This week on Unorthodox, are the Muppets Jewish? Our Jew of the Week is Ruth Markel, whose son, Dan Markel, was murdered in 2014 (the case is featured on the first season of the podcast Over My Dead Body). She joined us to discuss the book she’s written about dealing with the trauma of losing a son to murder, as well as becoming an activist against grandparent alienation. Our Gentile of the Week is comedian Zarna Garg, who tells us how her experience as an Indian immigrant influences her comedy,...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 354
This week on Unorthodox, we’re going down the rabbit hole. Our Jew of the Week is Hen Mazzig, who joined us to talk about fighting antisemitism online, as well as his new book, The Wrong Kind of Jew: a Mizrahi Manifesto. Our Gentile of the Week is Gabriel Said Reynolds, who teaches theology at Notre Dame and runs a popular YouTube channel called Exploring the Quran and the Bible. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at [email protected], or leave a voicemail at our lis...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 353
This week on Unorthodox, we’re streaming History of the World, Part II. Our Jew of the Week is professor and Jewish comedy expert Jeremy Dauber, who joins us to talk about his new book, Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew. Our Gentile of the Week is actress Elisa Donovan, who tells us about acting in Clueless, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Beverly Hills, 90210, and about the experiences she writes about in her new book, Wake Me When You Leave: Love and Encouragement via Dreams from the Other Side. Her ...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 352
This week on Unorthodox, it’s Purim! We’re bringing you fresh takes about the holiday Purim from our own Liel Leibovitz, as well as friend of the pod—and frequent Take One guest—Dovid Bashevkin. In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion month, we visit Shemesh Farms in Malibu, CA, to learn about how they provide meaningful work and community to adults with diverse abilities. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at [email protected], or leave a voicemail at ...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 351
This week on Unorthodox, pshhhhhhhhhh. Our gentiles of the week are Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis, the hosts of the Jesuitical podcast. We each assign them something to give up for Lent and also prepare Rootless Cosmopolitans for them (the recipe for which can be found on our newsletter). We’re also bringing you the second installment of Across the JEW.S.A., our series highlighting different Jewish communities across America. Stephanie Butnick travels to Seattle, Washington, to discover the cit...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 350
This week on Unorthodox, do Jews celebrate Valentine’s Day? Our Jew of the Week is returning guest David Sax, who joins us to talk about his newest book, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World. Our Gentile of the Week is writer and surfer (and surf writer) William Finnegan, who talks to us about his memoir, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, and his experiences reporting on war and poverty around the world. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@table...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 344
This week on Unorthodox, Belgium is still the worst. Our Jew of the Week is the novelist Gabrielle Zevin. She joins us to talk about her newest novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, plus how video games can be vehicles for teaching morality and how she approaches writing about Holocaust survivors. Plus, the hosts discuss the new Netflix disaster that is You People, with insight from our managing producer and Hollywood correspondent, Courtney Hazlett. We love to hear from you! Send us emai...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 8 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re eating macaro(o)ns. Our Jew of the Week is writer Bill Deresiewicz, who returns to the show to talk about his latest book, The End of Solitude, which laments how we’ve forgotten how to be alone in the digital age. Our Gentile of the Week is audiobook narrator and author Julia Whelan, who tells us about her new book, Thank You for Listening, and what it’s like to be the voice behind so many of today’s bestsellers. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice m...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 347
This week on Unorthodox, stories of survival and Jewish pride in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. First, host Stephanie Butnick shares the lesson her Holocaust survivor grandparents taught her about taking every opportunity to celebrate life, starting with her over-the-top baby party. California restaurateur Victor Ivry shares the story of honoring his mother, Auschwitz survivor and “witness to history” Liselotte Ivry, by getting a tattoo of her concentration camp number on his ...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min
This week on Unorthodox, who deserves a spot on the Jewish Mount Rushmore? Our first guest is author Rina Raphael, who joins us to talk about her book, The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care. Then we’re joined by "Weird Al" Yankovic’s drummer of more than 40 years, Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, who talks with Liel about bringing brilliant parody music to life for more than 40 years. Plus, our hosts answer a Gentile of the Week question from Tabitha Soren, who was...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 345
This week on Unorthodox, we’re starting our journey Across the JEW.S.A. But first, viral Yiddish singing sensation Mendel Goldman stops by to treat us to his musical stylings. Then, we bring you the first installment of our new series, Across the JEW.S.A. In the inaugural segment, Liel travels to the first state of Delaware to see the unique way that Wilmington is building Jewish community. Across the JEW.S.A. is created with support from the Jewish Federations of North America. Finally, our Gen...
