In today’s episode, we meet Mark Peres, author of the book and the podcast by the same name, “On Life and Meaning,” a collection of 100 essays inspired by the 100 guests who appeared on the podcast he hosted for 100 continuous weeks between 2017 and 2019.

Guests who appeared on the podcast and who are featured in the essays include artists, writers, philosophers, civic leaders, consultants, executives, entrepreneurs, religious leaders, innovators, creators and more. Mark talked with them about their work, life and higher purposes, because as he says, the heart of the project was “the notion that we all want to know and be known.”

Mark saw the podcast as “an art installation: a gallery of portraits of people making a difference in the world.” The book is a gallery, too, with stunning black and white photos of the guests and essays about what makes their hopes and dreams and lives, special.

We start the show with an audio clip from the first episode of the On Life and Meaning Podcast and then a short read by Mark from his essay about that episode, where he discusses the mission of the podcast and ultimately, the book.