The Wildescast

Dr. Nava Silton is a Professor of Psychology at Marymount Manhattan College. After graduating from Cornell University in 2002, she completed a master's and doctorate in Developmental Psychology at Fordham University. Nava looks at the interface between religion and health and has done significant work in the fields of disabilities and children's media. She has worked at Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop and has consulted for Netflix, Blue's Clues, Mediakidz, etc. She has appeared often on Fox 5 News and on other media outlets such as NBC, The Good Day NY Show and the Huffington Post to talk about child development and relationships, including tips on dating, improving your self-esteem and how to be more positive. She has run several dating weekends and events at various synagogues and recently developed a card game called "Bashert" where people can ask their date interesting and meaningful questions. It's sold at numerous stores including West Side Judaica. She wrote Realabilities, a Children's Comic Book Series and wrote and produced an off-Broadway Musical, entitled Addy and Uno and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Fordham University, Touro College and Hunter College. She has edited six textbooks, has written more than 36 peer-reviewed journal articles and is in the middle of writing her third screenplay. Originally from Albany, this PhD is fighting to make the world a better place. She is the daughter of a rabbi and has five children.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes speaks with Thane Rosenbaum. Thane Rosenbaum (born 1960) is an American novelist, essayist, and Distinguished University Professor. He is the director of the Forum on Life, Culture, & Society, hosted by Touro College. Rosenbaum is also the Legal Analyst for CBS News Radio and appears frequently on cable television news programs.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes speaks with Gabriel Boxer. Boxer, known as "Kosher Guru" is a leading kosher industry food & restaurant consultant and social media sensation with over 40,300 followers on Instagram and runs one of the largest and fastest organically growing Kosher Foodie Facebook Groups "Kosher Guru's Kosher Nation." He is all about bringing anything and everything kosher to the masses in a fun-filled and Kosher way. Hosting the only kosher foodie & restaurant radio show “The Nosh” with Kosher Guru airing every Thursday evenings at 9:30 P.M. on station 620AM in the NYC area, along with his iTunes & Google Play podcast channel. You can follow him on Instagram & Facebook @kosherguru, on Twitter @thekosherguru, or subscribe to his YouTube channel and on his blog at thekosherguru.com Gabriel is also a weekly food writer For Whisk, the food section of Ami Magazine and writes a monthly article in Fleishigs Magazine on Restaurants and Travel. He also hosts vacation programs and lectures on the kosher restaurant scene.

Today's guest is Joshua Washington. He is the Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI). The 30 year-old is a composition graduate of the University of Pacific’s Conservatory of Music. Joshua was formerly IBSI’s Director of Special Events, and planned music performances featuring The Hebrew Project Artists (THP) across the country. Joshua is also a graduate of Christians United for Israel’s 2016 Diversity Outreach Mentoring Endeavor (DOME), where he received training in Israel advocacy for diverse audiences. Joshua was chosen to travel to Israel twice; once as part of CUFI’s millennial outreach, Israel Collective, and again as part of music performances with Victor Styrsky’s Wild Branches & Friends. His other musical endeavors include Directing a K-12 music school called the Zion Academy of Music, arranging music for the Boston Pops, and music directing for other artists and special films such as CUFI’s Mizrahi Project. Joshua writes and speaks extensively on Zionism and Civil Rights, seeking to strengthen the black and Jewish relationship in the US as well. His family works hard every day at IBSI to forge bonds between the black and Jewish communities and to educate many. Joshua, thanks for appearing on the show.