Jan 12, 2023•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 344
This week on Unorthodox, we’re wishing you a Christmas Sameach. We have two gentiles this week—a Christmas miracle! First, CBS Sunday Morning contributor Faith Salie returns to the show to tell us about how her interfaith family navigates the holidays. We’re also sharing our interview with gospel legend Donald Lawrence, recorded live in Chicago at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. Then we hear from Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern about why he doesn’t let his kids watch That Very...
Dec 22, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 343
This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating Hanukkah with eight stories that bring light to the Jewish world. We talk with 102-year-old former Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor Ben Ferencz, sing with rabbi and musician Josh Warshawsky, and tell stories with Peninnah Schram. We gab with former Real Housewife and new Jew Leah McSweeney and visit Muhlenberg College, a Lutheran liberal arts school that has become an unexpected haven for Jewish students. We stop by the butcher, meet one of the very few ...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 341
This week on Unorthodox: do Jews have Sweet Sixteen parties? Our Jewish guest this week is the writer Isabel Kaplan. She joins Stephanie to talk about her new novel, NSFW, the subtle ways that sexism crops up in everyday life and work, and more. Our Gentile of the Week is photographer Tabitha Soren. She chats with Mark about her approach to her work as an artist and remembers her on-air days at MTV News. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at [email protected], or lea...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 341
This week on Unorthodox, we’re lining up outside Santa’s Court at the mall. First we talk with MSNBC anchor Katy Tur about her memoir Rough Draft. She tells us about her experience covering the Trump campaign, her relationship to her jewish identity, and what it was like growing up with parents who brought new meaning to the phrase, “helicopter parent.” Then, we catch up with writer and Tablet contributor Douglas Century, who joins to talk about his book, The Last Boss of Brighton: Boris “Biba” ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 340
Hey there J-Crew! We are dropping into your feed on Black Friday, or Black Shabbos, as we call it, to share a conversation with Tablet’s editor in chief Alana Newhouse, who published a piece this week that offers a new framework for viewing the divides facing Americans today. She tells us why she wrote the piece and what we can take away from it in our own lives. The art is an illustration by Doug John Miller
Nov 25, 2022•33 min
This week on Unorthodox, the mystery boxes are revealed! Mark, Stephanie, and Liel reveal the contents of their fundraiser giveaways, as well as the lucky winners. Culinary historian Michael Twitty returns to the show to talk about his new book, Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew. Then, producer Quinn Waller teams up with cookbook author and Food Network star Molly Yeh to make challah in the latest installment of Quinn’s Cook Like a Jew series. Finally, we share an...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 339
This week on Unorthodox, we’re hiring a bat-tender. Our Jew of the Week is actor Eric Ladin. You might know him from Ozark, Boardwalk Empire, or the film version of Where the Crawdads Sing. He tells us about growing up in Houston’s Jewish community, plays some Jewish geography (Camp Greylock forever), and introduces Mark to middle-aged dad whiskey. Our Gentile of the Week is author and interfaith leader Eboo Patel. He’s the founder of Interfaith America, and he joins us to explain what interfait...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 338
This week on Unorthodox, an upcoming Oppenheimer simcha sparks a spirited debate. Our Jew of the Week is the one and only Letty Cottin Pogrebin—feminist icon, writer, activist and author of the new book Shanda: A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy. She tells us about her personal Jewish awakening, and about reckoning with her Jewish identity within the feminist movement. (If Cottin Pogrebin’s description of being excluded from the minyan at her mother’s shiva sounds familiar, here is her daughter Abiga...
Nov 10, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 337
This week on Unorthodox, we’re debuting a new look and some brand new merch! We’ve got three great guests. First, we’re bringing you an interview we recorded live at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly this past week in Chicago. We talked to Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Eric Fingerhut about the most important issues facing American Jews, what he loves most about his job, and how we build a stronger Jewish community. Our Gentile of the Week is Joe Cos...
