Josh Frank is the author of Fool The World: The Oral History of the Band Called Pixies, In Heaven Everything Is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers, The Good Inn, a novel co-written with Pixies’ frontman Black Francis, and Giraffes on Horseback Salad, a graphic novel adaptation of an unmade Marx Brothers movie penned by Salvador Dalí. He also built, owns, and operates the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In movie theatre in Austin, Texas. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel...
May 27, 2024•41 min•Ep. 54
Stan Zimmerman is a writer, producer, and director best known for his writing on The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and The Gilmore Girls. Stan wrote for both Brady Bunch movies, co-created the Lifetime sitcom Rita Rocks, and has written and directed a variety of theater productions. He also has a new memoir, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Stan’s IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0956785/ Stan’s website https://www.zi...
May 20, 2024•28 min•Ep. 53
Jason Kravits is an actor and writer whose credits include The Practice, Law & Order, Everybody Loves Raymond, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, The Goldbergs, and many more. An Accomplished voice actor, he can be heard as Michael Bloomberg and Alan Dershowitz in the political satire series Our Cartoon President, among other animated projects. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Jason’s IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm00...
May 13, 2024•23 min•Ep. 54
Dalilah Bernier is the director of teen initiatives for Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Coalition of Jewish Learning. She's the co-creator of the educational program “The Torah of Taylor Swift,” which uses the pop star as a way into Jewish texts. The Torah of Taylor Swift https://www.jewishchronicle.org/2023/09/19/torah-and-taylor-swift/ Teen Philanthropy – Milwaukee Jewish Federation https://www.milwaukeejewish.org/departments/outreach/teens/ Subscribe to the Amusing Jews podcast https://www.spre...
May 06, 2024•26 min•Ep. 51
Matt Singer is editor and film critic at ScreenCrush and current chair of the New York Film Critics Circle. He’s the author of Marvel’s Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular – The Definitive Comic Art Collection and a new book, Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Matt’s website https://www.matt-singer.net/ Opposable Thumbs https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710246/opposable-thu...
Apr 29, 2024•43 min•Ep. 50
Nina Paley is a cartoonist, animator, and free culture advocate. She’s best known for her 2008 animated feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, based on the Ramayana, and her 2018 animated feature, Seder-Masochism, a jukebox musical recounting the Exodus, the eradication of goddess worship, and the rise of patriarchy. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Joey Angel-Field Seder-Masochism https://vimeo.com/263398514 Copyright is Brain Damage – TEDx https://www.youtube...
Apr 25, 2024•27 min
Nancy Pearlman is an award-winning broadcaster and environmentalist who has dedicated her career to protecting the planet’s ecosystems. She organized the first Earth Day in Southern California in 1970, has hosted the Environmental Directions radio show since 1977, and has produced the ECONEWS television program since 1984. She also directs the nonprofit Educational Communications. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Nancy’s website https://nancypear...
Apr 22, 2024•35 min
Eva Bilick is an actor, writer, and producer behind the 2020 podcast series A Place Called Fairneck and the 2018 web series Weird in Bed. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Eva’s website https://www.evabilick.com/ A Place Called Fairneck https://www.evabilick.com/podcast Weird in Bed https://www.evabilick.com/web-series Subscribe to the Amusing Jews podcast https://www.spreaker.com/show/amusing-jews Adat Chaverim – Congregation for Humanistic Judai...
Apr 15, 2024•21 min•Ep. 49
Eric Glickman is a cartoonist who spent 36 years in advertising before switching gears and becoming an art educator. His new graphic memoir, Camp Pock-a-Wocknee and the Dyn-O-Mite Summer of ’77, reveals what really happened at Jewish summer camp and comes with a warning: “This is NOT a book for kids.” Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Eric’s website https://www.ericstevenglickman.com/ Camp Pock-a-Wocknee & The Dyn-O-Mite Summer of ’77 https://...
Apr 08, 2024•31 min•Ep. 48
Andrew Burt is a poet, author, and lawyer whose writings have appeared in the New York Times, LA Times, Slate, The Atlantic, Politico, Harvard Business Review, and other publications. He’s the author of American Hysteria: The Untold Story of Mass Political Extremism in the United States and a new book, Poems for a Cartoon Mouse. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Andrew’s website https://www.andrewburt.net/ Poems for a Cartoon Mouse https://www.ben...
