Growing up as a Muslim in America comes with its own challenges.

For Assistant Dean for Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School, Hussein Rashid, that struggle lies at the center of his work on modern day pop culture and its representations of Islam.

In this raw and candid conversation, Simran and Hussein discuss different forms of Islamic practice and growing up code-switching, with multicultural identities in a religiously diverse society.

And most importantly, we’ll hear how recognizing the beauty in our spiritual traditions and embodying their wisdom can create a more just and compassionate world.

Resources:

• Check Hussein Rashid’s website here
• Harvard Divinity School

Check out Simran’s work on his website at simranjeetsingh.org.

Wisdom & Practice is produced in partnership with PRX and the Aspen Institute, with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Music by Raj Kanwal Singh.

This episode was produced by associate producer, Serena Chow, producer, Rithu Jagannath and senior producer, Morgan Flannery. Our project manager is Edwin Ochoa, our show is mixed by Tommy Bazarian and the executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.

Did you have a profound spiritual experience in your youth?

Rabbi Rick Jacobs' spiritual connection came during his summer camps in Northern California. Forging a bond with the natural world shaped his approach to blending traditional religious practices with universal spirituality, and they also inspired an appreciation for spiritual experiences outside conventional settings of worship.

Now serving as the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, he emphasizes the importance of curiosity, asking questions, and caring for people of all backgrounds in the universal quest for holiness.

In today’s episode, Rabbi Rick and host Simran Jeet Singh explore how open-heartedness can fuel a journey of lifelong learning and how engaging with ambiguity can actually lead us to a path toward growth.

Resources:

• Union for Reform Judaism
• You can find him on X
• If only Netanyahu would say this to congress - Times of Israel
• Why we’ll fight Israel’s new extremist political agenda - Jewish Chronicle

Check out Simran’s work on his website at simranjeetsingh.org.

Wisdom & Practice is produced in partnership with PRX and the Aspen Institute, with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Music by Raj Kanwal Singh.

This episode was produced by associate producer, Serena Chow, producer, Rithu Jagannath and senior producer, Morgan Flannery. Our project manager is Edwin Ochoa, our show is mixed by Tommy Bazarian and the executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.

Does life ever feel too predictable? Boring? Anodyne? Do you ever crave for a sense of adventure, to turn mundane tasks into opportunities for excitement and new experiences?

That’s how author of “Enchantment” and host of “How We Live Now”, Katherine May, actively engages in embracing the beauty and wonder of the mundane. She perceives the world with adventure, the richness of diverse experiences and the importance of embracing rather than taming the natural world.

In this episode, host Simran Jeet Singh speaks with her about the loss of sense of play, the power of attention, the concept of hierophany, and how we can reconnect with a sense of wonder.

Resources:

• Learn more about Katherine May from her website here.
• How We Live Now with Katherine May
• Follow Katherine May on Instagram here.

Check out Simran’s work on his website at simranjeetsingh.org.

Wisdom & Practice is produced in partnership with PRX and the Aspen Institute, with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Music by Raj Kanwal Singh.

This episode was produced by associate producer, Serena Chow, producer, Rithu Jagannath and senior producer, Morgan Flannery. Our project manager is Edwin Ochoa, our show is mixed by Tommy Bazarian and the executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.