The Gravitas Podcast

Ep. 03 - Windows Into the Sacred: Elizabeth Lev on Vatican Art, Contested Popes & Her Own Road

Anna Fata Shemin — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:48:11 GMT

Art isn't merely decoration, it is communication. For centuries, the Catholic Church and other patrons invested fortunes in artists like Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio because art has been such a powerful language across centuries, and it is still the case today.

I sit down with Elizabeth Lev, one of the most notable Vatican art historians of our time. We talk about the responsibility and joy she feels as a guide, why the "warrior pope" Julius II deserves a second look, and what Michelangelo's late-life reckoning with pride and legacy reveals about his soul. We also get into skeptics, Hollywood, museum fatigue, and what gives her life gravitas.

Links from this episode:
🏛️ Book a tour with Elizabeth in Rome: https://www.lizlevtours.com/
💻 Can't make it to Rome? Take a virtual course with Elizabeth: https://mastersgalleryrome.teachable.com/
📚 Read Elizabeth's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004YG6JD8/allbooks
Connect with Elizabeth: X: https://x.com/lizlevrome

Connect with Gravitas: Instagram: @GravitasPodcast X: @annafatashemin Newsletter: annafatashemin.substack.com
Write to me: anna@thegravitaspodcast.com

Ep. 02 - Everybody Inherits Something: Bogumil Baranowski on Money, Mortality & Living a Rich Life

Anna Fata Shemin — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:59:21 GMT

"Old money" is more than a TikTok aesthetic trend. There are real lessons to learn from the families who cultivate generational wealth, and they go far beyond the money.

This week I sit down with Bogumil Baranowski, a Polish-born investor who came to New York to live the American dream and has spent two decades managing wealth for families. He's the author of four books, a TEDx speaker, and the host of the podcasts Talking Billions and co-host of 100 Year Thinkers.

We talk about his childhood in communist Poland and how it influenced his career as an investor and Warren Buffett devotee. We discuss stewardship and how lasting family wealth has less to do with trust funds and more to do with family culture. He also discusses how money is not a prerequisite for living a truly rich life.

Links from this episode:

📚 Read Bogumil Baranowski's books and essays on managing money, wealth, and family legacy: https://bogumilbaranowski.substack.com/

🎙️ Listen to Talking Billions, Bogumil Baranowski's podcast on investing, generational wealth, and living a rich life: https://www.talkingbillions.co/

💼 Learn more about Blue Infinitas Capital, Bogumil's investment advisory firm: https://www.blueinfinitascapital.com/

Connect with Bogumil Baranowski: Website: https://www.bogumilbaranowski.com/

Connect with Gravitas: Instagram: @GravitasPodcast X: @annafatashemin Newsletter: http://annafatashemin.substack.com/

Write to me: anna@thegravitaspodcast.com

Ep. 01 - A Reason to Sing: Mary Beth Nelson Zaros on Opera, Art & Motherhood | The Gravitas Podcast

Anna Fata Shemin — Tue, 12 May 2026 06:38:17 GMT

Welcome to the very first episode of The Gravitas Podcast! Join me in entering other people’s worlds to explore what gives their lives substance, meaning and purpose.

Our inaugural guest is Mary Beth Nelson Zaros, a mezzo-soprano who makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York this week in El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego. But what she finds even more meaningful is her new role as mother to her four-month-old daughter.

We talk about doubt, discipline, beauty, Frida Kahlo, the beauty of motherhood. And of course, what gives life gravitas.

Links from this episode:

🎟 Tickets to El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego at the Metropolitan Opera: https://www.metopera.org/season/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/

🎬 Can't make it to New York? The Metropolitan Opera offers cinema transmissions throughout the year. The live performance of El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide on May 30: https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/

🖼 Inspired by Frida? See the El Último Sueño collaboration exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5882

Connect with Mary Beth: Instagram: @marybethnelsonzaros Website: marybethnelsonzaros.com

Connect with Gravitas: Instagram: @GravitasPodcast X: @annafatashemin Newsletter: annafatashemin.substack.com/

Write to me: anna@thegravitaspodcast.com

If this conversation resonated with you, share it with someone who you think drives the world.

The Gravitas Podcast - Official Trailer

Anna Fata Shemin — Mon, 11 May 2026 23:11:09 GMT

After WWII, the decorated American war photographer Slim Aarons was done photographing destruction. He decided to dedicate his life to photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places. His photography is iconic but what he missed is far more interesting to me. What did they believe in, what drove them, what made their lives feel meaningful?

I’ve spent my career moving between diplomacy, nonprofits, Church and business.

And the most interesting people I meet in any of those arenas always have one thing in common.

They have a bigger why.

Not just a career or collecting accomplishments. But something deeper driving everything. A sense of vocation, of beauty, of responsibility to something larger than themselves. And that quality makes the way they live their lives reflect its true meaning and weight.

My name is Anna Fata Shemin and this is Gravitas. I interview meaningful people doing meaningful things in meaningful places.

Each episode I sit down with someone accomplished, from diplomats and business leaders to artists and thinkers, and ask them the question at the heart of everything.

What gives your life gravitas?

Season 1 begins May 12th. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.

Keep in touch by joining my newsletter: http://annafatashemin.substack.com/

And you can always write me directly at anna@thegravitaspodcast.com

Thank you for being here.