Tablet Studios

Hey J-Crew: Before you do literally anything else today, buy a ticket to our next live show in NYC on July 25!

This week we talk Birthright, Hobby Lobby, and Jay-Z—oh my.

Our Jewish guest is historian Jenna Weissman Joselit, whose latest book is Set in Stone: America's Embrace of the Ten Commandments. She tells us how the Ten Commandments, which have become so politicized, were actually once a unifying force in America, and dishes on the 19th century drama over a Lower East Side synagogue’s stained glass depiction of the decalogue. Plus she tests us to see if we can list all ten commandments from memory.

Our gentile of the week is cat therapist Carole Wilbourn, who co-founded the first veterinary hospital exclusively for cats, and who has treated behavioral problems in more than 13,000 felines. She brings motorized cats that coo at us while she explains the Wilbourn Way, which incorporates feline Reiki, and is designed to treat both the animals and their guardians. She also helps Stephanie with her problem cat, Cat Stevens.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we may read your note on air.

Follow us on Twitter: @tabletmag, @markopp1, @liel, @stuffism.

This week’s sponsors are:

Harry’s: Go to Harrys.com and enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.

Hello Fresh: For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit hellofresh.com and enter code UNORTHODOX30.

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Break out the bug juice—it’s summer camp week on Unorthodox! We’re talking campfires, Color War, and Mark’s traumatic summer at a nudist camp.

Our first guest is Sandy Fox, a doctoral candidate studying language and everyday life in Zionist, Yiddishist, and denominational summer camps. She’s also the founder of Vaybertaytsh, a feminist podcast entirely in Yiddish. She explains how different Jewish ideologies shaped each kind of camp, tells us about a post-war summer camp for children of Holocaust survivors, and breaks the news that while summer camp is distinctly Jewish in many ways, Jews didn’t actually invent it (we totally reshaped color war, though).

Micah Hart, co-host of the podcast Campfires and Color Wars, talks to us about what summers were like as the camp director’s son, the difference between a Jewish camp and a camp where most of the campers happen to be Jewish, and what it means to be ‘camp hot.’

We also talk to writer Jordana Horn, who hated camp but whose kids love it—all six of them are attending some form of Jewish camp this summer. She tells us how Jewish camps give her children a space to develop their own Jewish identity and community, how social media has changed the camp experience for campers and their parents, and what really goes down when the kids ship out for the summer.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we may read your note on air.

Follow us on Twitter: @tabletmag  @markopp1 @liel @stuffism

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com and enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.

This episode is also brought to you by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Learn more at att.com/unlimited.

Music: 

"Mikveh Bath" by Golem

"Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" by Allan Sherman

"Suburban Kids with Biblical Names" by Shitty Weekend

"Gucci Gucci" by Kreayshawn

"Rose's Turn" by Stephen Sondheim, performed by Bette Middler

"Hatikvah" performed by Francki Perez et Broadway

"That Power" by Childish Gambino

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Back in May, we interviewed L.A.-based comedian and writer H Alan Scott about converting to Judaism, surviving cancer, and his deep love of The Golden Girls.

We recently caught up with H Alan by phone to discuss his first trip to Israel (for Tel Aviv Pride!) and his subsequent Newsweek article about "pinkwashing" and the BDS movement. We discussed LGBT politics, Zionism, and anti-Semitism—and of course, hummus. Though we talked before the Chicago Dyke March controversy, this conversation should still help contextualize the debates currently taking place in the LGBT community vis-à-vis Israel.

We hope you enjoy this bonus midweek dose of Unorthodox! We'll be back in your feed on June 29 with our next full episode. As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

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Description: This week on Unorthodox, don’t even think about cutting Israel out of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Our Jewish guest is journalist and Tablet columnist Jamie Kirchick, who returns to the show to discuss his new book, The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age. He tells us about the emboldening of extremes on both sides of the political spectrum, the dangers of countries like Hungary rewriting their World War II history, and what it all means for the United States.

Our Gentile of the Week is comedian and writer Negin Farsad, author of How to Make White People Laugh and the host of the political comedy roundtable podcast Fake the Nation. She tells us why comedy has gotten harder in the era of Trump, plus the anti-racism ads she wants to put up on the president’s golf courses, and asks whether Jews consider themselves the veterans of oppressed religious groups.

Next week is Camp Week 🏕️ on Unorthodox! We want to hear your favorite camp memories, from color war breakouts to covert makeouts. Record a voice note or send us an email at [email protected].

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Follow us on Twitter: @tabletmag, @markopp1, @liel, @stuffism.

This episode is brought to you by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Learn more at att.com/unlimited.

Music:

"Mikveh Bath" by Golem 

"Close Every Door" written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, performed by Danny Osmond

"European Son" by Velvet Underground

"The Spark" by The Roots

"Kapara Sheli" by Nechi Nech

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This week, we recorded a special crossover episode with Lexicon Valley, the podcast hosted by linguist John McWhorter. John was a guest on our show in December 2016, and when we weren’t interrupting him, we were discussing things like the word ‘like’ and his latest book, Talking Back, Talking Black. We sat down with him again for an in-depth conversation about whether there’s such a thing as Jewish English, the beauty of yeshivish, and, of course, the dinner scene from 'Annie Hall.'

