Each year for Yom Kippur, we bring you a special episode all about apology and atonement. (Listen to our previous episodes: from 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.) This year, we’re focusing on the theme of reconciliation—across the political divide and the religious spectrum, and beyond.Our first story comes from Chris Haugh and Jordan Blashek, two friends who decided to drive across the country together in 2016. Chris, a Berkeley born, Obama-loving liberal, and Jordan, a former marine and proud conservative, were forced to confront their vast political differences as the presidential campaign unfolded around them across the United States. You can read the full story of this and their subsequent cross-country drives in their new book, Union: A Democrat, A Republican, and a Search for Common Ground.Next we talk to Tablet columnist Marjorie Ingall, whose website (and soon to be book) SorryWatch.com chronicles the good, the bad, and the ugly of public apologies. She reminds us how to apologize (there are six steps!), helps us interpret corporate apologies in a year full of them, and reminds us that forgiveness isn’t mandatory.Then we hear from Jericho Vincent, author of the 2014 memoir Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood, which tells the painful and traumatic story of leaving Orthodox Judaism as a teen. Since then, Jericho has been on a long and winding spiritual journey, exploring Buddhism, Sufi Islam, scientific atheism, and ultimately creating an entirely new conception of Judaism—and starting in a rabbinical program. This summer, Jericho struck up a correspondence with Orthodox writer and educator Dovid Bashevkin, whose book Sin•a•gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought covers many of the areas that have long fascinated Jericho. Jericho and Dovid tell us what their ongoing conversations—about everything from Jewish texts to the ongoing social and political unrest in America—can teach us about reconciliation and rebuilding in today’s stratified world.Finally, our associate editor Robert Scaramuccia tells the story of an offhand joke he made as a teenager at the Boys State summer camp, and how it has haunted (and helped) him ever since. Robert brings us along on his quest to apologize for what he said—once he figures out what exactly that was. Please consider donating to Unorthodox to help us keep making shows like this. Our annual fundraiser is underway, and everyone who gives will be entered into a raffle to spend some virtual time with the hosts. Donate at bit.ly/unorthodox2020fundraiser. Let us know what you think of the show, and share your 5781 resolutions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.SponsorsAmerican Jewish World Service is the leading Jewish organization working to fight poverty and pursue justice in the developing world. AJWS will triple match any donation made before midnight Sept. 27; go to AJWS.org/unorthodox to find out more about the organization and to make your donation. Soom Foods is the preferred tahini of restaurants like Michael Solomonov’s Zahav. Soom Foods also makes a chocolate tahini spread and silan date syrup. All products are dairy-free, gluten-free, and certified kosher. Go to soomfoods.com and use code UNORTHODOX to get 15% off your first order.PJ Library sends free storybooks to children (newborn to 12 years old), making it easy to start sharing Jewish traditions. Sign up at pjlibrary.org/unorthodox,The Great Courses Plus offers online classes on everything from film to wine, personal finance, and public speaking, from professors and experts in their fields. Start your free trial at thegreatcoursesplus.com/unorthodox. 

As the sun set for Rosh Hashanah this past Friday night, Jews in America and across the world learned of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was like a gut punch, resounding across social media. The 87-year-old trailblazing Supreme Court Justice-- the second female Justice-- spent her entire career, her entire life really, fighting for equal rights for women and minorities, fighting so that everyone could have an equal shot. Her death, which plunges the country into a fight over exactly when, and by whom, she will be succeeded, is keenly felt by the Jewish community, who mourns her as a tzaddik, or righteous person. Today you’re going to hear from Abigail Pogrebin, writer, friend of the show, and host of Tablet’s Parsha in Progress podcast. In 2005 she published a book called Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. She has kindly agreed to read the chapter on Ruth Bader Ginsberg. You can find Stars of David, and more of Abby’s work, including her latest book -- My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays; One Wondering Jew -- at https://abigailpogrebin.com/For more RBG on Unorthodox, listen to episode 19, Leading Ladies, in which we interview Irin Carmon about her book, Notorious RBG, which details the Justice’s most recent turn as feminist pop culture icon. https://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/unorthodox/leading-ladiesWe’re at work on our annual apology episode, which airs this Thursday, and which focuses on the notion of reconciliation, which, frankly, has never seemed so important. 

