one foot steeped in research, one foot in journalism, and a head swirling with ideas about how to bring the two together. His heroes include Baruch Spinoza, Blaise Pascal, and Alexander von Humboldt. Tom takes special delight in moral philosophy, evolutionary biology, and the history of science. He is passionate about riding bikes, reading books, planting trees, and the performing arts.

Samantha Cocove

Samantha manages the presentation of the Foundation’s stories through digital media as the producer of the Templeton Ideas podcast and of the Templeton Ideas website. As a reader and podcast listener, her favorite topics to explore are Stoicism, mindfulness, health, and cooking. (Her dream podcast guest is Andrew Huberman.). She enjoys being active, trying new recipes, and reading.

Recent Episodes

May 8, 2025

David Brooks (Human Connection) | From the Archive

In this special episode from the archive, David joins the podcast to discuss the social and relational crisis in our society, why it’s better to be an illuminator than a diminisher, and his practical advice on how we can become better people.

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April 24, 2025

Olga Khazan (Enhancing Personality)

Olga joins the podcast to discuss how she intentionally became more extroverted and how becoming a parent can change our personalities.

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April 9, 2025

Ross Douthat (The Importance of Belief)

Ross joins the podcast to discuss how decadence is shaping society and whether religion has a vibrant future.

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March 27, 2025

Brian Greene (Ultimate Reality)

Brian joins the podcast to explore the fundamental nature of reality.

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March 13, 2025

Tanya Luhrmann (Divine Encounter)

Tanya joins the podcast to discuss how people cultivate relationships with the divine in their everyday lives.

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February 27, 2025

David Goyer (Heroes)

David joins the podcast to discuss the fine line between being a hero and being a villain.

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February 13, 2025

Meghan Sullivan (The Good Life)

Meghan joins the podcast to discuss if studying philosophy can actually make you a better person.

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January 30, 2025

Larry Temkin (Altruism)

Larry joins the podcast to explain why we may need to rethink how to do good in the world.

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January 16, 2025

Michael Muthukrishna (Laws of Life)

Michael joins the podcast to discuss the four fundamental laws of life that govern every human society and form of life.

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January 3, 2025

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (Forgiveness)

Pumla joins the podcast to explain why we can’t just “forgive and forget” and how her encounters with Eugene DeKock led her to develop the concept of “the reparative quest.”

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December 19, 2024

David Reich (Human Ancestry)

David joins the podcast to explain why every human outside of Africa has some Neanderthal ancestry and how human migration patterns for tens of thousands of years have reshuffled populations and cultures over millennia.

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December 6, 2024

Tyler VandeerWeele (Human Flourishing)

Tyler joins the podcast to explain what it means to be healthy, and the difference between the health of the human body and the health of a whole person.

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November 21, 2024

Chip Colwell (Stuff)

Chip joins the podcast to explain how we came to live in a society where no matter how much money we spend, it’s never enough and why the average human has accumulated so many personal possessions.

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November 7, 2024

Shadi Hamid & Samuel Kimbriel (Viewpoint Diversity)

In this special episode of Templeton Ideas, Shadi and Samuel join David Nassar, VP of Strategic Engagement at the John Templeton Foundation, to discuss what makes for a good society, where beliefs come from, and how disagreement can help us grow.

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October 24, 2024

Helen De Cruz (Wonder)

Helen joins the podcast to explain why activities like art, music, and spirituality are nearly universal among humans, even though they don’t seem necessary for survival.

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October 10, 2024

Dacher Keltner (Awe)

In this special episode from the archive, Dacher joins the podcast to discuss his personal experiences with awe, how awe relates to life and death, and the many ways people can cultivate awe in their daily lives.

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September 26, 2024

Francis Collins (Wisdom)

Francis joins the podcast to share his experience mapping the human genome, his journey directing the NIH, and how his life has been shaped by both scientific and spiritual exploration.

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September 12, 2024

Yujin Nagasawa (The Problem of Evil)

Yujin joins the podcast to explain just why the problem of evil is so perplexing, not just for people who believe in God, but also for people who don’t.

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August 29, 2024

Sara Walker (Origins of Life)

Sara joins the podcast to explain how the search for alien life is related to the origins of life and whether we are more likely to find microbes on other planets or intelligent life.

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August 15, 2024

Ann Merchant (Science & Entertainment)

Ann joins the podcast to explain how Dune screenwriter Jon Spaihts and other film creators have integrated scientific inspiration with creative storytelling.