Check out Lexicon Valley here.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we may read your note on air.

Follow us on Twitter: @tabletmag, @markopp1, @liel, and @stuffism.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com and enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.

This episode is also brought to you by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Learn more at att.com/unlimited.

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

Our Jewish guest this week is Fred Kuhr, who hosts The Point, a Toronto-based talk show that brings gay and straight men together “to see what happens.” He explains the stereotypes gay men have about straight men, the difference between American and Canadian homophobia, and adjusting to Montreal bagels as a Brooklyn-born expat.

Our Gentile of the Week is Jonathan Frakes, best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He tells us about navigating obsessive Star Trek fans at conventions and his thoughts on the state of sci-fi today.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we may read your note on air.

Follow us Twitter: @tabletmag, @markopp1, @liel, @stuffism. We're also on Facebook and Instagram.

Music:  

"Mikveh Bath" by Golem

"People" by Barbara Streisand

"Too Much (ft. Sampha)" by Drake

"Star Trek: The Next Generation Theme" by Alexander Courage and Jerry Goldsmith

"Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus and Chaka Khan

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This week on Unorthodox, we’re still full from all that Shavuot cheesecake. Our Jewish guest is actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who plays Jack Barker on HBO’s Silicon Valley, and whose latest book is My Adventures with God. He tells us about getting recognized in shul (he started going to synagogue twice a day to say kaddish after his mother died), what it’s like to tackle something as intimate as faith while working in Hollywood, and the time he had to shoot a movie on Yom Kippur, even though five of the actors in the film were Jewish. Our Gentile of the week is Esquire columnist Stephen Marche, author of The Unmade Bed: The Messy Truth About Men and Women in the 21st Century. He tells us about quitting his job and leaving New York when his wife landed her dream job in Toronto, adjusting to life as the primary caregiver for their children, and why he hates the term ‘bro.’

Sign up for for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we'll share our favorite notes on air.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com and enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.

This episode is also brought to you by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Learn more at att.com/unlimited. 

Music:

"Mikveh Bath" by Golem

"Good  News" by Randy Newman

"I Got You, Babe" by Sonny & Cher

"HUA!" by Brazzmatazz

"Toxic"  by Britney Spears, cover by Yael Naim

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This week, we break down Donald Trump’s Holy Land adventure.

Our Jewish guest is Yascha Mounk, a lecturer at Harvard whose area of research—how to preserve liberal democracy in the face of populism—has made him extremely popular lately. He tells us how worried we should be about rising populist tides in Europe and the U.S., explains some of the difficulties currently facing multiethnic societies, and tells us how it felt when he became a U.S. citizen in March. Our Gentile of the week is Irish novelist Ruth Gilligan, whose latest book, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, was inspired by the largely unknown story of the Jewish community in Ireland. She tells us about the similarities between the Jews and the Irish and explains her research for the novel, which started over tea in the homes of the remaining Jews of Cork and took her to Israel, where she met Irish emigrants.

Sign up for for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we'll share our favorite notes on air.

This episode is brought to you by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Learn more at att.com/unlimited.

This episode is also brought to you by PJ Library, a free book program for families raising Jewish children. Sign up at pjlibrary.org/unorthodox, and they’ll send you a free picture book each month until your child turns nine.

Music: 

"Mikveh Bath" by Golem

"Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash

"Walk this Way" by Aerosmith

"The Boys of the County Cork" written by Tom Murphy

"Sunday Lights" by Blue Dot Sessions

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Unorthodox host Mark Oppenheimer recently published an op-ed in The New York Times about our aversion to using the word 'Jew,' as opposed to 'Jewish.' Is 'Jew' still considered a slur? By many, yes. Should we reclaim it? Definitely, says Mark.

He discussed his op-ed with On the Media's Brooke Gladstone a couple of weeks ago, and we're pleased to share their conversation with you here in full. (Don't worry, the next full episode of Unorthodox will go live as scheduled on May 25!)

As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

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When Maya Jankelowitz and her husband Dean opened Jack’s Wife Freda in New York City in 2012, they mined their respective Israeli and South African upbringings for family recipes and traditional spices. The result was trendy downtown dining with a home-cooked vibe and a dash of nostalgia (the restaurant is named after Dean's grandparents). The pair now run two restaurants, identically named, and just published the Jack's Wife Freda cookbook, which features recipes like peri peri chicken, malva pudding, and Maya’s mother’s chicken schnitzel. Maya joins us to talk about offering a Sephardic take on Jewish comfort food in a city dominated by bagels and lox, serving green shakshuka to Israeli tourists in Manhattan, and the first meal she eats when she goes back to Israel.

We also talk to scholar Barry Holtz, whose latest book is Rabbi Akiva: The Sage of the Talmud. He shares some of his favorite stories about the preeminent teacher, whom he describes the model of Jewish intellectual creativity, and explains why we should approach the Talmud as a “multivolume, postmodern experimental novel.”

Sign up for for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more! Email us at [email protected]—we'll share our favorite notes on air.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com and enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.

This episode is also brought to you by PJ Library, a free book program for families raising Jewish children. Sign up at pjlibrary.org/unorthodox, and they’ll send you a free picture book each month until your child turns nine.

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