Apr 01, 2024•26 min•Ep. 47
Marc Scott Zicree is a science fiction author, screenwriter, and producer who’s written hundreds of hours of TV programs for most of the major studios and networks. His credits include, among many others, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Super Friends, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and The Smurfs. His new sci-fi series, Space Command, is currently in production. He’s also the bestselling writer of The Twilight Zone Companion, the Magic Time trilogy...
Mar 25, 2024•47 min•Ep. 46
Susan Ryan is a Beatles expert and proprietor and tour guide of Fab 4 NYC Walking Tours, which visits New York City sites related to the group. Her writing has appeared in Daytrippin’ Magazine, the London Beatles Fan Club Magazine, Newsbeat, REBEAT Magazine, Humanistic Judaism Magazine, and other publications. She’s also a co-author of the 2021 book The Beatles: Fab Four Cities: Liverpool - Hamburg - London - New York, and co-host of the travel DVD John Lennon’s New York. Co-hosts: Jonathan Frie...
Mar 18, 2024•23 min•Ep. 45
Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield are the co-editors of a new book, This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity. Oren is assistant director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice and assistant professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. Ariella is associate director of the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History and special advisor on antisemitism at Temple University. Co-hosts: Jonathan ...
Mar 11, 2024•56 min•Ep. 44
Josh Tuininga is an author, illustrator, and musician whose debut graphic novel, We Are Not Strangers, follows his grandfather’s efforts to help his Japanese American neighbors who were incarcerated during World War II. Josh is also the founder and creative director of the design firm, The Medium, has two children’s books, Why Blue? and Dream On, and makes music with his wife in the duo, To the River. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Josh’s websi...
Mar 04, 2024•22 min•Ep. 43
Ari Ashkenazi was a professor of art at Cal State Los Angeles from 1972 to 1991. He took a disability leave due to the onset of blindness, earned a certificate in rehabilitation teaching for the blind, received ordination as a Zen Buddhist monk, and worked with AIDS patients who experienced blindness as a result of their illness. He is the author three memoirs: The Skeptic: Jews, Zen, and Blindness; About My Dog: Guide Dog Training at The Seeing Eye; and Mitzvah: A Memoir about Zen, Judaism, Pai...
Feb 26, 2024•31 min•Ep. 42
Wendy Heimann is co-founder and managing partner of Nolan Heimann, an intellectual property and strategic planning law firm for creative thinkers and business makers. She specializes in the location-based, experiential, and immersive entertainment industry. Host: Jonathan Friedmann Producer-Engineer: Mike Tomren Nolan Heimann https://www.nolanheimann.com/ Themed Entertainment Association https://www.teaconnect.org/ Crinoline https://crinolinetheband.com/home Klingon Tamburlaine https://www.holly...
Feb 19, 2024•33 min•Ep. 41
Howard Teman is a world-renowned tattooist and poster artist who has a series of lithographs depicting pop culture icons from film, television, music, comedy, sports, and more. He designed t-shirts for bands like Bon Jovi, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Cypress Hill, and can be heard playing piano and percussion on the Guns N’ Roses albums Lies and Use Your Illusion II. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Howard’s website https://howardteman.com/ Meet Howard T...
Feb 12, 2024•24 min•Ep. 40
Jennifer Laderman and Jed Laderman are the daughter and son of television and film writer and producer Fred Laderman, known professionally as Fred Ladd, who was responsible for introducing anime to the Americas. Ladd adapted Astro Boy, Gigantor, Kimba the White Lion, Sailor Moon, and other Japanese animated series for English-language television. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Fred Ladd’s IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0480456/ Interview with...
Feb 05, 2024•35 min•Ep. 37
Dustin Ellis is an animation writer and producer whose career began at Warner Bros. Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and Universal Cartoons. He’s best known for the holiday special Babak & Friends: A First Norooz and the PBS series Mixed Nutz. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Dustin’s IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254813/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Babak & Friends – A First Norooz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed4VeXx7_tU Mixed Nutz –...
Jan 29, 2024•24 min•Ep. 38
Gary Lassin is the founder and curator of the Stoogeum in Ambler, Pennsylvania—the only Three Stooges museum in the United States. Gary has been president of the Three Stooges Fan Club since 1986, and is the author of a new book, A Tour de Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren A Tour de Farce https://stoogeum.com/book/ The Stoogeum https://stoogeum.com/ The Three Stooges Fan Club https://st...
