Podcast
The Veritas Forum
Hosted by The Veritas Forum · EN
At the Veritas Forum, we believe we were made to seek truth and be changed by it. We are a community of students, faculty, campus ministers, and more, who are pursuing a vision of the university that seeks and stewards truth and invites people of all backgrounds to explore the ideas that shape our lives. Since 1992, we’ve shared lectures and conversations with a firm belief that generous dialogue is essential for universities and the Christian faith alike.
In this podcast, we're pulling from our archives of recorded events. Learn more about each episode in the show notes and visit veritas.org to learn more about the mission of the Veritas Forum and join us as we explore the ideas that shape our lives.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Is Religion for Everyone? | Ross Douthat & Damon Linker
Jan 1501:14:15Tap to summarizeTalking about religion can feel outdated, close-minded, or just irrelevant. Yet for thousands of years, humans have been a religious species looking beyond ourselves in search of meaning. So should religion still matter today? And is it simply a coping story, or could it point to something real? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Ross Douthat, a New York Times opinion columnist and author of Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. He’s in dialogue with Damon Linker, a lecturer in political science at Penn and creator of the Notes from the Middleground Substack. In this conversation moderated by Penn Law professor Karen Tani, they share their own Christian and agnostic worldviews and explore their thoughts on truth, religious experience, and committing to a religion in a pluralistic society. This forum was held at the University of Pennsylvania in November 2025. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible. Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.
Transcribe →God Might Be Real—But Is He Personal? | Tim Keller & Anthony Kronman
Dec 18Tap to summarizeThe Christmas season, at its heart, is about giving. We spend days—even weeks—searching for thoughtful, personalized gifts to bring joy to those we love. For Christians, the ultimate gift was given on Christmas: God becoming human in Jesus. This wasn’t an abstract idea, but a deeply personal act—one that changed the world forever. In today’s episode, you’ll hear a conversation between pastor and author Tim Keller (1950 — 2023) and Yale law professor Anthony Kronman about gifts, grace, and gratitude. Drawing from their Christian and humanist worldviews, they explore the character of God and reflect on how our understanding of the divine—personal or not—shapes the way we live today. This forum was held at Yale in 2017. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible. Find additional resources and quotes on the podcast episode page here.
Transcribe →That's a Wrap! Best Episodes from 2025 + Sneak Peek at 2026
Dec 1100:17:22Tap to summarizeWe’ve reached the end of another amazing year on the podcast — all thanks to you, our listeners! In 2025, we had over 100,000 listens and over 6 million YouTube views across 140 different countries. We’re so grateful for the thousands of you who listen to the podcast and watch our forums online every week. In this episode, Seth (our podcast host and Senior Media Manager at The Veritas Forum) shares some stats from the podcast in 2025 and our favorite three episodes of the year. We feature excerpts from Esau McCaulley (Wheaton), Gary Saul Morson (Northwestern), Angel Adams Parham (UVA), Roosevelt Montás (Bard), and Ross Douthat (NYTimes). Links to the full episodes featured in this wrap-up episode can be found here.
Transcribe →Is Christianity Divisive? | Tim Keller
Nov 5, 2020Tap to summarizeSome say that claiming to know God or truth is too exclusive in a pluralistic society and too divisive in a free democratic one. People who hold such exclusive beliefs, they say, tend to impose them on others and oppress those who disagree. How can Christians, then, justify their faith that says Jesus is the one true way to God? Can they fit in and operate in a free society? Tim Keller dives into these questions on the stage at UC Berkeley. • Please like, share, subscribe to, and review this podcast. Thank you! • If you love our podcast, sign up for our newsletter! Each month, you'll receive thoughtful content about the ideas that shape our lives, updates from our student and faculty partners, and other Veritas news and events. Sign up here!
Transcribe →Designing Your Life Worth Living | Dave Evans & Bill Burnett
Jan 2, 2020Tap to summarizeBill Burnett and Dave Evans teach the most popular class at Stanford. The course, entitled “Designing Your Life,” aims to reframe the way students think about the question, “How do I live a meaningful life?” Burnett, an atheist, and Evans, a Christian, both believe the key to a joyful and fulfilling life starts with thinking like a designer. As we kick off this new year, enjoy this encore episode from 2017 featuring Dave Evans and Bill Burnett as they discuss their methods for living a life worth living. • Please like, share, subscribe to, and review this podcast. Thank you! • If you love our podcast, sign up for our newsletter! Each month, you'll receive thoughtful content about the ideas that shape our lives, updates from our student and faculty partners, and other Veritas news and events. Sign up here!
Transcribe →Is Christianity Divisive? | Tim Keller
Mar 3, 2018Tap to summarizeSome say that claiming to know God or truth is too exclusive in a pluralistic society and too divisive in a free democratic one. People who hold such exclusive beliefs, they say, tend to impose them on others and oppress those who disagree. How can Christians, then, justify their faith that says Jesus is the one true way to God? Can they fit in and operate in a free society? Some say Christianity and the pursuit of a peaceful world are incompatible. "I don't agree with that at all," says Tim Keller at a Veritas Forum from UC Berkeley. • Please like, share, subscribe to, and review this podcast. Thank you! • If you love our podcast, sign up for our newsletter! Each month, you'll receive thoughtful content about the ideas that shape our lives, updates from our student and faculty partners, and other Veritas news and events. Sign up here!
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