Podcast appearances and mentions of mark oppenheimer

What went wrong with South Africa's budget process and does the Democratic Alliance (DA) have a case in their court challenge of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's decision to hike Value Added Tax (VAT)? There has since been varying responses and reactions around this so Phumi tackles this point in our country's trajectory with Mark Oppenheimer, practicing advocate and member of the Johannesburg Bar, and Kristen Heim, an expert on institutional change in African Legislatures and has been engaged in parliamentary capacity development across the continent since 2008 | Level Up with Phumi Mashigo The Burning Platform

In this episode, you can listen to advocate Mark Oppenheimer discuss freedom of speech and hate speech within the South African context. We further discuss the recent ruling of the court that the chant "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" is not hate speech. If you would like to support this podcast, please visit https://www.pioneerinitiative.org.za/donate/ to become a contributor to the Pioneer Initiative.

State of the Nation Address with President Cyril Ramaphosa was delivered in just under 90 minutes, in 6773 words he set out his GNU's blue print for the year ahead but did he inspire the nation or even just today's guests. Khaya Sithole and Mark Oppenheimer are Leveling up with us On the highlights and lowlights. The Burning Platform

Understanding and Combating Neurofibromatosis: Insights from the Children’s Tumor Foundation (Good2Give Podcast, Episode 14) This episode of the Good2Give Podcast, hosted by Maria Walden and DePriest Waddy of the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, features guests Kate Kelts, Senior Manager of Patient Education and Engagement, from the Children’s Tumor Foundation, and Mark Oppenheimer, CEO of Modern […]

What do anti-semites and ultra-orthodox Jews have in common? How did the ivy league discriminate against Jews? Is America still a safe haven for Jews? Follow Mark's work on https://markoppenheimer.substack.com/ [00:00] Introduction and Confession [00:17] The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting [03:59] Historical Context of Jewish Persecution [07:15] Understanding Antisemitism [13:38] Antisemitism and Bigotry [25:53] Jewish Identity and Group Affinity [35:04] Jewish Humor and Self-Deprecation [38:14] Jews in the Ivy League: A Historical Perspective [41:14] Direct vs. Indirect Discrimination [46:34] Affirmative Action and Quotas [55:59] The Complexity of Anti-Zionism [01:02:19] Concluding Thoughts on Jewish Identity

On this episode of the show I'm talking to Mark Oppenheimer, my older brother and the recently anointed editor of Arc, the magazine formerly known as Religion and Politics.Our text is recent article of his, “Why Is a Publisher of Antisemitic and Homophobic Authors Winning a National Book Award? Paul Coates, father of Ta-Nehisi Coates, is getting a lifetime achievement award from people who don't want to talk about what he's actually done.”We talk about the article, which goes into a lot of depth about the authors and texts published by Coates's indie press, Black Classic Press, and then also about the broader context. Why did the National Book Foundation seek to recognize Coates in the first place? Why did they not know (and we're taking it as a given that they didn't know) that he had a record of publishing homophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist writers? Why have they remained mostly silent on the topic, since better information has come out, and why has the part of the media that tends to cover literary controversies opted out of covering this one. In addition to his work for Arc, Mark is the author of five books, including Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting & the Soul of a Neighborhood, and Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture. He's finishing up a biography of Judy Blume, which should come out in the next year or two. Show NotesHere's the summary and time stamps that the Descript bot gave me, which seem roughly accurate if not always super helpful.00:00 Introduction and Milestones01:28 Upcoming Episodes and Guests03:06 Interview with Mark Oppenheimer05:25 Paul Coates and Black Classic Press08:28 Controversies and Criticisms23:16 Media Response and Broader Implications38:12 The Role of Myths in Society38:47 Debate on Afrocentric Myths39:43 Flexibility of Religious Myths41:50 Healthy vs. Poisonous Myths43:06 Paul Coates and Black Classic Press48:50 The National Book Foundation Controversy58:31 The Role of the Free Press01:09:52 Concluding Thoughts on Intellectual DiscoursePrevious Episodes of the Coates Chronicles Get full access to Eminent Americans at danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Featuring rants from Matthew Adelstein (on shrimp welfare), Mark Oppenheimer (on missing the golden age of universities), Craig White (on the folly and immorality of American involvement in Ukraine) David Baker (on the wrongness of peacetime conscription) and Jason Werbeloff (on common misconceptions about AI).

