This week on the show, we’re opening a dialogue.  Jewish actor Noa Tishby and Gentile sports commentator Emmanuel Acho share what they learned from each other while co-writing their new book, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew.  Actor Michael Rapaport and Dr. Aliza Erber talk about their involvement in the Sharing Memories project, an effort by Israeli aid organization Latet and Meta in Israel that’s bringing Holocaust survivors’ stories to social media for Yom HaShoah.  And we speak with Barnard College senior Noa Fay about speaking out as a Zionist during weeks of disru ..read more

This week on the show, we’re diving into the newest must-watch Israeli television series, thanks to our friends at ChaiFlicks, the Jewish streaming service. Israeli filmmaker Rama Burshtein-Shai discusses her new drama, Fire Dance, a tale of passion, fulfillment, and faith set in an ultra-Orthodox community near the Sea of Galilee.  Unorthodox listeners get 50% off new ChaiFlicks subscriptions and a seven-day free trial with code FIREPOD at checkout. Visit ChaiFlicks.com to get started. We’re excited to share a special opportunity for Unorthodox listeners to join Tablet. As Tablet memb ..read more

This week on the show, we’re reporting from Columbia University, where in recent days anti-Israel protesters have set up an encampment and occupied an administrative building. You can read Tablet’s long-running coverage of the escalating situation on American college campuses here, and Liel’s 2019 article “Get Out” here. Liel and Tablet editor-in-chief Alana Newhouse speak with New York City Mayor Eric Adams about the protests, the NYPD response, and more. Stephanie heads to Columbia to see what’s happening on campus and talk to students. Plus, we’re sharing a recent Tablet conversation, mode ..read more

This week on Unorthodox, we’re highlighting the latest installment of The Minyan, Tablet’s roundtable series on American Jewish life, hosted by Abigail Pogrebin. Tablet’s Executive Editor Wayne Hoffman discusses the newest offering, which features a conversation with Jews from the former Soviet Union. Their stories of endurance and emigration resonate always, but especially during Passover. You can read this and previous installments of The Minyan at tabletmag.com/minyan. And don’t miss the Tablet member Zoom on May 9 discussing the issues raised by participants. Find out more at tabletmag.co ..read more

This week on the show, we’re taking time to remember.  Memory is at the core of so much of Jewish life and tradition, especially during Passover. So we’re sharing several stories about memories, from the individual to the collective, and from the difficult to the uplifting.  Tablet writer Gabriel Sanders reads his essay about preparing for his first Passover without his father, who spent the last years of his life with Alzeimer's disease. (The version of Ma Lecha Hayam featured in this story is performed by Paul and Lila Shapiro.) Jenny Rozbruch, who designed our Unorthodox and Be ..read more

This week on the show, there’s a new (Jewish) sheriff in town. First, another story from our recent reporting trip to Israel. Liel sat down with IDF soldier Shavit Romero, who shared his journey from growing up non-Jewish in Tel Aviv, to getting wounded in Gaza and starting his conversion process.  Our Gentile of the Week is Caroline D’Amore, founder of Pizza Girl, who tells us how October 7 and its aftermath sparked her viral support for Israel and her visit to one of the kibbutzim attacked by Hamas.  Mixologist Pam Wiznitzer shares her Ten Plagues cocktail recipes, which she wil ..read more

This week on the show, we’re sharing stories from our second reporting trip to Israel.  Former First Lady of Israel Lihi Lapid joins us to discuss her newly translated novel, On Her Own, about two Israeli families in crisis, as well as finding a way through the Jewish state’s present crises.  Jon Polin shares his experience advocating for the return of his son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, nearly 200 days after he was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.  And we visit Tel Aviv’s Social Grocery Store, a food pantry for asylum seekers and stateless residents in Israel struggling with food ..read more

This week on Unorthodox, we’re hoping the Jewish James Bond rumours are true. Plus, interviews with three awesome Jews:  Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, joins us to talk about his new cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People, which includes a very special kugel recipe. He also talks about how his Jewish identity inspires his inquisitive approach to food and storytelling. Highlights include a recipe. Podcaster and writer Zibby Owens returns to tell us about her debut novel, Blank, plus how she’s helping fight antisemitism in the publishing wor ..read more

This week on the show, we are all about Shabbat.  First, we’re sharing the latest installment of Beautifully Jewish, in which Stephanie Butnick and Tanya Singer explore all the beauty of Shabbat with the help of Adeena Sussman, author of the new cookbook, Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, and AHYIN Judaica designer Micaela Ezra.  We’re also showcasing our newest Tablet Studios podcast, Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally with Sivan Rahav-Meir. Each week, Israeli journalist and Torah scholar Sivan Rahav-Meir sits down with our own Liel Leibovitz to draw out pr ..read more

This week on Unorthodox, we can’t believe we missed YentaCon.  Our first guest is director Andrew Goldberg, whose new PBS documentary Armenia, My Home uncovers some of the parallels between Armenian and Jewish life. We also speak with Eylon Levy, official spokesman for the Israeli government. He joined us to talk about manning the war’s digital front, and his viral interview on British TV, aka “the eyebrow incident.”  The version of “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” you heard was by our friends at Yidcore. Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line ..read more