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August 1, 2024

Gretchen Rubin (Happiness)

In this special episode from the archive, Gretchen joins the podcast to discuss how she became a writer, the books and spiritual teachers that have inspired her, and how a case of pink eye led her to investigate the human senses.

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July 18, 2024

Shannon Vallor (Artificial Intelligence)

Shannon joins the podcast to discuss artificial intelligence, both what it is and what it could be if we step back and rethink what technology is for.

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July 2, 2024

Andy Crouch (Effortless Power)

Andy joins the podcast to explain the concept of “effortless power,” and how we can enhance human dignity in the digital age.

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June 20, 2024

Anil Seth (Consciousness)

Anil joins the podcast to explain why animals may be conscious, but artificial intelligence is not, and why, despite the potential for technological dystopias, he is optimistic about the future.

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June 6, 2024

Scott Shigeoka (Curiosity)

Scott joins the podcast to explain the difference between deep curiosity and shallow curiosity, how inward curiosity can be a powerful tool for self-discovery, and what the world may look like if we all became a little more curious.

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May 23, 2024

Shep Doeleman (Black Holes)

Shep joins the podcast to discuss his adventures in Antarctica, how you produce an image of an invisible object, and how his international collaboration gives him hope for humanity.

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May 9, 2024

Liane Young (Morality)

On this episode of the Templeton Ideas podcast, Liane joins Ben Carlson, director of strategic communication at the John Templeton Foundation, to explore why morality can be described as a moving target, the factors that influence moral judgements, and the role of intentions in everyday interactions.

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April 25, 2024

Jim Al-Khalili (Quantum Biology)

On this episode of the Templeton Ideas podcast, Jim explores the intersection of quantum mechanics and biology, the enduring mystery of the origin of life, and reflects on his journey as a science communicator.

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April 11, 2024

Shai Held (Judaism)

Shai joins the podcast to discuss his family's complex relationship with Jewish tradition, the centrality of love in Judaism, and his advice for people feeling overwhelmed by societal challenges.

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March 28, 2024

Nick Holton (Anti-Fragility)

Nick joins the podcast to explain that true human flourishing requires us to take on difficult challenges, experience adversity, and discover a sense of meaning and purpose to guide our growth.

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March 14, 2024

Tyler Cowen (Economics)

Tyler joins the podcast to share his ideas on education, economics, and progress as well as the potential of artificial intelligence and the importance of humility in politics.

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February 29, 2024

Jeffrey Rosen (Virtue)

Jeff joins David Nassar, vice president of Strategic Engagement at the John Templeton Foundation, to delve into the influence of classical writers on the Founding Fathers, why virtue, defined as self-mastery, self-regulation, and the pursuit of the public good, is essential for the survival of a republic, and to reflect on the resurgence of interest in Stoic philosophy, particularly during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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February 15, 2024

Jennifer Murtazashvili (Cooperation and Conflict)

Jen joins Ben Carlson, director of strategic communication at the John Templeton Foundation, to discuss common misconceptions about Central Asia, the strength of bottom-up approaches to building democracies, and practical advice to employ in your own communities.

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February 2, 2024

Philip Ball (Metaphors in Science)

Philip Ball joins the podcast to discuss his 30-year journey of science writing. In his new book How Life Works, he refutes the popular metaphors that DNA is like a blueprint or instruction manual, and he contends that even the simplest organisms construct meaning from their complex environments.

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January 18, 2024

Talithia Williams (Democratizing Mathematics)

Talithia joins the podcast to talk about the rebel women of mathematics, the relevance of statistics in everyday life, and her view that God is a mathematician.

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January 4, 2024

Michael Levin (Regenerative Medicine)

Michael joins the podcast to discuss common misconceptions of biology, building biological robots, and the potential of regenerative medicine to revolutionize human health.

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December 21, 2023

Bruce Feiler (Meaningful Work)

Bruce joins the podcast to discuss why we should reimagine how we think about work, what makes a meaningful life, and how all of us can be the author of our own story.

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December 7, 2023

Kevin Mitchell (Free Will)

Kevin joins the podcast to discuss how natural selection could have favored the development of agency and free will in humans and other complex organisms, and how consciousness provides major advantages in the natural world.

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November 20, 2023

Maggie Jackson (Uncertainty)

Maggie joins the podcast to explain why we should rethink our attitudes on uncertainty, how uncertainty and curiosity are related, and the potential applications of uncertainty for artificial intelligence.

