Campfires and Color Wars

Deputy editor of Tablet Magazine and co-host of the popular 'Unorthodox' podcast Stephanie Butnick joins Micah to discuss her time at Camp Point O' Pines, the differences between Jewish camps and camps for Jews, and tells a harrowing story of a summer gone wrong thanks to an electric razor (or few). Take a listen!

Noted sex educator Lindsay Fram is back to dish on the latest from the frontlines of gender and sexuality at summer camps. Plus we discuss the definition of "Camp Hot", our favorite camp cheers, the best way to spend a day off, and of course, Lindsay's super-mature Shabbat Walk threesome (spoiler alert - it's not as sexy as it sounds). Take a listen!

With summer camps in full swing, we talk to longtime directors Macy Hart (father of Micah) and Ron Klotz about their years running summer camps in Mississippi and Indiana and how they prepared for each summer. We learn about how they got involved in the camping world, the funniest postcards ever sent home from camp, and answer the age-old question, "What do camp directors do in the winter time?"

Every camp is special, but not every camp can boast the former quarterback for the Miami Dolphins as camp director! Longtime NFL signal caller Jay Fiedler joins Micah and Sara to talk about leading Brookwood Camps in upstate NY and his summers growing up at Lenni Lenape, as well as the similarities and differences between a season in the NFL and a summer at camp.

A summer at camp wouldn't be complete without a good ole fashioned Color War (aka Maccabiah Games, Yom Sport, or Special Day...). Whatever you want to call it, everyone left it all on the field for the green, the red, the yellow, and the blue. Author Stacy Davidowitz joins Micah and Sara to recount her days at Tyler Hill Camp and talk about her newest book in the Camp Rolling Hills series, "Breakout", which takes place during Color War. Plus we discuss great Color War fakeouts and breakouts, how Paris Hilton played a role one summer, and we learn why Micah's camp nickname was Skipper. Enjoy!

Austin-based filmmakers Micah Barber and Tony Faia didn’t go to camp together, but they did make a movie about a young boy who escapes from his lonely summer camp in the magical “Into the Who Knows”. In our conversation with them, we hear stories from Micah’s days at band camp (where he played the french horn) and from Tony’s days at boy scout camp (where everyone showered with their swim trunks on). We reminisce about the magic of camp nights, lament the lack of romantic opportunities for 11-year olds, argue about what it means to be on the “top tier” at camp, and discover (through Wikipedia!) the adventures of snipe-hunting. Plus, we hear a story about a raccoon that doesn’t end quite the way we think it will.

On this week’s episode, we talk to Mike Sacks - author, comedy writer, and host of the podcast, “Doin’ it with Mike” - about his summers at Camp Airy and Camp Seafarer in the 80s. Despite his tough exterior, Mike turns out to be quite the sentimental camp philosopher. Like most of our guests, camp had a big impact on how he sees the world and shares what we all know to be true: “Camp time is like living through amber.” Poetic, right?

An accomplished writer, Mike shares that the most precious and meaningful writing of his life hasn’t been his New York Times articles, but the love letters he and his girlfriend wrote back and forth the summer before his freshman year of high school. In fact, he still gets verklempt every time he hears Journey on the radio because Steve Perry’s voice brings him back right back to that summer of long-distance love. Mike also shares a great story about an extreme case of homesickness that set upon him the very moment he waved goodbye to his parents and how even the most experienced counselor could do nothing to snap him out of it. We also learn about Mike’s crab-whispering skills and that, even though Mike wishes that he was Nordic or Icelandic, he is, according to three DNA tests, 100% Lithuanian Jew.

Mike’s new novel, Stinker Lets Loose, is now available under the pseudonym James Taylor Johnston.

Some of us live for camp, dreaming and wishing that we could spend our entire life in the place we truly call “home.” But would you actually ever *buy* one? Well, this week’s guest, Joe Mendes did just that. When Camp Roosevelt-Firebird came available to buy in 2015, Joe finally realized his decades-old dream of helping kids learn, grow, and develop in ways they did not think possible! This year will be his second summer as owner/director and he tells us about the trials and tribulations of re-building a camp from the ground up. We talk about local hires, camp as a “business”, and how he wishes that his bunkmates told stories about him that had to do with something other than poop. Micah and Sara also muse about whether or not they would want to own a camp and how to *really* observe Passover. Chag Sameach!

This episode is the second part of our interview with Michael and Sarah Marks, two great storytellers who had us cringing in disbelief at some of the stories they shared about both the pranks they pulled and the pranks that were pulled on them. Turns out, Sarah LOVED having her underwear run up the flagpole... and she almost convinces Sara that pranks are a sign of affection. You’ll also hear about Sarah’s first camp kiss (it's the absolute best) and how having your dad at camp can definitely ruin your last-night-of-camp mojo. Michael tells an amazing story about flirting while holding a snake and he confirms that boys are really just mostly gross when there are no girls around.

Micah also shares prank stories from his camp memory, including a butt cheek situation, how no one dared prank his dad, and how he and his friends thought that wearing white sheets would definitely make a bunch of girls think he and his friends were ghosts.

If you’ve ever peed on a plastic wrap toilet, found crickets in your sleeping bag, or raided a camp kitchen, you’ll appreciate this week’s April Fool’s-themed episode about pranks and the campers & counselors who pull them. We talk to Camp Sierra Vista lifer, Sarah Marks, and her radio-producer, bird-call expert husband (and literal Boy Scout), Michael Marks, about escalating prank wars, shower shenanigans, dining hall antics, and the general mayhem created when the summer camp season starts. The conversation was so much fun we’ll be bringing it to you in two parts...look for Part 2 on April 1st (no joke!).

You’ll also hear a brief history of pranks at Sara’s camp, including a dramatic reading of a soon-to-famous poem entitled “I Know Nothing”, which was written by a guy who Sara is pretty sure knows quite a lot.