{"podcast":{"title":"The Podcast of Jewish Ideas","slug":"the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623","podcast_index_feed_id":6220623,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5779269/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas--5779269","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/ab8613dd16d992d8dc4be7c8744f10e7.jpg","author":"Torah in Motion","episode_count":93,"summary":"A space for exploring the great ideas at the heart of the Jewish tradition.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-12T20:18:31.805210+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623"},"episode":{"title":"86. The Meaning of Life | Dr. Alan Mittleman","slug":"86-the-meaning-of-life-dr-alan-mittleman","published_at":"2026-02-19T16:57:55+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623/86-the-meaning-of-life-dr-alan-mittleman","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/86-the-meaning-of-life-dr-alan-mittleman--70150374","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70150374/alan_mittleman_v1.mp3","summary":"J.J. and Dr. Alan Mittleman make meaning out of a moment (or two). How does the Jewish tradition handle the big existential question? What does this all mean? Why are we here? If you or your business are interested in sponsoring an episode or mini-series, please reach out at podcasts@torahinmotion.org Follow us on Bluesky @jewishideaspod.bsky.social for updates and insights! Please rate and review the the show in the podcast app of your choice. We welcome all complaints and compliments at podcasts@torahinmotion.org For more information visit torahinmotion.org/podcasts Alan Mittleman is the Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Chair in Jewish Philosophy Emeritus at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He is the author of eight books. His most recent is Absurdity and Meaning in Contemporary Philosophy and Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2023). His previous book, Does Judaism Condone Violence? Holiness and Ethics in the Jewish Tradition (Princeton, 2018) won the National Jewish Book Award for Modern Jewish Thought and Experience in 2018. Other works include Human Nature and Jewish Thought: Judaism's Case for Why Persons Matter (Princeton, 2015), A Short History of Jewish Ethics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), and Hope in a Democratic Age (Oxford, 2009). He has edited six books, most recently Jewish Virtue Ethics (SUNY Press, 2023).Prof. Mittleman holds a B.A. (Magna cum Laude) from Brandeis University and an M.A. and Ph.D. (with distinction) from Temple University. He is the recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship and served as Guest Research Professor at the University of Cologne (1994 and 1996). He has lectured widely in Germany in over fifty trips to that country. Mittleman received a Harry Starr Fellowship in Modern Jew…","meta_description":"J.J. and Dr. Alan Mittleman make meaning out of a moment (or two). How does the Jewish tradition handle the big existential question? What does this all m…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4171,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623/episodes/86-the-meaning-of-life-dr-alan-mittleman/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas-6220623/86-the-meaning-of-life-dr-alan-mittleman.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}