JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 25

“I thought of the rabbi 
immediately,” Gurri says. 
Goldson, a self-proclaimed 
“hitchhiking rabbi,” has host-
ed a TEDx Talk and works 
with leaders to create ethical 
business cultures. “He is a guy 
who is unusual for a rabbi 
because he’s very Orthodox 
now, but he wasn’t raised that 
way. He’s never short of stories 
[to tell].”
Gurri called “the good 
rabbi,” as she refers to her 
co-host, and asked him to 
“say yes” before popping the 
question to join the podcast 
project. Luckily, he said yes 
and dived right in. 
Officially launched in 
December 2020, The Rabbi 
and The Shrink releases epi-
sodes weekly, with the excep-
tion of a few weeks skipped 
for Jewish holidays, now see-
ing nearly 50 episodes.
Each episode features a dif-
ferent topic and guest speaker, 
which range all the way from 
Grammy award-winning 
pianists to convicted felons 
leading the charge for prison 
reform, all focusing on one 
common goal: to “unscript” 
everyday ethics, making them 
easy to understand.

ENCOURAGING 
CONSTRUCTIVE 
DIALOGUE
“One of the things that really 
makes [the podcast] work is 
that we’re able to model how 
to have conversations with 
people who are different,” 
Rabbi Goldson says. “We’re 
not in lockstep on all of our 
ideas, and that’s the point.”
Gurri says she and Goldson 
decided to add guests to the 
podcast in addition to their 
own perspectives on ethics 
because they “liked the dis-
agreement.” 
“It’s been a really interesting 
ride for us,” she explains. “It’s 
fun and we’re learning.” 
In selecting guests to invite 

on the show, Gurri and 
Goldson seek out people who 
are ethical, but most impor-
tantly, “making an impact.”
The podcast co-hosts say 
their audience varies, since 
ethics can be appreciated by 
just about anyone and touch 
all corners of business and life. 
To continue helping people 
learn constructive ethical hab-
its, Gurri and Goldson also 
have plans to host quarterly 
virtual summits. The date for 
the first summit is still being 
confirmed, though the hope is 
for it to take place this spring.

CREATING A 
“GRAY ZONE”
“We want to be the rallying 
point for people to be able 
to have these fun and safe 
conversations where they can 
update their values, update 
their skills and get more com-
fortable,” Gurri says, “while 
maneuvering complicated 
ethics.”
Goldson, who is also the 
author of Grappling With The 
Gray, an ethical handbook 
for personal success, connects 
ethics to a gray zone, rather 
than something that’s black or 
white — another important 
building block of both the 
podcast and upcoming virtual 
ethics summits.
With each episode, The 
Rabbi and The Shrink 
co-hosts are learning some-
thing new about the podcast 
business and shaping their 
vision for the future of the 
program. They’re receiving 
input from listeners that helps 
them identify what their audi-
ence wants and how to make 
it happen.
“We’re excited about hav-
ing a chance to really make a 
difference,” Gurri says. “We’re 
very similar in that.” 

To listen to the podcast, visit https://

therabbiandtheshrink.buzzsprout.com.

