Unorthodox

This week on Unorthodox, we’re doing our best to process—and to help you process—what’s going on in Israel and Gaza. First we talk with Israeli journalist Matti Friedman, whose recent article for Tablet, “Jerusalem of Glue,” highlights the gap between the outward narrative of conflict and the more cohesive day-to-day reality on the ground in the city. He’s been on the show before, talking about his book Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel. Then we take you into the bomb shelters of Tel Aviv, where Carrie Keller-Lynn and Aliza Landes, hosts of the podcast “Us Among the Israelis, have been documenting their experiences as an audio diary. We're here for you as we all process this together. Send us a note at unorthodox@tabletmag.com and let us know how we can be a resource for you.

This week on Unorthodox, we’re proud to present our fourth-annual conversion episode. On 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 stories of conversion from all over the world. First, an interview with New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles, who has been chronicling her conversion process in her online newsletter, “Chosen by Choice.” Tablet Fellow Nina Lichtenstein describes converting for her Jewish husband (and her Jewish mother-in-law) more than two decades ago, and staying Jewish for herself after their divorce. Rapper Nissim Black shares his spiritual journey, which took him from devout Christianity to gangster rap and finally to Orthodox Judaism. Novelist Jessamyn Hope tells the story of her Italian Catholic mother’s conversion to Reform Judaism, and the many conflicted feelings Jessamyn had about it throughout her own life. Tablet Fellow Elie Bleier brings us a report from Israel ab

This week on Unorthodox: Gal Gadot’s pandemic injury. First we speak to Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, the Linfield University professor who was fired after publicizing accusations of sexual misconduct and anti-Semitism regarding the board of trustees and the college president. Then we welcome back one of our favorite Gentiles of the Week, Noreen Malone, who is hosting the fifth season of Slate’s Slow Burn podcast, where she breaks down the lead-up to the second Iraq War. Her question for the hosts is whether it’s rude to order blatantly non-kosher items when dining out with people who keep kosher. And finally, we call up Tel Aviv-based Tablet contributor Dana Kessler, who tells us about her most recent article for the magazine, about a new digital compilation of Turkish and Israeli music. We’re recording a new season of Hebrew School, our kids game show podcast! Do you know a child aged 7-12 who should be a contestant? Email hebrewschool@tabletmag.com to apply. Upcoming virtual events: Sunday, May 23 — Stephanie

This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating Lag B’Omer (and figuring out what, exactly, this holiday is all about). Our first guest is Juliet Litman, podcast host and head of production at the Ringer. She discusses one of her favorite podcasts, the surprisingly Jewish “Table Manners with Jesse Ware,” gives us her take on last season’s Bachelorette bagel drama, and offers her pick for the most Jewish sports team. Then it’s a Jew-Gentile double header: TV producer Amy Solomon, editor of the new book Notes from the Bathroom Line: Humor, Art, and Low-Grade Panic from 150 of the Funniest Women in Comedy, and actress and comedian Lauren Lapkus, one of the book’s contributors, join us to discuss Gilda Radner, funny women, and the perfect Hanukkah dessert. Join us Sunday, May 2 at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT for a special free virtual live show with Tovah Feldshuh, presented by the Community Scholar Program of Orange County California. Register at http://bit.ly/cspunorthodoxlive.This event is co-sponsored by the Merage Jew

This week on Unorthodox, Andrew Cuomo’s Jewish “tree houses” and Israel’s wild boars. Our Jewish guest is Devin Gordon, author of the new book “So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin' True Story of the New York Mets—the Best Worst Team in Sports.” He tells us why Mets fandom is a profound spiritual exercise in perpetual disappointment, and Liel offers his take on why the Mets are a fundamentally Jewish team. Our Gentile of the week is writer, speaker, and activist Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of “How to Raise an Adult,” and most recently, “Your Turn: How to Be an Adult.” She explains the societal factors making it harder for today’s young adults to grow into their full potential, and offers advice for young people on how best to build meaningful and full adult lives. Her question for the hosts is how non-Jews can be better allies to the Jewish community. Share your conversion story for our annual Shavuot episode! Leave us a voicemail (under a minute long) at (914) 570-4869, or record a voice memo on your phone and

This week on Unorthodox, Stephanie is out and Liel and Mark are podcasting from their man cave. Our Jewish guest is author Walter Isaacson, known for his biographies of Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci, whose latest book is The Code Breaker Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. We talk to him about the Jewish implications for the CRISPR gene editing technology, and the way that Jewish history can be mapped onto the history of scientific developments in America over the past century. He also tells us about growing up in Jewish New Orleans, and why his high school alma mater, the Isidore Newman School, produces so many fellow luminaries, like Michael Lewis, Eli and Payton Manning, and Odell Beckham Jr. Our Gentile of the week is Anne Bogel, who runs the literary community Modern Mrs. Darcy and hosts the podcast “What Should I Read Next?” She talks to Stephanie and Unorthodox producer Sara (who recently appeared on Anne’s podcast) about how she comes up with book recommendations for

This week on Unorthodox, we’re down to the championship round of our Jewish Name of the Year bracket. Our Jewish guest is Israeli actress and activist Noa Tishby, whose new book is Israel: a Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. Tishby, who describes herself as “100% Israeli and 100% American,” tells us about bringing the Israeli show In Treatment to American audiences, her first experience in bridging Israeli and American culture. She also explains how her pro-Israel activism grew from dinner party defenses to her latest project, a book designed to demystify the Jewish State for international audiences. Enter to win a free copy of Noa Tishby's book here: bit.ly/tishbygiveaway Our Gentile of the Week is Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz, whose memoir is Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina. He tells us about attending Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh (where he was friends with Mark Oppenheimer’s uncle!) before meeting future Talking Heads bandmates David Byrne and Tina Weymou

This week, we’re filling up on matzo and revealing the Final Four competitors in our Jewish Names of the Year bracket. Our first guest is actress Emmanuelle Chriqui, who starred as Sloan in Entourage and Dalia in You Don’t Mess with The Zohan. She tells us about growing up in Canada to Moroccan Jewish parents, her latest TV role, and her involvement with the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance . Then, Orthodox sex therapist Bat Sheva Marcus returns to the show talk about her new book, Sex Points: Reclaim Your Sex Life with the Revolutionary Multi-point System. Lastly, Mark spoke with Shuly Rubin Schwartz, the first woman to serve as chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Upcoming virtual events: Thursday, April 29 — Stephanie will be moderating Rachel Bloom and Tovah Feldshuh in ‘A Conversation Between a (Television) Daughter and Mother,’ presented by The Jewish Museum and the Jewish Book Council, 7 p.m. EDT. Register here. Find out about all our upcoming events at www.tabletmag.com/unorthodoxli

This week, it’s the full Oppenheimer. First, Mark interviews McKay Coppins, a staff writer at The Atlantic who recently wrote an article about the future of Mormonism—“the most American religion”—and America. He talks about his own Mormon faith, confirms Mark’s assessment that Jews and Mormons have a lot in common, and asks how to ready his home to invite kosher-keeping Jewish friends over for a meal. Then, it’s everything you’ll ever need to know about what Jewish law says about pets! Mark offers a reading from a book called Pets in Halacha: A Comprehensive Halachic Guide for Pet Owners, by Rabbi Chaim L. Belsky. There’s still time to order Tablet’s The Passover Haggadah: An Ancient Story for Modern Times before Passover! Upcoming virtual events: Thursday, March 25 — Stephanie will be prepping for Passover with Jake Cohen, author of the new cookbook Jew-ish.Join them for cooking and conversation, presented by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, at 5 p.m. EDT. Register here. Later that evening, Stephanie

This week, we’re kicking off our Passover celebrations, live from the Oppenheimer home. Mark is joined by four of his children as they sit around the Seder table and wonder where, exactly, all these Passover traditions came from. Helping them along the way are co-hosts Stephanie and Liel, and a near minyan of all-star guests. First, historian and Tablet columnist Jenna Weissman Joselit expounds on the material culture associated with the home-based holiday—Seder plates, matzo covers, and afikoman bags—and wonders why Jewish ritual objects don’t always rise to the level of beauty of our other cherished home items. (Stephanie offers some beautiful holiday favorites: Seder plates from Isabel Halley Ceramics, Judaica Standard Time, Via Maris, and Apeloig Collection.) Then we talk to family therapist (and Mark’s sister-in-law!) Dr. Jessica Grogan, who tells us how the rigid archetypes of the Four Children can serve as a useful counter-example for how we see our own children. Adam Teeter of Vinepair shares the s

