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This week on Unorthodox: two Jews, many opinions!

Returning to the show is writer and illustrator Christopher Noxon. He tells us about his new book, “Good Trouble: Lessons from the Civil Rights Playbook,” an illustrated history of the civil rights movement.

Our second guest is French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, the author of more than 30 books, including The Genius of Judaism. He joins us to discuss his most recent book, The Empire and the Five Kings: America's Abdication and the Fate of the World.

We love to hear from you! Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group to chat with the hosts and see what happens behind-the-scenes! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt.

This episode is also sponsored by Harry's, offering a great shave at a great price. Get a free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

This episode is brought to you by Unorthodox Wine, offering beautiful kosher wines from South Africa. Get free shipping on any order when you visit bitly.com/unorthowine.

This episode is sponsored by Hebrew College. The Jewish community needs rabbis who are creatively engaging with Jewish tradition, and Hebrew College’s rabbinical school is currently accepting applications. Visit Hebrewcollege.edu/unorthodox to find out more. 

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This week on Unorthodox, we've got a special episode dedicated to circumcision and the Jewish mitzvah known as the brit, or bris, that signifies entry into the tribe for eight-day-old Jewish males.

We talk to Dr. Emily Blake, the mohel who performed Mark's son's bris, about why this biblical practice has remained so central to the Jewish experience, even among the non-observant.  The folks at BimBam explain Lech Lecha, the parsha in which Abraham and God enter into the covenant that defines the Jewish people. Hayim Leiter, a rabbi and mohel in Jerusalem, tells us about Safer Habrit, his organization that provides circumcision education and advocates against the controversial practice known as metzitzah b'peh. Sara Fredman Aeder tells us about approaching Jewish circumcision from a scholarly perspective and, later, a personal one, and Lizzie Skurnick shares her experience weighing circumcision as a single mother by choice. Producer Noah Levinson talks with Australian medical historian Dr. Robert Darby, (www.historyofcircumcision.net) about the speculation surrounding the British royal family's possible circumcisions, including the role of the "royal mohel.". And finally, Cristian Uriostegui tells the story of getting circumcised his junior year in college,

The BimBam explainer was read by Emily Shapiro Katz, a Jewish educator in Beer Sheva, Israel; watch the animated version at bimbam.com.

We'd love to know what you think about this episode! Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is brought to you by Unorthodox Wine, offering beautiful kosher wines from South Africa. Get free shipping on any order when you visit bitly.com/unorthowine.

'The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List' comes out March 19! Featuring the biggest names in food—Jewish and not—and recipes for some of the most beloved, polarizing, and enduring Jewish foods, it’s the perfect gift to bring to this year’s Passover seder. Pre-order your copy today and you could win a $150 gift card to Russ & Daughters: to enter, forward a copy of your receipt or confirmation to [email protected].

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 This week on Unorthodox, we'd like to thank the Academy... and our three Jewish guests!

First we get glammed up with shoe designer Stuart Weitzman, who tells us about getting his big break when Aretha Franklin wore his shoes to the 1983 American Music Awards, and how he made red carpet history when he designed $1 million shoes for Mulholland Drive actress Laura Harring to wear to the 2002 Oscars. Since then, the 'shoe cam' has become a standard feature of award shoe red carpets.

Then film critic Jordan Hoffman returns to the show to tell us what to expect at Sunday's Academy Awards, at which only a few Jews are nominated and some non-Jews are up for Jewish roles.

Finally, a special Oscars treat: Liel calls up actor Kurt Fuller, who talks about being 'that guy' in hundreds of films, including Ghostbusters II, Wayne's World, Anger Management, and just about every movie you've ever seen.

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group to chat with the hosts and see what happens behind-the-scenes! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt.

This episode is sponsored by Hebrew College. The Jewish community needs rabbis who are creatively engaging with Jewish tradition, and Hebrew College’s rabbinical school is currently accepting applications. Visit Hebrewcollege.edu/unorthodox to find out more.

This episode is also sponsored by Harry's, offering a great shave at a great price. Get a free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

Unorthodox is hiring! We're looking for a part-time associate producer to handle guest booking, episode scheduling, live show planning, and more. Click here for more information. To apply for the position, email [email protected] with the subject line ‘associate producer.’

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This week, we're live and wide awake from Seattle.

Our Jewish guest is Rabbi Will Berkovitz, CEO of Jewish Family Service Seattle. He tells us why helping resettle refugees is about more than simply "Jewish values," describes the surprising pushback he's received from some Jews over his social activism, and explains how he was inspired to become a rabbi after attending a Catholic college.

Our gentile of the week is Dan Savage, the Seattle-based sex-advice columnist and host of Savage Lovecast. He returns to the show to answer love and relationship questions from Unorthodox listeners just in time for Valentine's Day (or as we call it, secular Tu B'Av). (For the uninitiated, Dan is very open and uncensored in his discussion of sex and relationships, so we really mean the obscenity warning this week.)

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group to chat with the hosts and see what happens behind-the-scenes! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Show your love for Unorthodox with our new T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies. Get yours at bit.ly/unorthoshirt.

This episode is sponsored by Hebrew College. The Jewish community needs rabbis who are creatively engaging with Jewish tradition, and Hebrew College’s rabbinical school is currently accepting applications. Visit Hebrewcollege.edu/unorthodox to find out more.

'The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List' comes out March 19! Featuring the biggest names in food—Jewish and not—and recipes for some of the most beloved, polarizing, and enduring Jewish foods, it’s the perfect gift to bring to this year’s Passover seder. Pre-order your copy today and you could win a $150 gift card to Russ & Daughters: to enter, forward a copy of your receipt or confirmation to [email protected].

Unorthodox is hiring! We're looking for a part-time associate producer to handle guest booking, episode scheduling, live show planning, and more. Check out bit.ly/unorthodoxproducer for more information. To apply for the position, email [email protected] with the subject line ‘associate producer.’ (edited) 

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This week's episode was recorded live at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles.

Our first Jewish guest is Rachel Sumekh, who founded Swipe Out Hunger, the leading nonprofit in addressing hunger on college campuses. She tells us why Swipe Out Hunger is a fundamentally Jewish project, inspired in part by her family's dependence on food assistance after her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Iran, and how, as a Persian Jewish woman in the technology and social entrepreneurship world, she's hoping to be more of a norm than an exception.

Our second Jewish guest is actor, screenwriter, and director Lauren Miller Rogen, whose most recent film, Like Father, stars Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer and is streaming on Netflix. After her mother was diagnosed, at age 55, with early onset Alzheimer's, Lauren created Hilarity for Charity, which has raised more than $10 million for Alzheimer's awareness and research through star-studded variety shows fundraisers. Lauren tells us about moving from Long Island to Lakeland, Fl and becoming one of very few Jewish students, explaining Hanukkah to her dentist, and what it’s like directing her husband Seth in her films.

Our gentile of the week is Jonathan Groff, executive producer and co-showrunner on ABC's Blackish. He also worked on How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs, and spent five seasons as head writer on Late Night with Conen O'Brien. He tells us about sharing a name with that other Jonathan Groff (this Jonathan Groff's Twitter handle is @NotThatGroff), and growing up in a rectory as the son of an Episcopal priest

Join us Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan for a special Valentine's Day live show featuring dating app ghostwriter Meredith Golden and married female comedians Jess Salomon, who is Jewish, and Eman El-Husseini, who is Palestinian. Get your tickets here.

This episode is sponsored by Hebrew College. The Jewish community needs rabbis who are creatively engaging with Jewish tradition, and Hebrew College’s rabbinical school is currently accepting applications. Visit Hebrewcollege.edu/unorthodox to find out more.

This episode is also sponsored by JChef, the new kosher meal kit. Go to JChef.com/unorthodox and use coupon code Unorthodox30 to get 30 percent off your first order.

Tablet’s new book, 'The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List' comes out March 19! Featuring the biggest names in food—Jewish and not—and recipes for some of the most beloved, polarizing, and enduring Jewish foods, it’s the perfect gift to bring to this year’s Passover seder. Pre-order your copy today and you could win a $150 gift card to Russ & Daughters: to enter, forward a copy of your receipt or confirmation to [email protected].

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

This week on Unorthodox, one young man's journey out of white nationalism. Our Jewish guest is Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow, whose latest book is Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, which tells the story of Derek Black, the son of Stormfront founder Don Black and heir apparent to the White Nationalist movement. After enrolling in a diverse college and befriending a wide range of people—including Jewish students who invited him to weekly Shabbat dinners after he was outed as a white supremacist—Derek began to challenge his ingrained assumptions, ultimately denouncing the movement he was raised to lead and his family's involvement in it.

We also talk to Derek himself, who tells producer Shira Telushkin about life after white nationalism, explains the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories at the root of the movement (plus the whole thing about lizard people), and shares the remorse and guilt he feels that the ideas he once publicly espoused and proliferated inspired the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter.

We're heading to the West Coast! We'll be at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles Friday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. for a special Shabbat show with actor and director Lauren Miller Rogen, 'Black-ish' producer Jonathan Groff, and Iranian-Jewish philanthropist Rachel Sumekh; get your tickets here. Then we'll be at the Stroum JCC in the Seattle area Saturday, Feb. 2 for a special live show with Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast. Get your tickets here.

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is sponsored by the Yiddish Book Center’s Great Jewish Books Summer Program for high school juniors and seniors. To learn more and apply, visit: www.yiddishbookcenter.org/greatjewishbooks.

This episode is also sponsored by JChef, the new kosher meal kit. Go to Jchef.com/unorthodox and use coupon code Unorthodox30 to get 30 percent off your first order.

Additional support for this episode comes from Harry's. Get a free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

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

This episode was recorded at Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Association of Reform Jewish Educators. Thanks to our friends at ARJE for making this show happen.

