Our annual fundraiser is underway, and this year we’re upping the stakes: for every $100 you donate, you’ll be entered to win a mystery gift box curated by Stephanie, Mark, or Liel. Donate at tabletm.ag/mysterybox, and thank you for your support. Our Jew of the Week is Ilana Horwitz, who teaches the sociology of religion and education at Tulane. She joins us to talk about her new book, God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion's Surprising Impact on Academic Success. Our gentile of the week is Austr...
Aug 18, 2022•48 min•Ep. 329
This week on Unorthodox, we’re kicking off our annual fundraiser and upping the stakes: for every $100 you donate, you’ll be entered to win a mystery gift box curated by Stephanie, Mark, or Liel. Donate at tabletm.ag/mysterybox. Abby Pogrebin returns to the show to tell us about the latest installment of The Minyan, her roundtable interview series for Tablet. She spoke with 10 Orthodox women about their identities and experiences and shares some of that conversation, and the insights it inspired...
Aug 11, 2022•50 min•Ep. 328
This week on Unorthodox, we’re getting serious. It’s Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. (Read more about it here.) Our Jewish guest is Rebecca Soffer of Modern Loss, who returns to the show tell us about her new book, The Modern Loss Handbook: An interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience. Our Gentile of the Week is Walter Russell Mead, who joins us to discuss his new book, The Arc of a Covenant: The Un...
Aug 04, 2022•53 min•Ep. 327
This week on Unorthodox, we’re melting down. To beat the heat, we’re bringing you interviews with two very cool Jews. First we talk to singer songwriter Lisa Loeb, who has been entertaining music lovers of all ages since her breakout 1994 hit “Stay.” She shares how her childhood love of summer camp inspired her “Camp Lisa” record and foundation, plus she tells us about her eyewear collection and the similarities she’s discovered between performing for toddlers and drunk adults. Our second guest ...
Jul 28, 2022•57 min•Ep. 326
This week on Unorthodox: ‘Funny Girl’ casting shakeups, letters from camp, and more. Our Jewish guest this week is Michael Uslan, who produced the Batman films. He talks with us about comic books as literature, and what makes Batman different from other superheroes. Our Gentile of the Week is Iranian-American comedian and “Fake the Nation” podcast host Negin Farsad. She tells us about being mistaken for a Jew and shares her upcoming projects. We want to hear from you! Take our listener survey an...
Jul 21, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 325
This week on Unorthodox, we’re wishing you a hearty ‘Shalom yellow.’ Our first Jew of the Week is Mike Pesca, host of the long-running daily podcast “The Gist,” which he recently relaunched independently. He tells us what podcasts he’s listening to, why it’s important to talk to people you disagree with, and about his childhood as a self-described ‘pizza bagel’ (half Jewish, half Italian). Our second Jew of the Week is Argentinian journalist Javier Sinay, author of the newly translated book, The...
Jul 14, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 324
This week on Unorthodox, we’re packing our trunks and heading to summer camp. Our Jew of the Week is Meredith Shiner, host of our forthcoming Tablet Studios podcast about Jews and sports. She joins us today to discuss the new Sandy Koufax statue at Dodger Stadium, which was unveiled during Shabbat. Stay tuned for more about Meredith’s show, which launches this fall. Our Gentile of the Week is Swami Tyagananda, a teacher at the Vedanta Center in Boston and Hindu chaplain at MIT and Harvard, who w...
Jun 30, 2022•58 min•Ep. 323
This week on Unorthodox, bubbe or buh-bye? Our Jew of the Week is Zachary Noah Piser, the new star of Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen. He joins us to talk about his experience taking over the title role in the show—which ends its Broadway run this fall—and his Jewish-Asian identity. We hear from friend of the show Abigail Pogrebin about her new Tablet project, The Minyan, a series of roundtable discussions about the state of the Jewish community in America from a variety of perspectives. She shares ...
Jun 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 322
This week on Unorthodox, we’re digging in. Benedetta Guetta, author of the new cookbook, Cooking alla Giudia, joins us to discuss the fascinating—and delicious—culinary history of the Jews of Italy. We learn that Jews are responsible for bringing the orecchiette pasta shape to Italy, that Jews taught Italians how to cook eggplant, and that the Jews of Italy made kosher prosciutto using goose (here’s her recipe). Barry Levenson tells us about the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI, which th...
Jun 16, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 321
This week on Unorthodox, three of our favorite guests return to the show to tell us about their latest projects. First we visit Philadelphia restaurateurs Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook at their new Brooklyn restaurant Laser Wolf, a shipudiya, or Israeli skewer house, named for the butcher in Fiddler on the Roof. You can listen to our 2019 road trip to Philadelphia, where we spoke to Solomonov and Cook at their restaurant Zahav, on Episode 204. Tablet columnist James Kirchick also returns to the ...
Jun 09, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 320
Today we are sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This final week is all about queenliness, and majesty.
Jun 05, 2022•43 min
Today we are sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This sixth week is all about connection and foundation.
May 29, 2022•41 min
This week, we present our fifth-annual Conversion Episode. Each year on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, we read the Book of Ruth, which tells the story of the first convert to Judaism. To celebrate Ruth and all the Jews by choice since then, we’re sharing three deeply personal stories about the path to becoming Jewish. First we hear from our associate producer Quinn Waller, who is in the process of converting. Despite all her learning and studying, she is still dogged by feelings of inauthenticit...
May 26, 2022•59 min•Ep. 319
Today we are sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This fifth week is all about endurance and perseverance.
May 22, 2022•41 min
This week, we’re back together, and totally off the wall. We’re airing the interviews from our live show in Virginia Beach, hosted by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Our Jew of the Week is Congresswoman Elaine Luria, who represents Virginia's Second Congressional District. She tells us about her 20-year career in the Navy; being a fourth-generation Jewish Alabaman before moving to Virginia; and hosting a Passover Seder on an aircraft carrier. Our Gentile of the Week is NFL Hall of Fam...
May 19, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 318
Today we are sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This fourth week is all about Netzach, or endurance and perseverance.
May 15, 2022•38 min
This week, we’re deep dishing about Licorice Pizza. Our Jew of the week is actress, neuroscientist, and Jeopardy! co-host Mayim Bialik, who makes her directorial debut with the “very, very Jewish” film As They Made Us. Mayim wrote the film, about a woman coming to terms with her father’s decline and death, at the end of the traditional Jewish year of mourning following her own father’s death in 2015. She tells us about the film’s casting (Dustin Hoffman and Candace Bergen play the parents to Gle...
May 12, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 317
Today we’re sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This third week is all about Tipheret, or discipline and harmony.
May 08, 2022•38 min
This week, we’re celebrating motherhood: the messy, the funny, the sad, and the profound. First, an interview with Jewish Fertility Foundation’s Elana Frank, host of the podcast Fruitful and Multiplying. Then we talk to comedian Ester Steinberg about her postpartum comedy special, Burning Bush. We also hear from Rabbi Ilana Garber about her son’s diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome, and Unorthodox producer Robert Scaramuccia shares a moving story about his mother. We love to hear from you! Send us y...
May 05, 2022•57 min•Ep. 316
Today we’re sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This second week is all about Gevurah, or discipline and restraint.
May 01, 2022•36 min
This week, we’re putting the pieces together. Our Jewish guest is A.J. Jacobs, whose new book [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622520/the-puzzler-by-aj-jacobs/] is The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, From Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life. He explains why puzzles are such a useful way to see the world, tries to stump us with some Jewish riddles, and tells us what it’s like to appear as a New York Times Crossword clue. Listen to A.J.’s previou...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 315
Today we’re sharing a special weekly edition of Kylie Unell’s new podcast miniseries, 49 Days to Stretch My Soul. Kylie is putting her own spin on the Jewish tradition of counting the Omer—the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—with a daily practice that includes everything from exploring the lyrics of Steven Sondheim, interviewing a ballet dancer, immersing herself in nature, and more. This first week is all about Chesed, or Lovingkindness.
