Tablet Studios

Latest Episodes:

A Word From Your Oppenheimer Jul 25, 2019

Show notes

We're off this week, recharging in various locations, but we didn't want to leave your feed completely empty. Instead, Mark has a story he's been trying to find a place to tell for years. As our fourth birthday approaches, we wanted to expand our own creation myth, back to when Mark was 15 years old.

Here's a few links for when you're done:

First, take our survey here or at http://bit.ly/uosurvey19

Second, our 2019 Fundraiser is here, at http://tabletmag.com/donate

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Finding Your Truth: Ep. 189 Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

This week in 'News of the Jews,' Israel's new Education Minister endorsed gay conversion therapy, a controversial and widely discredited practice. We're bringing you an interview (recorded before those comments were made) with Mathew Shurka founder of Born Perfect, an organization that lobbies against conversion therapy. Mathew tells us about his own experience—he spent five years in conversion therapy as a teen—and how he found his calling in activism after an 'It Gets Better' video he recorded in 2012 went viral.

Our Gentile of the Week, recorded at our Chicago live show last month, is Greta Johnsen, who hosts the Nerdette podcast and anchors Weekend Edition Saturday on WBEZ Chicago. She tells the audience at the Logan Square Auditorium what it means to be a nerdette, shares her favorite moments of the podcast, and asks the hosts a question about Jewish food.

Tell us what you really think! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win an autographed copy of our forthcoming book, The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group.

This week's outro music is 'Adon Olam' sung to the tune of the 'Golden Girls' theme song by Kol Zimra. The song is featured in Latter Day Jew, Aliza Rosen's new film about former Unorthodox guest H. Alan Scott. Contact info@kolzimra.com for engaging harmony music at your next simcha.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Get a free trial shave set when you sign up at Harrys.com/Unorthodox.

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Live from Queens: Ep. 188 Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

This episode was recorded live at the Hollis Hills Bayside Jewish Center in Queens.

Our Jewish guest is Leon Neyfakh, who hosts the new podcast Fiasco, which tells the story of the 2000 election. He previously hosted two seasons of the hit podcast Slow Burn—the first focused on Watergate, and the second on the Clinton impeachment. He tells us why he focuses on what it was like to live through these explosive moments in American history as they slowly unfolded, and what he's learned about today's political dramas by digging into recent history

Our gentile of the week is Clare Malone, a senior political writer at FiveThirtyEight, where she covers the 2020 presidential election and appears on the weekly FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast. She accepts our challenge to name all 24 Democrats running for president, and gives us her predictions of what's to come in the 2020 campaign. Following in the footsteps of her sister Noreen, who in 2017 inquired about the phrase 'Jewish American Princess' and inspired an entire special episode on the topic, Clare asks what the deal is with the word 'shiksa.'

Tell us what you really think! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win an autographed copy of our forthcoming book, The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.

Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

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Jews Across America, 2019: Ep. 187 Jul 04, 2019

Show notes

In honor of the 4th of July, we present our second-annual Jews Across America episode, celebrating the diversity of Jewish life throughout this great nation. (You can listen to last year's episode here)

We have a bunch of star-studded guests! Blair Braverman, the second Jewish woman to complete the Iditarod, joined us at our Chicago live show with her dog, Flame, to tell us about how a Jewish girl from California becomes a dog sledding phenom. (Check out her memoir, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube, too)

Stanford M. Adelstein, a former State Senator from South Dakota and the subject of the new book The Question Is "Why?": A Jewish Life in South Dakota, tells us how Jews got to South Dakota, and how Jewish life there has changed in his 87 years.

Melissa Untereker, an lawyer with Frontera Immigration Law in El Paso, Texas, explains how Judaism informs her work, and how local religious groups are stepping up to help refugees. (If you'd like to help, she recommends starting here.

Rabbi Neil Amswych of Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe tells us about how an English rabbi came to helm a New Mexico synagogue, and what makes his adopted community so special.

Josh Furman, a historian at Rice University who runs the university's Houston Jewish History Archive, talks to us about preserving Jewish items in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and his favorite item in the collection.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Get a free trial shave set when you sign up at Harrys.com/Unorthodox.

This episode is also brought to you by The Franciska Show, a podcast about Jewish women in the arts. Neshama Carlebach will be a guest on the July 9th episode. Subscribe today.

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Bonus: Mark goes on Trumpcast Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Unorthodox is off this week, but we have something special for you instead. Mark Oppenheimer was a recent guest on Slate’s Trumpcast, where he explained everything you could ever want to know about Trump and the Jews.

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Running the Stage: Ep. 186 Jun 20, 2019

Show notes

Our first Jewish guest this week is Matthew Futterman, deputy sports editor at the New York Times and author of the new book, Running to the Edge. A 23-time marathoner, Matt breaks down the major transformations in both professional and recreational running over the past few decades, and describes the more meditative aspects of the sport, explaining how running is, for him, a form of prayer.

