Tablet Studios

This week, it’s coronavirus vs. Purim, with a quarantine update from one of our producers.Our Jewish guest is Wall Street Journal sports reporter Ben Cohen, who joins us to discuss his new book, The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks. The last of the host’s spouses to appear on the show, Ben tells us about his deep dive into the world of patterns, probability, and statistics, plus the many Israeli psychologists he encountered in his research, and, of course, life with Cat Stevens.Our Gentile of the Week is Mo Rocca, who returns to the show to discuss his new book Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving, an outgrowth of his podcast of the same name. He tells us why he was inspired to dig through history to discover quirky and overlooked life stories, and what he learned about humanity along the way.Our tour events for March 2020 have been postponed. Stay tuned for more information about livestream offerings and rescheduled dates.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:The Great Courses Plus is an online streaming service that offers unique perspectives from engaging experts at the top of their fields. Get an entire month of courses for free when you sign up at thegreatcoursesplus.com/UNORTHODOX.Fleishigs Magazine is like getting a gorgeous kosher cookbook delivered every month. Each issue features restaurant reviews, wine pairings, kosher destination wedding reviews, and more. Save monday when you subscribe at fleishigs.com using discount code UNORTHODOX.Kol Foods is the organic kosher butcher offering delicious meats from animals raised using healthy, ethical, and sustainable methods. Kol has everything you need for the Seder, including Seder plate bones. Go to KolFoods.com and use coupon code Unorthodox3020 to get 10% off your order.

This week, we’re getting into the festive Purim spirit. Our first guest is fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, who tells us about growing up gay in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community, how his years at Yeshiva at Flatbush instilled in him a strong work ethic, and getting his first taste of high fashion at synagogue. For more from Isaac, check out his memoir, I.M. (You can read Adam Kirsch’s review for Tablet here.)Next Stephanie talks to Simi Polonsky and Chaya Chanin, the sisters behind The Frock NYC, which offers high end, unique, modest clothing. They tell us about growing up Orthodox in Australia and bristling against the restrictive clothing conventions of their religious community, and explain why they believe being modest and fashionable aren’t mutually exclusive.Finally Rabbi Ari Lamm returns to the show to offer a truly unexpected take on the Purim story.Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!March 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Harry’s is a great shave at a great price. Get $5 off a Trial Set when you go to harrys.com/unorthodox.Fleishigs Magazine is like getting a gorgeous kosher cookbook delivered every month, with recipes ranging from traditional orange beef and kugel to more out-there ideas like cholent pot-pie and liver tacos. Each issue features restaurant reviews, wine pairings, travel features, kosher destination wedding reviews, and more. Save money and subscribe at fleishigs.com using discount code UNORTHODOX.“Declaring Israel’s Independence” is a free online course from the Tikvah Fund, taught by historian Martin Kramer. Immerse yourself in this sweeping study of the most dramatic days of 1948, when Israel’s founders tackled the deepest questions of Zionist statecraft as they wrote Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Enroll today at Declaration.TikvahFund.org/Tablet.

 This week on Unorthodox: Jewish royal watching, Belgian parades, and more.Liel speaks with Harvard professor emeritus Ruth Wisse about the reissue of her book Jews and Power. She shares her theory about how the impulse to want to be a mensch might be leaving Jews defenseless, why she thinks the Holocaust is being mistaught in American schools, and more.Our Gentile of the Week is Antonia Eliason, an associate professor of law at the University of Mississippi who is running for U.S. Congress as a democratic socialist. She tells us what democratic socialism means, why she thinks her campaign has a shot in a red state, and gives us a bit of background on Jews and socialism. Her Gentile of the Week question is about Tisha B’Av today.Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!March 2 – New York, NY: Stephanie in conversation with Matti Friedman @ 92YMarch 6 – Amherst, Massachusetts: Stephanie @ Yiddish Book CenterMarch 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Get ready for Purim with an order of delicious tahini products from Soom Foods. Head to soomfoods.com and use the code UNORTHODOX to receive 15% off your order. Try the pantry sampler, which includes their tahini, chocolate sweet tahini halva spread, and silan date syrup.

This week we’re bringing you two interviews from our live show at the Valley of the Sun JCC in Phoenix, Arizona. First up, we get a double shot of rabbinical wisdom from Pinchas Allouche, the founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Tefillah, and Shmuly Yanklowitz, the president & dean of Valley Beit Midrash. They each share the story of their unlikely journey towards becoming a rabbi, and explain how they’re trying to make Judaism accessible to all sorts of Jews today.Our Gentile of the Week is NBA Hall-of-Fame player Paul Westphal. Westphal won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and coached the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993. He tells us about his love of Israel, and brings the hosts one of the thorniest Gentile of the Week questions ever.We also have a special treat: Mark and Stephanie’s appearance on Liel’s other podcast, Take One.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Feb. 20 – New York City: Stephanie in conversation with authors Goldie Goldbloom and Abby Chava SteinFeb. 26 – Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 6 – Amherst, Massachusetts: Stephanie @ Yiddish Book CenterMarch 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Send your kids to a Jewish camp this summer! More than 180,000 campers and college-age counselors use the Foundation for Jewish Camp website to find their camp every summer. Go to onehappycamper.org/unorthodox and find the right camp for you.Get ready for Purim with an order of delicious tahini products from Soom Foods. Head to soomfoods.com and use the code UNORTHODOX to receive 15 percent off your order. Try the pantry sampler, which includes their tahini, chocolate sweet tahini halva spread, and silan date syrup.

This week, we’re celebrating secular Tu B’Av, aka Valentine’s Day. The creator of stars of Soon By You, the popular web series that’s basically ‘Friends’ with modern Orthodox Jews, return to the show to update us on their latest season, deciding to take on controversial issues like LGBT dating in the religious world, and what it’s like to write and star in a show about singles now that they’re married.Next, very few things leave all three of us speechless, but this update from contributor Hal Karp truly blew us away. We hope you enjoy listening.And finally, Cantorial student Jacob Sandler joins us to teach us how to bring more life info synagogue services, and leads us in a rousing rendition of “Adon Olam,” set to a Backstreet Boys song.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Feb. 20 –New York City: Stephanie in conversation with authors Goldie Goldbloom and Abby Chava SteinFeb. 26 – Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 6 – Amherst, Massachusetts: Stephanie @ Yiddish Book CenterMarch 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Send your kids to a Jewish camp this summer! More than 180,000 campers and college-age counselors use the Foundation for Jewish Camp website to find their camp every summer. Go to onehappycamper.org/unorthodox and find the right camp for you.This episode is also sponsored by Harry's. New customers get $5 off any shave set with a 5-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel with aloe, and a travel cover when they go to Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

This week, we’re putting more truth on the wheel.First, Mark talks to Mark Galli, who until recently was the editor in chief of evangelical magazine Christianity Today. Just before retiring he published a highly controversial editorial arguing that President Trump should be removed from office. He describes the fallout from the article, and shares his thoughts about where evangelical Christians stand politically and culturally today.Then we welcome back film critic Jordan Hoffman, who tells us about the Jewish films, actors, and directors to look out for at this Sunday’s Academy Awards, and gives us his Oscars predictions.Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Feb. 6 – Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Book talk with StephanieFeb. 9 – Wyomissing, Pennsylvania: Book talk with MarkFeb. 11– New York City: Stephanie moderating Q&A following ‘Latter Day Jew’ screeningFeb. 20 –New York City: Stephanie in conversation with authors Goldie Goldbloom and Abby Chava SteinFeb. 26 – Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 6 – Amherst, Massachusetts: Stephanie @ Yiddish Book CenterMarch 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, New York: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, Virginia: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:Send your kids to a Jewish camp this summer! More than 180,000 campers and college-age counselors use the Foundation for Jewish Camp website to find their camp every summer. Go to one happycamper.org/unorthodox and find the right camp for you.

This week, presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg are leaning into their Jewishness (see here and here), and we’re here to analyze their efforts.Our Jewish guest is Andrew Rehfeld, the new president of Hebrew Union College, the Reform movement’s rabbinic and educational training ground. He tells us how the institution is adapting to face the challenges of the 21st century, targeting three areas: strengthening Jewish education, Jewish engagement, and Jewish identity; as he puts it, “the knowing, the doing, and the being of Jewish.” He also explains the history and theology of Reform Judaism, and shares where he sees the movement today and going forward.Our Gentile of the Week is Ed Gaskin, a devout Christian who started attending Shabbat services following the Tree of Life shooting in October 2018, to show solidarity with the Jewish community. He’s attended all but four weekly Shabbat services since. He tells us what he’s learned from a year at Temple Beth Elohim in Boston, as well as some of the questions he’s received about his undertaking, both from Jewish congregants and his Christian friends.Let us know what you think of the show: Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Feb. 6 – Scotch Plains, NJ: Book talk with StephanieFeb. 9 – Wyomissing, PA: Book talk with MarkFeb. 11– New York, NY: Stephanie moderating Q&A following ‘Latter Day Jew’ screeningFeb. 20 –New York, NY:Stephanie in conversation with authors Goldie Goldbloom and Abby Chava SteinFeb. 26 – Naples, FL: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 6 – Amherst, MA: Stephanie @ Yiddish Book CenterMarch 12 – Boca Raton, FL: Book talk with Stephanie and LielMarch 17 – Long Island, NY: Book talk with StephanieMarch 19 – Virginia Beach, VA: Unorthodox live showLike the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.Sponsors:“Those Who Were There” is a podcast presented by the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University. The Fortunoff Archive holds more than 4,400 testimonies recorded in over a dozen countries, and the first season of the podcast features 10 episodes drawn from the archive. In every episode, a survivor or witness shares their own story. For more visit fortunoff.library.yale.edu/podcastThe Yiddish Book Center’s Great Jewish Books Summer Program brings rising high school juniors and seniors together to read and discuss modern Jewish literature, study with outstanding professors, and meet published authors. Every participant receives a scholarship for the full cost of tuition, room, board, books, and special events. Learn more and apply at www.yiddishbookcenter.org/greatjewishbooks

This week, we learn how to complain better. Our first guest is Amy Fish, the ombudsman for Concordia University in Montreal and the author of I Wanted Fries with That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She tells us what she learned working as “chief complaints officer” for a university (and before that a Jewish nursing home!), and shares a few simple tricks to help us all better ask for what we want—and get it.Then, Mark sits down with Carolyn Karcher, professor emerita at Temple University and the editor of Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism, a collection featuring 40 rabbis, activists, and writers. She explains how she came to oppose Zionism, and how she sees anti-Zionism functioning within the Jewish community today.Let us know what you think of the show: email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Jan 26 – New York: Stephanie in conversation with David G. Marwell, author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of DeathFeb. 6 – Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Book talk with StephanieFeb. 9 – Wyomissing, Pennsylvania: Book talk with MarkFeb. 26 – Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 12 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielCopies of The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia will be sold and signed at each event. Like the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies hereThis episode is sponsored by a new podcast called Those Who Were There, presented by the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University. The Fortunoff Archive holds more than 4,400 testimonies recorded in over a dozen countries, and the first season of the podcast features 10 episodes drawn from the archive. In every episode, a survivor or witness shares their own story. For more visit http://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/podcastThis episode is also sponsored by Harry's. New customers get $5 off any shave set with a 5-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel with aloe, and a travel cover when they go to Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

This week on Unorthodox: Three Jews, infinite opinions.First, Mark sits down with Yiscah Smith, a Jewish educator, spiritual activist, and author. Yiscah discussed her journey as a trans woman and teacher of Torah; her documentary, I Was Not Born a Mistake will be shown at the New York Jewish Film Festival on Tuesday, January 21. More info here.Our next guest is Danny Dayan, Israel’s Consul General in New York. Liel spoke with him about the communities he’s prioritized outreach to, the challenge he faces in getting Israeli and American Jews to understand each other, and his solutions to that challenge.And finally, Mark speaks with Dr. Carol Gilligan, feminist activist and NYU professor, about anti-Semitism and the Women’s March, which takes place this weekend across the country.Let us know what you think of the show: email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.Come see us on tour!Jan. 8, 2020 – Westport, Connecticut: Book talk with Mark and LielJan. 10, 2020 — Fountain Valley, CA: Book talk with StephanieFeb. 6, 2020 – Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Book talk with Stephanie & LielFeb. 9, 2020 – Wyomissing, Pennsylvania: Book talk with Mark and LielFeb. 26, 2020 – Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 12, 2020 – Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and LielCopies of The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia will be sold and signed at each event. Like the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram and join our Facebook group.Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies hereDo you know a high school student who wants to deepen their engagement with Judaism? Nominate them today for the Maimonides Scholars Program, where they’ll debate and discuss Jewish thought, Zionism, philosophy, and politics at Yale University over two weeks in the summer of 2020. The application closes on January 27, so nominate a student today at maimonidesscholars.org/Unorthodox

Unorthodox is off this week, so instead we're introducing you to Take One, the new Daf Yomi podcast from Tablet Magazine hosted by our own Liel Leibovitz.As Jews around the world begin a new seven-and-a-half year cycle of Daf Yomi, reading the entire Talmud one page per day, Tablet Magazine's new podcast, Take One, will offer a brief and evocative daily read of the daf. We launch the cycle with a brief introduction to the Talmud at large before diving into the text with Tractate Berakhot, page 2, and a meditation on the meaning of time, why you might want to think twice before you Netflix and chill, and how all these rabbinic strictures can help us make sense of our modern, messy lives.