Harvard Divinity School

This week we're joined by Hannah Snyder (MTS 1). We discuss the sense of imposter syndrome she felt within her own religious community, the complications and pressures she felt as a religious community leader, and about the sense of fulfillment she eventually found as a participating member of religious community life, and more! Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/12/11/hope-podcast-featuring-hannah-snyder-mts-candidate

This week we're joined by Austin Ball (MDiv 1). We talk about the difficulty learning and growing that comes with leaving home, about navigating multiple religious belongings, about the unexpected intersections of intellectual and spiritual life, and more. Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/12/11/hope-podcast-featuring-austin-ball-mdiv-candidate.

For episode 18 of the Pop Apocalypse, we welcome theologian, author, and Episcopal priest, Cynthia Bourgeault. Cynthia is the author of numerous books, including Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm and The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice. Her work brings the Christian contemplative and wisdom traditions, ‘The Work’ of GI Gurdjieff, and the philosophy of Henry Corbin into a lived mystical theology. Over the course of the episode, we discuss Cynthia’s religious upbringing and early mystical awakening, her academic training in Medieval sacred drama, and how she came to the priesthood. Then we do a deep dive into Bourgeault’s relationship to the practice and theory of The Work and how she came to integrate them with the Christian wisdom tradition. As the interview comes to a close, we discuss the benefits of life as a hermit, the impact of the Gospel of Thomas, and how contemplative Christianity speaks to the spiritual concerns of so many in the ear

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from MTS candidate Michelle Millben about family, spiritual math, and the substance of things hoped for. Transcript forthcoming.

What does it really mean to “love your enemies”? In this episode of the Harvard Religion Beat, host Jonathan Beasley talks with Rev. Matthew Potts—Professor of Religion and Literature at Harvard Divinity School and Pusey Minister at Harvard’s Memorial Church—about forgiveness, anger, and living with harm without letting it define us. Edited by Eden Olayiwole. Sermon audio courtesy of the Memorial Church of Harvard University. Intro and outro music: “How Did This Happen,” courtesy of Extreme Music (Art House 3).

Hope Podcast: Featuring Rob Anderson, MDiv Candidate by Harvard Divinity School

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from first year MDiv student Audrey Zhou on open question of home, the clarity of coming to a resolution, different ways of asking why, and many, many other things.

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from first year MTS student Mishka Banuri about home, spiritual autobiographies, and connecting hope and action. Transcript forthcoming.

Do we live inside a Matrix-like simulation? For Episode 17 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome one of the leading theorists behind the simulation hypothesis, Rizwan Virk, to discuss that question. Virk is an entrepreneur, videogame pioneer, and academic author of two major works on simulation theory: The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025) and The Simulated Multiverse (Bayview Books, 2021). In the interview, we discuss the technologies necessary to make a Matrix-like simulation possible and how close we are to achieving them. Then we turn to the religious and mystical dimensions of simulation theory, exploring reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, UAPs, angels, and the anthropocentrism and ethical pitfalls of simulation theory. Rizwan Virk bio A graduate of MIT and Stanford University, Rizwan Virk, PhD, is a successful entrepreneur, video game pioneer, film producer, venture capitalist, professor, and bestselling author of The Simulation Hypothesis (Tarcher, 2025), Wisdom of a Yogi (Bayview Books, 2023), a

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from second year MDiv student Lexi Potter about Lexi's journey to HDS, community, and the "tradition of friendship." Transcript forthcoming.

For Episode 16 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome composer, artist, and media theorist Paul Miller. Miller is best known for his music as DJ Spooky, the avant-garde turntableist who has collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D to Yoko Ono. He has also re-scored classic films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and his art has been showcased in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In this wide-ranging conversation, we asked Paul to explore the eeriness of life in the digital age. We touch on the perils and possibilities of artificial intelligence, the role of the DJ, Japanese Butoh as a response to nuclear tragedy, re-scoring D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, and how Einstein, science fiction, and Sun Ra have shaped Miller’s work.

For episode 15 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Fryderyk Kwiatkowski, Assistant Professor at the University of Krakow, on to discuss the relationship between ancient Gnostic myth and modern cinema. Fryderyk takes us through the impact European intellectuals Carl Jung, Hans Jonas, and Eric Voegelin on popular conceptions of Gnosticism. Then we dive into analyses of the Gnostic elements in films like the Matrix, Dark City, Truman Show, and more recent cinema like Free Guy, Chappie, and the television series Silo.

For episode 14 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome the linguist and philosopher Wouter Kusters. Kusters is the author of Pure Madness (2004) and A Philosophy of Madness (2014), both of which won the Dutch Socrates Award for best philosophy book of the year. We discuss how the experience of psychotic thinking challenges and illuminates our notions of language, philosophy, and mysticism. Along the way, we touch on the similarities between mystical and mad experiences, apophatic and psychotic uses of language, the phenomenology of time, and the impact of Kusters’ books on mental health specialists.

David Holden, MDiv '24, came to HDS after a career in politics in search of ways to help others heal as a hospital chaplain. Transcript forthcoming.

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from second year MTS students Becca Leviss and Rucha Modi sharing the story of their early HDS friendship as a source for inspiration. Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/04/30hope-podcast-featuring-becca-leviss-and-rucha-modi-mts-candidates

On this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from third year MDiv candidate Matta Zheng who teaches us about the interconnections between justice, the mundane, and hope. Transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/04/29/hope-podcast-featuring-matta-zheng-mdiv-candidate

For Episode 13 of Pop Apocalypse, we welcome Shannon Taggart, an American photographer, writer, researcher, and curator known for exploring how photography can navigate boundaries between the seen and unseen. Her book, Séance (Fulger Press, 2019), offers hundreds of photographs documenting contemporary Spiritualism across the U.S. and Britain. We discuss what sparked Shannon’s interests in Spiritualism, the intersecting histories of photography and Spiritualism, ectoplasm, what inspires people to become mediums, and the techniques she developed for photographing the invisible.

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from 2nd year MDiv candidate Paula Ortiz. Together we discuss the Andes mountains, being awestruck, and seeing hope in the present.

You’re listening to Harvard Divinity School's Praxis Podcast, where I, Maddison Tenney, interview HDS students about what brought them here, what they study, and where they hope to go next. This week's guest, Kristin Maples, MDiv '24, explores end of life care and the sacred practice of watching horror films. Full transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/03/25/end-life-care-and-horror-scholarship-praxis-podcast-featuring-kristen-maples-mdiv-24

"Christian Nationalism in Global Perspective," a conversation with David Hempton and one of the 2024-25 Yang Visiting Scholars, Nilay Saiya. This event took place on February 27, 2025. Full transcript: https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/03/05/video-yang-scholars-2025-christian-nationalism-global-perspective