Our second Jewish guest is Tony and Academy Award-winning actor Joel Grey, whose credits include Cabaret, Wicked, and Chicago. His latest role is directing the Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof at Stage 42. He tells us about growing up around Yiddish (his father was musician and comedian Mickey Katz, who wrote Yiddish parodies of popular songs), having a daughter in the business (Jennifer Grey starred as Baby in Dirty Dancing), and about his love of photography (he just published his fifth book of photography, "The Flower Whisperer").

We'd love to hear what you thought of this week's show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

We’re heading to Chicago! See us live Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Logan Square Auditorium with Iditarod finisher Blair Braverman and Nerdette podcast host Greta Johnsen. Presented with Hadassah Chicago-North Shore. Get your tickets here.

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Who You Gonna Call? Ep 185 Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

This week, we're celebrating the papas (the PAPAS!)

Our Jewish guest is Violet Ramis Stiel, whose memoir Ghostbuster's Daughter is about growing up as the eldest child of comedy legend Harold Ramis. She tells us about life with an unconventional yet loving father, how her upbringing influenced her own parenting style, and finally grasping the impact her father had on American culture after his 2014 death.

Our gentile of the week is Matt Schneider, who created the City Dads Group and hosts The Modern Dads Podcast. The primary care giver for his children, he tells us about how being rejected from the local mom's group inspired him to start a group for fathers, which now offers programming in more than 30 cities, including a New Dad Bootcamp.

We'd love to hear what you thought of this week's show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is sponsored by Unpacked, a new series of Jewish educational videos from Jerusalem U that offers a complete history of modern day Israel, 10 minutes at a time. Check it out at unpacked.media/unorthodox.

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The Conversion Episode, 2019: Ep. 184 Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

Last May, in honor of Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the most famous convert to Judaism, Ruth, we put together a special episode all about conversion. We were so moved by the overwhelming response, both from converts and not, that we made another episode.

This year we're back with a whole new range of stories. We hear from Ashley Wallace, who grew up in a Christian family in Alabama and who found support throughout her conversion from her friend Will Docimo.

We talk to Rabbi Dr. Stuart W. Halpern, author of the new book, Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth, about why Shavuot is the perfect time to celebrate conversion stories.

Listener Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy lets us listen in on her conversion audio diary, all the way to the mikveh.

Pittsburgh record store owner Eric Ackland shares his journey from secular Judaism to Orthodoxy (not technically a conversion, but still a great story).

Plus we hear from listeners who called in to share their own conversion stories.

We'd love to hear what you thought of this week's show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

We’re heading to Chicago! See us live Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Logan Square Auditorium with special guest Blair Braverman, who recently became the second Jewish woman to complete the Iditarod. Presented by Hadassah Chicago-North Shore. Get your tickets here.

This episode is sponsored by Harry's. Get your free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Book of Schmutz: Ep. 183 May 30, 2019

Show notes

Tradition, tradition!

We sit down with legendary actress Jackie Hoffman, who plays Yenta in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in Yiddish, and Motl Didner, the Folksbiene's associate artistic director. Hoffman tells us about learning her lines in Yiddish and her favorite role of all time. Didner teaches us a few key phrases in Yiddish

We also chat with Australian punk rocker-turned-novelist Bram Presser, who wrote The Book of Dirt which won the National Jewish Book Award for debut fiction. He tells us about discovering the real story of his Holocaust survivor grandfather's wartime years, which shapes the book, as well as his Yiddish punk background with the band Yidcore.

We’re heading to Chicago! We'll be at the Logan Square Auditorium Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. with special guest Blair Braverman, who recently became the second Jewish woman to complete the Iditarod. Presented with Hadassah Chicago-North Shore. Get your tickets here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Road Tripping: Ep. 182 May 23, 2019

Show notes

Our Jewish guest is Judith Viorst, who has written many books for children, including the classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. She tells us about her new poetry collection, Nearing Ninety: And Other Comedies of Late Life, which candidly and humorously captures the realities of growing older.

Our gentile of the week is Edward Lee, the chef/owner of several restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky. His book Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine, is a memoir of his culinary roadtrip across the United States. He tells us why the best deli in the country is found in Indiana, and what happens when you visit Dearborn, MI looking to eat during Ramadan.

Join us Wednesday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at the Hollis Hills Bayside Jewish Center in Queens, NY, for a live taping with Leon Neyfakh, host of the podcasts Slow Burn and the forthcoming FIASCO, and FiveThirtyEight writer and podcaster Clare Malone. Get your tickets here.

We're also sponsored by FindYourSummer.org, with nearly 400 summer programs for Jewish teens to choose from, ranging from domestic and international travel to internships and more. New York-area teens are eligible for scholarships to select programs. Find your program at FindYourSummer.org.

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