Dan Harris + Jay Michaelson

“There are plenty of “˜spiritual’ books out there. But most are written by people who have searched and found answers, and who are now reporting those answers to you. But when I was starting out, I would have loved a book by someone still searching and figuring stuff out; still highly skeptical of the things people call “˜spiritual’ but equally skeptical of the skeptics; and still questioning everything along the way. So now I’ve written that book.”
—Jay Michaelson in Enlightenment by Trial and Error.

To mark the release of Jay Michaelson’s new book Enlightenment by Trial and Error, Michaelson, a rabbi, dharma teacher, and queer activist, talks with bestselling writer, TV anchor, and Ten-Percent-Happier advocate Dan Harris about his curiously skeptical exploration of “Jewish spirituality, postmodern Buddhism, and other mystical heresies” and the power that comes from not conforming to any one path in particular.

Jay Michaelson will be signing copies of Enlightenment by Trial and Error after the program.

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About the Speakers

Dan Harris is a co-anchor for Nightline and the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC News, as well as the host of ABC’s 500 Questions. He is also the author of 10% Happier, a #1 New York Times bestselling book about a fidgety, skeptical news anchor who stumbles upon meditation. Recently, Harris launched an app specifically designed to teach meditation to doubters and busy people. With meditation and mindfulness now being embraced by executives, athletes, educators, and entertainers, Harris has become a leading voice in pushing the practice into the mainstream, using plain English and dry humor. Previously, Harris was the anchor of the Sunday edition of World News. He regularly contributes stories on ABC for such shows as 20/20, World News Tonight with David Muir, and the weekday edition of Good Morning America. Harris grew up outside of Boston and currently lives with his wife, Bianca, and their son, Alexander, in New York City. This is his fourth appearance at the Rubin.

Dr. Jay Michaelson is a columnist at the Daily Beast, an affiliated assistant professor at Chicago Theological Seminary, and a teacher at the Ten Percent Happier meditation startup. By day, Jay writes about religion, the Supreme Court, and LGBTQ issues, and he frequently appears on MSNBC and NPR. Also by day, he writes about and teaches meditation, and he is authorized to teach in Theravadan Buddhist and Jewish Renewal communities. He is the author of seven books, from the bestselling God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality to the barely selling Is: Heretical Poems and Blessings. In a previous career, Jay was a professional LGBTQ activist for ten years, and he was included on the Forward 50 list of the most influential American Jews. Before that, he wrote about and taught contemporary spirituality, as a founding editor of Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture and as a columnist for the Forward newspaper. Jay has a JD from Yale Law School, a PhD in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination. His latest book, Enlightenment by Trial and Error: Ten Years on the Slippery Slopes of Jewish Spirituality, Postmodern Buddhism, and other Mystical Heresies, tells a story that is part spiritual memoir and part philosophical investigation—”like Eat Pray Love for a queer, post-millennial cynic who would never read Eat Pray Love.”