This week on the show, we’re sharing stories from our second reporting trip to Israel. Former First Lady of Israel Lihi Lapid joins us to discuss her newly translated novel, On Her Own, about two Israeli families in crisis, as well as finding a way through the Jewish state’s present crises. Jon Polin shares his experience advocating for the return of his son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, nearly 200 days after he was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. And we visit Tel Aviv’s Social Grocery Store, a food p...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 406
This week on Unorthodox, we’re hoping the Jewish James Bond rumours are true. Plus, interviews with three awesome Jews: Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, joins us to talk about his new cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People, which includes a very special kugel recipe. He also talks about how his Jewish identity inspires his inquisitive approach to food and storytelling. Highlights include a recipe. Podcaster and writer Zibby Owens returns to tell us a...
Mar 28, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 405
This week on the show, we are all about Shabbat. First, we’re sharing the latest installment of Beautifully Jewish, in which Stephanie Butnick and Tanya Singer explore all the beauty of Shabbat with the help of Adeena Sussman, author of the new cookbook, Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, and AHYIN Judaica designer Micaela Ezra. We’re also showcasing our newest Tablet Studios podcast, Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally with Sivan Rahav-Meir. Each week, Israeli journalist a...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 404
This week on the show, we refuse to refute. Phil Rosenthal of Somebody Feed Phil returns to the show to discuss his new children’s book, Just Try It!, which he co-wrote with his daughter Lily. (You can listen to Phil’s previous Unorthodox interviews here and here.) Eric Cohen and Abe Unger introduce their new school, Emet Classical Academy, set to open this fall, which they describe as the nation’s first Jewish classical school. Rabbi Meni Even-Israel talks about leading the Steinsaltz Center, w...
Mar 14, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 403
This week on Unorthodox, we can’t believe we missed YentaCon. Our first guest is director Andrew Goldberg, whose new PBS documentary Armenia, My Home uncovers some of the parallels between Armenian and Jewish life. We also speak with Eylon Levy, official spokesman for the Israeli government. He joined us to talk about manning the war’s digital front, and his viral interview on British TV, aka “the eyebrow incident.” The version of “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” you heard was by our friends at Yidcore....
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 402
Unorthodox is off this week, but today we're sharing an episode from the Tablet podcast What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead This week, Walter and Jeremy talk Putin endorsing Biden, Putin dissing Tucker Carlson, Trump dissing NATO, and Biden stumbling in the Middle East.
Feb 29, 2024•30 min
Unorthodox is off this week, but today we're sharing an episode from Jewish Priorities: Life After 10/7, a 6-part series of panels taken from a live event hosted by Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History last October. This discussion focused on the charged rhetoric we’re seeing within the Jewish community during the war in Israel and features Rabbi Shlomo Elkan, Jodi Rudoren, and Rabbi David Wolpe, with moderators Stephanie Butnick and Lie...
Feb 27, 2024•51 min
This week on Unorthodox, we won’t be hitting the slopes in Switzerland. Our Jewish guest this week is Ted Deutch, former U.S. Congressman and current CEO of the American Jewish Committee. He joins us to talk about the AJC’s new Report on the State of Antisemitism in America. Plus, to mark the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, producer Quinn Waller visits an unexpected school in South Brooklyn that is making America feel like home for some of the war’s youngest refugees. We also share a...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 401
This week on Unorthodox, we’re kashering the FIESTA dishware. Our Jewish guest this week is Neta Ariel, director of the Maaleh School of Film and Television in Jerusalem. She shares how her film students are working to raise awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza. Our Gentile of the Week is Dr. Phil. He joins us to talk about his new television network as well as his new book, We’ve Got Issues: How You Can Stand Strong for America's Soul and Sanity, and offers our hosts some advice for ta...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 400
This week on Unorthodox, we’re regretting doing those DNA tests. Our Gentile of the Week is NBA All-Star and former New York Knick Allan Houston, who shares his new faith-based initiative, FISLL. He was joined by FISLL Youth Ambassador, Jewish teen Nate Sugar, to discuss their work. We also welcome Richard Sandler to discuss his new book, Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken. Sandler was Milken’s personal lawyer and the book chronicles the injustices of the investigation. Write t...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 399
This week on Unorthodox, we’re all about the two-strain solution. We talk to Jewish actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano on the HBO show, The Sopranos. She tells us about her experience on the hit show, and everything she’s been up to in the 25 years since. We also share another story from our Israel trip: producer Elie Bleier takes Tanya Singer to his favorite hummus joint and makes the case that one of their dishes might truly bring peace to the Middle east. Write to us at unor...
Feb 01, 2024•47 min•Ep. 398
This week on Unorthodox, we’re devoting the episode to stories of remembrance. We share a teaser from Covering Their Tracks, a new Tablet Studios series that tells the story of the French National Railway’s complicity with the Nazis during WWII, and a decades-long pursuit of justice. We sat down with host and documentarian Matthew Slutsky to discuss the show. Our Gentile of the Week is Kathryn Huether, a professor of musicology at Vanderbilt who studies sonic representations of the Holocaust. Pl...
Jan 25, 2024•56 min•Ep. 397
It’s been more than 100 days since Hamas massacred more than 1,300 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more into Gaza. To commemorate this grim milestone, we are pausing our regular programming to honor those who were killed that day and those still being held captive. We’re sharing stories reported from Israel and segments from our Testimonies Archive. List of hostage names courtesy of BringThemHomeNow.org. Write to us at [email protected], or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 57...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 396
This week on Unorthodox, we’re trading Shia LaBeouf for Alanis Morrisette. Our Jewish guest is comedian and podcaster Moshe Kasher, who tells us about his new book, Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes—especially the Jewish stuff. We’re also sharing another story from our December trip to Israel, about Blend.ar, a nonprofit Arabic and Hebrew-language program that connects Jewish and Arab Israelis. Listen to the Testimonies Archive for more eyewitness audio accounts from Israel, and read Ta...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 395
This week on Unorthodox, it’s our final episode of 2023. We bring you the latest installment of The Archive, our series exploring the collection of the National Library of Israel. This one is all about Franz Kafka: his feelings on Zionism, his attempts to learn Hebrew, and the tangled web in which his manuscripts were trapped. Then, we hear from Israeli historian and political commentator Gadi Taub about his new video podcast, Israel Update, which he hosts alongside the Hudson Institute’s Michae...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 394
This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. On Friday, Tanya Singer delivers the fruits of the Beautifully Jewish Craft-Along, bringing handknit hats to IDF soldiers, crocheted dolls to hospitalized children, and handmade cards to Israelis across the country. Along the way, she encounters all sorts of crafters and creators, and reveals the common threads of resilience and generosity that make the tapestry of the Jewish people so strong. For information about all the individ...
Dec 22, 2023•24 min
This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. On Thursday, we meet some of the non-Jews who make up the Jewish state. We visit El Masar Elementary School in Daliyat El Carmel and speak with Druze students, parents, and teachers affected by the war. We also meet Tareq Nassar and Mona Suliman of the Sinsila Center Beekeeping Project in East Jerusalem, which encourages Muslim women to cultivate profitable and climate-friendly beehives on their rooftops. Plus, a special visit to ...
Dec 21, 2023•45 min
This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we catch up with cookbook author Adeena Sussman and take a trip to the Shuk HaCarmel, southern Tel Aviv’s famous open-air market, to get a taste of how Israel’s famed food scene has been impacted by Oct. 7 (and, of course, sample the delicious local wares). For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael. For more eyewitness ac...
Dec 20, 2023•40 min
This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we visit Roy Shimshon at his dog sanctuary in Moshav Tidhar in Southern Israel, where he is caring for nearly 100 dogs, most of whom have been separated from their owners since Oct. 7. His story gives voice to those who can’t speak for themselves: The animals left behind when their owners were killed, kidnapped, or displaced from their homes. For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and...
Dec 19, 2023•36 min
This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we head to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities most brutally attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. Liel, Josh, and Tablet’s Armin Rosen meet up with Chen Kotler, a lifelong Kfar Aza resident, who shows them the devastation firsthand. For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael. For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen t...
Dec 18, 2023•57 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re sharing nine stories of Jewish light during a time when it’s never felt more necessary. Liel brings us a reminder of the true spirit of Hanukkah. We share reflections from attendees and vendors at Tablet’s first Hanukkah Bazaar on how this year’s Hanukkah feels more important than ever. Producer Elie Bleier brings us a story from a makeshift army base near the Gaza Border, where Israeli civilians from across the country traveled to make IDF soldiers a surprising pi...
