Unorthodox

This week on Unorthodox, we’re investigating Faux-hanim. Our first guest is Chanie Apfelbaum, creator of the popular kosher food blog Busy in Brooklyn. She joined us to talk about her new cookbook, Totally Kosher, and share fun ways to incorporate all sorts of cuisines into your kosher cooking.  Next we celebrate Opening Day with a chat with Zack Hample, a baseball fanatic who has caught more than 12,000 baseballs at Major League stadiums.  Plus, some big news from the Corduroy Rav. (You can subscribe to Mark’s newsletter here.)  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe

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, as well as the role of funny Jewish moms in her comedy journey.  Her question for the hosts is a spicy one: how do Jewish parents feel about their kids dating outside the religion?  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out abo

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 unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get a behind-t

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 question for the hosts is what to give as a bar mitzvah gift. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger

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 unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get a be

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 city’s surprising Sephardic history and learn about the challenges facing of the future of Sephardic Seattle. Across the JEW.S.A. is created with support from the Jewish Federations of North America. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road

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@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodo

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 emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join ou

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 memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook gr

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 arm.  Abigail Pogrebin shares a preview of the latest installation of The Minyan, featuring her conversation with 10 Holocaust survivors. You can read the full version at tabletmag.com/minyan.  Host Mark Oppenheimer offers his take on how to reframe our response to antisemitism. First graders at Central Synagogue in New York City share their favorite blessings in an excerpt from our kids game show podcast, Hebrew School.  Jewelry designer Rachie Shnay tells us about her Mazel Collection, a line of Star of David

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 our guest a few episodes back.  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe

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 Gentile of the Week is walker and writer Jonathon Stalls, who tells us about walking across America and his book WALK: Slow Down, Wake Up, and Connect at 1-3 Miles per Hour.  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upc

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 Special Christmas Episode. Plus, the story of a Jewish mall santa.  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at t

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 female Jewish Torah scribes, and learn the story behind this year’s official USPS Hanukkah stamp.  We love to hear from you! Send us your New Year’s Resolutions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unortho

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 unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you’re calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We’re back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and

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” Nayfeld and the Rise of the Russian Mob in America.  We have brand new Unorthodox swag! Get your tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  Across the JEW.S.A. is a new Unorthodox project that will showcase 12 of the most inspiring Jewish stories across the country. Nominate your hometown at tabletm.ag/acrossthejewsa. Across the JEW.S.A. was created with support from the Jewish Federations of North America. We’re heading back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. We

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

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 interview with food writer and self-professed 'pizza bagel' Shannon Sarna, recorded live at our recent West Orange, NJ live show. She tells us about her new book, Modern Jewish Comfort Food, and shares her tricks for the perfect challah.  We have brand new Unorthodox swag! Get your tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  Across the JEW.S.A. is a new Unorthodox project that will showcase 12 of the most inspiring Jewish stories across the country. Nominate your hometown at tabletm.ag/acrossthejewsa. Across

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 interfaith work really looks like (hint: it’s not what you think), and why it’s anything but boring.  Across the JEW.S.A. is a new Unorthodox project that will showcase 12 of the most inspiring Jewish stories across the country. Nominate your hometown at tabletm.ag/acrossthejewsa. Across the JEW.S.A. was created with support from the Jewish Federations of North America. Check out the latest installment of The Minyan, Abby Pogrebin’s roundtable series about the state of the American Jewish community, which features her co

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 Abigail Pogrebin sharing a similar story from Ruth Bader Ginsburg.)   Across the JEW.S.A. is a new Unorthodox project that will showcase 12 of the most inspiring Jewish stories across the country. Nominate your hometown at tabletm.ag/acrossthejewsa. Across the JEW.S.A. was created with support from the Jewish Federations of North America. We’re heading back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.co