Join us for Season 11 of How God Works, starting next week!

How God Works will be back with all new episodes in September. In the meantime, we're excited to feature an episode from our friends at Oh God Now What, hosted by Niala Boodhoo.

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In the debut episode, "Voting Your Morals," host Niala Boodhoo welcomes public theologian Curtis Chang and Rabbi Jill Jacobs. Using their expertise as religious thought leaders, they help us navigate aligning beliefs with how we vote. And they offer perspective and tools for strengthening democracy outside of high-stakes elections.

Chang is the Executive Director of Good Faith, which helps politically ‘homeless’ Christians navigate a deeply divided world. Rabbi Jacobs is the CEO of T’ruah, which empowers rabbis and cantors to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights.

As humans increasingly turn to AI for moral guidance and answers to life’s biggest questions, the lines between technology and religion are blurring—even leading some in Silicon Valley to wonder if AI might have a spiritual life of its own or be destined to change the world’s religious landscape. What does the impulse to see a god in the machine reveal about our enduring hunger for meaning, belonging, and spiritual growth?

Dave explores these questions and more with psychologist Paul Bloom, author Elizabeth Oldfield, and theologian Paolo Benanti in a discussion recorded live at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival.

Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. He's also the author of seven books, including his latest “Psych: The Story of the Human Mind.”

Elizabeth Oldfield hosts “The Sacred” podcast, dedicated to conversations about being human, finding wisdom, building a more tolerant society, and what spirituality and religion might offer in answer to those questions. She is also the author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times.

Paolo Benanti is a professor of moral philosophy at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome and a professor of technology ethics at Seattle University. A Franciscan priest and leading global voice on AI ethics, he advises the Vatican on emerging technologies and the rise of generative AI and chatbots.