Ask a Jew

Who’s this, disprespecting us on our podcast?? It’s our very own rare earth mineral, The Free Press columnist and host of the wonderful Breaking History podcast, Eli Lake! Did he even say thank you once? I don’t know. Probably at the end. Does it even matter? We hope you enjoy the episode. If you didn’t, it’s because Chaya Leah didn’t bring her translator.Want more AAJ fun? Join the conversation on Substack! askajew.substack.comHere’s what we cover:· Yael learns something astonishing about how Chaya Leah views Volodymyr Zelenskyy and J.D Vance· You’re not a Russian agent, you’re just stupid.· Trump is playing 4D Uno· This wouldn’t have happened under King David· Eating s**t is the bed rock of diplomacy· The axis of idiocy - people who love Gaza and Putin· A digression into terrorist rectums· Go prove you don’t have a sister· Ugh, have you even heard of traveling medicine shows?· Truth is for losers· Plato Vs. the Torah· What to tell an ugly bride?· A great story whose details Yael can’t remember· How antisemitic does someone have to be for you to cut them off?· The Oscars pissed us off, even though they haven’t started yet· A ray of stupid sunshine· Let’s dig into Meir Kahane because none of this has upset people enoughWant to help us grow? Share this episode and give us a 5 star rating or comment wherever you get your podcasts! 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

Look. The words are done. They have just run out. So we filled the void with various mouth noises, about everything from the orthodox child labor, Meir Kahane, the Grand Canyon and Apple Cider Vinegar. Listen, some weeks are so icky, it’s ok to order a 7-11 Big Gulp on Uber Eats in the middle of a recording. Or is it? Anyway, please excuse our mess, but you get it, right?* The story of Ariel Bibas’s best friend from kindergarten* The new Hollyowod Jews who are punching back. Don’t you just love to see it?* Friend of the pod talking Kahane with Israelis 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 welcome our pals and confidants, Kat Rosenfield and Phoebe Maltz Bovy, co-hosts of Feminine Chaos!Kat is a novelist, culture writer, and frequent contributor to the Free Press, where you should read whatever she writes, no matter the topic.Phoebe is the opinion editor of the Canadian Jewish News, contributor to The Globe and Mail, author of the book The Perils of “Privilege” and a Canadian-American patriot.We talk Kosher Superbowl halftime shows, beauty and aging, The Golden Girls, and more! Don’t forget to check out Feminine Chaos on Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts.JOIN US ON SUBSTACK TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING! askajew.substack.com⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WANT TO HELP US GROW? CONSIDER GIVING US A 5 STAR REVIEW ON APPLE OR SPOTIFY ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Links:A very Kosher halftime showKat’s piece in the Free Press about Men and pregnancy lossGolden year: What I learned watching The Golden Girls for the first time in 2024Some Jewish unaothorized covers of Austalian hits from the 80sBonus: The piece Kat was working on when we recorded about the show Apple Cider Vinegar, titled “Why Women Fall for Wellness B******t”. Have you watched it? Discuss! I ended up binging it over the weekend and thought it was great. The trailer doesn’t do it justice in my opinion. 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