This Jewish New Year will definitely be different from all others, but we're here to help you ring in 5781 with as much enjoyment and enlightenment as possible.First we talk to Rabbi Sandra Lawson of Elon University about her plans for High Holiday services on campus this year, as well as her experience as a gay, black rabbi navigating the Jewish world. She also shared how she uses music and social media to get her rabbinic message out to broad audiences. You can follow Rabbi Sandra on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.Then Stephanie talks with Aliza Kline and Zoe Plotsky of OneTable, a platform that helps millennials gather for Shabbat meals. They tell us about their new High Holiday initiative, HereFor, which offers a variety of resources and virtual gatherings to help Jews feel connected and engaged this holiday season.Our Gentile of the Week is Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor-at-large at America magazine, who first joined us on the show for Ep. 121 alongside comedian Judy Gold (he then appeared on her podcast, too). He shares his thoughts on the need for humor in dark times, and offers us some Jesuit-inflected wisdom for the Jewish New Year.Want more of the hosts? Listen to Stephanie on the Change Talk podcast as she sets intentions for 5781 with host Noah Pile.And share your 5781 intentions and resolutions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Our annual fundraiser is underway, but we're doing things a little differently this year. We're looking to get as many participants as we can, giving whatever amount they're able. Everyone who gives will be entered into a raffle to spend some virtual time with the hosts. Head to bit.ly/unorthodox2020fundraiser to donate.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube page! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:The Great Courses Plus Learn about everything from film to wine, personal finance, and public speaking, from professors and experts in their fields. Start your free trial at thegreatcoursesplus.com/unorthodox.Harry's is a great shave at a great price. Get a free Harry's trial shave set at harrys.com/unorthodox.PJ Library sends free storybooks to children (newborn to 12 years old), making it easy to start sharing Jewish traditions. Sign up at pjlibrary.org/unorthodox, and check out their digital guide to High Holidays at home at pjlibrary.org/highholidays.

Our Jewish guest is Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and a former member of the Knesset. He talks to Liel about his new collection of short stories, The Night Archer, plus how writing fiction has long been an escape from his day job in politics.Our Gentile of the Week is political satirist and journalist P.J. O'Rourke. He talks to Mark about his latest book, A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land, plus whether conservatives can be as funny as liberals, and whether gentiles can be as funny as Jews. His question for us: Does the god of the Hebrew Bible have a sense of humor?We're doing our annual fundraiser a little differently this year. We're not looking to hit a specific dollar amount. Instead, we're looking to get as many participants as we can, giving whatever amount they're able. Everyone who gives will be entered into a raffle to spend some virtual time with the hosts. Head to bit.ly/unorthodox2020fundraiser to donate.Tablet Magazine's Fall 2020 journalism program is a paid three-month remote fellowship for 10 aspiring journalists, run by our very own Mark Oppenheimer. More information here; apply by Sept. 11 to fellowship@tabletmag.com.What are your 5781 resolutions? Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube page! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Kol Foods is getting you ready for the High Holidays with kosher and ethically raised meat. Go to KOLFOODS.com and use the code UNORTHODOX0920 to get 10% on your order.Soom Foods is the preferred tahini of restaurants like Michael Solomonov’s Zahav, and their silan date syrup is the perfect addition to your High Holiday table. All Soom products are dairy-free, gluten-free, and certified kosher. Go to soomfoods.com and use code UNORTHODOX to get 15% off your first order.Unorthodox Wines are perfect for Rosh Hashanah—try their Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux blend. Unorthodox Wines are all vegan and certified kosher by the OU. Go to bit.ly/unorthodoxwine and get their wines delivered to you for free, for a limited time. You can also find Unorthodox Wines at a wine store near you.

