Chosen People Problems

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Hello - SURVEY. Fill out the SURVEY. Last one to fill out the SURVEY is an antisemite. Plus you have a chance to win Chaya Leah’s baked goods, made especially for you! If you already filled it out, you are our favorite! If you are the listeners from Japan, Barbados, Scotland or Pakistan - email us! We want to get to know you (you can all email us actually. It is called Ask A Jew you know….).

[email protected]

Also, this just in - Mark your calendars for Monday, June 1st at 6pm!! Come have a drink with some other AJJers (Jew-pies?) and meet your two favorite Jewish podcasters (not Ezra Klein and Dan Senor) at:

Spring Lounge

48 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Comment if you plan to attend! Special guests may make an appearance…

Now that logistics are out of the way - we gathered around the microphone last night to discuss Chaya Leah’s favorite holiday, Shavuout, and her two least favorite things in the world: antizionist Jews and Eurovision. We also have some TV and book recommendations for you, discuss Mayor Mamdani’s stupid party, and send some special love to Albania.

Turns out I was partially right about our Albanian brethren, I said they didn’t lose a single Jew during the holocaust, turns out they actually GAINED Jews. You should use this super fun fact to impress your Albanian doormen in New York, they are very proud of it (rightfully so), as well as their impeccable Eurovision voting history (doormen may not care about that). Shout out to my dad Ronnie for this information!

Some links:

* JVP barfy tweet

* J-Street mamdani Substack, what do you think?

* Great book recommendation following our shipping recommendation - thank you to whoever suggested it!

* ICYMI - my Eurovision recap (you don’t need to enjoy or like or even know what Eurovision is to read)

* Some listeners suggested a book club, but we all know books are for nerds. How about we all pick a season of 90 Day Fiance and watch together?? Meisha and Nicola — a gorgeous American and painfully average Israeli united by their love of Jesus — agree! (Season 6)

See you in NYC June 1st!!

(Did we mention there is a survey?)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Dr. Gad Saad is a scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi, and all-around Mensch. As a Lebanese-Canadian-Jewish academic, let’s just say he knows a thing or two about the culture wars, and the war wars.

We talk about his latest book “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind”, how our minds have been infected by parisites, what happened when he made fun of Quebec French (linguistic genocide), and how exactly the IDF trains magical dogs to r*pe terrorists.

Follow Dr. Saad on X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (where he has a combined 2 million+ followers), you’re in for a fun ride!

Also this episode will soon be available on our Youtube!

Check out our channel and subscribe.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Today on Ask a Jew, we’re joined by writer Freya India, author of Girls: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything, to talk about what growing up as a girl looks like in the age of Instagram, how we are all carrying generational trauma from Eve, and why not everything in your life is a problem to be fixed. Turns out we’re all just 13-year-old girls! Now go buy the book.

Do you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Well, you can!

We also get into why social media can feel like a “rumination machine” for anxious girls, how beauty culture and Facetune turn teenagers into products, and why every normal feeling is suddenly language‑ified into a “disorder,” a “trauma,” or a “healing journey.” We also talk about what boys are seeing online, the rise of “looksmaxxing,” and whether anyone knows how to have a normal relationship anymore. If you’re a parent, a millennial/Gen X woman looking at Gen Z with horror, or a Gen Z girl trying to make sense of your own feed, this one is for you.

Also:

* Will the allure beauty box change your life?

* We are all just 13 year old girls

* Social media escalaes every trend o the extreme

* Not everything needs to be solved

* Is therapy a scam?

* We’re all trying to gain control

* social media is a rumination machine

* Beware of therapy talk

* Feeling anxious? you’re probably normal

* The stories we tell ourselves

* We all have generational trauma from Eve

* You think you need therapy? Go live in Somalia!

* Freya is so pretty

* Is every personality trait is a problem?

* We don’t care about your healing journeys

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Two episodes in one week? You lucky ducks! Maybe there’s even a third one coming…Only Hashem (and maybe producer Gabi) knows.

BUT FIRST - are you following us on YouTube? Listen, I get if you’re an antisemite and don’t want to show your cards. We won’t judge you. But if you care about the Jewish people, really the only thing left to do is subscribe, like and leave a comment!

We had some beginner’s luck with the delightful Sal Mercogliano (34,000 views?? Maybe we do control the media), and also uploaded some older ones, like fan favorite Michael C. Moynihan of The Fifth Column! BTW if you are a YouTube expert email us at [email protected] for all your tips, because our team (aka Yael) does not know what it’s doing. You can also email any questions, comments and concerns there.

Today’s episode is a blast from the past, aka last week. Not to make this a history lesson, but do you remember the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner? How about the King Charles White House visit? Those were the days!

We also cover the terrible attack in London (sadly this could be true of any week), the etiquette of leaving voice notes, and how fun it is to colonize people’s minds. Enjoy.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

askajew.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Watch this episode on YouTube!! Yes, it's happening!

Please susbcribe to our brand new channel.

Are the Straits of Hormuz open or closed? Is "free shipping" actually real? How do you clear underwater mines? Do ships draw crude drawings on tracking maps? And why are Christmas sweaters designed in April?All that and more in our conversation with maritime historian, professor, and popular podcast host Dr. Sal Mercogliano, host of the hit show ‪“What’s Going on With Shipping”. If you think his channel his niche, he only has 700,000 youtube subscribers.

Also:

* An Italian from Long Island? Practically a Jew.

* Breaking: Sal doesn’t like fish.

* What are merchant mariners?

* Every day is Monday on a ship.

* Getting seasick is a thing.

* What’s up with the Southern Ocean.

