The Jewish futurism Lab

The Jewish futurism Lab: Torah, Tech, Tomorrow is a creative audio laboratory where Jewish tradition meets design, technology, and speculative imagination. Host Mike Wirth explores Torah, myth, ritual, art history, and emerging tools like AI to prototype Jewish futures rooted in ethics, dignity, and meaning. New episodes blend story, studio practice, and future-thinking, with companion visuals and essays at mikewirthart.com.

30 episodes

9d ago latest

weekly cadence

English language

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Episodes 30

Episode 31: Black Jewish Futures, DEI, and Belonging with April Powers
2d ago · 1:09:18
Mike Wirth talks with April Powers, a leading voice in Black-Jewish identity, inclusion and belonging, contemporary antisemitism education, and a pioneer in DEI practice. April shares her journey as a Black Jewish inclusion strategist, educator, and bridge-builder. Together, Mike and April discuss Black Jewish and multiracial Jewish identity, Jewish representation in media, the forthcoming A […]
Episode 30: The future of Jewish Advocacy with Leat Corinne Unger
9d ago · 41:56
Before October 7, 2023, Leat Corinne Unger was a speech-language pathologist and Jewish educator in New York, spending her days helping children and families find language and be understood. That life changed irrevocably when her cousin, Omer Shem Tov, was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival. In the earliest, most chaotic days, Leat […]
Episode 29: The Future of Ritual in Motion with Douglas Rosenberg
16d ago · 1:40:15
What makes a work of art Jewish when it does not announce itself with familiar symbols, dialogue, or plot? In this episode of the Jewish Futurism Lab, Mike Wirth speaks with Douglas Rosenberg, filmmaker, artist, theorist, and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Rosenberg has helped define screendance, a […]
Episode 28: The Future of Jewish Stickers with Elisha Fine
23d ago · 1:20:02
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, Mike sits down with historian, social worker, and activist Elisha Fine, founder of the Hatikvah Sticker Collective and a central organizer of the international hostage sticker movement. Together they unpack how his Jewish origin story led from archives and social work into Jewish street art, why stickers […]
Episode 27: Filming our future with Noam Leibman
1mo ago · 40:54
In this episode of Jewish futurism lab, host Mike Wirth sits down with Jewish filmmaker Noam Leibman, founder of Kavana Films, to explore how the camera can become a kind of kavannah practice in Jewish life. They talk about Noam’s journey from Minnesota to Jerusalem, his work discovering and reconnecting Jewish communities in Africa, and […]
Episode 26: The Future Song of Cantors with Hollis Schachner
1mo ago · 1:22:11
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, host Mike Wirth sits down with his cousin, Cantor Hollis Schachner, to explore her future vision of cantors, community, and creativity. Hollis is a longtime spiritual leader and artist at Temple Shir Tikva in W
Episode 25: The Future Is a Torah Story with Rabbi Danny Burkeman
1mo ago · 1:13:21
Mike Wirth sits down with Rabbi Danny Burkeman, Senior Rabbi at Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, Massachusetts, and host of the award-winning podcast Two Minutes of Torah. Danny was raised in the British Reform movement, ordained in 2009, and has spent his
Episode 24: Reclaiming the Future of Zionism with Eitan Chitayat
1mo ago · 1:18:42
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, host Mike Wirth sits down with writer and creative director Eitan Chitayat, creator of the viral I’m That Jew project, to talk about his new campaign “Zionism Is”, created with former Knesset member and leading
Episode 23: Jewish futurist Learning Spaces with Rabbi Charlie Schwartz
2mo ago · 48:20
In this episode, we sit on the patio at Lehrhaus, a Jewish tavern and house of learning in Somerville, in front of a mural by Boston based Jewish artist Chloe Rubinstein, and explore the story behind this unusual space. Rabbi Charlie Schwartz shares his
Episode 22: Future Judaism on Campus with Rabbi Daniel Levine
2mo ago · 1:02:22
In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Levine, Hillel rabbi, podcast host, and Jewish history professor at UC Irvine, joins us for a wide ranging conversation about the future of Jewish life on campus and beyond. We talk about how October 7 has reshaped the emoti
Episode 21: Psychology of the future with Shely Rachel Esses
2mo ago · 1:09:28
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, host Mike Wirth sits down with therapist Shely Rachel Esses, LMFT, to explore the psychology of the future self and what it takes to imagine a life beyond survival mode. Shely brings together clinical psycholog
Episode 20: Painting Herzl in the Age of AI with Avraham Vofsi
2mo ago · 1:43:01
Mike Wirth talks with Israeli realist painter Avraham “Avi” Vofsi about classical oil painting, Jewish identity, and his AI assisted Theodor Herzl project. They explore how to use new tools without losing the human aura, and what Jewish images might look
Episode 19 -Designing Shabbat: A UX Approach to Jewish Ritual Design
3mo ago · 1:13:40
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, host Mike Wirth shares the story behind a UX‑driven case study in Jewish ritual. Mike talks about creating the High and Low Ritual at the Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum’s Social Practice Institute, and h
Episode 18 – Here I Am: The Hineni Project, Bar Shechter z”l, and Painting Through Grief
3mo ago · 57:13
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, I share how the Hineni Project carried me from the shock of October 7 into a deeply personal relationship with one family in Israel: the family of Bar Shechter z”l, a young father and psy‑trance DJ murder
Episode 17- Recoding the Lehrhaus: Jewish Learning in the Future Tense
3mo ago · 1:01:08
This episode explores Franz Rosenzweig’s radical vision for Jewish education through the Frankfurt Lehrhaus (1920) and traces its influence into contemporary experiments in creative, future-oriented learning. Rosenzweig rejected passive transmission of k
Episode 16: The Digital Worlds of Erez Cohen
4mo ago · 1:17:55
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab: Torah, Tech, Tomorrow, host Mike Wirth sits down with his friend, Israeli digital artist and projection‑mapping creator Erez Cohen. Mike first encountered Erez’s work through a projection‑mapping piece cal
Episode 15- Hiddur Olam: The Creative Torah System for Jewish futurist Living
4mo ago · 1:13:19
In this episode, Mike unpacks Hiddur Olam, his creative Torah system and multi‑volume art book series that reimagines Genesis through Jewish futurism, design thinking, Mussar, and Kabbalah. Listeners will hear how weekly parsha study, visual storytelling
EP 14- Papayas on the Moon- My Chat with Alejandro Glatt
4mo ago · 34:57
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, I sit down with Mexican artist and papaya visionary Alejandro Glatt, the first Mexican artist to send a papaya to the Moon as part of the Lunaprise art museum project connected to NASA’s Artemis missions. Recor
Episode 13: How a Jewish Immigrant Named Hugo Created Sci-Fi
4mo ago · 27:18
Before science fiction was a genre, Hugo Gernsback was already building the infrastructure for it: radio magazines, hobbyist communities, wild speculative stories, and the first publication devoted entirely to imagining tomorrow. A Jewish immigrant from
Episode 12: Professors, Dads, and the Jewish future with Shai Davidai
4mo ago · 43:03
In this episode of The Jewish Futurism Lab, Mike Wirth sits down with Shai Davidai, the Israeli‑born social psychologist and former Columbia Business School professor who became a prominent voice for Jewish students after October 7. Together they trace S
Episode 11: Jews, AI, and the Real Meaning of “Creative”
5mo ago · 28:49
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, Mike Wirth uses the 4C model of creativity to map out what we really mean by “creative” in an age of AI art and endless images. He traces his own journey from parametric code experiments to Jewish futurist mura
Episode 10 – From Utopia to Conspiracy: The Secret Battle Over Jewish Futures
5mo ago · 29:58
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, Jewish futurist and we’ll explore early Jewish futurism, Zionist art, and media history through Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland, Ephraim Moses Lilien’s Zionist Art Nouveau, and Boris Schatz’s Bezalel School in
Episode 9: From Cult to Code: Tracing the History of the Aura in Art
5mo ago · 26:00
Walter Benjamin, AI, & the Aura of Art: In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, host Mike Wirth unpacks Walter Benjamin’s “aura” of art and asks what presence means when every image can be copied, remixed, and generated on demand. Moving from Byz
Episode 8: Speed Kills : Why Every futurist must confront the past
5mo ago · 37:16
In this episode, we confront the rise and collapse of Italian Futurism, the avant garde movement that worshiped speed, technology, youth, and rupture at any cost. What began as radical artistic rebellion under Filippo Tommaso Marinetti quickly blurred in
Episode 7: ADHD, Design, and Jewish futures with Alex Duchene
6mo ago · 51:10
In this episode of The Jewish futurism Lab, Jewish futurist and community artist Mike Wirth sits down with graphic designer Alex Duchene to explore what it means to be a neurodivergent, Jewish creative. They talk about ADHD “neuro spicey super power

Episodes

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The Jewish futurism Lab

Episodes 30

Episode 31: Black Jewish Futures, DEI, and Belonging with April Powers

Episode 30: The future of Jewish Advocacy with Leat Corinne Unger

Episode 29: The Future of Ritual in Motion with Douglas Rosenberg

Episode 28: The Future of Jewish Stickers with Elisha Fine

Episode 27: Filming our future with Noam Leibman

Episode 26: The Future Song of Cantors with Hollis Schachner

Episode 25: The Future Is a Torah Story with Rabbi Danny Burkeman

Episode 24: Reclaiming the Future of Zionism with Eitan Chitayat

Episode 23: Jewish futurist Learning Spaces with Rabbi Charlie Schwartz

Episode 22: Future Judaism on Campus with Rabbi Daniel Levine

Episode 21: Psychology of the future with Shely Rachel Esses

Episode 20: Painting Herzl in the Age of AI with Avraham Vofsi

Episode 19 -Designing Shabbat: A UX Approach to Jewish Ritual Design

Episode 18 – Here I Am: The Hineni Project, Bar Shechter z”l, and Painting Through Grief

Episode 17- Recoding the Lehrhaus: Jewish Learning in the Future Tense

Episode 16: The Digital Worlds of Erez Cohen

Episode 15- Hiddur Olam: The Creative Torah System for Jewish futurist Living

EP 14- Papayas on the Moon- My Chat with Alejandro Glatt

Episode 13: How a Jewish Immigrant Named Hugo Created Sci-Fi

Episode 12: Professors, Dads, and the Jewish future with Shai Davidai

Episode 11: Jews, AI, and the Real Meaning of “Creative”

Episode 10 – From Utopia to Conspiracy: The Secret Battle Over Jewish Futures

Episode 9: From Cult to Code: Tracing the History of the Aura in Art

Episode 8: Speed Kills : Why Every futurist must confront the past

Episode 7: ADHD, Design, and Jewish futures with Alex Duchene

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Episodes 30

Episode 31: Black Jewish Futures, DEI, and Belonging with April Powers

Episode 30: The future of Jewish Advocacy with Leat Corinne Unger

Episode 29: The Future of Ritual in Motion with Douglas Rosenberg

Episode 28: The Future of Jewish Stickers with Elisha Fine

Episode 27: Filming our future with Noam Leibman

Episode 26: The Future Song of Cantors with Hollis Schachner

Episode 25: The Future Is a Torah Story with Rabbi Danny Burkeman

Episode 24: Reclaiming the Future of Zionism with Eitan Chitayat

Episode 23: Jewish futurist Learning Spaces with Rabbi Charlie Schwartz

Episode 22: Future Judaism on Campus with Rabbi Daniel Levine

Episode 21: Psychology of the future with Shely Rachel Esses

Episode 20: Painting Herzl in the Age of AI with Avraham Vofsi

Episode 19 -Designing Shabbat: A UX Approach to Jewish Ritual Design

Episode 18 – Here I Am: The Hineni Project, Bar Shechter z”l, and Painting Through Grief

Episode 17- Recoding the Lehrhaus: Jewish Learning in the Future Tense

Episode 16: The Digital Worlds of Erez Cohen

Episode 15- Hiddur Olam: The Creative Torah System for Jewish futurist Living

EP 14- Papayas on the Moon- My Chat with Alejandro Glatt

Episode 13: How a Jewish Immigrant Named Hugo Created Sci-Fi

Episode 12: Professors, Dads, and the Jewish future with Shai Davidai

Episode 11: Jews, AI, and the Real Meaning of “Creative”

Episode 10 – From Utopia to Conspiracy: The Secret Battle Over Jewish Futures

Episode 9: From Cult to Code: Tracing the History of the Aura in Art

Episode 8: Speed Kills : Why Every futurist must confront the past

Episode 7: ADHD, Design, and Jewish futures with Alex Duchene