Happy Valentines Day! That’s a Jewish holiday right? Well, we’re celebrating Rebbe Saint Valentine anyway.In this festive episode we get all googly-eyed over our guest Aleeza Ben Shalom, a matchmaker and relationship coach who you all know from Netflix’s “Jewish Matchmaking”, and author of the new book Matchmaker Matchmaker: Find Me a Love That Lasts, which you should buy at least 2 copies of.We dive into Aleeza's advice to "date ‘em til you hate ‘em", untangle love and values, and hear why Chaya Leah’s grandfather (who was himself a matchmkaer) would force men to stare into the mirror as they described their ideal girl.The interview with Aleeza starts around 41 minutes in, but first, you have to sit through our thoughts on Trump’s plan for Gaza, travel tips for Somaliland, and a pitch for a new reality show to find the next palestinian leader.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Want to help us grow? Give us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also:* Gaz-a-Lago* Somaliland and Puntland, see you at the beach!* Some TV recommendations, old and new* Who is Ian Sommerholder?* Love doesn’t care about your feelings* Down with Disney!* Indepndence is overrated* The Jewish ick* Unrealistic expectations, and Chaya Leah’s grandfather’s advice for men (I’m not a pimp, I’m a shadchan!)* Skip the dinner dateCheck out Jewish Matchmaking on Netflix, and follow Aleeza on Youtube and Instagram, Did you know w’ere on Instagram too? Sometimes we forget. But check us out. 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 totally thought Richard Hanania was a Jew, and by the time we found out he’s Palestinian (gasp!) it was too late to cancel. Just kidding, we loved talking to Richard about everything from the online right-wing “trollosphere”, antisemitism (which he gets his fair share of), Twitter politics, elite human capital, disappearing pronoun bios, and in general why everything is just more stupid now.Follow Richard on X/Twitter , check out the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, and subscrie to his Substack here. 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 sit down to recap the events of the week, which feels like a decade.Check out videos and shownotes on askajew.substack.com Also:* Chaya Leah wants to deport Yael* The hostage releases are so emotional. And that emotion is rage.* Where do they keep the laminating machines in Gaza?* Let the sunshine in* Is Elon Musk a Nazi? And do we prefer quality or quantity in our antisemites* Advice to secret Nazis: play it smooth.* Jeremy Corbyn’s cat goes to hell* Inauguration nation* Leave it to the president of Ireland to make a holocaust memorial antisemitisc* January 6 hostages? Dude. dude.* Equal opportunity haters______________Want to help us grow? Give us a 5 star rating 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

That feeling you have in the pit of your stomach? We’re all there. A mix of hope, fear, anger and grief. An American friend asked me if I’m happy about the hostage deal, and it was hard to use that word in this context. Though I support the deal (like most Israelis) and believe it is the moral choice, it makes me sick to my stomach that we even had to negotiate with these b******s, not to mention give them anything that doesn’t drop from the wing of an F-15. More about that, and our listener Zoom in a minute. In the meantime, we present you this rare, early-release, joy-to-the-ears kvetch fest with two of our favorite ladies and co-hosts of Normally, Mary Katharine Ham and Karol Markowicz. You may know these ladies from either of their frequent apperances on Fox News, CNN, the NY Post, and any other place where people pay them to say what they think about things. They each also have two great podcasts of their own, The Karol Markowicz show (that’s, uh, Karol’s) and Getting Hammered. Thanks for reading Good for the Jews! This post is public so feel free to share it.The next few weeks will be roughAs of today, 33 hostages are set to be released in the phase of the deal, with each day bringing new challenges and mind-f***s from the enemy. There are total of 98 hostages in Gaza, aged 2 to 86, and there is no guarantee that we will ever move into the 2nd or 3rd phases of the deal that are meant to bring them all home.To clarify how evil Hamas is (in case you don’t get it in our podcast, we can be a little subtle sometimes), they are set to release the first group of hostages in about 12 hours, and they still haven’t told us who they are. Nor have they told us who is alive. For example, you all may have heard about little Kfir Bibas, who just celebrated his 2nd birthday as a hostage. He was kidnapped at the age of 6 months, and he and his brother Ariel (5) and mother are expected to return in this phase of the deal. We don’t know if these babies will return home in their mother’s arms or in body bags.As many have said before me including head of the Shin Bet, the deal isn’t good - but it’s the right deal. I don’t think we could live with ourselves if we didn’t push for it, not just for our 98 brothers and sisters, but for our sense of solidarity and responsibility to one another. Every Israeli feels like they have been missing a limb for the last 15 months, and we need to be able to be whole again to move on. This may sound sentimental, and not like the tough, calculated soldiers that people expect us to be. But in a sense, the reason people put on a uniform to begin with and run into the line of fire is to save strangers and protect families, and who would we be if we didn’t do that now?Good for the Jews is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Listener ZoomAnother weepy Zoom coming your way! Please join us Monday at 9pm EST for a much-needed group therapy session. Will you learn anything? Maybe, I don’t know. If you want to learn ask Dan Senor for a Zoom. Will you share all the feels and laughs with friends and strangers and leave feeling uplifted? 100%. Will send a separate email with details so watch this space. 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