My guest on the show today is Rod Dreher, conservative Christian writer and author of many books, most recently Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age, which came out in October from Zondervan press.This is the audio complement to a written interview I did with Dreher that's just out in Arc, the magazine formerly known as Religion and Politics. It was recently re-branded and re-imagined under the auspices of its new editor in chief, my brother Mark Oppenheimer. I'll link to the interview in the show notes. You should read it, and check out the magazine, which is publishing a lot of really interesting stuff.To give you some context for this conversation, which launches right into a recent experience that Dreher had of having a kind of low key exorcism, his new book is mostly about the experiences that he and others have had of what I would call the supernatural, but he would call the divine or the demonic.So hauntings, possessions, exorcisms, divine epiphanies, psychedelic experiences of alternate realities, even alien abductions and visitations. For Rod, this is all evidence of the fact that world is far stranger and more wondrous than materialists like me can perceive.I don't agree with him on most or all of this, or on most of his conservative politics, but I spend almost no time in this conversation arguing with him on either front. That's because I'm not that interested in arguing with him. I'm interested in understanding him and his perspective, which is one that I've long found compelling even as I've also found it alarmist and wrong-headed.I keep reading Rod, book after book, year after year, precisely because he sees the world so differently than me, and because I never doubt his desire to live thoughtfully and authentically in the world, and I never doubt that he's in touch with interesting cultural vibrations, even if they may not be the ones he thinks they are.A few final notes before I launch into the conversation, which starts rather abruptly because I forgot to hit record when we first started talking.One is I have some exciting episodes coming up, which you should be on the lookout for. One is with the aforementioned Mark Oppenheimer. We're going to talk about his recent piece in Arc on Paul Coates, Ta Nehisi Coates's father, who was recently given a lifetime achievement award by the National Book Foundation for his work as founder and editor of Black Classic Press. Mark writes about the uncomfortable reality of how many of the books and authors who Coates has championed have bizarre and often quite nasty views about race, sexuality, and Jews.I also have an upcoming episode with Geoff Schullenberger, managing editor of Compact Magazine, about the post-left. I'm still not quite sure what the post-left is, even after the conversation, but I really enjoyed talking to Geoff about it.So stay tuned for those episodes, and whatever comes next. I have an invitation out to Lorne Michaels, creator and master of Saturday Night Live, but I haven't heard anything back yet, so we'll see. My hopes are not high.What else? Oh, yeah, Rod is currently living in Hungary. This comes up in our conversation.Finally, I start with Rod's recent exorcism, in the conversation, in part because it's an example of what the book is about, though it happened after the book was written, but also because his discussion of what needed to be exorcised goes directly to his personal history of family trauma and dysfunction. In our written interview, and in this conversation, he talks openly and with great vulnerability about his painful relationship with his late father and about how, in his view, the pain opened up traumatic cracks in his psyche that dark spirits were able to sneak in through.Enjoy the show. Read the interview. Get full access to Eminent Americans at danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

This episode was originally released on January 16, 2024. The relationship of many Jews to top tier American universities has recently undergone a transformation from an aspiration to study at an ivy league institution to a desire to join more hospitable campuses. On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by Mark Oppenheimer to examine the longstanding and evolving relationship between Jews and American universities as well as antisemitism, civil discourse, and belonging on campus. Gatecrashers, a Tablet podcast hosted by Mark Oppenheimer You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 

