Ask a Jew

Chaya Leah and Yael welcome parenting guru and "America's Worst Mom", Lenore Skenazy. We talk about how to let your child grow freely (whatever the opposite of helicopter parenting is), deadly laundry baskets, anxious parents, and crappy kids. We talk about the importance of play, take some questions about screen time, and how parents and kids can slowly learn how to chill. This is a great conversation even if you don't have kids!Lenore  is the president of Let Grow, the nonpartisan nonprofit promoting childhood independence and resilience. A reporter by trade – including 14 years at The New York Daily News -- Lenore came to prominence/infamy after her newspaper column “Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone” landed her on The Today Show, MSNBC, Fox News and NPR. Allowing her son that unsupervised trip garnered  her the nickname “America’s Worst Mom.” She went on to write Free-Range Kids, the book-turned-movement claiming “Our kids are safer and smarter than our culture gives them credit for.” The book’s second edition just came out this summer, with a forward by Let Grow co-founder Jonathan Haidt. (And his wife! And daughter!) Lenore has been profiled in The New Yorker, lectured everywhere from Disney to DreamWorks to the Bulgarian Happiness Festival (a real thing). And you may have seen her reality show, World’s Worst Mom.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

Rabbi Aba Perlmutter is back! He wanted to talk about laughter, but being the serious pundits that we are, we went straight to abortions. The orthodox take might surprise you.We also get some spiritual guidance on how not to hate our fellow man (even though they can be really annoying), discuss why we should hold the center and love our country, why we don’t need a Jewish president (or king), Chaya Leah’s royal aspirations, what the rabbi thinks about Meghan and Harry, the Jewish view on divorce, the importance of shame, John Travolta, online communities vs. IRL communities, night terrors, the praying football coach, Muslim and Jewish privilege, and how to fix your life (don't worry, he won't tell you to become orthodox).Also, if you want to know the secret to a happy marriage, you’re going to get through a story about Carson Daly.Please remember to sign up to our substack: askajew.substack.com and email us at askajewpod@gmail.com.Our next guest is Lenore Skenazy, founder of Free Range Kids and America's Worst Mom, according to the biased media.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

Your two favorite Jews and backup Jew Nancy Rommelmann are back to talk about everything but abortions!We start with a historical overview of the hotness of First Ladies, a certain Israeli first lady's fondness for cases of pink champagne (I mean, who amongst us?), the royal family, getting older (related), gardening (super related) and Jews surviving in the wild in Peru (the Jews are related to the host).Also:* The Holocaust weight loss challenge* Bodega guy - friend or bro? A crisis communications disaster.* USA! USA! USA!* Stealing silverware from a country club.* Traveling during Covid is a human right.* Working out in the heat is a human right's violation.* Check out friend Meghan Daum's and future friend Sarah Haider's new podcast, A Special Place in Hell Happy Anniversary to Chaya Leah and Baruch, the world's most patient British Orthodox Jew.Make sure to check out Nancy's podcast with Sara Hepola, "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" And Nancy's writings at Make More Pie 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

Chaya Leah manages to ruin Yael's surprise birthday party within the first 5 minutes of the episode. Yael talks about her vegan vacation in Northern Israel, and the girls discuss the Queen's birthday (like, *the* queen, not Yael), our giant fanbase in Kuwait, a listener question about Jewish quibbles over the letters S and T (as in Shabbas vs. Shabbat), new Hebrew words that just dropped, Yiddish is so hot right now, Starbucks makes America great, and even a talmudic take on Amber Heard and Johnny Depp (what is this, May 2022?).If you like Ask a Jew, please consider rating us on Apple Podcasts so we can grow. If you really like it, share with your friends in a mass email (people love those). If you adore us, give us money. But the sharing thing is more important.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 welcome Coleman Hughes. If you haven’t heard the name, Coleman is a gifted writer, musician, rapper, podcaster, and probably a Nobel Prize winning physician too.After Chaya Leah makes it awkward right off the bat, we move to topics like: * Afros make you closer to G_d, * The season when Hasidic people bloom * Seeing the best in people* Coleman doesn’t know much about the israeli Palestinian conflict and we love him for it* Campus wars vs actual wars* Anti-racist fetus * Coleman not being funny (?)* A good Neil deGrasse Tyson story * Amare Stoudemire doesn’t play on Shabbos * Famous Jewish Rap legends * An even better Snoop Dogg story * Coleman’s band will make you not want to go home * We Didn’t Start the Fire isn’t a Jewish song? * Sam Harris and other imaginary friends  We could have gone on forever but we were about to pass out from the heat. Check out Coleman’s amazing music, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkFBVErK7EAnd work https://colemanhughes.org/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

If NYC felt extra holy this week, it was because Chaya Leah and Yael were roaming the streets together, handing out blessings and kissing babies.They got in the sweltering studio to talk about meeting fans IRL at the Fifth Column live event, going on a tour of Crown Heights, being mocked (rightfully) by waiters at a kosher Chinese restaurant, and more. Also, Chaya Leah maps out Brooklyn, which is kind of like a West Side Story of Jews but with less dance-fighting. And the girls settle an age-old question the rabbis can't agree on - is Hugh Grant still attractive?LAST PERSON TO SIGN UP TO OUR SUBSTACK IS AN ANTI SEMITE askajew.substack.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

Yael prepares for the arrival of the great Rebbe aka Chaya Leah, and the girls plan all the Jewy stuff they will do on the Lower East Side. Also: A Jewish version of “the purge,” body shaming, loving yourself and other lies. 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 talk a bit about abortions but don’t worry, they quickly move on to the holocaust. Also, Chaya Leah tries to educate Yael on upcoming Jewish holidays (the next one involves cheese!), Yael talks about Israeli Memorial Day (no cheese), and much much more!Sign up on Substack, askajew.substack.comAnd leave us a review on Apple podcasts if you so please.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 welcome Liel Leibovitz, editor-at-large of Tablet magazine. Read Liel’s essay that made people yell at him.This may have been the Jewiest episode we ever recorded, but goys fear not - we’ll be back with the usual nonsense next week.Also: Please join us on Substack! Comment! Email! Give money! Or just sign up and say hey.https://askajew.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

The girls recap Passover and the Libs of Tik Tok kerfuffle. Also: * Everything and nothing is antisemitic * Blockchain! Books! And why we’re not as smart as we’d like to be. * Yael recommends a book about how to focus but she can’t remember what it’s called * Jonathan Haidt is a dreamboat * Social media is bad. No wait it’s good. * Friends are very important and never too late to find them - go get ‘em. *Chaya Leah tells a dumb beautiful story that will make you cry And nothing about Elon Musk! Email us at askajewpod@gmail.comShow notes:"Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right’s outrage machine," by Taylor Lorenz (WaPo)"Why the Past 10 Years of Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid," by Jonathan Haidt (Atlantic) 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