What is Life?
Come to Napa this summer to ask seriously. 25% off for readers through May 26.
Friends:
When I heard the words of Pontius Pilate on Good Friday—”What is truth?”—I couldn’t help but thinking that, while his question remains as important as ever—an equally important and interconnected question is: “What is life?” They help answer one another.
They seem almost so basic as to be not worth tackling—so fundamental that they are like hyperproblems which, because they surround us—and because we live them every second— sometimes seem impossible, overwhelming, to confront. So we try not to think too hard about them. That’s a mistake.
I invite you to dive in deeply with me this summer. The ZOË Conference, which I’m hosting with my colleagues at The Cluny Institute this summer in Napa, CA (July 26-28), will dive deeper into the question of life than any other gathering this year. A fitting year, it seems—the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding—to ask, very simply, what kind of life is possible here?
I am offering a special 25% discount to friends and family—namely, readers of this Substack, along with a free signed copy of my upcoming book The One and the Ninety-Nine. Use the discount code “luke1and99” at checkout for either ticket type to activate the discount.
This offer expires May 26, or whenever we’re sold out—whichever comes first.
I will personally give you the book and sign it for you when I see you in Napa. (If you’ve already bought a ticket and subscribe to this Substack, don’t worry—I will do that for you too!)
A new addition to the program: to celebrate the launch of the new book on Girard, Be Not Conformed—which emerged from a previous version of this conference—I’ll be hosting a conversation on René Girard in the age of AI with several special guests. Many more updates below.
The Setting
We chose The Meritage because it functions less like a hotel than a retreat. It sits among the Napa vineyards — quiet, walkable, terraces and gardens that make you slow down without trying. Sessions will move between indoor rooms and outdoor spaces. One evening is held in the resort’s wine cave beneath the hillside. Mornings can begin with movement on the grounds or silent meditation in the cave.
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to step out of the news cycle and into a slower frame for a few days — among people who are reading, building, and praying seriously — this is it.
Who’s Coming
All ticket holders—both General and VIP—will gain access to a mobile app that contains the full line-up, schedule, and networking features so you can connect with other attendees and speakers, set-up meetings, arrange tours of local wineries with fellow guests, or introduce yourself to the group. Access will be available starting May 26.
The lineup so far:
Bryan Johnson — founder of Project Blueprint and Kernel; the man asking whether his is the first generation that won’t die.
Tao Lin — novelist (Leave Society, Trip), one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary American fiction.
Freya India — author of the book GIRLS® and a popular Substack of the same name.
Dana Gioia — former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and former California Poet Laureate. He’ll be reading by the fire on the closing evening.
Catherine Pakaluk — economist and author of Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth, and professor at The Catholic University of America, where she is the Executive Director of The James Cardinal Gibbons Institute for Human Ecology.
Ruxandra Teslo — Cambridge-trained genomicist leading the Clinical Trial Abundance initiative.
Ben Klutsey — Executive Director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason.
Jordan Castro — novelist (Muscle Man, The Novelist) and deputy director of The Cluny Institute.
Victoria Trumbull — Oxford philosopher; her first book, On the Memory of the Soul, comes out from Bloomsbury this October.
Rebecca Lowe — philosopher of freedom; Senior Research Fellow at Mercatus.
Fr. Luke Dysinger, OSB — Benedictine monk and Oxford-trained theologian; teaches biomedical ethics at St. John’s Seminary (and was my teacher there years ago)
Jeff Frank — philosopher of education at St. Lawrence; will lead the closing Foundations of Agency workshop.
Joining them on panels and in conversation: Shadi Hamid, Clay Routledge, Toby Kurth, Thomas Demonchaux, Fr. Mark Roosien, and Fr. Harrison Ayre. A few names and special guests are still to be announced.
I’m glad to have several of my colleagues from CUA joining me, including Catherine Pakaluk, and helping to make this event possible on the opposite coast from our homes.
A few moments to anticipate
The opening-night screening of Dreyer’s Ordet — his luminous meditation on faith, doubt, and the miraculous.
A panel asking whether reproduction alone is enough: Catherine Pakaluk, Shadi Hamid, Ruxandra Teslo, and Clay Routledge in conversation.
A breakout I’ll be leading with Toby Kurth, Rebecca Lowe, and one special guest— Machines, Mimesis, and the Future of Wanting — on desire and agency in the age of AI through the thought of René Girard.
A Hamilton Society debate on technology and human suffering. Full room, no holds barred.
Closing drinks with Dana Gioia reading poetry around a fire.
For VIPs, a dinner in the estate wine cave and breakfast on the vineyard terrace.
Tickets
We’re keeping this small and intentional — closer to a salon than a typical conference.
General Admission — $795 before discount (limited-time introductory price). Full access to all sessions, the welcome reception, the conference app, and post-event recordings.
Founder/VIP — $1,995 before discount, limited in number (only a handful left). Everything in GA plus reserved priority seating, the wine cave dinner, vineyard breakfast, and a follow-up salon with speakers and Cluny leadership after the event.
As a reader of this newsletter, you will receive 25% off with code “luke1and99”
If three days in the Napa hills, with this group of people, sounds like the kind of break you’ve been looking for — I hope you’ll come.
Please write our Events team at admin@cluny.org if we can answer any questions or be of service in any way.
More soon—and thank you, as always, for reading.
Luke
P.S. There’s still one sponsorship slot left at the $10,000 level. You have my assurance that this will be well worth the while of any organization that would like to support ZOË as a partner—not just this summer, but beyond. Please email farren@cluny.org to request a sponsorship package if you’re interested. If that particular level or option doesn’t work for you, we would love to talk about something that does.
P.P.S. I just recorded the audiobook for The One and the Ninety-Nine. It was crazy. The audiobook, like the hardcover, is out June 16—and available for pre-order now.