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, host of the FDD Morning Brief, and formerly a terror finance analyst for the US Treasury. There’s a lot to talk about this week, especially the hostages, an upcoming ceasefire deal that brings up all kinds of feelings, and of course - Houthi dance moves. Follow Jonathan on X and don’t forget to check out the Morning Brief wherever you get your podcasts.Good for the Jews is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.If you’re feeling anxious about a potential hostage deal, that’s probably the right reaction. As I write this, it seems like a hostage deal will be signed in the coming hours, with the first phase being the gradual release of 33 hostages - whose condition is unclear. We the public (and probably others close to the negotiation table too) have no idea who is dead and who is alive, how long this will take (looks like weeks at the least), whether or not it will even happen, and of course what the outcome will be. It’s like diffusing a bomb over the course of several weeks, every wrong move can create an explosion. There are more unkowns than knowns, and i’ve even gone back to edit this last paragraph in the last few minutes based on new information. We will cry tears of happiness for every life that can be pulled out of that hellhole, and tears of heartbreak for every one left behind. Anyway, to quote my friend Lishay Lavi, whose husband and father of her 2 young daughters is a hostage and is not on the first phase list: “There is no euphoria or celebration here. We fight till the very last hostage is home.” I may write a longer post about this later.Thanks for reading Good for the Jews! This post is public so feel free to share it. 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 welcome on of our favorite podcast hosts and top 5 favorite lesbians, non-Jew Katie Herzog! Katie is the co-host of the wonderful Blocked and Reported podcast about internet drama with Jesse Singal, which makes her a victim of antisemitism by association.Join the conversation on Substack today! Askajew.substack.comWe discuss:* Wigs* Head nipples* What’s the difference between Seattle and Portland* Hurricane Helene* America needs a good enemy* New Year’s Resolutions* Meditation changed my life or whatever* Katie Arafat* Katie is a Bird Flu prepper* Jews and dogs - a mismatch made in heaven* Podcast couples therapy* Don’t buy the merch* Do Jews surf?Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and SpotifyFollow Katie on X and most importantly, start listening to Blocked and Reported! We really want to give them a We still have a few copies of the Queers 4 Palestine calendar left! Order now. 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

What do you people call it? 2025? Anyway, we hope it’s awesome! Is your new year’s resolution to listen more of the Jewish weave, covering everything from Hanukkah to TJ MAxx? If so, you’re in for a treat.Also:* Our sufganiyot (seasonal donuts) game-plan* Being Jewish out loud* Are celebrities allowed to be jewish?* A 2nd Hanukkah without the hostages* The bombshell Assad divorce* We are the lovechilds Marie Kondo and a Tazmanian Devil* We’ll also introduce a new segment: The Jewish draft! Who’s in and who’s out this week? Listen to find out. Or you could also scroll below to see the photo. By the way he’s been posting one for every night, hasn’t hit a Jewish person in his quotes just yet, but it’s night 7 so figners crossed!Also, here’s a video of a lovely celebration on 5th avenue, complete with irrate commuters and confused tourists. Jewish Joy in your face, it’s the NYC way!Have you ordered your copy of the Queers 4 Palestine calendar yet? If not, take your time, i’ve been doing the fulfillment and already have spent more than the doctor’s recommended time in the post office. But also hurry up because we have a limited supply! Special thanks to the wonderful Nika Scothorne for the design. Good for the Jews is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Any New Year’s resolutions?? Share below for accountability and feedback. 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