This week on Unorthodox, summer trips to the beach spark our latest debate: Do Jews like the beach?Our Jewish guest is Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, who returns to the show to talk about his latest book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times. Listen for Rabbi Sacks' advice for how we can build a more moral society, plus why he thinks the themes of the High Holidays have never been more relevant, and his take on the Queen's corgis.Our Gentile of the Week is Holly Huffnagle, the American Jewish Committee's newly appointed U.S. director for combating anti-Semitism. Shes's worked in the State Department and at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and volunteered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim, Poland. She explains why she believes anti-Semitism is a societal problem, not a Jewish one, tells us about the surprising Twitter backlash following the announcement of her new role, and shares what she told Nick Cannon when she met with him after his recent anti-Semitic remarks.We're doing our annual fundraiser a little differently this year. We're not looking to hit a specific dollar amount—instead, we're looking to get as many participants as we can, giving whatever amount they're able. Everyone who gives will be entered into a raffle to spend some virtual time with the hosts. Head to bit.ly/unorthodox2020fundraiser to donate.Tablet Magazine's Fall 2020 journalism program is a paid three-month remote fellowship for 10 aspiring journalists, run by our very own Mark Oppenheimer. More information here; apply by Sept. 10 to fellowship@tabletmag.com.What are your 5781 resolutions? Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube page! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Kol foods is getting you ready for the High Holidays. Go to KOLFOODS.com and use the code UNORTHODOX0920 to save 10 percent on your order.

This week on Unorthodox: The Israeli hockey star playing for Auschwitz.Our first guest is Esther Povitsky, who played Maya on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend“ and whose new Comedy Central stand-up special is “Hot For My Name.” Esther tells us about growing up in Skokie, IL, why she decided to include her parents Maury and Mary in her special, and how her Jewish identity has influenced her comedy.Next we talk to Natan Sharansky, the legendary refusenik (the term for Jews who were refused exit visas by the Soviet authorities). He was imprisoned for nine years — at one point being held a Soviet gulag — and after his release he emigrated to Israel, where he served as a member of the Israeli Parliament and the head of the Jewish Agency. He tells us about his new memoir, “Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People,” and what he's learned over a lifetime of activism.Joan Knows Best is a weekly video series featuring Joan Nathan cooking her favorite Shabbat recipes with her son, David Henry Gerson. This Friday, August 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, they'll be making a rhubarb tart with fresh strawberries and currant glaze. Tune in on Tablet's Facebook page, and get the recipes and more info here.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube page! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Harry's: Get a free Harry's trial shave set at harrys.com/unorthodox. Harry’s is donating $1 million worth of shaving supplies to hospitals across the U.S.

This week on Unorthodox, we're calling an emergency meeting of the Unorthodox club.First we talk to Rachel Shukert, a longtime Tablet contributor (and a contributor to The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia!) who is an executive producer and showrunner for The Baby-Sitters' Club reboot on Netflix. She tells us about growing up reading the series of books by Ann M. Martin, recreating the 90's series as a TV show set in the present, and what she's learned about today's teenagers from working with the actors on the show.Then Stephanie sits down with Adam Eli, the activist and author of "The New Queer Conscience," which is part of Penguin Random House's Pocket Change Collective. He tells us about initially rejecting his Jewish identity after he came out as queer, then ultimately realizing that his Jewish and queer identity could actually strengthen and reinforce each other. He shares how his Jewish background influences his queer activism, and offers advice to families whose children may be queer or questioning. Follow Adam Eli on Instagram @AdamEli and get a discount (!) on "The New Queer Conscience" using this link.Join Stephanie and former Unorthodox guest Beth Ricanati for a live challah-baking workshop Thursday, August 6 at 5 p.m. EDT in the Unorthodox Facebook group. Beth is a doctor who strongly believes in the healing power of baking bread, and she's going to share the magic of weekly challah baking with us."Joan Knows Best" is a new weekly video series featuring Joan Nathan cooking her favorite Shabbat recipes with her son, David Henry Gerson. This Friday, August 7, at 12 p.m. EDT, they'll be making double-roasted lemon chicken. Tune in at live.tabletmag.com/joanknowsbest and get the recipes here.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube page! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:The Great Courses Plus: With thousands of lectures on all kinds of topics presented by subject-matter experts from top universities and institutions, keep learning with the Great Courses Plus. Get a free trial with unlimited access at thegreatcoursesplus.com/UNORTHODOX.

