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