Apr 24, 2022•54 min
This week, we’re grabbing our passports. First we talk to Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman about their off-Broadway musical Harmony, which tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a trailblazing troupe of Jewish-and-gentile entertainers in 1920s Germany. Professor Andy Markovits joins us to discuss his new memoir, The Passport as Home: Comfort in Rootlessness, about what he learned growing up as a Jew in Romania and Vienna before emigrating to the United States, and why he’s chosen to emb...
Apr 21, 2022•54 min•Ep. 314
We're excited to share a brand new Tablet Studios podcast hosted by our friend Kylie Unell. You might remember Kylie's spiritual journey in the lead-up to the High Holidays last year on "How to Fix a Soul in 30 Days". Now, Kylie is back with another show for another holiday season. The Jewish tradition of counting the Omer, or Sefirat Haomer, marks the 49 days between the second night of Passover and the start of Shavuot, and offers daily opportunities for spiritual challenge and growth. Kylie i...
Apr 15, 2022•11 min
This week we’re sharing a special bonus episode to accompany your pre-Passover prep. You heard musician Josh Warshawsky sing the order of the Seder on last week’s Passover episode, proving that even the Haggadah's table of contents offers musical inspiration. Today we’re airing Mark’s interview with Warshawsky, in which the rabbi and song leader discusses the various melodies of the Haggadah and takes us on a song-filled journey from start to finish. We love to hear from you! Send us your emails...
Apr 14, 2022•28 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re digging into Passover traditions. Stephanie Butnick rids her home of chametz, or leavened bread, with a legalistic assist from producer Robert Scaramuccia. Featuring Rivkah Slonim. Liel Leibovitz explores the tradition of Jewish first-born sons fasting before Passover, which takes him in some unexpected literary directions. Featuring Erica Brown and Andre Aciman. Producer Josh Kross interrogates the Wicked Child archetype, with the help of his teenage son. Featurin...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 313
This week on Unorthodox, we’re calling the lox-smith. Our Jew of the Week is Massachusetts State Senator Eric Lesser, who worked for the Obama campaign and administration and helped bring the first Seder to the White House. He’s now running for Lieutenant Governor, and he joins us for some Western Massachusetts Jewish geography and Friendly’s reminiscences. Then we share a segment from our producer Quinn Waller. She’s converting to Judaism, and with her first Passover coming up, she’s getting in...
Mar 31, 2022•57 min•Ep. 312
This week on Unorthodox, we’re all connected. Our Jewish guest is Julie Platt, the new chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, and the mother of some very talented Jewish children. She tells us about the work JFNA is doing to help Jews in Ukraine, and shares her theories on why so many Camp Ramah alums end up on Broadway, her sons included. Our Gentile of the Week is Father Thomas Soroka, an Eastern Orthodox priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Pittsburgh. He’s one of the faith le...
Mar 24, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 311
This week on Unorthodox, we’re throwing a party. Our Jewish guest this week is Judith Rosenbaum, CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive, who joins us to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the bat mitzvah in America. We talk about the first girl to be become a bat mitzvah, in 1922, plus what bat mitzvahs have meant for Jewish girls and women in the intervening century . We also speak with Debbie Haback, who co-wrote the 1986 Preppy Handbook parody, The Jewish American Princess Handbook. Plus, we hear ...
Mar 17, 2022•56 min•Ep. 310
This week on Unorthodox, we’re doing the Wordle. Evan Jacobson is a TikTok saxophone sensation. You might have seen his viral series where he adds sax solos to “songs that don’t need them.” We got him to compose sax solos to such cultural Jewish anthems as "Sunrise, Sunset" and Jeff Buckley’s cover of "Hallelujah." Shawn Setaro is a writer and podcaster, who created and hosted The Cipher, a hip-hop podcast produced by Unorthodox's own Josh Kross. He talks with us about his new book, Dummy Boy: T...
Mar 10, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 309