Nov 03, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 336
Liel takes us on a tour of the horror movies of his childhood and wonders how Jews can participate in Halloween… Jewishly. Plus, what horror movies can teach us about us ourselves and Jewish identity
Oct 31, 2022•24 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re getting together around the table. Our Jewish guest is Phil Rosenthal, who returns to the show to tell us about Season 6 of his delightful travel food show, Somebody Feed Phil, which includes a tribute to his late parents, Max and Helen Rosenthal, and the accompanying cookbook, Somebody Feed Phil: The Book. He also tells us what his Yom Kippur break-fast looks like, why he scoops out his bagel, and why Jews aren’t the only cultural group who finds connection over f...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 16 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re raising the roof. First we check in with Israeli actor Michael Aloni of Shtisel and Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, to hear about his new film Plan A, in theaters and streaming this week. Then we hear from Mordechai Levovitz, founder of JQY, an organization that supports queer Jewish youth, about his personal journey and the ongoing legal battle between Yeshiva University and the YU Pride Alliance. Our Gentile of the Week is Pastor Corey Brooks, founder and Senior Pasto...
Oct 13, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Hey JCrew, we've got something extra we want to share with you. The Franchise is a new, eight-part series exploring how contemporary American Jewish culture imprinted itself onto sports and how sports imprinted itself onto Jewish traditions. Hosted by Meredith Shiner and produced by the team behind Unorthodox, the No. 1 Jewish podcast, The Franchise highlights the moments and the people—athletes, fans, stat geeks, journalists, and team owners—who are writing this uniquely, American Jewish story....
Oct 07, 2022•7 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re shaking the lulav and the etrog and celebrating Sukkot. First, we’re learning all about the global history of the etrog thanks to Be Fruitful: The Etrog in Jewish Art, Culture, and History. We talk to Warren Klein, one of the collection’s editors, and Jenna Weissman Joselit, a favorite Unorthodox guest and contributor to the collection. Next, we talk with Roger Studley, the founder of Urban Moshav, a nonprofit dedicated to creating Jewish co-housing communities, ab...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 333
This week on Unorthodox, we’re sorry. It’s our eighth annual Apology episode, and we’re bringing you stories of reckoning, atonement and… goats? Stephanie Butnick visits the goats who inhabit a steep, rocky patch of Manhattan each summer to learn about the biblical scapegoat of Yom Kippur, with help from Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky and former Riverside Park Conservancy President and CEO Daniel Garodnick. What’s repentance all about, anyway? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to explain the concept of t...
Sep 29, 2022•1 hr 3 min
This week on Unorthodox, we’re not holding back. Our Jewish guest this week is Kim Kushner, who joins us to talk about her Moroccan-influenced take on kosher cooking, her favorite Shabbat meals, and her new cookbook, The Modern Table. We also bring you Gentile-Jewish filmmaker combo Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, who tell us about the process of making their new PBS documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, which explores America’s response to World War II. Our annual fundraiser is underway, and t...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 22 min
This week on Unorthodox, lots of lox drama at one Manhattan synagogue. Our Gentile of the Week is author and podcaster Michael Lewis, who gamely revisits his 1993 Toy Goy article in the New Republic, tells us about being on the receiving end of antisemitic taunts for attending the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans and shares what he learned researching his 2016 book, The Undoing Project, about the friendship between Israeli cognitive psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. Our Jew of ...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 330
We're excited to introduce Gatecrashers, our newest Tablet Studios podcast. This 8-part series, hosted by our own Mark Oppenheimer, tells the hidden history of Jews in the Ivy League. Each episode focuses on one of the Ivies, and the series spans the last hundred years. Today, Mark shares the trailer and offers a behind the scenes look at Gatecrashers, with the help of Tablet Studios producer Quinn Waller and director of partnerships Tanya Singer. Stick around to the end for an exclusive preview...
Sep 08, 2022•17 min
We're off this week, but our fundraiser keeps going! 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. We're so grateful for your support, which lets us continue to make not just Unorthodox, but also our growing slate of Tablet Studios shows. One of them is Liel's daily Talmud podcast, Take One, and today he is sharing a favorite episode from the archive. We’ll be in the Chicagoland area on September 8th f...
Aug 25, 2022•19 min