Our guest today is a man of many talents, one of them may an ability to see the future. Jon Loew is a Netflix producer of numerous shows, including "Spycraft" and "Terrorism Close Calls." He is a co-founder of Fuel For Truth and Legion. Fuel For Truth was created to help college students become educated about Israel and enable them to have confidence to partake in peaceful dialogue, stating facts about Israel as opposed to propaganda that is often spewed on college campuses to demonize the Jewish State. He is also a co-founder of Legion, a self-defense group largely of Jews that is now in 23 locations. In these classes, students learn Krava Maga, do active shooter drills and learn how defend themselves from knife attacks. Jon also is a firefighter is is kind enough to give people vegetables he grows in his garden for free.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes speaks with David Jablinowitz. Broadcast journalist and public speaker David (Zeev) Jablinowitz, who made aliyah from New York to Jerusalem and then moved to Beit Shemesh, enjoys talking about his interviews with interesting personalities – including US President Barack Obama, and no less than seven Israeli prime ministers. “Obama laughed at me when I told him that I was a New York Mets fan,” he recalls. After studying at Queens College, Jablinowitz made aliyah in 1981 from New York, where, growing up, he never imagined that he would one day become a top broadcaster for Israel Radio’s English News. “I always had a love for journalism,” he says. “Anyone who knew me said I had a passion for knowledge and my curiosity would lead me to my career and they were correct. In high school, I worked on the school newspaper and in college I broadcast a news program so when I made aliyah I was certain I wanted to work in communications and that’s how I came to Kol Yisrael [Israel Radio].” Jablinowitz worked for over 30 years reporting in and on Israel, 25 of them as a diplomatic and political correspondent at Israel Radio. He has briefed missions visiting Israel from North America, and has traveled to the US on speaking tours. Married to Shari with four children and two grandchildren, he has now left Israel Radio and is contemplating his next career move.

In this episode the tables are turned. Rabbi Wildes is interviewed by his friend and colleague Rabbi Ezra Cohen. They discuss Rabbi Wildes' forthcoming new book, The 40 Day Challenge.

In the episode Rabbi Wildes talks with Sarri Singer. In life, sadly there are victims of heinous acts of violence. Some stay victims their whole lives, broken and battered while a few select people, like our guest today, are able to take a horrible trauma that happened to them and turn it around to do good in the world. New Jersey resident Sarri Singer, who works in Manhattan, is one of those rare people. She is the founder of the organization Strength to Strength and she has worked with her organization to help victims of terror worldwide to cope psychologically with what has happened to them. She recently spoke at a rally against anti-Semitism that I and many others attended in response to the spike of violence in New York City. She has addressed esteemed groups about dealing with terrorism, including one at the United Nations. One of her speeches for Hadassah was entitled: "Practical Zionism: What Surviving Terror Teaches You." This past Friday was 18 years to the day that Sarri did something that most of us have done at one time or another. She got on a bus. Only this time, her choice of seat on her bus in Israel likely saved her life. A Hamas suicide bomber detonated his device and scores of people were killed and injured. Sarri was injured and still has shrapnel in her leg that doctors could not remove, but she survived and went on to fight terrorism in her special way. She believes that by closing her eyes at the moment of the blast, she likely saved her sight. It is not uncommon for her to have late night phone calls with victims of terror both Jewish and gentile and she relentlessly looks out for the interests of those who have suffered from acts of terrorism. Sadly there are many. Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, she is the daughter of New Jersey State Senator Robert Singer. Sarri has spoken to audiences across the globe and has appeared on CNN, Fox News Channel and numerous radio stations.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes talks with Daniel Wallach. Daniel is a curious kid from Palo Alto, California. Bugged by a loud and persistent question, "What does it mean to be Jewish?", Daniel was thrust into a strange, random, and wonderful journey that brought him to MJE one spring Shabbos morning in 2019. Daniel chose Rabbi Wildes as his mentor the day he met him and continued to say yes to everything MJE had to offer. As he was completing Fellowship in 2020, the world shut down with Covid19. Confused with the world and eager to continue a path of self-growth, Daniel made a sudden decision last September to fly to Israel and study in Yeshiva. Daniel is an Actor with a special interest in Shakespeare, working in regional theatre before he arrived in New York. When in New York, Daniel continues his artistic pursuits, teaches theatre to kids, and dabbles in Real Estate. Daniel is a graduate of CalArts School of Theater with a BFA in Acting.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes talks with Dmitriy Salita. Dmitriy is a hero to many and one of the most famous Jewish boxers of our time. Born in the Ukraine, Dmitriy learned his trade at Starrett City boxing under the tutelage of Jimmy O. He was undefeated in his first 29 fights. He stands with a record of 35 wins, 2 losses and won draw with 18 knockouts. He was the star of the 2007 Documentary Orthodox Stance. As if that were not enough, the 39-year-old started a new chapter of his life founding Salita Promotions, for which he is president. He has numerous boxers in his stable, including Clariss Shields, who is viewed as one of the best female boxers in the world. While many would think that boxing and observing Judaism are antithetical, Salita has always believed that they go hand in hand.