Ye Gods With Scott Carter

Stephen Mitchell is an author, editor, and translator of classic and spiritual literature. His 1988 translation into English of the TAO TE CHING by Lao Tzu, and its accompanying audio book have been indispensable guides to millions of seekers. We discuss how spiritual texts come to be written, the history of the translating and compiling of the Christian gospels, and why Stephen was compelled to untangle Jesus’s teachings for himself. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Nealon is an Emmy-nominated writer and cast member on SNL, and host of Hiking with Kevin in addition to his many other TV and film appearances and his comedy specials, most recently, Loose in the Crotch.His new film Mermaid, starring opposite Robert Patrick and Johnny Pemberton, debuted in limited release on April 8th and will go wide on May 26thHe also plays the banjo and has published a full color coffee table book of his original celebrity caricatures with the naturally hilarious title, I Exaggerate My Brushes with Fame, Portraits and Stories by Kevin Nealon. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry Wilmore has one of the most impressive resumes in TV from IN LIVING COLOR to the BERNIE MAC SHOW, THE DAILY SHOW to BLACKISH and INSECURE. His acclaimed podcast for The Ringer LARRY WILMORE: BLACK ON THE AIR, just wrapped up in December of 2025 after 289 episodes. Larry will appear in Larry David’s new HBO mini series LIFE, LARRY AND THE PURSUIT OF UNHAPPINESS: AN ALMOST HISTORY OF AMERICA which premieres June 27 Former Daily Show producer Hillary Kun gives us the inside scoop on why she too was transformed by a summer of door to door sales. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rabbi Steve Leder - named by Newsweek Magazine twice as one of the ten most influential rabbis in America and over his 37 year tenure at Los Angeles’ oldest synagogue, Wilshire Boulevard Temple - has ushered thousands of families through life’s most joyous and heartbreaking moments. He's been a contributor to THE TODAY SHOW, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, CNN, and NPR. Steve’s Most recent book, New York Times best seller FOR YOU WHEN I AM GONE; 12 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO TELL A LIFE STORY makes the case for writing an ethical will, which is a life narrative to leave to your loved ones after you go to. In 2024, he retired and became Senior Rabbi Emeritus of Wilshire Boulevard Temple.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharon Lawrence is a 6-time Emmy nominated actress – including three for her portrayal of Assistant D.A. Sylvia Costas on Steven Bochco and David Milch’s ground-breaking NYPD BLUE, for which she won the SAG AWARD for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She was also nominated for her work on GREY’S ANATOMY. Sharon has appeared in hundreds of TV episodes and films, and starred on Broadway in the hit revivals of musicals CABARET, CHICAGO and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. She’s active in the Women In Film Foundation, Heal The Bay, WeForShe and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Patrick King is an Emmy-winning producer, writer, director, and prime mover behind the global cultural phenomena that is SEX IN THE CITY. He's also creator of the long-running sit-com TWO BROKE GIRLS on CBS and THE COMEBACK, starring Lisa Kudrow, now on HBO Michael talks about which vestiges of growing up Catholic have stayed with him. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian, actor, and author John Hodgman is the host of the popular JUDGE JOHN HODGMAN podcast, and New York Times Magazine column. His 2017 memoir VACATION LAND: TRUE STORIES FROM PAINFUL BEACHES, chronicles the mishaps and triumphs of John’s quest to make sense of life.John’s childhood as a self-identifying outsider helped him create the knee-slappingly funny FX animated series DICKTOWN, The semi-autobiographical mystery send-up follows former kid detective “John Hunchman”. Each 10-minute episode elicits nostalgia for our puerile teen pastimes while reminding us that the hard-won rewards of adulthood are worth the growing pains. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author and actress Annabelle Gurwitch tells tales of the “Itinerant, scam artists, and hucksters”, who hang from the branches of her family tree in her 2017 memoir WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE THEY ARE: STORIES ABOUT MY FAMILY YOU MIGHT RELATE TO. Most kids see their lives as normal and, only later, realize how absurd their homelife was. Her new memoir is THE END OF MY LIFE IS KILLING ME: THE UNEXPECTED JOYS OF A CANCER SLACKER. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Father Jim Martin is host of the America Media podcast, THE SPIRITUAL LIFE, honorary Chaplain of the Colbert Nation, and author of WORK IN PROGRESS: CONFESSIONS OF A BUSBOY, DISHWASHER, CADDY, USHER, FACTORY WORKER, BANK TELLER, CORPORATE TOOL, AND PRIEST. He talks about departing a career at General Electric and becoming a Jesuit priest, and why compassion is central to his reason d'etre. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phil Rosenthal is creator of Emmy-winning sit-com, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND and star of the Netflix series SOMEBODY FEED PHIL. His new, old-timey diner, Max and Helen’s, opened November 18, 2025 to rave reviews and an 8 hour opening weekend line, the longest in LA history, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Miriam Udel is Director of Jewish studies and a professor at Emory University. The focus of her work can be summed up in the title of her new book, MODERN JEWISH WORLD-MAKING THROUGH YIDDISH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, which tells how stories can help kids understand tough moral topics, like injustice, inequality and racism. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Father Greg Boyle, author of such bestselling books as TATTOOS ON THE HEART and CHERISHED BELONGING, explains how Homeboy Industries, which he founded in downtown Los Angeles in 1998, has become the world’s largest gang intervention, re-entry and recovery program. Greg has been finding, as he says, “the thorn underneath” gang violence since 1988. His work has helped thousands of formerly incarcerated people around the world. But in LA Greg is an icon and a symbol of Angelino pride. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Choreographer Jacob Jonas, whose memoir CEMENTED BEAUTY is the intimate documentation of his 2-year battle with stage 4 cancer, told in stark, intimate, black-and-white photos and brutally honest and vulnerable journal entries, dictated to Jacob’s partner, Jill Wilson, who also provides an Afterword.Ana Marie Cox is a political columnist and culture critic. Her writing has appeared in Time Magazine, G.Q., The Guardian, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast and Esquire. She’s currently a contributing editor at The New Republic. She’s also a prolific podcast host. In her weekly podcast, Past Due, she and co-host Open Mike Eagle, chronicle the struggles of creatives in today’s collapsing media landscape. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Saunders, often hailed as America’s greatest living short story writer, who's collections include THE TENTH OF DECEMBER and LIBERATION DAY. George discusses his new novel, VIGIL, as well as being raised Catholic in Chicago, growing away from the church and, joining his wife Paula to become a meditator, then an Episcopalian and, currently, practitioners of Buddhism. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lee Hawkins is a journalist, musician, and author of I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free - which has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in the nonfiction category. A few weeks after sending his book to his publisher, Lee was contacted by the FBI. His DNA indicated that he was a distant cousin to a murdered unidentified woman. Discovering the story of that Jane Doe is the subject of his recent Wall Street Journal Article: What I Owe My Murdered, Nameless Cousin.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian and host of the podcast “You Made it Weird” Pete Holmes. Pete starred in the Judd Apatow-produced, HBO dramedy CRASHING, which ran from 2017 to 2019. We discuss his memoir COMEDY SEX GOD, his search for spiritual meaning, and what his religious upbringing means to him now Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Gunn, who after many years as a fashion educator at Parsons School for Design was introduced to American televisions as the stern but encouraging mentor to designers on the reality competition show Project Runway. In 2020, he and Runway host Heidi Klum created a new fashion competition show for Amazon called MAKING THE CUT which ran for 3 seasons. Project Runway has since returned screens sans Tim but he continues to appear on TV cameoing on CBS’s Elsbeth, advocating for the Charities he holds dear such as the American Cancer Society, The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund or sometimes just giving his trademark savvy yet gracious opinion on a different kind of art: cooking as guest judge for shows on The Food Network. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hospitality entrepreneur, author, speaker, and host of the Midlife Chrysalis Podcast, Chip Conley. He discusses his time mentoring the founders of Air BnB, why he believes midlife is a great time to develop new skills, and how his Modern Elder Academy teaches people to find purpose, especially in a world of rapid technological change. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A quick look ahead at some of the guest coming up at the beginning of 2026, including Tim Gunn, Chip Conley, Ana Marie Cox, and Larry Wilmore. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Melville, Managing Director and lead actor of Los Angeles’ Independent Shakespeare Company, is celebrating 20 years of portraying Charles Dickens reading A CHRISTMAS CAROL Stephen Turner reads an original, true, and heartfelt story about a chance encounter that led to an unlikely - and life-changing - friendship in his story, “You Blessed Me, I’ll Bless You.” A perfect holiday offering. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks with actor, activist, 4-time Grammy-winning rapper, and half of hip-hop supergroup, Run The Jewels, Killer Mike. In the episode, Mike talks about his admiration for - and friendship with - Civil Rights icon and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, growing up in the all-Black neighborhood of Atlanta’s Collier Heights, and his musical evolution. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neuroscientist and host of the guided meditation app Waking Up Sam Harris returns to discuss tech’s effect on our psyches. And how the loss of “liminal” spaces may alter us as a culture.Since 2013, Harris has hosted the Making Sense podcast, which produced his 2020 book, Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity. Sam’s 2014 book Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, inspired his WAKING UP meditation app. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Fuglesang is a comedian, actor, Sirius XM host, and author of Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds.In 2012, John performed in the Coexist Comedy tour. In 2015, he hosted the PBS documentary Dream On about the many faces of the American Dream, and he’s the longtime host of Sirius XM’s interview show Tell Me Everything. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Susie Essman is best known as the foul-mouthed Susie Greene on HBO’s CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. For 12 seasons her character berated her show biz manager husband, played by Jeff Garlin, and his client, played by Larry David, in expletive-laden tirades that remain masterclasses in verbally-castrating vulgarity. Actor Armin Shimerman is best known as the iconic Ferengi alien Quark on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. But it was a love of classical drama that led him to a career in theatre and, eventually, earned him a place in the science-fiction pantheon. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David French is a New York Times columnist, who has called himself a “Reagan conservative,” a “pro-life classical liberal”, and an independent. In 2020, David published Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. For The Times, David often writes about “friendship, marriage, parenting” and “the evangelical church". In 2024, the fundamentalist wing of the Presbyterian Church, where David and his family had worshipped for 15 years, cancelled him from appearing on a panel at the Church’s General Assembly to discuss “how to be supportive of your pastor and church leaders in a polarized political year.” Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, whose sweeping storytelling has turned history into something deeply human. From "The Civil War" to "Baseball", "Jazz", and "The U.S. and the Holocaust", his work has shaped how we see not just what happened, but who we are. Raised in a family that valued both curiosity and conscience, Ken describes himself as a spiritual deist. He believes there’s meaning woven into the story, even if we’re still editing the final cut. Ken's films ask quiet but profound questions: What does it mean to be an American, and what stories do we tell to prove it? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks with author Valarie Kaur, about her book "See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love", her activism, and some historical perspective on the Sikh faith.Valarie’s activism was sparked after the murder of a Sikh family friend in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. She began to document hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans, out of which came her award-winning 2008 documentary film, Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Harris is a  neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author, who offers guided meditations on his Waking Up app, and a virtual Aristotle's Academy of Conversations and courses from Great Thinkers and Teachers.His book is Subtitled, A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, and it is a map of the continents of spiritual practices it explores a no man's land between science and religion. Harris explores what it means to live ethically and meaningfully without traditional belief.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Talks with actor, podcaster and voice-over artist Paul F. Tompkins. Paul has also acted on TV shows such as Bojack Horseman, Frasier, Weeds, The Sarah Silverman Program, Community and Curb Your Enthusiasm and in films, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and There Will Be Blood.Besides hosting the podcasts Threedom, Stay F. Homekins, and The Neighborhood Listen, Paul regularly guests on other people’s shows, including over 200 episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks with Bret Stephens, New York Times opinion columnist and founder and editor-in-chief of SAPIR, a quarterly that covers issues of Jewish concern. Starting in 2014, Brett co-authored, with fellow New York Times columnist Gail Collins, The Conversation, an edited transcript of a witty and substantive dialogue between two civilized colleagues from opposite ends of the political spectrum: Brett was the conservative, Gail, the liberal. Earlier this year, book projects for each paused The Conversation but, in September, the popular feature returned with Bret and a rotating panel of contributors including Times Opinion writer Frank Bruni. Earlier in his career Brett had two stints at the Wall Street Journal: first in 1998 as an op-ed editor, then in 2004 to write the Journal's "Global View" column. While with the Journal, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2013 and the next year he released his book AMERICA IN RETREAT: THE NEW ISOLATIONISM AND THE COMING GLOBAL DISORDER. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks with Moon Unit Zappa, daughter of visionary musician Frank Zappa. Moon was just 26 when, in 1993 her father, then aged 52, died of prostate cancer. Two years later, Frank was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by the Velvet Underground’s Lou Reed. Moon's 2024 memoir Earth to Moon, which is an illuminating, often disillusioning, peak behind the Zappa family curtain. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patricia Heaton, two-time-Emmy winner for Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, is a cradle Catholic whose sister is a nun. She talks with Scott about her spiritual and personal discovery developed after she her time on those series ended, and how it helped her through addiction.Julia Sweeney is best known for her androgynous alter ego Pat on SNL and her one woman shows God Said Ha! and Letting Go of God. Her latest show Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider deals with religion but also parenting and feminism.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott talks to Columbia Journalism School Dean and New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb.  His articles on race, the police and injustice won him the 2015 Sidney Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis. And in 2018 he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in for Commentary. Jelani has also received fellowships from the Fullbright and Ford foundations.When he became Journalism Dean in 2022, Jelani had been teaching at Columbia since 2016. And when he was made a staff writer at The New Yorker in 2015, Jelani had been contributing articles on race, politics, history and culture, since 2012. In 2022, with New Yorker Editor-In-Chief David Remnick, he helped edit The Matter of Black Lives, an anthology of the magazine’s writing on race in America. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rainn Wilson, best known for playing Dwight Schrute on The Office, has leveraged that fame and wealth that came to him in his forties to better himself and, perhaps, the world. Rainn talks with Scott about his 2023 book SOUL BOOM: WHY WE NEED A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION, in which Rain makes a case for the radical re-conceiving of humanity. Rainn also recounts his leaving and return to the Baháʼí faith. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Claire Hoffman is a journalist, author, and a journalism professor at the University of California, Riverside. Her new book, Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson was hailed by The New Yorker’s Casey Cep as “magnificent,” “gripping”, and “wonderfully thorough, the type of biography in which you learn just the right amount of everything.” In her book, Claire dives into the story of how, for two months in 1926, Pentecostal superstar Sister Aimee’s disappearance from a Southern California beach dominated headlines across the world.Claire also grew up in the 1980’s and ‘90’s in Fairfield, Iowa - ground zero for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation movement in America. Since her parents were devout practitioners, Claire and her brother were raised also as meditators. She recounts her childhood experiences in her 2016 book, Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Renowned American sportscaster, Bob Costas talks about growing up on Long Island, how his introduction to the world of sports was inextricably linked to his father’s addiction to gambling, how his Catholic upbringing shaped his world view, how he pursued his dream of becoming a sports broadcaster, the people he most admired and how he decided to retire from being the best play-by-play baseball announcer of his generation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rabbi Sharon Brouse, named America's most influential Rabbi by Newsweek in 2013, shares her journey from an unaffiliated Jewish upbringing to co-founding the progressive IKAR Temple in Los Angeles. She delves into the profound wisdom of her 2024 bestseller, The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts, emphasizing ancient rituals and their relevance in modern times. The conversation highlights a sacred pilgrimage ritual from the Mishnah and its teachings on compassion and communal support. Rabbi Brouse addresses the challenges of maintaining tradition while advocating for inclusivity and justice. She recalls her emotional connection to Jewish practices, her parents' initial shock at her rabbinical path, and how Ikar aims to integrate spirituality with social activism. The episode also touches on broader themes of faith, human connection, and the transformative power of ancient wisdom.Watch Scott Carter’s 2024 TEDx talk “Indivisible” on YouTube. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 ‘Humble comedy legend’ Martin Short has a distinguished career across five decades of work. But the jewel in the crown of Marty's career is his current mega hit Only Murders in the Building in which he stars and executive produces. It starts its fifth season on Hulu September 9, 2025. If Marty Short has lived a charmed life, it's because he's charming in life and because life charms him. He's a leprechaun who's earned his pots of gold by granting his audiences an infinity of wishes. In this interview with Scott Carter, Short reflects on his early influences, his Irish roots, and his approach to setbacks, emphasizing the importance of positivity, love, and humor inherited from his family. He reveals his structured approach to life through 'the nine categories,' a self-evaluative system he uses to maintain balance across various life areas, such as career, creativity, and personal relationships. Watch Scott Carter’s 2024 TEDx talk “Indivisible” on YouTube. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A look-ahead at the first season of Ye Gods, where host Scott Carter explores codes of religious, cultural and secular conduct with  his guests, including Martin Short, Bob Costas, Ken Burns, Patricia Heaton, Killer Mike, Sam Harris, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Moon Zappa, Rainn Wilson, Rabbi Steve Leder and Tim Gunn. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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