Jan 22, 2024•24 min•Ep. 37
EC Comics, Censorship, and The Unwanted – with historian Robert L. Reiner Robert L. Reiner writes about, curates, and exhibits original comic and fantasy illustration art with a focus on popular culture, censorship, and social change. His new book, The Unwanted, is an illustrated adaptation of a previously unpublished Otto Binder story, written in 1953. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren The Unwanted https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/robert...
Jan 15, 2024•40 min•Ep. 36
Artist Katie Herzog is a ranch owner and descendent of German Jewish cattle traders who established a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley over 150 years ago that is still in production today. Her artwork is found in numerous collections, including The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, and the Tom of Finland Foundation. She’s been written about in publications such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Po...
Jan 08, 2024•25 min•Ep. 35
Graig Kreindler is an artist known for his oil paintings depicting baseball. His work has appeared in nationally distributed books, newspapers, and magazines, including the United States Postal Service book Play Ball! His paintings hang in the Bob Feller Museum, the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, and many other public and private collections. He’s a recipient of the Norman Rockwell Museum Award, the Illustration Award from the Society o...
Jan 02, 2024•34 min•Ep. 34
Fred Agree is a resident of Alaska and the first Jew to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Fred’s Iditarod bib and other ephemera from the 1984 and 1985 races are on display at the Alaska Jewish Museum in Anchorage. He also designed the Alaska license plate for Iditarod finishers. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Faces of Iditarod https://faces.iditarod.com/fred-agree/ Iditarod Finisher’s License Plate https://iditarod.com/where-did-the-o...
Dec 26, 2023•17 min•Ep. 33
Kathi Diamant is a broadcaster, author, professor, and director of the Kafka Project at San Diego State University. Her book, Kafka's Last Love: The Mystery of Dora Diamant, has been translated into several languages. More recently, she authored Heart of the Zoo: How San Diego Zoo Director Chuck Bieler Earned His Stripes. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Kathi’s website https://kathidiamant.sdsu.edu/ Kafka Project https://kafka.sdsu.edu/ Kafka’s ...
Dec 18, 2023•26 min•Ep. 32
Mastaneh Moghadam is a filmmaker, licensed clinical social worker, and executive director of the non-profit Cross Cultural Expressions. She wrote and directed the film The Djinn in the Pen (2020) and wrote the screenplay for Wake Up Sleeping Beauty (2023). Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-Engineer: Mike Tomren IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1886346/?ref_=nmfm_nmfm_nm Cross Cultural Expressions https://cceccc.org/ The Djinn in the Pen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
Dec 11, 2023•26 min•Ep. 31
Amanda Dell is program director of the Jewish Food Society, a non-profit organization that works to preserve, celebrate, and revitalize Jewish culinary heritage from around the world. She also hosts the Jewish Food Society’s podcast, Schmaltzy. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Jewish Food Society https://www.jewishfoodsociety.org/ Schmaltzy podcast https://www.jewishfoodsociety.org/podcast Getting Schmaltzy with Amanda Dell https://heritageradion...
Dec 04, 2023•27 min•Ep. 30
Trina Robbins is a pioneer underground cartoonist and comics herstorian who has been writing comics, graphic novels, and books for nearly half a century. She was the first woman artist to draw a Wonder Woman comic, created the teenage superheroine Go Girl!, and has written numerous books on women in the comic book industry, including the illustrated biography, Lily Renée, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer. Her latest books are Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the...
Nov 27, 2023•19 min
In 1971, Steve Capper was one of five wisecracking friends called the Waldos who originated the term 420 at San Rafael High School in Marin County, California. He now runs the website, 420waldos.com, documenting the history and cultural influence of the 420 phenomenon. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren 420 Waldos - website https://420waldos.com/ Forbes – feature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JKN5ySFkIA High Times - feature https://hightimes.com...
Nov 20, 2023•22 min•Ep. 28
Larry Kuperman is director of business development at Nightdive Studios, which acquires, updates, and re-releases classic video games for modern platforms. Previously, he was business development manager at GameStop, where he acquired new PC game titles for the company’s electronic software distribution platform. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Nightdive Studios - website https://www.nightdivestudios.com/ Nightdive Studios – YouTube https://www....
Nov 13, 2023•23 min•Ep. 27