This week on Unorthodox, we’re observing Tisha B’Av, the commemoration of the destruction of both temples in Jerusalem. Observant Jews typically fast on this day, and because the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av falls during the summer months, it makes for one strange and somber day at Jewish summer camps.Because the destruction of the ancient temples can seem a bit, well, distant, the Ninth of Av has become in recent years a kind of catch-all day for Jewish mourning: a commemoration of all the historic suffering we’ve faced as a people.Today we’re focusing on the legacy of the Holocaust, as seen through three different families. Our guests are the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who pieced together their family’s story through research, travel, and interviews, and who now are sharing those stories in book—and podcast—form.Our first guest is Esther Safran Foer, whose memoir I Want You to Know We’re Still Here is about her journey to uncover what happened to her parents during the Holocaust. Tragedy followed her parents when they immigrated to America, and only later in life did her mother finally open up about her painful past.Next we speak with British musician Andrew Evans, who was raised in the Church of England but was inspired by Brexit to dig into his unspoken family history and uncover the true story of his Holocaust-surviving grandfather. He chronicles his discoveries in the podcast “Unbordered.”Our third guest is Daphne Geismar, a book maker by trade, who turned her craft on her own family’s story of survival in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The result is her book Invisible Years.Let us know what you think of the show: Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:The Great Courses Plus: With thousands of lectures on all kinds of topics presented by subject-matter experts from top universities and institutions, keep learning with the Great Courses Plus. Get a free trial with unlimited access at thegreatcoursesplus.com/UNORTHODOX.Harry's: Get a free Harry's trial shave set at harrys.com/unorthodox. Harry’s is donating $1 million worth of shaving supplies to hospitals across the U.S.

This week on Unorthodox, we're working on our topspin.Our first guest is Noah Rubin, a former Wimbledon junior singles champion who went pro at age 19. He tells us about his tennis-themed bar mitzvah, the reality of life on the professional circuit, and his project Behind the Racquet: a website and podcast that sheds light on the often overlooked mental health challenges that face professional tennis players.Our next guest is Jenny Caplan, who teaches religious studies and Jewish studies at Towson, and whose work focuses on expressions of Jewish identity in American pop culture. She tells us about her recent scholarly article, published in the Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, that calls for retiring the Jewish American Princess archetype and replacing it with a new one: the Modern Ashkenazi-American Woman.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.

This week on Unorthodox, we puzzle over swastika jewelry and celebrities saying anti-Semitic things. We also hear from Zack Banner, the Pittsburgh Steelers player who spoke out against anti-Semitism. Read his full interview with Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg on tabletmag.com.Our Jewish guest is Brad Kolodny, author of Seeking Sanctuary: 125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island, a photo-filled survey of Jewish life in the New York City suburb. He tells us about some of the most iconic synagogues in the area, and quizzes Stephanie about Jewish celebrities from Long Island.Next we hear from three people behind the Jewish book and film festivals in Wyomissing PA, all of whom are gentiles. Nancy Russo, Amanda Hornberger, and John Nelka tell us how they became involved in Jewish arts programming, and what they've learned along the way.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s new online retreat-at-home, running Sunday, July 19 through Tuesday, July 21. Go to jewishspirituality.org to learn more and register.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s new online retreat-at-home, running Sunday, July 19 through Tuesday, July 21. Go to jewishspirituality.org to learn more and register.