Our Jewish guest is food historian Michael Twitty, author of the James Beard Award-winning book The Cooking Gene, who returns to the show to tell us about his years as a Hebrew School teacher, when he was often the first black person his students interacted with, and his next book project, Kosher Soul, which focuses on his Jewish identity. He also explains what ptcha is, and why it's one of Tablet's 100 Most Jewish Foods.

Our gentile of the week is Congresswoman Katie Porter, the newly-elected Representative of California’s 45th District and the first Democrat to hold the seat since it was created in 1953. She tells us about dining at Yale's kosher kitchen with our own Mark Oppenheimer back in college, how she's trying to help furloughed government workers during the shutdown, and her life as a single mother now shlepping between California and Washington, D.C. all the time. Her question for the panel is why Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish Arbor Day, falls in the dead of winter.

We're heading to the West Coast! We'll be at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles Friday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. for a special Shabbat show with actor and director Lauren Miller Rogen, 'Black-ish' producer Jonathan Groff, and Iranian-Jewish philanthropist Rachel Sumekh; get your tickets here.

Then we'll be at the Stroum JCC in the Seattle area Saturday, Feb. 2 for a special live show with Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast. Get your tickets here.

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is sponsored by JChef, the kosher meal kit. Go to Jchef.com/unorthodox and use coupon code Unorthodox30 to get 30 percent off your first order.

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

This episode is also sponsored by Hebrew College. The Jewish community needs rabbis who are creatively engaging with Jewish tradition, and Hebrew College's rabbinical school is currently accepting applications. Visit Hebrewcollege.edu/unorthodox to find out more.

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

This week on Unorthodox, we're setting it up.

Our Jewish guest this week is longtime matchmaker Tova Weinberg, who founded the Jewish dating website Saw You at Sinai. In an interview recorded at our Hanukkah live show in Pittsburgh, she tells the hosts about ditching dentistry to become a matchmaker (she estimates she's made 350 matches over the past 40 years), and her opinion on what it is that men and women really want. She also helps out a listener with some first date tips.

Our Gentile of the Week is producer Scott Ellis, whose long list of theater and television credits includes The Good Wife, Weeds, She Loves Me, and more. He sits down with Stephanie to talk about getting his start on TV with the sitcom Frasier, putting himself up for an Emmy nomination, (and actually getting the nomination!) for an episode of 30 Rock, and being entrusted by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino to direct a few episodes of the award-winning Amazon series. (Scott even got Stephanie and producer Josh Kross into Season 2, Ep. 3 as extras—check out the very last scene).

We're heading to the West Coast! We'll be at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles Friday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. for a special Shabbat live show; Guests will include writer, director, actor, and producer Lauren Miller Rogen and Iranian-Jewish philanthropist Rachel Sumekh, Get your tickets here.

Then we'll be at the Stroum JCC in the Seattle area Saturday, Feb. 2 for a special live show with Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast, and . Get your tickets here.

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is sponsored by JChef, the new kosher meal kit. Go to Jchef.com/unorthodox and use coupon code Unorthodox30 to get 30 percent off your first order.

Additional support comes from The Branch, a new podcast from Hadassah that explores how positive relationships between Israeli Jews and Arabs can bring new hope for a truly shared society. Check it out at Hadassah.org/thebranch.

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

This week on Unorthodox: early elections in Israeli, bat mitzvah recaps, and a taste of Liel's listener meetup in Tel Aviv. We have three Jewish guests: Jesse Eisenberg, who in addition to playing everyone from Lex Luthor to Mark Zuckerberg on screen, executive produced the new documentary 'The World Before Your Feet,'  which follows Matt Green as he walks every block of of New York City, and was directed by Jeremy Workman. The three of them sat down with Stephanie Butnick to discuss Matt's unusual journey, the 'churchagogues' he discovered along the way, and what you learn when you slow down and look around.

Our Gentile of the week is journalist Rukmini Callimachi, who covers terrorism and the Islamic State for the New York Times. She’s the host of Caliphate, a serialized podcast that follows a former ISIS member and tracks the international rise of the terrorist group. She tells us about digging through ISIS trash in Syria, and the strangest (and scariest) things that have happened to her along the way. Her question for the panel is about the appropriate greeting for Jewish friends on Yom Kippur.

We're hitting the road in 2019!

Come see us January 15 at Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C. It's free—register here.

February 1, we'll be doing a special Shabbat show at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles.  Tickets here.

We'll be at the Stroum JCC in the Seattle area February 2 for a special live show with Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast. Get your tickets here.

We love to hear from you: Send comments and questions for Unorthodox to [email protected] or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869.

This episode is sponsored by One Day University. Get 25% off your tickets to any session when you register using the coupon code UNORTHODOX at http://www.onedayu.com

This episode is also sponsored by Harry's. Get a free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNOROTHODOX.

Additional support comes from JChef, the new kosher meal kit. Go to Jchef.com/unorthodox and use coupon code Unorthodox30 to get 30 percent off your first order.

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

Back in 2013, Tablet contributor Daniel Estrin spoke to Amos Oz for Tablet's Vox Tablet podcast. Oz died today, December 28, 2018, and we wanted to bring you this episode from the back catalog.  

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