Bronwyn Williams & Mark Oppenheimer | The Small Print In this episode, Bronwyn speaks with advocate Mark Oppenheimer about South Africa's hate speech legislation and several notable cases: Jon Qwelane, Penny Sparrow, Vicki Momberg, Afriforum versus Julius Malema, and the controversy surrounding the old South African flag. They explore the definition of hate speech under South African law, the apparent leniency of South African courts towards political leaders, the motivations behind some Constitutional Court judgments, blasphemy laws, the distinction between hate speech and hurtful speech, and how the law can — and has been — exploited to suppress free speech and punish political enemies. Bronwyn Williams is a futurist, economist, trend analyst and host of The Small Print. Her day job as a partner at Flux Trends involves helping business leaders to use foresight to design the future they want to live and work in. You may have seen her talking about Transhumanism or Tikok on Carte Blanche, or heard her talking about trends on 702 or CNBC Africa where she is a regular expert commentator. When she's not talking to brands and businesses about the future, you will probably find her curled up somewhere with a (preferably paperback) book. She tweets at @bronwynwilliams. Twitter Flux Trends Website Mark Oppenheimer is a practicing advocate and member of the Johannesburg Bar. He has appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court in a series of cases that seek to determine the boundary between freedom of expression and genuine hate speech. Mark has authored submissions to Parliament on the Hate Speech Bill and to the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on escalating racial tensions. He has also presented an oral submission to parliament on expropriation without compensation. Mark is also the host of the popular philosophy series Brain in a Vat and the co-author of the Conversations about Philosophy Book Series. Website Brain in a Vat Publications Subscribe to our Substack.   Follow us on Social Media: YouTube LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram   Subscribe to the Discourse ZA Podcast: iTunes Stitcher Spotify RSS feed  

Join us for an intense debate featuring Mark Oppenheimer, who defends Israel's war as just, and Raja Halwani, who argues Israel's war is unjust. The debate covers historical contexts, moral principles, and the roles of both Israel and Hamas, aiming to provide nuanced insights into one of the most challenging global issues of our time. [00:00] Introduction to the Debate [01:08] Raja's Opening Statement: Israel's War is Unjust [11:13] Mark's Opening Statement: Israel's Right to Self-Defense [21:37] Raja's Rebuttal: Addressing Misconceptions [27:34] Mark's Rebuttal: The Reality of the Conflict [32:10] Cross Examination: Raja Questions Mark [47:45] Debating the Justification of War [48:39] Israel's Response to October 7th [49:59] Military Options and Intelligence [51:11] Idealistic Solutions and International Cooperation [52:21] Transition to Open Discussion [52:48] Questioning Israel's Conduct in Gaza [56:16] One-State vs. Two-State Solutions [01:04:07] Legitimacy and Rights of Israel [01:07:48] Hamas Ideology and Anti-Semitism [01:10:37] Civilian Casualties and Proportionality in War [01:18:07] Historical Context and Atrocities [01:19:57] Gaza: Open-Air Prison or Ghetto? [01:27:39] Closing Statements --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/braininavat/message

Antisemitism has deep roots in American history. Yet in the United States, we often talk about it as if it were something new. We're shocked when events happen like the Tree of Life Shootings in Pittsburgh or the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, but also surprised. We ask, “Where did this come from?” as if it came out of nowhere. But antisemitism in the United States has a history. A long, complicated history. A history easy to overlook. Join us on Antisemitism, U.S.A., a limited podcast series hosted by Mark Oppenheimer, to learn just how deep those roots go.  Coming this summer from R2 Studios, part of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.  Antisemitism, U.S.A. is written by historians John Turner and Lincoln Mullen. Our lead scholar is Britt Tevis. The series is executive produced by Jeanette Patrick and produced by Jim Ambuske.

“The modes by which we transmit these beliefs and values are not just like we walk into the room, and we announce, ‘You only get an A if you write a paper that conforms with my preferred worldview,'” says Connecticut College philosopher Simon Feldman. In this week's episode of The Syllabus, Feldman and his colleague Afshan Jafar join Mark Oppenheimer to talk about what professors' politics should and should not mean in the classroom—and how the right, they feel, has distorted the topic. Guest Bios: Afshan Jafar: Afshan Jafar is the chair of the sociology department at Connecticut College. Professor Jafar was the 2021 recipient of the Helen B. Regan Faculty Leadership Award, the 2015 recipient of the Feminist Activism Award, and the 2014 recipient of the  Helen  at Connecticut College  at Connecticut College . She is the author of Women's NGO's in Pakistan and her public scholarship has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Review of Books, Inside Higher Ed, and Ms. Magazine, among others.  Simon Feldman: Simon Feldman is an associate professor of philosophy at Connecticut College. Feldman received the Connecticut College 2010 John S. King Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

“The system of elite education, which I can define at greater lengths is making kids miserable, and it's producing an elite class that's wrecking the country,” says best-selling author and essayist Bill Deresiewicz in this week's episode of The Syllabus. Syllabus host Mark Oppenheimer discusses topics in Deresiewicz's book Excellent Sheep, including societal pressures to attend elite colleges, overwhelming careerism, admissions competition, and increasing inequality in access to education. Guest Bio: William Deresiewicz is an essayist, critic, speaker, and author of the best-seller Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. Formerly a Yale and Columbia English professor, Deresiewicz transitioned to full-time writing and has taught or lectured at schools including Bard, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, and the University of San Diego. Deresiewicz is also active with Tivnu: Building Justice and Project Wayfinder, promoting social justice and purpose-based learning.Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

This episode tackles one of the most controversial topics of the day (really, most days over the last several decades): Israel/Palestine. Craig White, a former diplomat and the author of Iraq: The Moral Reckoning, and Mark Oppenheimer of Brain in a Vat podcast fame join Spencer to discuss the issue. 

“Our position is you don't need test scores and that individual schools should develop admissions policies that reflect the type of kids they want to recruit and the mission that they have,” says FairTest's public education director Bob Schaeffer in this week's episode of The Syllabus. Syllabus host Mark Oppenheimer and Bob Schaeffer discuss the evolution of college admissions testing, the recent trend towards test-optional policies, and whether high school records and holistic evaluations are better predictors of college success than standardized tests.  Guest Bio: Schaeffer is the public education director of FairTest and a member of its board of directors. He is the author of Standardized Tests and Teacher Competence and co-authored many FairTest publications, including Sex Bias in College Admissions Tests: How Women Lose Out. He holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from MIT.

“The most important project, the most important mission, is to form our young men and women to be determined truth seekers and courageous truth speakers,” says Princeton's McCormick Professorship of Jurisprudence Robert P. George in this week's episode of The Syllabus. Syllabus host Mark Oppenheimer and Professor George discuss the dual mandate of religiously affiliated universities, concerns about the lack of ideological diversity among faculty, and the decline of humanities departments and liberal colleges. Guest Bio: Bio: Robert P. George is the McCormick Professorship of Jurisprudence and director of the University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton. He is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Citizens Medal, the Canterbury Medal of the Becket Fund, and Princeton's President's Award for Distinguished Teaching. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

In the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1500s, there was a campaign to burn all Jewish books. A legal scholar named Johannes Reuchlin wrote a pamphlet called Augenspiegel that convinced the powers-that-be that these texts had historical and scholarly value. Historian and author Erika Rummel joins Mark to tell this remarkable tale, which features everything from political power grabs to bribery to a Middle Ages version of a flame war.   LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.   Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. 

Reading list:* Windex Ain't Scared: Here's Our Statement on Israel/Palestine, by Jeff Maurer* Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell, by The Onion* Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake, by The Onion* American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie, by The OnionMy guests on the podcast today are Jeff Maurer, author of “Windex Ain't Scared,” and my brother Mark Oppenheimer, who selected the text to be the subject of this installment of my special series on the state of the discourse.Jeff Maurer served honorably in the federal government for eight years until his standup comedy career led him to being hired as a writer on John Oliver's HBO show, Last Week Tonight, where Jeff worked for six years, and he is now the author of the Substack newsletter, I Might Be Wrong, which is hilarious and smart. Mark is a writer and podcaster based in New Haven, Connecticut, author of many books, most recently Squirrel Hill, The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and The Soul of a Neighborhood, also brilliant and hilarious. He's hard at work on a biography of Judy Blume; is the host of The Syllabus, a podcast about campus politics; and Substacks at Oppenheimer.Eminent Americans is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Eminent Americans at danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

You may have heard of the transit camp Theresienstadt as a place of hope and resilience throughout the Holocaust. But the music, art, and recipes found in the Czech ghetto  after the war only tell one part of the story. Today, historian Anna Hájková, author of The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt, joins Mark to discuss the complexities of life at Theresienstadt, including class structure, the barter system, and most importantly, food.    LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

