

Ask a Jew
Ask a Jew
Yael Bar tur, secular sinner, and Chaya Leah Sufrin, pious Haredi, ask each other the hard questions, from Torah to Tinder askajew.substack.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 15, 2024 • 1h 13min
Your Robot Therapist Will See You Now - W/ Christine Rosen
 In this week’s episode of “people we thought were Jewish” - Christine Rosen! Christine is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, columnist for Commentary magazine, cohosts of The Commentary Magazine Podcast, and author of the new book The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.We talk about Christine's very unique acknowledgments page, the good, bad and ugly of technology, IRL friendships vs. online friendships, and how with great rights come great responsibilities.Buy the book The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.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 

Oct 8, 2024 • 1h 55min
October 7 Listener Zoom
 On the eve of October 7th, we gathered with 100+ of our closest friends (you guys!) to share our feelings, frustrations, sad tears and happy tears. Don't worry, we still found some space for holocaust jokes and hot dictators. Thank you to everyone who joined, from Portland to Iran -  we are very lucky to have you. Special thanks to Super Friends and former guests Eli Lake (The Reeducation, The Free Press) and Mike Pesca (The Gist) for jumping on and sharing their wisdom. Listen all the way to the end for an uplifting finish (Or dare I say...a happy ending).Need a community? We have one! Join askajew.substack.com to continue the conversation on chat or comments. 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 

Oct 2, 2024 • 1h 7min
Escalate Me, Bro
 Sunday October 6 listener Zoom!! Go to askajew.substack.com for details.Shana Tova from the bomb shelter! Just kidding, the IDF said we can go out, plus, after an hour we finished folding laundry and drinking a bottle of whiskey, and we were bored. This episode was recorded before Iran launched a ballistic missile attack at our faces, so if we sound a little too cheerful and irreverent....well, I guess that's on brand. Pics and links here on substack. In this one:Who’s less hot, JD Vance or Tim Walz?An update on Nicole Kidman’s wigs on The Perfect CoupleOur low expectations from celebrities these daysGeorge Washington wrote a nice letter once to Jews an we’re still talking about itA distressed hostage back from Hamas captivity, and Noa ArgamaniEl Al to people trying to get flight tickets to Israel: Don’t.What kind of Orthodox is this?Is Austria’s far right leader hot? AAJ investigatesAn on-an-off relationship with G_dWe may have made a big mistake offing that austere religious scholar Hassan NasrallahOur friend Eli Lake about the importance of winning, in The Free PressA Sephora for BeirutWhy do Orthodox women always do this for a living?And a listener has an R-rated Auschwitz related question…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 

Sep 24, 2024 • 1h 4min
Insert pager pun here
 This episode is brought to you by the Federated States of Micronesia. No, they aren't paying us for sponsorship, but they are the only country that still loves us, so this one's on us!This week we discuss the Hezbollah pager explosions, the list of countries that can no longer sit with us, Hassan Nasrallah's glow-up, decolonized pizza at MIT, tips on how to focus,and more. The UN being the UNMIT activists disrupt Israeli professor, steal pizzas (and a happy ending!)The Man from Vilna - how to think about Simchat Torah this year (lyrics here) 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 

Sep 17, 2024 • 1h 3min
Safe Spaces for Dumb Ideas - with Greg Lukianoff
 Greg Lukianoff is a First Amendment lawyer, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and co-author of the hits "The Coddling of the American Mind"  with Jonathan Haidt and "The Canceling of the American Mind" with Rikki Schlott. He joins us to talk all things free speech, like why campuses are burning, how violence is kind of bad, actually, and why he fights for our right to say dumb things, and be called out on them. Also:What should keep us up at night?Culture of free speech vs. the law of free speechActually, violence is bad2023 was the worst year for deplatforming in historyHarvard is so mad at Greg right nowEven antisemites have free speech rights :(Are the universities redeemable?You're anti-intellectual! No, you're anti-intellectual! Blame the lack of viewpoint diversityStudents + admins = troubleAre you ever sick of all this free speech nonsense?Kids need to be told they are stupid more oftenFIRE-branded Shabbat dinners, coming soon to a table near youFollow Greg on Twitter/X if you please, and also on Substack at The Eternally Radical IdeaThe article that inspired the book The Coddling of the American Mind in The Atlantic (2015)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 

Sep 11, 2024 • 1h 3min
Hamas is like dating in New York - w/ David Christopher Kaufman
 David Christopher Kaufman is a columnist and editor at the NY Post and an adjunct fellow at the Tel Aviv institute. He joins the girls this week to talk elections, Israel, and the identity of the half black, half Jewish, totally Zionist American journalist.  Also: * The mood in Israel* The difference between being a Jew and being Jewish* Why Hamas is like dating in New York* A Zionist Jew and a non-Zionist Jew walk into a bar...* We all feel the same and it hasn't stopped for a day* The pressure on young black Jewish kids* The black struggle is not the Palestinian struggle* Pro-Trump Jews, identity politics, and Kamala Harris* Doug Emhoff is the "right kind of Jew"Follow David on X and InstagramAnd read his writing in the NY PostJoing 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 

Sep 5, 2024 • 1h 23min
The Progressive Case for Israel - W/ Brianna Wu
 We are joined by Brianna Wu, the Executive Director of Rebellion Pac, who proudly calls herself queer, progressive - and a friend of Israel. We discuss growing up in Mississippi, what progressives can learn from Hasidic Jews, the Women's March, Gamergate, being an inspiration for a Law & Order episode, her global ranking as an elite Super Mario 2 Runner - and more!Follow Brianna on XThe famous Law & Order episode based on Brianna's storyBrianna's Super Mario runJoing 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 

Sep 1, 2024 • 35min
Getting up again
 We hopped on to record with a heavy heart this morning, after hearing the devasating news of the murder of 6 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity: Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov and Eden Yerushalmi. They managed to survive 11 months, only to be executed somewhere between Thursday and Friday by their captors. We're angry, sad, contemplative, fearful - and thought you might want to join us through this ride. 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 

Aug 26, 2024 • 1h 6min
We Didn't Start the Ceasefire - W/ Andrew Fox
 The girls are joined by retired British Army Major Andrew Fox, who has spent time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, and other exotic tourist destinations. We discuss wars of choice, try to pick a fight with Taylor Swift, compare military MREs, and wonder why Americans love tiny dogs and Hezbollah flags.Also:Wait why does England need an army?The US Military is rubbish at drinkingLearn from our fails in Iraq and AfghanistanDon't pick wars of choiceThe importance of playing niceThe Leroy Jenkins military approach to Ukraine (Or: Why Ukraine is Genociding Russia)Some difference of opinion on Taylor SwiftHey, we made it work with the Christians, eventuallyFrom the River to the DNCThe great British MRE Bake OffFood WashingFollow Andrew Fox on Substack and on X.The IDF’s Boot Is on Hamas’ Throat - Tablet, August 2024Israel Is Succeeding in Gaza - Tablet, May 2024How Israel is clearing Hamas out of Rafah - The Spectator, August 2024This idiot at the DNC   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 

Aug 22, 2024 • 1h 10min
Fight like a Jew
 This week we take your questions, very politely and with no conflict at all discuss Jewish extremism, and float the idea of a listener trip to Israel…You can send us your questions to askajewpod@gmail.comMake sure to check out our podcast recommendations and more on Substack 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 