* The Titanic (movie) didn’t have to end that way.

* You realize your internet is connected with cables under the ocean, right?

* Beware of blockade crypto scams.

* Why blocking the strait of Hormuz is like blocking an artery

* If Iran can’t export oil, they’re going to lose their wells.

* Yes, Sal get’s recognized on cruise ships.

* You don’t need mines to scare everyone about mines.

And more….

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Jamie Denbo is an actress, comedian, formerly a writer and producer on Grey’s Anatomy (yes, that Grey’s Anatomy), and creator of The Beverly Podcast! Oh, you may have also seen her on Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother.

We talk to Jamie (and Beverly) about comedy, Hollywood, Jewish moms, what we can learn about antisemitism from 12-step programs, and what happened post-October 7th in the writer’s room of a hit show (unfortunately, nothing good).

Also:

* Can we talk about The Pitt instead of Grey’s Anatomy?

* Whispers of support, public silence.

* Turns out people don’t know what Jews are.

* Your coworkers posted what on Instagram??

* You can learn a lot from the antisemites.

* An abundance of anger.

* One righteous man in the writer’s room.

* How can there be antisemitism when Donna Martin from 90210 is Jewish?

* How much is real estate in the Shtetl?

* Beverly is for everyone! (and thank you to the Jewish Writers Institute)

* Everyone has an inappropriate, overly-sexualized aunt.

* Which kind of Jews are more annoying - women or men?

* Call your mother!!!

Check out the Beverly Podcast! wherever you get your podcasts, on Youtube and Instagram.

Thank you for listening to Ask A Jew! We love you all equally, but our non-Jewish listeners are more equal. We want to send some love and welness vibes to listener Jonathan Campbell, who is going through some rough s**t and currently on a healing journey. Jonathan, get better soon. We can’t afford to lose any listeners <3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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During these trying times, we’re here for you to process the shattering news of the last few weeks: Abby and David from Love on the Spectrum have broken up. What will happen to the lions? We also talk about the war in Iran, settlers, cutting off family members, and how, if we were in the Holocaust, we’d absolutely be hitting on the American soldiers who came to liberate us.

Also:

* Chaya Leah catches up after being offline for 3 years for Passover.

* Book recommendation “The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness” by Arthur Brooks (it’s beter than it sounds)

* The tragedy of Yael’s beanbag.

* Putting ourselves in a Lock Box.

* For Holocaust Memorial Day, we absolutely do not rank holocaust survivors.

* Ok fine, we’ll talk about the war in Iran.

* When Zionist Israelis start to sound like Tucker Carlson.

* No, we are not in line for the gas chambers.

* We make it 54 minutes before getting to Mandy Patinkin.

* Some settler chatter.

* Easter egg envy.

* Want to play CrossPlay with us?? Send us an invite on the Substack Chat!

* Netflix recommendations: “Chess Mates” and “Trust Me: The Falste Prophet”

Love the show? Want others to love it too? Consider giving us a 5 star rating and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Rabbi David Wolpe needs no introduction, but if you insist: He’s a scholar in residence at the Maimonides Fund, Rabbi Emeritus at LA’s Sinai Temple, and formerly a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School (where, you know, Yael…never mind).

This is a somewhat optimistic, thoughtful (well, at least Wolpe’s part), conversation about why Jews are fine (when’s the last time you saw a Hittite walking around?), whether the bible is true, how we can build stronger friendships with other communities, and if we should forgive Kanye….not to mention Mandy Patinkin.

Happy Passover to our Jews, and Happy Easter to our Christians! Everyone else, have a wonderful and happy week, and thank you for listening!

Also:

* Jews like our clouds without silver lining.

* Things are great! All things considered.

* There’s no such thing as a grown up.

* The wrath of Jewish WhatsApp groups (you don’t need to text him about every Swastika)

* Wait, not everything in the bible is real?? A controversial sermon.

* What makes the Exodus true? An interview with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (but finish listening to this first)

* Is AI good for the Jews?

* How Jewish do you need to be?

* Why did you become a Rabbi?

* What to say to a young Jew who wants out?

* Recommended reading: Testament of a Jew from Saragossa, by Eli Wiesel.

* We live in a society where victimhood is power.

* We need you!

* Where have all the Hittites gone?

* Can Judaism survive without a Tzar?

* Which Jews can we kick out though?

* Does Rabbi Wolpe forgive Kanye?

* Can’t finish without Pharoah Mandy Patinkin.

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

We’ll be off next week, but if you miss us and want to help us grow, consider going to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a five star rating and a nice review.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Dr. Jonathan Sarna is one of the most well-regarded historians in America and the Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. He has written and edited over 30 books (which is more than we have read…combined) and is the expert on the Jews of America. We rate the American presidents on whether they liked or didn’t like Jews, discuss how bad antisemitism really is today compared to the past, and learn why we have always been blamed for everything — historically speaking, of course.

Also:

* A brief detour into the history of… Sex and the City.

* The Jews that don’t eat Turkey.

* Rehabbing Ulysses S. Grant.

* It’s always the fault of the Jews - even before it happens.

* What Jews can learn from Feminists.

* What is going on with Jewish Studies departments in academia?

* Why many Jewish academics prefer to sit the antisemitism discussion out.

* Who hasn’t gotten an antisemitic letter from Richard Nixon??

* Honest Abe lives up to his name.

* How bad is it really?

Oh hey guess who else wrote something? Honored to make my debut in National Review with a piece about Israeli wartime humor.

Also, friend of the pod and previous guest Jen Brick Murtazashvili had a wonderful piece in the Washington Post today about what we get wrong about this war (a lot). Here’s a gift link.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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