“You're going to have to be defending people, sometimes publicly, for saying stuff that you find abhorrent and that you hate. But that's the gig.” says Alex Morey, director of campus rights advocacy at FIRE, on this week's episode of The Syllabus. Mark Oppenheimer digs deep with free speech defender extraordinaire Alex Morey, as they discuss the chilling effect of fear and censorship on college campuses—and what the law really has to say. Guest Bio: Alex Morey is an attorney and a journalist who leads FIRE's Campus Rights Advocacy program, a team of attorneys and advocates. Morey is a member of the First Amendment Lawyers Association. She has a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and has trained at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She attended the University of Arizona in her hometown of Tucson, majoring in journalism and French and graduating with honors. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar, where she taught English in rural, underserved schools. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

In 1933, Joseph Goebbels said that the Nazis could never have taken power without the radio. Heidi Tworek is a professor of history at the University of British Columbia and author of News From Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945. On this episode, she joins Mark to tell the incredible story of how the Nazis broadcast their propaganda not just in Germany, but around the world.   LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.  Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. 

“I'll say whatever I want to say, under reasonable standards, and if they want to fire me for saying that there's systemic racism in the U. S. housing market, then fine,” says economist, legal scholar, and professor Neil Buchanan in this week's episode of The Syllabus. Are UF professors fleeing the state? Is it harder to recruit new professors? Syllabus host Mark Oppenheimer asks Buchanan these tough questions, after Buchanan's decision to leave the UF.Gues Bio: Neil H. Buchanan is a legal scholar and an economist. He is currently on sabbatical leave from the University of Florida and is a visiting professor at both Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto. He teaches tax law and writes about a range of issues, from intergenerational justice to the possible demise of democracy in the US and elsewhere. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

“You may be right that if we bend over and tell Chris Ruffo to hit us in the ass, that he won't really hit us that hard next time, because we're being so nice and bend over for him,” says Wesleyan president Michael Roth, discussing the famed anti-DEI crusader in this week's episode of The Syllabus. “But I actually don't think that's true.” Syllabus podcast host Mark Oppenheimer gets Roth to open up about legacy preferences, academic bias in college athletics, artificial intelligence, the history of the student, and recent controversies surrounding Claudine Gay and plagiarism in academia. Guest Bio: Michael S. Roth became president of Wesleyan University in 2007. He has published several books, the most recent being The Student, A Short History.Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

Did you ever think, in your wildest imagination, that the events of October 7 would lead to an all out culture war that would involve every sector of American intellectual and academic life? Me neither. And yet, here we are -- with the result that many American Jews are now questioning the role of the university in their lives, and in the life of the Jewish community. To help us discern the depths of the university and the Jews, check out the podcast -- a conversation with Mark Oppenheimer. He has been writing about American religion for more than 25 years. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Beliefs” column, about religion, for "The New York Times," and he created "Unorthodox," the world's most popular podcast about Jewish life and culture, with over 7 million downloads to date. He is the author or editor/co-editor of five books, including "The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar's and Everything In Between" and "Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood." He holds a Ph.d in religious studies from Yale University; has taught there, at Stanford University, Wesleyan University, and New York University, and currently serves as the vice-president of open learning at American Jewish University, We have a wide-ranging conversation -- most of which is about the experience of Jews in the Ivy League. 

In the 1960s, artist Eva Hesse found herself at the center of the iconic New York contemporary art scene. A Jewish refugee who escaped Austria on the Kindertransport as a toddler, Hesse went on to become an icon of post minimalist art.    Elisabeth Sussman is a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She's written and edited books about Hesse, and has curated exhibitions of her work. On this episode, Elisabeth and Mark discuss Hesse's personal history, artistic style, and legacy.   LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.   Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. 

The relationship of many Jews to top tier American universities has recently undergone a transformation from an aspiration to study at an ivy league institution to a desire to join more hospitable campuses. On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by Mark Oppenheimer to examine the longstanding and evolving relationship between Jews and American universities as well as antisemitism, civil discourse, and belonging on campus.     Gatecrashers, a Tablet podcast hosted by Mark Oppenheimer    JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS  

Advocate Mark Oppenheimer joins Gareth Cliff to discuss South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. WARNING: Disturbing content. NOTE: Adv. Mark Oppenheimer incorrectly makes reference to India instead of Pakistan in this interview - apologies for the error. The Burning Platform The Burning Platform

Advocate Mark Oppenheimer joins Gareth Cliff to discuss South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. WARNING: Disturbing content. NOTE: Adv. Mark Oppenheimer incorrectly makes reference to India instead of Pakistan in this interview - apologies for the error. The Burning Platform The Burning Platform The Burning Platform

