The Veritas Forum

In today’s episode, a theologian and a philosopher explore what happens when we die. They discuss questions like, Is death the end, or is it the beginning of something new? And how do Christian claims about Jesus’ Resurrection change the way we think about death today?



You’ll hear from N. T. Wright, a New Testament scholar at Oxford, and Shelly Kagan, a philosopher at Yale. In this lively conversation moderated by Columbia medical ethicist Lydia Dugdale, they explore death, the afterlife, Jesus’ Resurrection, and how our views on these subjects influence the way we live right now.



This forum was held at Yale in 2014. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible.




Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.

Meaning can be straightforward — a red octagon means “Stop!”, a hand wave with a smile means “Hello,” or adding two and two equals four.



But meaning is often more complicated — a friend saying they’ll eat “whatever” for dinner or a significant other texting, “We need to talk.”



In this episode, our speakers invite you into the messiness of meaning — and discuss how best we can search for it.



You’ll hear a conversation between mathematician Satyan Devadoss (U San Diego) and biologist Stuart Firestein (Columbia). Satyan and Stuart bring their scientific backgrounds and religious perspectives as they explore the role of reason in the search for meaning, what can and can’t be taken at face value, and what strategies can help us find truth — from the scientific method to literary analysis to religious tradition.



This Forum was held at Columbia University in 2014. Thanks to the forums planning team at Columbia for making this event possible.




Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.

In today’s episode, two moral philosophers explore our everyday ethical choices. Are your gut-level reactions about right and wrong a signal from a higher reality—or just a chemical reaction in your brain? And if God isn’t the foundation for our morality, do our values actually mean anything?



In this throwback Veritas Forum, you’ll hear from Peter Singer, a philosopher and emeritus professor at Princeton, and John Hare, a philosopher at Yale. Drawing from their atheist and Christian worldviews, they explore where moral intuitions come from, whether morality can stand apart from religion, and how questions of happiness, suffering, and the life and teachings of Jesus shape their understanding of what it means to live well. You’ll hear both of their opening statements followed by an excerpt of their moderated discussion.



This forum was held at MIT in 2010. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible.




Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.

On today’s episode, our speakers discuss the topic of friendship: what it looks like on a practical level and why it’s so important in our culture today.







You’ll hear from John Hendrix, an author, illustrator, and art professor at Washington University in St. Louis. This forum focuses on John’s new graphic novel titled The Mythmakers, which tells the story of the friendship of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. In this conversation moderated by Pepperdine professor April Marshall, they explore how Lewis and Tolkien’s friendship fueled their greatest works and the importance of community in our daily lives.







This forum was held at Pepperdine in April 2025. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible. As a heads up, there are a few visual aids in today’s episode that rely on John’s illustrations from his novel. To see them, watch the YouTube video here.




Find additional resources and quotes from this forum here.

In today’s episode, two philosophers explore this question: How should we understand suffering? Is it simply the opposite of human flourishing, or is there a deeper meaning? And what does suffering mean for belief in a good God?



You’ll hear from Meghan Sullivan, a philosopher at Notre Dame, and John Stuhr, a philosopher at Emory University. Drawing on both personal experience and philosophical commitments, they reflect on how Christian and naturalistic worldviews make sense of suffering in human life.



This forum was held at Emory in April 2025. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible.




Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.