Unorthodox

This week’s episode was recorded live at JCC Manhattan. Our first Jewish guest is Canadian transplant and longtime "This American Life" contributor Jonathan Goldstein, who now hosts the podcast Heavyweight. He tells us about mining his personal life for stories to tell on his show and gives us a definitive (if very Canadian) answer on Montreal bagels vs. New York bagels. Our Gentile of the Week is Catholic New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who tells us about being a conservative voice writing for a largely liberal audience, why so many voters on the Christian right supported Trump despite mounting evidence of his moral failings, and why conservatives love fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings. Our second Jewish guest is Jen Spyra, comedian and writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She tells us about her Late Show audition, the challenges of writing jokes during a Trump administration, and when she first realized she was funny. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we'll share our favorite notes on air. This episode is dedicated to the memory of J.J. the dog.Special thanks to our live band, the Jewbadourians: Jim Knable, Sunny Knable, and Claudia Mogel.Music Credits: “Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem “Swing Gitane” by The Underscore Orkestra “Jonathan Goldstein” by The Jewbadourians“If Your Dad Doesn’t Have A Beard, You’ve Got Two Mums” by The Beards“Ross Douthat” by The Jewbadourians“Bad Religion” by Frank Ocean“Jen Spyra” by The Jewbadourians“LA Jews” by The Jewbadourians

This week, in addition to our regular Thursday episode, we’re doing something a bit different. President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration struck us as so troubling, so decidedly antithetical to the Jewish values we hold dear—and such a disappointment given our own paths to this country—that we were moved to respond. On this mini-episode, Liel Leibovitz, Stephanie Butnick, and producer Elissa Goldstein offer brief reflections. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we'll share our favorite notes on air.Song credits:“Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem“Ten Years Before” by Lobo Loco“Waiting for my Man” by The Velvet Underground“What Would You Do?” from the Original Cast Recording of Cabaret“Cylinder Six” by Chris Zabriskie

Our Jewish guest this week is actor David Duchovny, whose latest novel, Bucky F*cking Dent, follows a Red Sox-loving father and son during the 1978 World Series. He tells us how fox Mulder, the fictional FBI agent he played on The X-Files, would feel about James Comey right about now, his favorite X-Files meme, and his long-lost Yale Ph.D. thesis on magic and technology in 20th century fiction. Our Gentile of the Week is John Cleese, whose memoir, So, Anyway, is out in paperback. The legendary British comedian and actor tells Liel about the first time he heard a good Jewish joke, why The Hangover is a terrible movie, and how the Black Knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail might just be a metaphor for Jewish history.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we'll share our favorite notes on air. Sponsored by Harry’s: Enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.Music Credits:“Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem“Egg Man” by The Beastie Boys"Main Title Theme from Californication" by Tree Adams & Tyler Bates“David Duchovny” by Bree Sharp“Mailtime” from Blues Clues“Planta Baja” by Tres Tristes Tangos“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle, performed by the Traditional Jazz Band of Brasil

In anticipation of our Wednesday (1/25) live show at the Manhattan JCC (tickets available here), we thought we'd share the season finale of Jonathan Goldstein's Heavyweight podcast. Jonathan is a radio storytelling legend and he'll be one of our guests on Wednesday night, so if you're coming to the show, listen up, and if not, listen anyway. If you like us, we bet you'll like him too.In this episode (#8 Jeremy), Jonathan revisits his tricky relationship with Judaism by reconnecting with an acquaintance he hasn't heard from in decades. Heavyweight is a production of Gimlet Media. 

This week on Unorthodox, Bernie Madoff's prison hot chocolate scheme. We've got two Jewish guests this week: our first is return visitor Rosie Gray, who covered the election for BuzzFeed and is now a staff writer at the Atlantic. Our second guest is Charlie Brotman, who has announced every inauguration parade from Eisenhower to Obama but was snubbed by the Trump inauguration committee.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com (we may share your note on air!).Music credits: “Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem“NPR’s Morning Edition Theme” by BJ Liederman“Le Hustle” by Polyrhytmics“Rosie” by Jackson Browne“Alley Cat” by Bent Fabric“Hail to the Chief” by American Patriotic Music Ensemble

This week on Unorthodox: We’ll always have Casablanca (except Mark).Our Jewish guest is writer and comedian Lynn Harris, founder of Comedy GOLD, which teaches girls and women how to empower themselves through comedy. Our Gentile of the Week is author and Bloggingheads founder Robert Wright, who was raised Southern Baptist but now practices Buddhism. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches atUnorthodox@tabletmag.com (we may share your note on air!).Sponsors:HelloFresh: For $35 off your first week of deliveries, enter UNORTHODOX35 when you subscribe.Harry’s: Try a shave set for free—just cover shipping when you sign up. Enter code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get a free post shave balm.Music Credits:"Unorthodox Theme Song" by Golem“As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfeld, from the soundtrack to Casablanca“Goodbye Columbus” by The Association“Crate Diggin’” by Ari De Niro“Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, as performed by Herschel Krustofsky“Rythme Gitan” by Latche Swing“Hotel California” by The Eagles

This week on Unorthodox, Jared and Ivanka go shul shopping in Washington, D.C.Our Jewish guest is renowned biblical scholar Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, whose latest book examines the life of Moses, one of the most enigmatic biblical figures (you can read an excerpt here). She tells us about exploring the often overlooked aspects of Moses’s life—his speech impediment, for example–and why she believes Moses is one of the most compelling literary characters of all time. (This segment is sponsored by Yale Jewish Lives.)Our Gentile of the Week is linguist John McWhorter, author of the forthcoming book, Talking Back, Talking Black. He tells us the latest linguistic trends he's noticed among his college students, why there’s no such thing as a safe space (or at least an unironic one), and why it’s OK to say ‘like’ a lot, as long as you’re not in a meeting.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We may share your note on air. Thank you to all our listeners for your support and encouragement throughout 2016. We can’t wait to see what 2017 brings!Music credits; "Unorthodox Theme Song" by Golem“Freedom Drops” by Ari De Niro“A Partir Desse Dia” by Dark Sunn“Go Down, Moses” performed by Louis Armstrong“Words” by Boyzone“Ballad of the Jewbadour” by Jim Knable

This week we’re celebrating Christmas the only way we know how: Chinese food and a movie. Plus a bunch of amazing guests!We’re joined by New York Times reporter Marc Tracy, who tells us about the tradition of Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas, and the Jewish songwriters behind some of the most well-known Christmas songs. Jessica Grose, the editor of the email newsletter Lenny, tells us why it’s OK for Jews to have a Christmas tree. Film critic Jordan Hoffman shares his favorite Christmas movies—and one classic he’s not so into. Librarian Rachel Kamin talks about a No Good Very Bad children's Hanukkah book (and recommends a few good ones), writer and activist Robin Rice tells us about her latest project, Your Holiday Mom, and Natasha Zaretsky explains why Soviet Jews have New Years trees.Wishing you and your loved ones, pets, and frenemies a wonderful, meaningful, and delicious Hanukkah, and a merry Jewish Christmas!We love hearing from you. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com with comments or questions, or just to say hi. We may share your note on air.Music Credits:"Unorthodox Theme Song" by Golem"Last Christmas" by Wham“Joy to The World” by The Klezmonauts“Deck the Halls” by The Klezmonauts"God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen" by The Klezmonauts"A Jew on Christmas" by Kyle“Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt“Have Yourself a Politically-Correct Christmas” by Sam Tucker“Christmastime is Here” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio“Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” performed by Jewlia Eisenberg

This week on Unorthodox, Israeli Burger King debuts the SufganiKing—a hamburger inside a jelly donut.Our Jewish guest is Jason Diamond, author of the new memoir, Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I thought I Needed to Know About Life I Learned from Watching ‘80s Movies. He gives us his list of the must-see John Hughes movies. Our Gentile of the Week is actually a Jew and a gentile—Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile—the hosts of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, a podcast that Talmudically analyzes the wildly popular J.K. Rowling’s series. They tell us how (spoiler) Harry Potter is actually about the Holocaust.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We may share your note on air. Today’s episode is brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com to get a limited edition holiday shave set while supplies last—use the promo code UNORTHODOX at checkout for $5 off your order.Music credits:"Unorthodox Theme Song" by Golem"Outer Orbit" by Revolution Void"Hedwig's Theme" by John Williams"Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds"Physionics" by Stephan Siebert 

This week on Unorthodox, Ivanka Trump steals a kugel. Our Jewish guest is Naftali Hanau, founder of Grow and Behold Foods, the Brooklyn-based purveyor of kosher meat from animals raised on family farms with no hormones or antibiotics. He tells us about being trained as a kosher butcher, or shochet, and why he’s made it his mission to provide ethically-produced kosher meat. Our Gentile of the Week is Glynn Washington, host of NPR’s Snap Judgment. He talks about what it takes to tell stories on the radio and how he knows when he's got a great one.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We may share your note on air. Today’s episode is also brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com to get a limited edition holiday shave set while supplies last—use the promo code UNORTHODOX at checkout for $5 off your order.Music credits for this episode (in order): "Unorthodox Theme Song" by Golem"Teddy Bears' Picnic" by John Walter Bratton and performed by Henry Hall & his Orchestra"Theme from Schindler's List" by John Williams"Fairweather Fiends"  by Polyrhythmics"Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House"Spinning" by Nangdo"Come to Me" by Hyson"California" by Phantom Planet

Our guest this week is Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance, whose mission is bringing Judaism out of the pews and into the daily lives of his congregants. He tells us about his popular Soul Strolls through the idyllic Hudson Valley woods on Saturdays, why it’s OK to watch movies on Shabbat, and why he wants to end the bar mitzvah practice as we know it. Plus, the Jewbadour Jim Knable contributes a ballad about Liel's travel woes. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com. We may share your note on air. This week’s episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial at audible.com/unorthodox.Today’s episode is also brought to you by Harry’s. Go to Harrys.com to get a limited edition holiday shave set while supplies last—use the promo code UNORTHODOX at checkout for $5 off your order.

This week’s episode was recorded live at Beth Tzedec Congregation in Drake's hometown of Toronto. Our Jewish guest is writer and filmmaker David Bezmozgis, who moved with his family from Latvia to Toronto when he was six years old. He tells us just how dangerous he thinks a Trump presidency will be, and why Americans shouldn’t flee to Canada but instead stay and fight. Our Gentile of the week is Julie Nesrallah, mezzo-soprano and host of Tempo, CBC Radio 2’s classical music program. She tells us about founding Carmen on Tap, a company that performs Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen as dinner theatre, and treats us to a song from the 1875 opera.Like listening to Unorthodox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com with comments, questions, and kvetches. We may share your letter on air.Today’s episode is brought to you by Harry’s. For a great shave at an affordable price, go to Harrys.com and use promo code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get their free trial set and post-shave balm.

In this bonus episode, Mark chats with his only Facebook friend supporting Donald Trump: Bob Barnes, a Yale classmate he hasn't seen in 22 years. Barnes, a lawyer and self-described populist who hasn't voted in a presidential election since 1992, put $125,000 on a Trump win at 4 to 1 odds in London. Now a half million dollars richer, he talks to Mark about why he supports the President-Elect, how he saw this result coming, and what the left needs to do to win back the middle.Like listening to Unorthodox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com with comments, questions, and kvetches. We may share your letter on air.Shalom, friends. 

Torontonians! Join us tonight, Nov. 17, for our live show at Beth Tzedec Congregation at 7:30 p.m. Tickets here.Today we’re joined by a special guest to help us process what happened in last week’s presidential election, and where we go from here. Former U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, who represented the fourth district of Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013, talks about the impacts of race and class on the election, and what the Democratic establishment needs to address moving forward.Like listening to Unorthodox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com with comments, questions, and kvetches. We may share your letter on air.Today’s episode is brought to you by Harry’s. For a great shave at an affordable price, go to Harrys.com and use promo code UNORTHODOX at checkout to get their free trial set and post-shave balm.Shalom, friends. 

Join us next week in Toronto! We’ll be recording a live show at Beth Tzedec Congregation Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets here.Surprise! We’re getting our Unorthodox on a little early this week, with a jam-packed episode for you to listen to while you wait on line to vote. Our first Jewish guest is Stephanie’s maternal grandfather, Albert Rothaus, calling in from Boca Raton, Florida. The lifelong Democrat tells us about being a Hillary voter in Trumpland and putting friendships on ice during the election. Our second Jewish guest is Tablet columnist Jamie Kirchick, who tells us which Republicans have most disappointed him this election season and the worst thing he’s been called on Twitter. Our third Jewish guest is National Review Washington editor Eliana Johnson, who describes the mood in her office these days and tells us why she’s not voting the top of the ticket. Our Gentile of the Week is legendary Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who offers his election predictions and tells us whether he ever gets sick of ‘-gate’ being added to the end of every political scandal. Also, producer Noah Levinson reports from a Melania Trump event. Like listening to Unorthodox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com with comments, questions, and kvetches. We may share your letter on air.