Advocate Mark Oppenheimer joins Gareth Cliff to discuss South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. WARNING: Disturbing content. The Burning Platform

On this episode, we bring you two stories of people who unexpectedly unearthed their personal histories with the help of LBI and its archive.    Danny Shot, a poet from the Bronx, stumbled across a familiar face at an LBI exhibit—and discovered the double life of a mysterious relative. And Elliot Aronstam, a Brooklyn native, found himself literally buried in letters in a script he couldn't read. Luckily, LBI was able to decipher a family story he never thought he'd learn.    LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

“So at the higher education level, in colleges and universities, ethnic studies pedagogy actually doesn't align with K-12 education code,” says Brandy Shufutinsky, the director of education and community engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, in this week's episode of The Syllabus podcast. “At the college level, you're allowed to bring in a certain level of biases, while K-12 education code says a teacher can't.” Brandy initially welcomed the idea of expanding history curricula to include ethnic studies. However, her excitement waned as she discovered the heavy ideological underpinnings within the curriculum, lacking in historical substance. Mark Oppenheimer and Brandy Shufutinsky discuss concepts like the “four eyes of oppression,” the clash between college-level ethnic studies pedagogy and K-12 education, the influence of activist groups in shaping the curriculum, and the need for an inclusive, unbiased curriculum that fosters learning over activism. Guest Bio: Brandy Shufutinsky is the director of education and community engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco in international and multicultural education and has her master's in social work from the University of Southern California.Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our email list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate 

The archive and library at LBI contains over 2000 memoirs. On this episode, Mark and literary critic Ruth Franklin, author of A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction, discuss the line between fact and fiction in memoir writing and the evolution of Holocaust memoirs from first hand accounts to books written by second and third generation authors.    LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

The ethnic studies model curriculum has been at the center of controversy in California since its proposal in March 2021. After two years of drafting and heated debate, the State Board of Education adopted an ethnic studies model curriculum that primarily focuses on the untold “histories, cultures, struggles, and contributions” of Black, Latino, Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. However, does a class that singles out only a handful of ethnic minorities in America truly serve our diverse country? “It's not meant to be just a history class,” says Laura Roberts, vice chair of the Equity Task Force at Vacaville Unified, in this week's episode of The Syllabus podcast. “It's meant to be some of those empowering pieces of culture, of family, of community base. We're giving power to those voices that never had it before. So, there is going to be that scholarship mixed in, and again, what I say is I'm not to tell you whether it's right or wrong, your feelings, your experiences is going to shape what you believe...”. Mark Oppenheimer and Laura Roberts discuss the parameters of the ethnic studies model curriculum, what classes will be lost to make room for this new required course, how grading a class based on personal experience can get tricky, and more. Guest Bio: Laura Roberts is a social studies teacher in Vacaville, Cal., where she is the founder of a high school equity team. She currently serves as a board member for the Ida B. Wells Education Project. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the presidents of Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania being hauled in front of the House of Representatives this past week to answer for antisemitic speech on their campuses, we thought it apropos to listen back to Mike's interview with Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers, about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League. Then we'll hear Mike's front-of-show Spiel from Tuesday about MSNBC's horrible rewrite of a Boston Globe investigation about foster care.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike's Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I think at Hillel, we've hosted more Palestinian speakers than any organization on any campus, including [from] Palestinian rights organizations, because we do want to create opportunities for Jewish students and other students to understand Israel, including all the communities within and around Israel,” says Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel International, on this week's episode of The Syllabus podcast. “However,” he continues, “we wouldn't host, a Palestinian speaker coming from an organization that was bent on the destruction of Israel.” Hillel's reach has doubled in the last year and will engage a record number of 200,000 students in the year 2023, but does Hillel's new motto “All Kinds of Jewish” include messianic Jews and Jewish Voices for Peace? Lehman speaks with Mark Oppenheimer on the positives and the negatives of this drastic uptick in student engagement; the tricky matter of donor retention; how to handle students on the political left and right;, the future of Hillel with interfaith marriages on the rise; and Hillel's role in Ukraine.Bio: Adam Lehman is the president and CEO of Hillel International, the largest Jewish student organization in the world, serving more than 850 college and university campuses in the U.S. and 16 other countries. Adam worked as a lawyer and executive, including at AOL. A graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard Law School, Lehman joined Hillel several years ago. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our email list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate 

Robert Vitalis, a political scientist at Penn, is a man caught in the middle.  He has spent most of his career identified with the left, and with Palestinian rights. And on this week's podcast episode, Vitalis defends the Palestine Writes conference, held in September 2023 at his university, against charges that it was antisemitic. He also decries donor meddling, and says candidly that Penn president “Liz McGill threw the academic mission” of the university “under the bus.” On the other hand, since the attacks of October 7, Vitalis has insisted to his friends on the left that they grapple with the crimes of Hamas—which has upset the very leftists who agree with him about Palestinians' rights. “I've insisted over and over again that folks have to wrestle with the fact that Hamas committed these atrocities,”Vitalis tells host Mark Oppenheimer in this episode of The Syllabus.He also believes that “the massive retaliation by Israel” was “one of the things that [Hamas] wished for, in that it intended for Palestinian civilians to die …. By saying that over and over again, I've been accused of blood libels against the Palestinian people.” As a result, Vitalis has lost friends on both sides of the political aisle. And now this free-speech absolutist is seeking early retirement.  Guest Bio: Robert Vitalis has taught political science at the University of Pennsylvania since 1999. His newest book, Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy Policy, was published in 2020. Stay informed about this podcast and all of AJU's latest programs and offerings by subscribing to our mailing list HERE If you'd like to support AJU and this podcast, please consider donating to us at aju.edu/donate

The archive at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York is a real treasure trove. You'll find everything from Albert Einstein's childhood hot chocolate cups to amulets meant to protect you from demons. In this episode, Mark talks to Markus Krah, LBI's Executive Director, on why preserving and showcases these amazing artifacts is more important than ever. But first, archivist Michael Simonson takes us on a ‘tour' of the archive.      LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.    Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.   Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

Ivy League scandals seem a dime a dozen these days, but New York Times columnist David French believes that the worst scandal in American higher education isn't in the Ivy League. David French joins host Mark Oppenheimer to discuss the moral collapse at Liberty University and other Christian institutions of higher education, turning Christian theology on its head.

“At one point [President Salovey] copped to being a Zionist”—that's according to Evan Morris, a Yale professor, telling Syllabus podcast host Mark Oppenheimer about his meeting with Yale president Peter Salovey to demand that the university come out more forcefully against Hamas. But what does it matter if the Yale president is a Zionist? For that matter, who cares what university presidents think about politics? Apparently, the answer is: everyone. In the past few weeks, administrators have been called on as never before to come out with forceful political statements. In episode 3 of The Syllabus, Oppenheimer presses Morris, an outspoken faculty activist, on why it matters what university presidents think. In this candid conversation, they talk about DEI, antisemitism, Jews, double standards, and much more.

Many Jews scrambled to leave 1930s Germany and Austria, and ended up all over the world. Mark and historian Hasia Diner dive into the complexities of immigration during one of the most tumultuous moments of the 20th century - highlighting less discussed destinations like Shanghai, the Dominican Republic, and Kenya. LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.  Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz, with help from Maizie Solomon. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

Meet Raphi Gold, a Gen Z'er without social media, or even a smartphone. She's unusual, and not just because she tries to observe the Jewish Sabbath, taking Saturdays off from work, or because of her passionate interest in the environment. Here's the kicker: she has a flip phone. And no social media. She's the college student you didn't think existed.  Raphi's choice to stay out of the constant barrage of notifications, stories, and tags may leave her behind on the minute-to-minute updates on Israel and Gaza — and sometimes her friends' social plans — but is that the healthier choice? Mark Oppenheimer asks Raphi how she hears about Israel and Gaza without any of the sources that her friends rely on. Guest Bio: Raphi Gold is a Sophomore at Princeton University hoping to study English and minor in Environmental Studies and Journalism. At school, Raphi writes for the Daily Princetonian newspaper, manages the Princeton Garden Project, and engages in climate activism through Divest Princeton. In her free time, Raphi loves running, baking, and embroidery. 

On October 14, a week after Hamas's attacks in Southern Israel, Conor Friedersdorf, a staff writer for The Atlantic, wrote an article entitled, “Students for Pogroms in Israel”; the sub-head was “By excusing murder and kidnapping, activist groups have already changed campus politics in America.” Conor joins Mark Oppenheimer to talk about how, exactly, he thinks campus politics have changed.

Love is one of the great constants of human history—and German Jews are no exception. LBI's archive contains countless memoirs, letters, and diaries that demonstrate the complex romantic lives of German Jews going back centuries. In this episode, Mark Oppenheimer sits down with Christian Bailey, the author of German Jews in Love: A History. They touch on the transition from arranged marriages to love matches, the dynamic between mixed-faith couples in the 1930s, and how the Third Reich impacted the sex lives of German Jews. LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.  Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer. Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz, with help from Maizie Solomon. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

LBI Presents is a new podcast from the Leo Baeck Institute, New York. It's hosted by author and journalist Mark Oppenheimer. Mark chats with key experts as we dive into LBI's vast archive and explore the remarkable lives and histories of German-speaking Jews…beyond the stories you already know. Join us as we bring history to life—and better understand ourselves through the lens of the past.  Starting October 24, LBI Presents will be released bi-weekly every Tuesday. (LBI's other podcast, Exile, will return in 2024.)  The Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin is a research library and archive focused on the history of German-speaking Jews. Antica Productions produces award-winning non-fiction podcasts, films, and series which inform and inspire audiences around the world.

Today on Unorthodox, we're welcoming Shabbat after a painful week. Rabbi Diana Fersko walks us through the basics of Shabbat, and shares additional prayers we can incorporate into our practice on this particular week. Host emeritus Mark Oppenheimer returns to dispense some corduroy wisdom as we navigate this unprecedented moment, and Liel shares some levity with an unexpected account of how one Jewish mother outwitted her Hamas captives. Listen to the Testimonies Archive for more eyewitness audio accounts from Israel, and read Tablet's coverage here. Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869.  Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of the Brain in a Vat podcast join Bill and Mark L. (aka Alf) to talk about rationality, broadly construed, while not moving a couch and not giving each other Christmas presents. Does "reason" by itself tell us what to do and what to believe? Is trypophobia really just bigotry (it is not)? What's the rationale for making negative comments on a podcast? Are bigots bigger than bigamists? Was Ayn Rand a cannibal? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Banned Camp comedy podcast.

Today's Talmud page, Sotah 34, introduces us to the Biblical story of the spies. Why did these esteem men lose confidence when it mattered most? And what can we learn from them about why it's so crucial to believe in ourselves? Listen and find out? Like the show? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Send us a note at takeone@tabletmag.com. Follow us on Twitter at @takeonedafyomi and join the conversation in the Take One Facebook group. Take One is a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz, and is produced and edited by Darone Ruskay, Quinn Waller and Elie Bleier. Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Josh Kross, Mark Oppenheimer, Robert Scaramuccia, and Tanya Singer.  Check out all of Tablet's podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

After 360 episodes, we're bidding adieu to our founding host, Mark Oppenheimer. We have good wishes from a famous friend, memories from listeners and Tablet staff, poignant interviews, and a final trip to Friendly's.  To keep up with Oppenheimer happenings, you can subscribe to Mark's newsletter at markoppenhiemer.substack.com.  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you're calling from.  Merch alert! Check out our new Unorthodox tees, mugs, and hoodies at tabletstudios.com.  We're back on the road! Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.  Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts. SPONSORS:  Join Hadassah for “Israel at 75: Successes and Challenges,” a free Zoom event on May 18 featuring Yossi Klein Halevi, Isabel Kershner, and Hen Mazzig. Register at events.hadassah.org/75. storymark is a podcast about leaders and the moments that make them. Each guest is leaving a unique mark on their industry and the world—and all are anchored by a connection to Israel. Learn more at storymarkpodcast.org. The Inaugural Global Jewish Fertility Support Summit is taking place Sunday, May 7 via Zoom, and features prominent voices from major fertility organizations worldwide. Learn more and register for FREE at iwassupposedtohaveababy.org. 

Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League, argues that anti-Semitic impulses basically created the Ivy league, branding them as the citadels of elitism and exclusivity that they are today. Plus, arguing for police reform and against nihilism, what are the chances for reform in the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices