Tablet Studios

Host Mark Oppenheimer and Tablet staffers Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz sound off about public schools closing for Jewish holidays, and discuss a New York Times opinion piece about how some of the most violent West Bank extremists are from the United States. Rabbi Avi Shafran explains why he dislikes like the term ultra-Orthodox, why secular Jews shouldn't feel hostility towards more observant Jews (and vice versa), and why he doesn't accept reform conversions.   Guest non-Jew Alex Sheshunoff describes his new book, A Beginner's Guide to Paradise, which chronicles his year living on the South Pacific island of Pig reading the 100 books he's always wanted to read. He asks the panel about the fishing wire strung from electrical poles in areas with large Jewish populations. (Known as an eruv, the string denotes an area in which items may be carried by observant Jews for Shabbat.)  To learn more about Avi Shafran, check out his website, http://rabbiavishafran.com/. You can read the first chapter of Sheshunoff's book at http://www.abeginnersguidetoparadise.com/#a-beginners-guide-to-paradise For more Unorthodox, visit tabletmag.com/unorthodox. Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com.

This special Yom Kippur episode of Unorthodox features stories about apologies from host Mark Oppenheimer, writer and Harvard Divinity student Shira Telushkin, and Tablet's Esther Werdiger. What happens when an apology goes wrong? What happens when we’ve done something so awful we can’t face the other person? What happens when somebody apologizes to us—and we can’t forgive? Special guest Marjorie Ingall, who blogs at sorrywatch.com, offers her five rules for what makes a good apology. For more Unorthodox, visit tabletmag.com/unorthodox. Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com. 

Tablet staffers Mark Oppenheimer, Liel Leibovitz, and Stephanie Butnick sound off on the news of the week, including the death of the world’s oldest living Jew and a Palestinian prisoner's hunger strike. New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman discusses Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, and the new Jewish comedy. Dan Savage, this week's guest non-Jew, asks a question about a long-ago romance lost in translation: specifically, his German boyfriend thinking he was Jewish.  Follow Jason Zinoman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zinoman. Check out Dan Savage's Savage Love column here: http://www.thestranger.com/authors/259/dan-savage,  For more Unorthodox, visit tabletmag.com/unorthodox. Email us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com.

Tablet staffers Mark Oppenheimer, Liel Leibovitz, and Stephanie Butnick sound off about Jewish rapper Matisyahu getting booted from a Spanish reggae festival for refusing to condemn Israel; Jews in Hollywood signing off on the Iran deal; and former NWA manager Jerry Heller's portrayal in the new film "Straight Outta Compton." Katha Pollitt, longtime columnist for The Nation, discusses being portrayed by Patricia Clarkson in the upcoming film, "Learning to Drive," and the recent political attacks on Planned Parenthood. Comedian and musician Dave Hill, this week's non-Jewish guest, asks why Jews don't drink as much as Catholics and why Hasidic men don't take advantage of their fashion opportunity. You can read Katha's columns for The Nation here: http://www.thenation.com/authors/katha-pollitt/. For more about Dave and his upcoming appearances, check outhttp://www.davehillonline.com/ Sign up for the weekly Unorthodox newsletter: eepurl.com/bsZlGr. Email us with comments, questions and ideas at unorthodox@tabletmag.com.

Tablet staffers Mark Oppenheimer, Liel Leibovitz, and Stephanie Butnick sound off about the (legal) battle of the Jewish dating apps, a crowd-funded effort to reelect Canada's Jewish prime minister, and a Nazi-themed romance novel. Ophira Eisenberg, stand-up comic and host of NPR's quiz show 'Ask Me Another,' discusses the politics of strangers touching pregnant women's bumps, and why her NPR celebrity status matters not at all to her big Canadian family. Humor writer and guest non-Jew Henry Alford asks why his gaydar doesn't seem to work for Jewish guys, who all seem to own multiple sweaters and have close relationships with their mothers.You can find more about Ophira Eisenberg, plus her stand-up schedule, here: http://ophiraeisenberg.com/. For more about Henry Alford, check out his website, http://henryalford.com/.For more Unorthodox, visit tabletmag.com/unorthodox. Let us know what you think of Unorthodox: emailunorthodox@tabletmag.com 

Host Mark Oppenheimer and Tablet staffers Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz discuss this year’s European Maccabiah Games—a Jewish Olympics of sorts—which are being held this week in Berlin at the stadium Hitler built for the 1936 Olympics. They also sound off on Mike Huckabee’s ill-advised Holocaust analogy, and an investigation into academic rigor at New York City’s Orthodox yeshivas.  Celebrity ghostwriter Hilary Liftin discusses her new novel, Movie Star By Lizzie Pepper, a tell-all written by a fictional Hollywood starlet swept away by an older Hollywood heartthrob involved in a strange cult. She doesn’t name names. Unorthodox’s gentile of the week is Simon Doonan--Barneys’ creative ambassador, writer, and man-about-town. He describes his lifelong affinity for the Jewish people, his Jewish wedding to celebrity ceramicist Jonathan Adler, and schools the hosts with his Yiddishisms. For more about Simon Doonan, check out his website http://www.simondoonan.com/. Hilary Liftin’s novel Movie Star By Lizzie Pepper is available here http://hilaryliftin.com/. Learn more about Unorthodox at www.tabletmag.com/tag/unorthodox, and sign up for our weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bsZlGr. Let us know what you think of the podcast by emailing Unorthodox@tabletmag.com.

Host Mark Oppenheimer and Tablet staffers Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz sound off about gay marriage in Israel, the suicide of a formerly Orthodox young woman, and Adam Sandler's latest movie. New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs discusses his latest project: hosting the world's largest family reunion and compiling a massive family tree that includes President Obama, Judge Judy, and yes, Adam Sandler. Writer and 'This American Life' contributor Elna Baker describes leaving the Mormon church and asks why non-practicing Jews get to call themselves Jewish, which isn't the case for Mormons.  For more information about A.J. Jacobs, visit his website www.ajjacobs.com. You can find out more about his Global Family Reunion at http://globalfamilyreunion.com/. Elna Baker's memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, is available at http://www.elnabaker.com/book.html. 

Your first listen to the new podcast from the editors of Tablet Magazine.