Dec 14, 2023•57 min•Ep. 393
This week on Unorthodox, we’re coming to you live from Baltimore, where we appeared at the 2023 Conservative/Masorti Shabbaton & Convening. We’re also sharing a new Beautifully Jewish segment for Hanukkah, featuring designer Jonathan Adler, Gabriel Goldstein of the Yeshiva University Museum, and a trip to visit Ahuva Gottdeiner, aka Homegrown Kosher, in Monsey, NY. For more Beautifully Jewish, join our new Facebook group. Listen to the Testimonies Archive for more eyewitness audio accounts from ...
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 392
This week on Unorthodox, we’re rooting for the heroes. Our Jewish guest is philosopher and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy, who returns to the show to tell us about the newest film in his Ukraine trilogy, called Glory to the Heroes. The film is a tribute to everyday Ukrainian heroes, including some Ukrainian-born Israeli soldiers who finished their service in the IDF and volunteered to fight for Ukraine. Get tickets for the local U.S. screenings here. Our Gentile of the Week is Brooke Eby. She was ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 391
Today, we’re bringing Unorthodox listeners a special Beautifully Jewish Thanksgiving. Beautifully Jewish is a monthly audio series on Unorthodox that explores Jewish material culture, the ritual objects that inspire us, and the people who make them. On today’s segment, hosts Stephanie Butnick and Tanya Singer celebrate an unexpectedly significant object: the folding chair. You’ll also get an update on the Beautifully Jewish craft-along for Israel and hear from Israeli knitwear designer Inbal Gro...
Nov 22, 2023•25 min•Ep. 390
Dark times call for bright lights, and we’re excited to announce Tablet’s Hanukkah Bazaar, taking place Sunday, Dec. 3 in New York City, featuring 40+ amazing vendors. Find out more at hanukkahbazaar.com. Today we head Across the Jew.S.A to Washington D.C., for a special dispatch from this week’s March for Israel. We also talk with Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Known for his short story collections, he’s pivoted in the weeks since the Oct. 7 attacks and is channeling his energy and talents toward ...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 389
This week on Unorthodox, we talk with writer and political advisor Dan Senor about his new book, The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World (a follow up to his 2011 book, Startup Nation, also co-written with Saul Singer). This interview will also air on Senor’s podcast Call Me Back. We also speak with Gila Sacks, daughter of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who joins us to talk about what her father might have said about the present moment. Join o...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 388
This week on Unorthodox, we’re continuing our travels Across the JEW.S.A. We head to Miami, where newer communities are redefining Jewish life in Florida. Across the JEW.S.A. is created with the support of the Jewish Federations of North America. You can catch up on some of the other stops we’ve made at tabletmag.com/jewsa. We’re also sharing highlights from the Jewish Priorities conference that Liel and Stephanie moderated at The Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. The c...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 387
This week on Unorthodox, a mixup with a third (reich) party vendor. We speak with Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or, who you may remember from the show Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. She moved to the United States just weeks ago, and gives us her perspective on the war as an Israeli living abroad. You can donate to the Israel Reservist Fund that Or started at: www.israelreservistfund.com. Ani Wilcenski, Tablet’s audience editor, helps us make sense of the social media landscape since the war in Israel ...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 386
This week on Unorthodox, we’re processing our emotions about the war on Israel alongside our listeners. We talk with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, host of the podcast Good Faith Effort, about turning to Jewish law and ethics for insight on how to deal with a dark and violent moment. Our second guest this week is the actress Lisa Edelstein. She joins us to discuss her newest project, the PBS series Little Bird, as well as her experience as a Jewish actress in Hollywood. Listen to the Testimonies Archive fo...
Oct 19, 2023•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 385
Today on Unorthodox, we’re welcoming Shabbat after a painful week. Rabbi Diana Fersko walks us through the basics of Shabbat, and shares additional prayers we can incorporate into our practice on this particular week. Host emeritus Mark Oppenheimer returns to dispense some corduroy wisdom as we navigate this unprecedented moment, and Liel shares some levity with an unexpected account of how one Jewish mother outwitted her Hamas captives. Listen to the Testimonies Archive for more eyewitness audi...
Oct 13, 2023•22 min•Ep. 384