This week on Unorthodox, Charles Barkley does the hora. Our Jewish guest is Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, who stars in the new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Losing Alice, Israel’s latest international TV export. Zurer tells us about being part of that other hit Israeli show, Shtisel, and about the unlikely acting role that got her cast by Steven Spielberg in his 2005 film, Munich. Our Gentile of the Week, Father James Martin, joins us again on the show, this time to tell us about his latest book, Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone. Our favorite Jesuit priest and America Magazine editor at large comes bearing simple and universal tips for understanding prayer and incorporating it into our lives, whatever they look like. (You can also listen to Father Jim live with Judy Gold in 2018, and, more recently, helping us ring in the Jewish New Year in 2020.) We’re taking votes for our Jewish Name of the Year bracket! Join our. Facebook group to submit your votes. Get the Tablet Haggadah in time for Passover. C

This week on Unorthodox, we’re sharing an episode of “Hearing with Tali Farhadian Weinstein,” a podcast from Pushkin Industries. Tali is an Iranian-Jewish prosecutor running for District Attorney in Manhattan, and her show features interviews with policy experts, journalists, and community members. In this episode of Hearing, Tali talks to former Unorthodox guest Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Manhattan's Central Synagogue about the points of intersection around faith, personal identity, and the fight for racial justice. To hear more episodes of Tali's show, check out www.pushkin.fm/show/hearing-with-tali-farhadian-weinstein/. Join us for these upcoming ‘Unorthodox’ virtual events! Wednesday, March 10: Mark, Stephanie, and Liel will be returning to the Washington Hebrew Congregation virtually to discuss The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia at 8 p.m. EST. Register here. Thursday, March 11: Stephanie and Mark will be discussing The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia as part of the Mandel JCC of the Palm Beaches' Book Festival at 7

This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating Purim and breaking the mold. First, Stephanie welcomes her special Purim co-hosts, friends of the show Kylie Unell and Abigail Pogrebin, who help her tell the story of Purim and offer their takes on some of the holiday’s larger themes. Next, Stephanie is joined by Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V., a fictionalized redefining of the story of Vashti. She explains that the binaries we’ve been taught — “that Vashti is wanton, wicked, selfish; and Esther virtuous, brave, selfless” — don't match up with what we actually find in The Book of Esther. From Vashti to Esther: Liel sits down with English professor Shaina Trapedo, who wrote about Purim-inspired beauty pageants for Esther in America, a new collection edited by former Unorthodox guest Stuart Halpern. She tells us about the surprising history of Jewish beauty pageants in America, and explains why the Esther aesthetic is more complex than it may seem. And finally, Mark checks in with former guest Shay Khatiri

Ep. 263:This week on Unorthodox, we’re waiting for our Israeli Pizza Hut delivery by drone. Our first Jewish guest is actress Jackie Tohn, host of the Netflix cooking competition Best Leftovers Ever! She tells us about understanding the importance of leftovers from a young age as the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, and also about using that real-life identity to inform her character Melrose on the hit Netflix series G.L.O.W. Then we’re joined by linguist Sarah Bunin Benor, who returns to the show to tell us about the strange trend of anti-Semites adopting Yiddishisms, plus her research into the world of Jewish summer camp Hebrew. Do you have a great Jewish name or know someone with a great Jewish name? Enter our Jewish Name of the Year bracket! Email your suggestions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. As always, let us know what you think of the show! Send us comments and questions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and

This week on Unorthodox, we’re giving you a taste of some other podcasts we’ve been working on. First, you’ll hear an episode of Liel’s daily Daf Yomi podcast, Take One, featuring special guest Sister Helen Prejean, a passionate advocate against capital punishment, as they discuss a page of Talmud that references the death penalty. Next, you’ll hear Stephanie’s interview with Tablet’s newest podcast hosts, Aimee Friedman and Lisa Sandell, about their show Anxiously. Each week Lisa and Aimee grapple with one of their anxieties—from the trivial to the existential—in a humorous and heartfelt way, helped along by smart and entertaining guests who offer perspective and advice. After the interview you’ll hear the pilot episode of Anxiously, and you can listen to the second and third episode as well. Subscribe to Anxiously and Take One wherever you listen to podcasts, and please consider rating and reviewing both shows (and Unorthodox!) on iTunes. We’re getting our Jewish Name of the Year bracket ready for March Mad

This week on Unorthodox, we’re firing up our Jewish space lasers. Mark and Liel talk to legendary actor Ed Asner about his latest project, The Tattooed Torah, an animated short about the inspiring journey of a Torah scroll and the little boy who swore to rescue it from the Nazis, about great TV and why they don't make shows like they used to, and about standing up to your political beliefs, even when you have to pay the price. Then Liel talks with author Cambria Gordon about her YA book, The Poetry of Secrets, which tells the story of a young Jewish woman in Inquisition-era Spain whose family was forced to convert to Catholicism, but continue to practice Judaism in secret. Do you have a great Jewish name or know someone with a great Jewish name? Enter our Jewish Name of the Year bracket! Email your suggestions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. As always, let us know what you think of the show! Send us comments and questions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also rec

This week on Unorthodox, two Jewish guests and a whole lot of books. Our first guest is Zibby Owens, host of the podcast “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books.” She tells us about tirelessly promoting book authors during the pandemic, even as she dealt with her own family’s COVID-19 trauma (and planned two Zoom bar and bat mitzvahs). The resulting quarantine anthology, Moms Don’t Have Time To, features essays from more than 60 writers, including a few Unorthodox guests. Our second guest is poet David Beispiel, whose recent memoir is A Place of Exodus: Home, Memory, and Texas. He tells us about being kicked out of Hebrew School as a questioning teen in Houston’s heavily Jewish Meyerland community, and ultimately being pulled back to Jewish Houston after years of spiritual and physical wandering. We’re looking for two new hosts for our kids game show podcast Hebrew School! All you need to do is record a short video introducing yourself and telling us why you'd make the perfect host, and send it to hebrewschool

This week on Unorthodox, we’re live (virtually) from Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, PA. Our special guests this week are Jamie and Brian Stelter. Jamie Stelter, who had her bat mitzvah at Beth Sholom, is the traffic reporter for NY1, and Brian Stelter is the chief media correspondent for CNN and host of Reliable Sources. They talk to us about filming their TV appearances from their apartment during the pandemic, the first rule of Challah Club, and why they love Shabbat. We’re looking for two new hosts for our kids game show podcast Hebrew School! All you need to do is record a short video introducing yourself and telling us why you'd make the perfect host, and send it to hebrewschool@tabletmag.com. Do you have a great Jewish name or know someone with a great Jewish name? Enter our Jewish Name of the Year bracket! Email your suggestions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We’ve got virtual events! See our full schedule here. As always, let us know what you think of the show! Send us comments and questio

Our Jewish guest is Mike Rothschild, a conspiracy theory researcher and debunker who is writing a book about the QAnon conspiracy theory. He tells us what QAnon is and explains the anti-Semitism inherent in the conspiracy theory, confirming for us that all conspiracy theories have Jew-hatred at their core. He also confirms that everyone he interacts with in these worlds asks if he’s one of those Rothschilds. Our Gentile of the Week is NPR and Slate sports commentator Stephen Fatsis, author of Word Freak, a book about the world of competitive Scrabble players. He tells us about his annual Name of the Year bracket, which he has been running with his college friends since the 80s, and gives us tips on how to start our own Jewish Name of the Year bracket. Do you have a great Jewish name or know someone with a great Jewish name? Enter our Jewish Name of the Year contest! Email your suggestions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We’ve got virtual events! Join us tonight at the Temple Emanuel Streicker Center, where we wi

This week on Unorthodox: the full Luxembourg. Our first guest is essayist and critic William Deresiewicz, whose new book The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech. He tells us about getting kicked out of Jewish day school as a teen, his work since then, and why it’s so hard to be an artist today. Our second guest is sportswriter and Tablet contributor Yaron Weitzman, author of the book Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. He tells us about being Shabbat-observant in a world of weekend sporting events, and shares his thoughts on Deni Avdija, Israel’s new NBA draft pick. Join us Monday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m EST. for a virtual Unorthodox live show with special married guests Jamie and Brian Stelter at Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, PA. Jamie is NY1’s traffic anchor and co-hosts Mornings on 1, and Brian hosts CNN’s Reliable Sources. Register here. On Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m.