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November 9, 2023

David Brooks (Human Connection)

David joins the podcast to discuss the social and relational crisis in our society, why it’s better to be an illuminator than a diminisher, and his practical advice on how we can become better people.

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October 26, 2023

Sara Algoe (Love)

Sara joins the podcast to explain the difference between love and gratitude, describe the features of a loving person, and unpack the impact of technology on the landscape of love.

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October 12, 2023

Bill Courtney (Football)

Bill Courtney is a football coach and entrepreneur who is widely known for his role in the Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated. In this special episode, we pull back the curtain on Bill’s experience coaching football at Manassas High School in Memphis Tennessee, and reveal what “building character” truly means.

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September 28, 2023

Eboo Patel (Activism)

Eboo joins the podcast to discuss the roots of his own love-based activism, how social change actually works, and why so many influential social activists have been people of faith.

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September 14, 2023

David Sloan Wilson (Evolution)

David joins the podcast to discuss the theory of group selection, the advantages of ultra-social “super organisms,” and why it’s important to create an alignment between the way that we think about spirituality intellectually and the way we feel it experientially.

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August 31, 2023

Jennifer Wallace (Toxic Achievement)

Jennifer joins the podcast to discuss the concept of "mattering" and the origins of the toxic achievement culture — and how those caught in its cycle can begin to step off the hamster wheel.

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August 17, 2023

Tara Isabella Burton (Self-Making)

Tara joins the podcast to discuss self-making in contemporary society, the definition of dandyism, and the mysterious “it factor” associated with both modern and historical celebrities.

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August 3, 2023

Mona Siddiqui (Hospitality)

Mona joins the podcast to discuss the importance of hospitality as facet of spiritual life, the impact of the pandemic on our ability to practice hospitality, and her advice for cultivating gratitude and hope.

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July 21, 2023

Ethan Kross (Inner Voice)

Ethan joins the podcast to discuss the advantages and potential pitfalls of introspection, the relationship between goal-setting and self-control, and why all emotions are useful if experienced in the right dosages.

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July 6, 2023

Robert Hazen (Minerals)

Robert joins the podcast to discuss the co-evolution of life and minerals, the stories rocks can tell us if we learn to read them properly, and why humans are drawn to the search for life outside of our planet.

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June 22, 2023

Carol Graham (Combatting Despair)

Carol joins the podcast to discuss what she calls ‘deaths of despair’ and explains why cultivating hope is essential for societies mired in deeply entrenched problems.

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June 8, 2023

David DeSteno (Spiritual Technologies)

Dave joins the podcast to discuss how religion “scooped” his scientific findings by thousands of years, why religious rituals are so effective, and what he believes we can gain by talking about science and religion together.

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May 25, 2023

Philip Goff (Consciousness)

Philip joins the podcast to discuss his lifelong struggle with the problem of consciousness, the relationship between panpsychism and physics, and why he believes there is good philosophical reason to be optimistic about the future of our world.

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May 11, 2023

Jimmy Lin (Cancer Research)

Jimmy joins the podcast to discuss his experience mapping the cancer genome, his spiritual journey, and why he identifies as a 'scientific doxologist.'

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April 27, 2023

Sarah Schnitker (Patience)

Sarah joins the podcast to discuss the role of patience in our society, the difference between patience and passivity, and how narrative identity shapes our experiences — including her own experience with chronic illness.

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April 13, 2023

Gretchen Rubin (Happiness)

Gretchen joins the podcast to discuss how she became a writer, the books and spiritual teachers that have inspired her, and how a case of pink eye led her to investigate the human senses.

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March 30, 2023

Alison Gopnik (Children)

Alison joins the podcast to discuss flaws in our popular understanding of children and babies, the connection between children and awe, and how caregiving contributes to a meaningful life.

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March 30, 2023

Dacher Keltner (Awe)

Dacher joins the podcast to discuss his personal experiences with awe, how awe relates to life and death, and the many ways people can cultivate awe in their daily lives.

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March 30, 2023

Jennifer Wiseman (The Universe)

Jennifer joins the Templeton Ideas podcast to discuss her journey from the Ozarks to the edges of the universe, and the pure delight of space exploration.

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March 30, 2023

Season One Trailer

Hosts Thomas Burnett and Abby Ponticello sit down with inspiring thinkers to discuss how their investigations have transformed their lives… and how they may transform yours.

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