
Interviews with thought-leaders about their new books. Support our show by becoming a premium member! newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/van-leer-institute
| Publishes | Twice monthly | Episodes | 169 | Founded | 6 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | BooksArtsHistory | |||

A stevedore on the San Francisco docks in the 1940s, who eventually taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Eric Hoffer wrote philosophical treatises in his spare time while living in the railroad yards. The True Believer: Thoughts on the... more
Children who grow up in troubled circumstances―experiencing
deprivation or instability, living in a dangerous neighborhood or an
abusive family―are more prone to aggression, recklessness, and sexual
promiscuity later in life. To most of us, the le... more
In contemporary discourse, antizionism is treated either as legitimate political critique or as bigotry only when it resembles recognizable forms of classical antisemitism. This article challenges that assumption. I argue that antizionism is a cohere... more
Was it one of the war’s most memorable feats of valor or an act of desperation, even madness?
In Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe (Spiegel & Grau, 2026), Matti Friedman unravels one of the strangest episodes of World War II: In 194... more
People also subscribe to these shows.


This podcast is a hidden gem. Renee is a great interviewer and brings out the best in all of the speakers/authors. The selection of books/speakers/topics is always at the cutting edge.
The ideas I discover help me in various parts of my life, including my own scholarly work and activities. When I talk to or interview people, I will strive to emulate Renee.
I find myself disappointed when I check the podcast app and don’t see a new episode from the Van Leer Institute of Ideas. Keep up the sti... more
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.








Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Thoughtful, literature- and idea-driven conversations with scholars, historians, philosophers, and public intellectuals who write and publish influential books. Episodes typically explore big ideas through a blend of theoretical framing and personal narrative, often highlighting memory, identity, ethics, and culture within Jewish thought, philosophy, science, and history. Notable is the emphasis on connecting classical texts and contemporary issues to everyday life, with a strong scholarly rigor paired with accessible storytelling that helps listeners gauge relevance to current debates. The format often features expert guests who bring deep research, balanced by the host's ability to contextualize complex topics for a general audience; spon... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas:
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas launched 6 years ago and published 169 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas include:
1. Adam Louis-Klein
2. Matti Friedman
3. Bela Pasikov
4. Stuart Katz
5. Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
6. David Harris
7. Tikva Blaukopf Schein
8. Elias Messinas
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.