Chosen People Problems

By Ark MediaNews Religion & Spirituality Judaism

Chosen People Problems episodes

October 30, 2024 Ce-le-brate Good Strikes, Come On!
Bonjour from Paris! (Bonjour means “hello” in French). Miss us? We missed you, each other, and the sound of our own voices. That maybe explains the fact that neither of us could shut up on this one, in fact we almost forgot we were recording and maybe went a little more vulnerable than expected (people like that stuff, right?). In this episode, we catch up about the holidays, Iran, the beef between Johnny Depp and Rabbi Sufrin, and of course our election ambivalence. There's lots more on Substack for you to read, and you can comment and chat there as well.

Links:

Yezidi girl saved from Gaza testimony - actual trigger warning.

The story we discussed about a woman named Dafna from Kibbutz Reim.

Everything is Illuminated movie recommendation

Don't Dance on Graves - EdJewCation

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1 hr 21 min
October 15, 2024 Your Robot Therapist Will See You Now - W/ Christine Rosen
In this week’s episode of “people we thought were Jewish” - Christine Rosen! Christine is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, columnist for Commentary magazine, cohosts of The Commentary Magazine Podcast, and author of the new book The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.

We talk about Christine's very unique acknowledgments page, the good, bad and ugly of technology, IRL friendships vs. online friendships, and how with great rights come great responsibilities.

Buy the book The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.

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1 hr 14 min
October 08, 2024 October 7 Listener Zoom
On the eve of October 7th, we gathered with 100+ of our closest friends (you guys!) to share our feelings, frustrations, sad tears and happy tears. Don't worry, we still found some space for holocaust jokes and hot dictators. Thank you to everyone who joined, from Portland to Iran - we are very lucky to have you. Special thanks to Super Friends and former guests Eli Lake (The Reeducation, The Free Press) and Mike Pesca (The Gist) for jumping on and sharing their wisdom. Listen all the way to the end for an uplifting finish (Or dare I say...a happy ending).

Need a community? We have one! Join askajew.substack.com to continue the conversation on chat or comments.

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1 hr 55 min
October 02, 2024Escalate Me, Bro
Sunday October 6 listener Zoom!! Go to askajew.substack.com for details.

Shana Tova from the bomb shelter! Just kidding, the IDF said we can go out, plus, after an hour we finished folding laundry and drinking a bottle of whiskey, and we were bored. This episode was recorded before Iran launched a ballistic missile attack at our faces, so if we sound a little too cheerful and irreverent....well, I guess that's on brand. Pics and links here on substack.

In this one:
Who’s less hot, JD Vance or Tim Walz?
An update on Nicole Kidman’s wigs on The Perfect Couple
Our low expectations from celebrities these days
George Washington wrote a nice letter once to Jews an we’re still talking about it
A distressed hostage back from Hamas captivity, and Noa Argamani
El Al to people trying to get flight tickets to Israel: Don’t.
What kind of Orthodox is this?
Is Austria’s far right leader hot? AAJ investigates
An on-an-off relationship with G_d
We may have made a big mistake offing that austere religious scholar Hassan Nasrallah
Our friend Eli Lake about the importance of winning, in The Free Press
A Sephora for Beirut
Why do Orthodox women always do this for a living?
And a listener has an R-rated Auschwitz related question…

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1 hr 7 min
September 24, 2024 Insert pager pun here
This episode is brought to you by the Federated States of Micronesia. No, they aren't paying us for sponsorship, but they are the only country that still loves us, so this one's on us!

This week we discuss the Hezbollah pager explosions, the list of countries that can no longer sit with us, Hassan Nasrallah's glow-up, decolonized pizza at MIT, tips on how to focus,and more.

The UN being the UN

MIT activists disrupt Israeli professor, steal pizzas (and a happy ending!)

The Man from Vilna - how to think about Simchat Torah this year (lyrics here)

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1 hr 4 min
September 17, 2024Safe Spaces for Dumb Ideas - with Greg Lukianoff
Greg Lukianoff is a First Amendment lawyer, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and co-author of the hits "The Coddling of the American Mind" with Jonathan Haidt and "The Canceling of the American Mind" with Rikki Schlott. He joins us to talk all things free speech, like why campuses are burning, how violence is kind of bad, actually, and why he fights for our right to say dumb things, and be called out on them.

Also:
What should keep us up at night?
Culture of free speech vs. the law of free speech
Actually, violence is bad
2023 was the worst year for deplatforming in history
Harvard is so mad at Greg right now
Even antisemites have free speech rights :(
Are the universities redeemable?
You're anti-intellectual! No, you're anti-intellectual!
Blame the lack of viewpoint diversity
Students + admins = trouble
Are you ever sick of all this free speech nonsense?
Kids need to be told they are stupid more often
FIRE-branded Shabbat dinners, coming soon to a table near you

Follow Greg on Twitter/X if you please, and also on Substack at The Eternally Radical Idea

The article that inspired the book The Coddling of the American Mind in The Atlantic (2015)

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1 hr 4 min
September 11, 2024 Hamas is like dating in New York - w/ David Christopher Kaufman
David Christopher Kaufman is a columnist and editor at the NY Post and an adjunct fellow at the Tel Aviv institute. He joins the girls this week to talk elections, Israel, and the identity of the half black, half Jewish, totally Zionist American journalist.

Also:

* The mood in Israel

* The difference between being a Jew and being Jewish

* Why Hamas is like dating in New York

* A Zionist Jew and a non-Zionist Jew walk into a bar...

* We all feel the same and it hasn't stopped for a day

* The pressure on young black Jewish kids

* The black struggle is not the Palestinian struggle

* Pro-Trump Jews, identity politics, and Kamala Harris

* Doug Emhoff is the "right kind of Jew"

Follow David on X and Instagram

And read his writing in the NY Post

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1 hr 3 min
September 05, 2024 The Progressive Case for Israel - W/ Brianna Wu
We are joined by Brianna Wu, the Executive Director of Rebellion Pac, who proudly calls herself queer, progressive - and a friend of Israel. We discuss growing up in Mississippi, what progressives can learn from Hasidic Jews, the Women's March, Gamergate, being an inspiration for a Law & Order episode, her global ranking as an elite Super Mario 2 Runner - and more!

Follow Brianna on X

The famous Law & Order episode based on Brianna's story

Brianna's Super Mario run

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1 hr 23 min
September 01, 2024 Getting up again
We hopped on to record with a heavy heart this morning, after hearing the devasating news of the murder of 6 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity: Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov and Eden Yerushalmi. They managed to survive 11 months, only to be executed somewhere between Thursday and Friday by their captors. We're angry, sad, contemplative, fearful - and thought you might want to join us through this ride.

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36 min
August 26, 2024We Didn't Start the Ceasefire - W/ Andrew Fox
The girls are joined by retired British Army Major Andrew Fox, who has spent time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, and other exotic tourist destinations. We discuss wars of choice, try to pick a fight with Taylor Swift, compare military MREs, and wonder why Americans love tiny dogs and Hezbollah flags.

Also:
Wait why does England need an army?
The US Military is rubbish at drinking
Learn from our fails in Iraq and Afghanistan
Don't pick wars of choice
The importance of playing nice
The Leroy Jenkins military approach to Ukraine (Or: Why Ukraine is Genociding Russia)
Some difference of opinion on Taylor Swift
Hey, we made it work with the Christians, eventually
From the River to the DNC
The great British MRE Bake Off
Food Washing

Follow Andrew Fox on Substack and on X.

The IDF’s Boot Is on Hamas’ Throat - Tablet, August 2024

Israel Is Succeeding in Gaza - Tablet, May 2024

How Israel is clearing Hamas out of Rafah - The Spectator, August 2024

This idiot at the DNC

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1 hr 6 min