by PRX
<p>While religion and science often seem at odds, there’s one thing they can agree on: people who take part in spiritual practices tend to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. The big question is: Why? In How God Works, professor Dave DeSteno takes us on a journey to find out how spirituality impacts our minds and bodies, as well as the world in which we live.</p> <p>He speaks to leading scientists and philosophers, religious thinkers, and thought leaders to explore what we can learn from the world’s faith traditions to help us meet some of life’s biggest challenges. Along the way, he’ll look at how we can adapt and use spiritual practices in our own lives, whatever our beliefs, including none at all.</p> <p>It’s by working across the boundaries that usually divide us – science versus religion, one faith versus another – that we’ll find new ways to make life better for everyone.</p>
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9/26/2021
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April 20, 2025
Columnist David Brooks recounts his unexpected encounter with faith and discusses the transformative impact it has had on his life in an interview about spirituality.
April 6, 2025
Many would agree there are few things better than sharing a delicious meal with the people you love, which is one reason why breaking bread together is a cornerstone of religions the world over. But so too is the opposite - going without food. From Ramadan to Yom Kippur to Lent, fasting is an important ritual in many faiths. But why do so many religions periodically take away the very thing that nourishes our bodies and souls? On this episode we'll talk with Khalil-Abdur Rashid about the role fasting plays in Islam, and why not eating and drinking is actually the easy part. And we'll talk to Adam Cohen about some new research that suggests even one day of fasting could help deepen religious commitment and overall well being. Imam Dr. Khalil Abdur-Rashid is the first full-time University Muslim Chaplain <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/khalil-abdur-rashid">at Harvard University</a>, Instructor of Muslim Studies at Harvard Divinity School, and Public Policy Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Adam Cohen is a Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. Learn more about his research <a href="https://search.asu.edu/profile/970085">here</a>.
March 23, 2025
We often think of belief as a religious or cultural idea that is a hallmark of modern humans. But what if the early sparks of belief burned in our ancestors’ minds long before modern humans walked the earth? What if beliefs about some of the biggest questions out there, like what happens after death, weren’t just pondered by Homo sapiens? On this episode, evolutionary anthropologist Agustín Fuentes takes us on a journey spanning millions of years, from our primate relatives in the deep past to the complex spiritual and cultural traditions we know today. Along the way, we’ll learn how the capacity for belief has helped shape our species and why it remains a powerful force in our lives today. Agustín Fuentes is a Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and the author of the books Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being and The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional. Learn more about his work on his <a href="https://afuentes.com/">website</a>, and be sure to check out his <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691249414/sex-is-a-spectrum">forthcoming book</a> Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary, due out in May 2025.
On Being Studios
Pushkin Industries
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General
Tokens Media
Vox Media Podcast Network
Tara Brach
Pushkin Industries
Wisconsin Public Radio
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
Everything Happens Studios
America Media
NPR
Michael Meade
WaitWhat
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