TanakhCast

In this week’s episode: Judges 4-7. We are joined by provocateur and rabbinic trickster Caryn Aviv as we consider the anomalous stories of Devorah and Yael who literally and figuratively stick it to the Man.

And, as promised, here’s the link to more information about biblical women at the Jewish Women’s Archive.

In this week’s episode: Judges 1-3.  We begin the Book of Judges with an examination of that famous dictum “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” as we consider the forgetfulness of the Jews after their oppression is lifted by God’s elected judge.

In this week’s episode: Joshua 20-24.  We conclude the Book of Joshua with a look at farewell speeches and what Yehoshua should have said but didn’t.

In this week’s episode: Joshua 16-19.  We consider how, sometimes, pulling a pebble out of a hat is a much fairer way to make a decision about who gets to pick the restaurant or who gets to settle in the hill country or who gets to run our democracy.  Yes.  Democracy.  Even that quack Aristotle thought so too.

In this week’s episode: Joshua 12-15.  In the shortest TanakhCast episode to date, we catch up with an old friend from the Spying days (and his nephew) as we uncover an easter egg omelet in Joshua 15.

And here are some samples of Al Hirschfeld's work and the list of A113 references in every Pixar film - as promised.

In this week’s episode: Joshua 8-11.  We explore life during wartime and conquest in Kena’an and consider how William Tecumseh Sherman and Yehoshua sought to make the best of a bad situation.  And when I say “best”, I mean “best” for the winning side and utter annihilation for the losers.

And, as promised, a link to the top ten battles in history, compliments of historian and retired Lt. Colonel Michael Lee Lanning.

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In this week’s episode: Joshua 4-7.  We explore how the Ark of the Covenant, which inspired Jewish warriors, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, also functioned as a weapon of mass distraction - and how, perhaps, it could have been inspired by extraterrestrial technology.

The ever-compelling Radiolab episode on the walls of Jericho can be found here.

As well as the piece I came across from io9 about how mainstream Christian theology would react to extraterrestrial life. 

In a word, BADLY.

In this week’s episode: Joshua 1-3.  We launch the “Prophetic” middle section of the Tanakh and pick up right where things left off at the end of the Torah.  We consider the use of the meaningful echo and the ironic echo as Yehoshua prepares the Jews for crossing the Jordan River … and boy, are their arms going to be tired!

And here’s that piece by Jesse David Fox about Mad Men’s comedic side.

In this week’s episode: a special Siyum - or “completion”- where we celebrate TanakhCast’s conclusion of the Torah.  I look back with great nostalgia on all those good times in the Five Books with raconteur and amateur Torah nerd Dan Friedman and a “Best of…” listicle-a-ganza. 

I would say “Remove thy earbuds for the sound which you hear is holy!” but then you would miss all the outrageous merrymaking.

Also, the compendium of "completist" pieces at Slate can be found here.

 

In this week’s episode: Deuteronomy 32–34.  We look at how television series wrap things up and consider whether Moshe’s departure from the people proves to be a fitting end to the Torah.

And here's the piece by Jason Mittell about The Wire and Lost.

And here are the endings for Newhart, St. Elsewhere, Cheers and Six Feet Under.