Ask a Jew

Chaya Leah is back from Italy and FranceThe hazards of kosher fine-dining in EuropeHarvard loves dead NazisYael is traumatized by classic EuropeAmericans love standing in lineThe Jewish ethics of having an affairYou don’t *have* to love thy neighbor in AmericaA solemn yet insightful conversation about IsraelIs hatred of the religious people in Israel out of control?Save us, Eurovision!Barbie’s Kosher DreamhouseArchie comics were more damaging than BarbieCongratulations Rabbi Shmuly!Oh look another sad Jewish holidayYael suprises Chaya Leah by announcing a new project - The AAJ Book Club! There is no deadline and definitely no meetings (unless you guys want to do that). Our book is “Arc of a Covenant” by Walter Russel Mead.Questions? Askajewpod@gmail.comFollow our substack askajew.substack.com and find us on Instagram @askajewpodShownotes:Israeli protestors connectingJewish students giving it to TitusLiel Leibovitz on Commentary - do you agree or nah?The Arie Deri law Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Yael is stuck in Texas, so Chaya Leah and her father, Rabbi Aba Abba Perelmuter, take to the stage for some light Torah studies. They were left with explicit instructions to answer listener questions, but you know, these people...instead they have an enlightening conversation about the Talmudic interpretations of the Russia/Ukraine conflict,  honoring thy father and thy mother (complete with loopholes), and this weird modern idea of following your passions.Subscribe to our Substack askajew.substack.com and ask questions (we will get to them some day) at askajewpod@gmail.comWe are off for a summer break, but will be back soon with exciting guests and much to catch up on! xoxoJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are joined by author and journalist Matti Friedman, who recently penned "Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai" (you can hear him discuss it with Bari Weiss here) and before that the incredible "Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel" about the founding of the Mossad and the nation.A former AP correspondent, Matti blew the lid on what the media gets wrong about Israel, in this badass essay in The Atlantic and in Tablet.We cover a lot of ground in this one, and manage to make it all the way to the end without talking about current Israeli politics, but then discuss Matti's impactful and insightful letter to American Jews (with OG's Yossi Klein Halevy and Daniel Gordis) on why they need to raise their voice against Israel's current government. Also: From Toronto to JerusalemThe myth of the KibbutzIf someone offers to introduce you to an old spy - you say yes!There are no delis in israel This ain’t Norway Why the media is so obsessed with Israel (maybe because there are more staffers covering Israel than all of China and Africa?)Save us Bruno Mars Herzl the Hipster Media literacy Where does Matti get his information? (in books, like some nerd)News is activism We want to believe...The NY times Can we afford to criticize Israel publicly? Let’s end on a pessimistic note J/k we’re never letting him go The orthodox scene in israel is thriving...and it’s terrifying (to some of us)We want to be socialists, as long as everyone else is a libertarian Draft theo orthodox to the army? Yael puts chaya Leah on the spot Matti's Hotmail We want to give Matti an out but then we remember Indian Jews Questions? Email askajewpod@gmail.comSign up to our substack askajewpod.substack.com Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

New segment: What kind of Jew is this? Podcast about K-Pop and the war in Gaza (Hebrew)Robbie Williams does Pride TLV Don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and follow us on Substack and instagram @askajewpodJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

We are back with our friend and reluctant mentor, Meghan Daum! Meghan is an author, host of The Unspeakable podcast, co-host of A Special Place in Hell with Sarah Haider, and founder of the Unspeakeasy, a special online community for special online women (we are both members!). As usual, we start light and breezy by gushing over hot dictators and 90's TV dads, and end up musing about regret, marriage, and successful divorces.Here's what made the cut:Jews and Muslims both hate petsWhatever you do, do not Google “Do monkeys menstruate?”With the right Instagram filters, you too can look like Martha StewartThe missing Friday Night Lights sex sceneBirth control and mikveh appsDo women even drink beer?Everybody should be assigned a “bully buddy”Can women have it all? How about some? How about anything?The nature of regretHasidic influencers, but not that kindThe Unspeakeasy AAJ crossover spectacular shabbat crossover.If you have a question please email askajewpod@gmail.com, follow us on Substack, and rate and review us on Apple to help us grow.Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

The girls are very excited to welcome a real doctor to today’s episode, and not just any doctor - Dr. Drew Pinsky! In case you you live under a rock (or in Israel): Dr. Drew is a board certified physician and addiction medicine specialist known for his shows Loveline, Celebrity Rehab, Teen Mom, and currently Dr. Drew After Dark, the Dr. Drew Podcast, and The Adam and Drew Show (co-hosted by Adam Carolla) - busy guy! He is not to be confused with Dr. Dre, as Wikipedia warns us. You can find him on https://drdrew.com/ and all the socials.Warning: in this episode we talk a lot about sex, drugs, addictions - all from a medical perspective of course! Trust us, we’re a doctor.In this episode:Chaya Leah shares her origin story, and how Dr. Drew guided her through the radioWho is a worse Jew - Yael or Dr. Drew?Chaya Leah educates Dr. Drew about the MikvehLessons about attraction and love from Fiddler on the RoofYael provides some Israeli context to sexual freedom - suprise suprise, it’s full of contradictionsTV raised me, and I turned out TVWhat the heck is wrong with young people?We will look at screens the way we look at tobacco one dayEven the French are making fun of us!A detour into homelessness and mental illness (here’s a link to “The Great Pretender”, the book Yael mentions)The Skid Row Run ClubArmenians are bros!What Dr. Drew would have done differently with his kids (triplets!)How Me Too and dating apps affected datingWhat they’re not telling you about birth controlWhy Israelis were so good at CovidThe orthodox are the only ones who had fun in the summer of 2020Sex in your 40s and perimenopause - listen up ladies!Why can’t we have a realistic conversation about weed (and who is smoking it at 8am?)It’s addictive genetics, not addictive personality!A mind-blowing study about alcoholism (involving drunk fruit flies)A little (scientific!) discussion about pornFollow us on Substack askajew.substack.com and email your questions to askajewpod@gmail.com.If you’d like to help us grow, subscribe and rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts! Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

We are thrilled to chat with Batya Ungar-Sargon, deputy opinion editor for Newsweek and author of "Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy."In this Megillah (am I doing this right?):The Islamic jihad comes for the Backstreet BoysWhat kind of Jew is Batya?Jewish matchmakingI'm not Jewish, I'm Israeli: An interventionOur various Jewish IdentitiesBatya's bananas backgroundJews from authoritarian countries ruleIs Bernie Sanders a messianic Jew?Batya's great un-wokeningWorking class people are not as dumb as you thinkA Bernie impression!Real subway face punching has never been triedThe power of lurkersIs wokeness a religion? DiscussThe secular world used to be one big orgy, now it’s just lameIt's been more than a year and Yael still doesn't understand what a Mikveh is, but she manages to tie it in to Donna Martin from Beverly Hills 90210Batya's upcoming book about the working classBetween the war for Israel's security in the Middle East and the war for Israel's  heart in Liverpool (Eurovision... Google it!) we cover it all. Don't forget to follow us on Substack: Askajew.substack.com and on Instagram @AskajewpodJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Just in time for Mother's Day, we are joined in the studio by the man who birthed us, Matt Welch!From his humble beginnings as a Newsie in Prague, to head of a podcast empire and reluctant cult leader, Matt makes idol worship almost acceptable to a religious Jew. Most importantly, Chaya Leah and Yael's love story began when they were both listening to  The Fifth Column, the podcast Matt hosts with Kmele Foster and former guest Michael Moynihan. So extra special.In almost two hours, we cover:Why was Matt blocked by Salman Rushdie on Twitter?Libertarians are a lot like Jews in the sense that they all hate each other.The miracle that is Lakewood, CAAn Ask A Jew Happy Hour recapNew York is an absolute shithole and still the best place in the worldTHE LONGEST WE'VE EVER GONE WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUSTFamily Feud is everything that's right with AmericaChaya Leah is very bad with money, despite what you might thinkLA Times confidentialSpilling all the tea on The Fifth ColumnA newsie in PragueDoes paying a podcaster earn you their love and respect? Absolutely.Matt wants to go back to Israel (but we recorded this before rockets started raining from Gaza)something something baseballFor more info: Sign up for our Substack newsletter askajew.substack.com, and email us at askajewpod@gmail.comJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Join us for our first real meetup in NYC, May 8th! Details in the episode.For more info: Sign up for our Substack newsletter askajew.substack.com, and email us at askajewpod@gmail.com*The rebranding of Antisemitism https://nypost.com/2023/04/28/nyc-council-progressives-vote-no-from-end-jew-hatred-day/*Guess who leads the hate crimes chart?? That's right baby.*Whine smarter, not harder*We discuss which of our friends and non-Jewish guests would hide us in the event of a holocaust, and the answers may surprise you! We even ran a poll on our instagram @askajewpod*Armenians are so dope*We would kill for a Kardashian!*Israeli Memorial Day vs. Tisha B'Av*Fruit roll-ups are worth their weight in gold in Israel* G-d wants you to pull your head out of your A_sJoing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

Chaya Leah reviews a strip show on Vegas (relax, it was men!)A blasphemous Seder A passionate defense of peeling tomatoes Karens of the Bible Holocaust bell dings at: 15:50A terrible disease and the only known cure is subscribing to our podcast and rating it five stars Death is really bad you guys Meet us for drinks in New York on May 8!Listeners questions about Passover loopholes and the Rebbe Questions? Email us at askajewpod@gmail.comSave the date for our New York meetup on May 8!  Sign up to: askajew.substack.com for info. Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe