Menschwarmers

Shalom, sports fans! We've got a special episode for you today: the Menschwarmers appeared on Bonjour Chai, The CJN's weekly current affairs podcast, to chat about Olympic history, Jewish athletecism and much more. Subscribe to Bonjour Chai on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Plus: don't forget to register for the Menschwarmers' first-ever live event! We'll be reviewing how Jewish Olympians fared at the games, including highlights, lowlights and Shabbat candlelights. We're organizing it with StandWithUs Canada and it's happening Thursday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Register at thecjn.ca/tokyo2020

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook, or find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics starting this week, Jewish sports fans are abuzz with one question: Who's representing the tribe? As it happens, there are plenty of promising Olympians with fascinating stories, from Argentine tennis phenom Diego Schwartzman to Jewish Japanese basketballer Avi Schafer and a whole lot of American and Canadian fencing stars—to say nothing of Israel's contenders in marathons, Judo and racewalking.

To give an overview, the Menschwarmers are joined today by Emily Burack, deputy managing editor of Alma, who has spent the last few months investigating and writing about Jewish Olympians from around the world.

Relevant links:

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook, or find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

While no Jewish baseball fan is looking forward to waking up at 5 a.m. to watch Team Israel compete at the Tokyo Olympics, every Jewish baseball fan is still rooting hard. Gabe and Jamie are no exceptions—and they're equally excited to chat with Dean Pelman, a pitcher for Team Israel, mere days before he sets out on the road to the Olympics.

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook, or find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

This year marks the first time since 1988 that Canada has fielded a full roster of men's and women's Olympic fencers. Eli Schenkel, a young Vancouver-based fencer, is taking a stab at putting the cerebral sport back on Canadians' radars.

In today's episode, Eli joins the Menschwarmers to explain how he got into the game, why Jews have excelled with the epee, and how excited he is to go to the fences to represent our country in next month's Tokyo Olympics. Will Eli and his team medal—or will their plans be foiled?

Related links

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook, or find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

There are many Jewish musicians. There are many songs about sports. But how many songs about sports (or even songs that just mention sports) were written (or even just once recorded) by Jewish musicians? In this episode, Gabe and Jamie cast an admittedly very wide net into the broadly defined world of Jewish sports music. Listen to find out what made the cut—and then add your own picks to our open playlist on Spotify.

Plus: the boys play a good old round of "Jew or Not a Jew" with owners of the remaining NBA and NHL playoff teams. Tony Ressler? Mike Chipman? Ann Walton Kroenke? Place your bets and play along!

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.

We've got a special treat for you, Jewish sports fans! Our most-requested guest, Cody Decker, is here with a generous interview about his career and Jewish identity. Cody may have retired from pro baseball, but he's still very active in the sports world. He's working with charities and hosts his own podcast, but more importantly, he's been involved with training Israel's Olympic baseball team this year in Scottsdale, Arizona. On today's episode, Cody talks about all this and more—including his part in Team Israel's legendary run in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Related links:

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.

Nate Fish, the self-proclaimed "King of Jewish Baseball", has been a coach and player with Team USA at the Maccabiah Games, the Tel Aviv Lightning, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and the Savannah Bananas, a "baseball circus" team that focuses on entertainment, costumes and dancing. This spring, he's heading to Arizona with Team Israel to prepare for their historic appearance at the Tokyo Olympics.

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.

It's hard to get kids to care about culture and religion. It's much easier, on the other hand, to get them to play video games. Bridging that gap is Lost Tribe Esports, a non-profit organization that organizes video game events, competitions and communities for young Jewish gamers. (And if you don't think gaming is a sport, you've clearly never watched competitive Super Smash Bros.) Andrew Exler, director of content and strategy for the company, joins to talk about their project.

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.

Star NFL wide receiver and Superbowl MVP Julian Edelman has arguably been the most popular Jewish athlete of our time. This week, he announced that time has come to a close, as he retired from pro football after 12 seasons with the New England Patriots. James brings on guest host Alex Rose to talk about his legacy and Jewish identity.

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.

We're still digesting matzah brei and baseball season is right around the corner. What better way to celebrate both than by smushing them together into one giant celebration of Jewish baseball—in seder form? James leads the first-ever "Jewish baseball"–themed Passover seder, from the Ten Players to the Four Questions (About Jewish Baseball Athletes).

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is "Organ Grinder Swing" by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook.