Podcasts about Yiddish

Moshe Gildenman was a civic leader and musician in a small Ukrainian town until — one day in 1942 — Nazis murdered 2,000 Jews in his village, including his wife and daughter. He escaped with his son, carrying a revolver, a handful of bullets and a Yiddish songbook. His story of resilience, resistance and revenge is told in a new book by UNC Charlotte musicologist James Grymes.

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use. This week, we learn that famed actress and chanteuse Barbra Streisand received an honorary Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Borschel-Dan, who is reading the artist's massive memoir, calls on all podcast fans to send in the names of their favorite Streisand films for a future episode. We then turn to the monumentally Jewish movie, "A Serious Man," written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen in 2009. Set in 1967 Minnesota, the film focuses on the Gopnik family: father Larry, mother Judith, kids Danny and Sarah, and uncle Arthur. On the surface, the middle-class family appears to be merrily rolling along, anticipating Danny's approaching bar mitzvah. And then everything falls apart and it becomes a very funny retelling of the Book of Job. However, before the movie takes off, the audience is treated to a quote from the great rabbinic sage Rashi and is shown a Yiddish-only shtetl ghost story short -- just... because. Stay tuned for our duo's thoughts on the much-recommended Coen brothers' film, "A Serious Man." The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview with Lea Koenig (ליאַ קעניג), one of Israel's most beloved stage actresses, together with Yaniv Goldberg, author of The Stage of Her Life: Conversations with Actress Lea Koenig on Theater and Her Life. The program focuses on Koenig's long career in Yiddish theater as well as Israeli Hebrew-language theater, TV and film. Born into a Yiddish theatrical family, Koenig became known internationally for her work in both Yiddish and Hebrew. Goldberg's book, published in late 2025 by Academic Studies Press of Newton, Massachusetts, grew out of years of conversations with Koenig about her life, her artistry, her Yiddish background and her central place in Israeli cultural life. Dr. Yaniv Shimon Goldberg is a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University and an expert on the Yiddish language and Jewish theater. He is also a rabbi, attorney, theater director and scholar of law and theater whose work includes research on legal issues in Yiddish drama. Goldberg’s reading of brief excerpts from his introduction to the book (in English) are interspersed at a couple of points during the interview. The interview included actors and Yiddish activists Mikhl Yashinsky and Hy Wolfe as special guest co-hosts. We did the interview on Zoom on May 6, 2026. Yaniv and Lea participated from Lea’s home in Tel Aviv; Mikhl was on tour in Australia; and Hy was at his home in New York City. This Sunday, May 31, 2026, Mikhl is leading a community read IN YIDDISH of selections from Max Spitzkopf: The Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, the book by Jonas Kreppel that he translated. Sign up here: https://yivo.org/Sherlock-Holmes This Thursday, May 28, 2026, Hy Wolfe will perform an evening of Yiddish songs and stories at Forest Hills Library. Click here for info on Facebook. Music Lea Koenig: Hulyet Hulyet Kinderlekh (from YouTube - recorded live in 1989) Lea Koenig: Dray Tekhterlekh (from YouTube - recorded live in 1989) Lea Koenig: Afn Pripetshik (from YouTube - recorded in 2023) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: May 27, 2026

Notes: It was both an honor and illumination to meet with Sarina Partridge and Annie Schlaefer to talk about Singing Resistance (they were both in it at inception…) and learn two of the songs in the Singing Resistance Songbook – and I left feeling so much encouragement for community and relationship. Annie said, “People want to come to the streets if we're singing together.” Sarina shared her slogan: “More song circles than gas stations!” We talked about weaving the learning from one event into the next crisis you face – the wisdom of long-standing organizers who help grass-roots eco-systems evolve. The role of singing in building community, showing people what we are FOR and welcoming them in, dispelling the belief that we are powerless and isolated, easing numbness, creating a container of beauty we can be in together during these times. And these songs – soooo beautiful!   Song 1: We Belong To Each Other Words by: Nikita Gill Music by: Annie Schlaefer   Songwriter Info: Annie Schlaefer (she/her), a community song-leader, has been collecting songs and facilitating song circles for 13 years in various communities (Northern Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin) and has more recently been co-facilitating a weekly local community song circle in Minneapolis with a dear friend, Linnea Champ, for nearly 5 years. She continues to be awed by the beautiful ways that singing together brings connection and community. She learned about this style of singing in 2012 in Decorah, Iowa from a local song-leader and now mentor, Liz Rog.    Sharing Info: Annie says: "Please freely share this song in community gathering spaces. If you want to share this song and are making a bunch of money, I would appreciate some of these funds to come my way in the form of a one-time venmo donation @Annie-Schlaefer, or by joining my Patreon as a monthly subscriber. Thank you!"   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start of teaching: 00:03:10 Start of reprise: 00:51:46   Links: Annie's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/AnnieSchlaefer  Nikita Gill: https://www.instagram.com/nikita_gill/    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, round, major   Song 2: Grief and Love Music by: Sarina Partridge   Songwriter Info: Sarina Partridge is a musician, songleader, educator, and activist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song.  Sarina has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world   Sharing Info: Sarina says: "Please sing the song with your group! You can buy sheet music for it through my website (link below). If you'd like to have tracks of the separated harmony layers, please contact me. One meaningful way to support me is to join me on patreon for whatever monthly donation amount feels right to you. I post a new song - with separated out tracks for harmony parts, lyrics, the story of the song - on patreon every other week. Thank you!"   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start of teaching: 00:11:05 Start of reprise: 00:49:36   Links: Sarina's website: www.SarinaPartridge.com  Sarina's Patreon: www.patreon.com/sarinapartridge  Sarina's Bandcamp: www.sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2; 3-layer, minor   Extra links:  Barbara McAfee ABS episode: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/195-get-up-with-guest-barbara-mcafee  Lia Falls: https://marinemillsfolkschool.org/lia-falls/  Liz Rog: https://marinemillsfolkschool.org/liz-rog/  Linnea Champ - Sing As You Are: https://www.patreon.com/cw/SingAsYouAre  Sara Thomsen: “Hearts awakened are unstoppable.”: https://www.echoesofpeace.org/vision  Frankie Armstrong: Founder of Natural Voice Network in England (NVN): https://www.naturalvoice.net/about/history-of-the-network/    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share   Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

How might we be inspired by a worldwide community of Yiddish-speaking Jews, whose cultural identity was broadly internationalist?David Mazower is the author of Yiddish: A Global Culture, which accompanies an exhibit he curated at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.Our conversation explores the heritage and influence of Yiddish – the everyday language of East European Jews, which became a diaspora lingua franca and the medium for bold creativity, from avant-garde art and subversive writing to radical politics that shaped socialist and anarchist movements.David's great-grandfather, Sholem Asch, was a pioneering Yiddishist writer and another of his ancestors – his father's father Max – was a revolutionary in tsarist Russia, becoming involved with a socialist party called the Bund, whose deeply humanistic perspective has since been marginalised.As David observes, the impact of the Bund is now the focus of a book by Molly Crabapple (titled Here Where We Live is Our Country). And an outing of London Bundists from the early 1900s features on the cover of David's book.Before joining the Yiddish Book Center as its research bibliographer and editorial director, David was a senior journalist with BBC World News and deputy curator of the Jewish Museum London. He writes for a range of publications on topics from Yiddish theatre and popular culture to British Jewish history.Selected highlights from the exhibit that accompanies his book are available here. There's also a digital guide via the Bloomberg Connects app (see here for details).--

051926 Gulf Nuke Plant Hit , Trump's Threat, White House Slush Fund, Yiddish Theater Squatted by The News with Paul DeRienzo

The question of origins is often difficult to study because originators do not always leave a paper trail. Therefore, uncovering origins can be challenging – and the story of the background of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Eastern Europe is no exception. It is complicated by the fact that in the recent past the Jewish population of the area was in the millions and it is not obvious where they came from. It is tempting for some to see them as having come from the Rhineland in search of safety and security but there are many reasons to be dubious about this. What is much more likely, as we shall see, is that the basis for the Yiddish-speaking Jewish population of Eastern Europe was the Jewish population of what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. They came in dribs and drabs because of economic pressures. We will examine various pieces of evidence that support this picture. While not dramatic, it was pragmatic and successful. Economic changes in the Polish-Lithuanian lands offered new opportunities to Jews and this in turn, led to conditions of rapid population growth – rapid enough to create a massive population within several centuries. This lecture was originally held on July 22, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The question of origins is often difficult to study because originators do not always leave a paper trail. Therefore, uncovering origins can be challenging – and the story of the background of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Eastern Europe is no exception. It is complicated by the fact that in the recent past the Jewish population of the area was in the millions and it is not obvious where they came from. It is tempting for some to see them as having come from the Rhineland in search of safety and security but there are many reasons to be dubious about this. What is much more likely, as we shall see, is that the basis for the Yiddish-speaking Jewish population of Eastern Europe was the Jewish population of what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. They came in dribs and drabs because of economic pressures. We will examine various pieces of evidence that support this picture. While not dramatic, it was pragmatic and successful. Economic changes in the Polish-Lithuanian lands offered new opportunities to Jews and this in turn, led to conditions of rapid population growth – rapid enough to create a massive population within several centuries. This lecture was originally held on July 22, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

It is gardening time. It was a beautiful spring day when 6 year old grandson Trevor and his old grandma decided to plant the garden and then plant flowers in the flower pots. Trevor patiently helped plant the potatoes, better boy tomatoes, carrots, and broccoli. After the completion of the gardening project, we watered the garden. I suggested to Trevor that if it did not rain, he could pray for rain for the planted garden. His reply was immediate and very emphatic. “Grandma, I will leave that job up to you.” And believe me, this grandma is thankful for answered prayer as rain from heaven watered at the planted garden.Today is National Day of Prayer. The emphasis this year is to pray for our leaders. People everywhere have become more aware of the power of intercessory prayer. The National Day of Prayer has been an American tradition since the Continental Congress 1st declared its need for godly wisdom in 1775. In 1988, the law set the day as the 1st Thursday in May. Thanks, dear readers, for the Easter messages and letters. Your words of encouragement bless my day. Encourage your family and friends in their prayer ministry. A dear friend wrote me with her Easter message that she has now become involved in a prayer ministry in her church. And a prayer warrior she has become because someone has given her a word of encouragement. Her prayerful thoughts were published in decision magazine on page 40….“The Quiet Heart.” Struggling with feelings of aggravation, irritation, frustration, indignation, resignation. I went outside to pray. A yellow crocus seemed to say, with shouts of proclamation. Crucifixion, resurrection, redemption, jubilation, He's alive, and I'm forgiven. Written by Maxine Kelly from Lincoln, Nebraska.Warm thoughts: If you pray for another, you will be helped yourself. Yiddish proverb. For more of our nation's life is shaped by prayer than is formed by legislation. The single most important action contributing to whatever health and strength there is in our land. Is prayer. May the month of May bring you many warm and prayerful thoughts!Warm Thoughts from the Little Home on the Prairie Over a Cup of Tea Written by Dr. Luetta G Werner. Published in the Marion Record, May 4th, 2000.Download the Found Photo Freebie and cherish your memories of the past.Enjoy flipping through the Vintage Photo Book on your coffee table.I hope you enjoyed this podcast episode! Please follow along on this journey by going to visualbenedictions.com or following me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast,Spotify,Stitcher, and Overcast. And don't forget to rate and review so more people can tune in! I'd greatly appreciate it.Till next time,Trina

The question of origins is often difficult to study because originators do not always leave a paper trail. Therefore, uncovering origins can be challenging – and the story of the background of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Eastern Europe is no exception. It is complicated by the fact that in the recent past the Jewish population of the area was in the millions and it is not obvious where they came from. It is tempting for some to see them as having come from the Rhineland in search of safety and security but there are many reasons to be dubious about this. What is much more likely, as we shall see, is that the basis for the Yiddish-speaking Jewish population of Eastern Europe was the Jewish population of what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. They came in dribs and drabs because of economic pressures. We will examine various pieces of evidence that support this picture. While not dramatic, it was pragmatic and successful. Economic changes in the Polish-Lithuanian lands offered new opportunities to Jews and this in turn, led to conditions of rapid population growth – rapid enough to create a massive population within several centuries. This lecture was originally held on July 22, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

The Yiddish word Aibershter, literally meaning The Highest One, is the term used by Yiddish speaking Jews for hundreds of years when speaking of the Creator. This meditation dives into the letters of the Hebrew word with the same meaning - Elyon - עליון - and guides the listener to connect with one's own deeply personal relationship and connection with the Highest One, the One in constant control of everything that exists.   Words used in this meditation: Der Aibershter - The Highest One in Yiddish Elyon - עליון - Highest One Al - על - Above   Music Credits: PowerThoughts Meditation Club - 528Hz - Whole Body Regeneration - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdmvMc7TZn0 Meditations & Affirmations - Morning Meditation Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYDoXnyFr14 Self Care - Lee Rosevere - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_gF0v0sW4

Author, journalist, and co-founder of DoubleBlind, Madison Margolin, joins Raghu to explore her latest project: creating a roadmap to tripping, microdosing, and beyond.Grab your copy of The DoubleBlind Guide to PsychedelicsIn this episode, Madison and Raghu step into the world of: Emerging theories of Ibogaine use in Parkinson's treatment Defining ‘psychedelics' and Dr. Ben Malcom's (aka The Spirit Pharmacist) view on psychedelic & somatic awarenessWhat the clinical world can take away from indigenous plant medicine ritualsRam Dass's journey from psychedelic research to spirituality Spiritual seekers: from India to South America How regular practice helps us connect to deeper layers of realityFeeling beyond time and space Punctuating psychedelic experiences with spiritual practiceAltered states in the history of Judaism Psychedelics for war zones, trauma, and religious leadersAccessing your set, setting, and mental health dispositions “Doing psychedelics under the stewardship of an indigenous culture is equally legitimate to doing it in a clinical context, and it's also legitimate to do it at a Grateful Dead show. What I really want to get at is that the way the tribes or indigenous cultures regard these medicines is through community, song, prayer, connection to nature, reciprocity, those are all values that even the clinical world can borrow and emulate as they design their trials." –Madison MargolinAbout Madison Margolin:Madison is an author and journalist who straddles California, New York, and the Israel-Palestine region, with a focus on psychedelics, cannabis, and Judaism — jokingly referring to it as “Jews & Drugs.” Her reporting also spans culture, policy, and science. At the center of her work is a sustained curiosity about how people transcend the mind to access something larger than themselves, whether through psychedelics, spirituality, meditation, art, or somatic practice. Much of her writing explores the different ways people nourish the soul. Madison is the co-founder of DoubleBlind, the print and digital magazine that covers psychedelics and their intersections with mental health, spirituality, environmental justice, and social equity. She also co-founded the Jewish Psychedelic Summit and hosts the podcast Set & Setting on the Be Here Now Network. She has worked in journalism since 2014, with bylines in outlets including Rolling Stone, Vice Media, Playboy, High Times, Tablet Magazine, and Nylon.She began her journalism career with a cannabis column at The Village Voice shortly after graduating from Columbia Journalism School. Before that, she lived in Tel Aviv, where she worked with Israel's African refugee community. Earlier in her life, she lived at the Cloyne co-op while studying rhetoric and linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.She is a language enthusiast who speaks or dabbles in French, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Outside of work and writing, she is usually dancing, spinning a hula hoop, or practicing yoga.Madison Margolin is also the author of Exile and Ecstacy, a book on Growing Up with Ram Dass and Coming of Age in the Jewish Psychedelic Underground. Learn more about Madison's work at madisonmargolin.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest Dr. James E. Young is Distinguished University Professor of English and Judaic Studies Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has taught since 1988, and Founding Director of the Institute forHolocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at UMass Amherst. Professor Young is the author of Writing and Rewriting the Holocaust (Indiana University Press, 1988), The Texture of Memory (Yale University Press, 1993), which won the National Jewish Book Award in 1994, At Memory's Edge: After-images of the Holocaust in Contemporary Art and Architecture (Yale University Press, 2000), and The Stages of Memory: Reflections on Memorial Art, Loss, and the Spaces Between (University of Massachusetts Press, 2016), which won the National Council for PublicHistory Book Award for 2017. Professor Young is a frequent consultant and judge on proposed memorials. Co-host Irene Stern Frielich was a guest on Episode 370: "Walking Where History Happened: A Daughter's Holocaust Journey." Irene is the daughter of a German Jewish Holocaust survivor—but for much of her life, the story remained unspoken. In 2017, after rediscovering her father's testimony, Irene set out to physically retrace his escape route from Nazi Germany through his survival in Holland. The result was a journey of reconciliation and healing. Her award-winning memoir, Shattered Stars, Healing Hearts, explores trauma, courage, and connection across generations. Summary Dr. James Young explores how memorials differ from monuments and how they shape collective memory. While monuments are often static and fixed, memorials are dynamic, experiential spaces that invite visitors to engage emotionally and physically—becoming part of what Dr. Young calls the "performance" of memory. Drawing on examples such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Holocaust memorials, and the 9/11 Memorial, Dr. Young explains that the most effective memorials balance abstraction and history, allowing visitors to interpret meaning across generations. He emphasizes that powerful designs avoid prescribing a single emotional response; instead, they open space for reflection, discomfort, and personal connection. Dr. Young also highlights the importance of naming individuals, noting that listing victims humanizes loss and magnifies its scale. He discusses innovative approaches like "meaningful adjacencies" at the 9/11 Memorial and decentralized memorials such as Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), which embed remembrance into everyday life and create ongoing engagement. A recurring theme is "living memory"—memorials that evolve through participation, maintenance, and reinterpretation by future generations. Dr. Young acknowledges the tension in memorializing tragedies in which communities no longer exist, stressing the need to restore not just the absence but the lives once lived. Ultimately, he invites visitors to approach memorials with openness, allowing their own emotional responses to deepen understanding of history and self. The Essential Point The most powerful memorials don't dictate meaning—they create spaces where visitors actively experience, interpret, and carry forward memory in ways that remain meaningful across generations. Social MediaOccupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish

The YIVO Sound Archive houses over 20,000 recordings (including 78, 45, and 33rpm discs, open-reel and cassette tapes, piano rolls, and compact discs and other digital formats) as well as various artifacts related to sound recordings. It is is one of the most extensive and frequently consulted Jewish music collections in the world, embracing Yiddish and Hebrew folk, pop and theater music, Holocaust songs, liturgical, choral and instrumental compositions and, of course, klezmer music, as well as spoken word, oral histories, interviews, and radio programs. In addition to serving researchers, the Sound Archive maintains a special link to the Yiddish cultural world, and has close relationships with many musicians who utilize its resources in creating their art. It serves anyone seeking to include Yiddish music in their life or work, including teachers, journalists, camp counselors, and radio producers, among others. Join us for a fascinating insider discussion of the history of the YIVO Sound Archive, important areas of its collections, projects it has facilitated, and other stories of the past 40 years. Moderated by Hankus Netsky, this event will, for the very first time, bring together the founder of YIVO's Sound Archive, Henry Sapoznik, current YIVO Sound Archivists Lorin Sklamberg and Eléonore Biezunski, and former YIVO Sound Archivist Jenny Romaine. Learn more about the YIVO Sound Archive: https://www.yivo.org/Sound This panel discussion originally took place on September 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The YIVO Sound Archive houses over 20,000 recordings (including 78, 45, and 33rpm discs, open-reel and cassette tapes, piano rolls, and compact discs and other digital formats) as well as various artifacts related to sound recordings. It is is one of the most extensive and frequently consulted Jewish music collections in the world, embracing Yiddish and Hebrew folk, pop and theater music, Holocaust songs, liturgical, choral and instrumental compositions and, of course, klezmer music, as well as spoken word, oral histories, interviews, and radio programs. In addition to serving researchers, the Sound Archive maintains a special link to the Yiddish cultural world, and has close relationships with many musicians who utilize its resources in creating their art. It serves anyone seeking to include Yiddish music in their life or work, including teachers, journalists, camp counselors, and radio producers, among others. Join us for a fascinating insider discussion of the history of the YIVO Sound Archive, important areas of its collections, projects it has facilitated, and other stories of the past 40 years. Moderated by Hankus Netsky, this event will, for the very first time, bring together the founder of YIVO's Sound Archive, Henry Sapoznik, current YIVO Sound Archivists Lorin Sklamberg and Eléonore Biezunski, and former YIVO Sound Archivist Jenny Romaine. Learn more about the YIVO Sound Archive: https://www.yivo.org/Sound This panel discussion originally took place on September 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

The YIVO Sound Archive houses over 20,000 recordings (including 78, 45, and 33rpm discs, open-reel and cassette tapes, piano rolls, and compact discs and other digital formats) as well as various artifacts related to sound recordings. It is is one of the most extensive and frequently consulted Jewish music collections in the world, embracing Yiddish and Hebrew folk, pop and theater music, Holocaust songs, liturgical, choral and instrumental compositions and, of course, klezmer music, as well as spoken word, oral histories, interviews, and radio programs. In addition to serving researchers, the Sound Archive maintains a special link to the Yiddish cultural world, and has close relationships with many musicians who utilize its resources in creating their art. It serves anyone seeking to include Yiddish music in their life or work, including teachers, journalists, camp counselors, and radio producers, among others. Join us for a fascinating insider discussion of the history of the YIVO Sound Archive, important areas of its collections, projects it has facilitated, and other stories of the past 40 years. Moderated by Hankus Netsky, this event will, for the very first time, bring together the founder of YIVO's Sound Archive, Henry Sapoznik, current YIVO Sound Archivists Lorin Sklamberg and Eléonore Biezunski, and former YIVO Sound Archivist Jenny Romaine. Learn more about the YIVO Sound Archive: https://www.yivo.org/Sound This panel discussion originally took place on September 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

The YIVO Sound Archive houses over 20,000 recordings (including 78, 45, and 33rpm discs, open-reel and cassette tapes, piano rolls, and compact discs and other digital formats) as well as various artifacts related to sound recordings. It is is one of the most extensive and frequently consulted Jewish music collections in the world, embracing Yiddish and Hebrew folk, pop and theater music, Holocaust songs, liturgical, choral and instrumental compositions and, of course, klezmer music, as well as spoken word, oral histories, interviews, and radio programs. In addition to serving researchers, the Sound Archive maintains a special link to the Yiddish cultural world, and has close relationships with many musicians who utilize its resources in creating their art. It serves anyone seeking to include Yiddish music in their life or work, including teachers, journalists, camp counselors, and radio producers, among others. Join us for a fascinating insider discussion of the history of the YIVO Sound Archive, important areas of its collections, projects it has facilitated, and other stories of the past 40 years. Moderated by Hankus Netsky, this event will, for the very first time, bring together the founder of YIVO's Sound Archive, Henry Sapoznik, current YIVO Sound Archivists Lorin Sklamberg and Eléonore Biezunski, and former YIVO Sound Archivist Jenny Romaine. Learn more about the YIVO Sound Archive: https://www.yivo.org/Sound This panel discussion originally took place on September 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sound-studies

David Harris is joined by Meng Yang, a professor who teaches China's first university-level Yiddish course and lectures widely on Jewish civilization, the Holocaust, and contemporary antisemitism.

Jeffrey Shandler's new book, Yiddish: Biography of a Language (Oxford UP, 2020), presents the story of Yiddish, the defining vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews, from its origins to the present. Shandler relates the multifaceted history of Yiddish in the form of a biographical profile. Through a series of thematic chapters—from “Name” and “Date and Place of Birth” to “Religion” and “Life Expectancy”—he offers surprising insights into the dynamic interrelation of the language, its speakers, and their culture and explores the varied symbolic investments that Yiddish speakers and others have made in the language. Join us for a conversation celebrating this new book with Jeffrey Shandler, Anita Norich, and Ayala Fader, moderated by YIVO's Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions Eddy Portnoy. Buy the book This book talk originally took place on February 17, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Jeffrey Shandler's new book, Yiddish: Biography of a Language (Oxford UP, 2020), presents the story of Yiddish, the defining vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews, from its origins to the present. Shandler relates the multifaceted history of Yiddish in the form of a biographical profile. Through a series of thematic chapters—from “Name” and “Date and Place of Birth” to “Religion” and “Life Expectancy”—he offers surprising insights into the dynamic interrelation of the language, its speakers, and their culture and explores the varied symbolic investments that Yiddish speakers and others have made in the language. Join us for a conversation celebrating this new book with Jeffrey Shandler, Anita Norich, and Ayala Fader, moderated by YIVO's Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions Eddy Portnoy. Buy the book This book talk originally took place on February 17, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Jeffrey Shandler's new book, Yiddish: Biography of a Language (Oxford UP, 2020), presents the story of Yiddish, the defining vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews, from its origins to the present. Shandler relates the multifaceted history of Yiddish in the form of a biographical profile. Through a series of thematic chapters—from “Name” and “Date and Place of Birth” to “Religion” and “Life Expectancy”—he offers surprising insights into the dynamic interrelation of the language, its speakers, and their culture and explores the varied symbolic investments that Yiddish speakers and others have made in the language. Join us for a conversation celebrating this new book with Jeffrey Shandler, Anita Norich, and Ayala Fader, moderated by YIVO's Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions Eddy Portnoy. Buy the book This book talk originally took place on February 17, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language

Aya Elyada is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on German and German-Jewish cultural history, Yiddish-German encounters, and the social history of language and translation. She is the author of A Lingering Legacy: The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture (SUP 2026) and A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany (SUP 2012), and co-editor of German-Jewish Studies: Next Generations (Berghahn 2023). She is currently working on a DFG-funded project (in collaboration with Prof. Astrid Lembke) on Old Yiddish adaptations of German literary texts, 1400–1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Aya Elyada is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on German and German-Jewish cultural history, Yiddish-German encounters, and the social history of language and translation. She is the author of A Lingering Legacy: The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture (SUP 2026) and A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany (SUP 2012), and co-editor of German-Jewish Studies: Next Generations (Berghahn 2023). She is currently working on a DFG-funded project (in collaboration with Prof. Astrid Lembke) on Old Yiddish adaptations of German literary texts, 1400–1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

Aya Elyada is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on German and German-Jewish cultural history, Yiddish-German encounters, and the social history of language and translation. She is the author of A Lingering Legacy: The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture (SUP 2026) and A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany (SUP 2012), and co-editor of German-Jewish Studies: Next Generations (Berghahn 2023). She is currently working on a DFG-funded project (in collaboration with Prof. Astrid Lembke) on Old Yiddish adaptations of German literary texts, 1400–1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Aya Elyada is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on German and German-Jewish cultural history, Yiddish-German encounters, and the social history of language and translation. She is the author of A Lingering Legacy: The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture (SUP 2026) and A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany (SUP 2012), and co-editor of German-Jewish Studies: Next Generations (Berghahn 2023). She is currently working on a DFG-funded project (in collaboration with Prof. Astrid Lembke) on Old Yiddish adaptations of German literary texts, 1400–1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Aya Elyada is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on German and German-Jewish cultural history, Yiddish-German encounters, and the social history of language and translation. She is the author of A Lingering Legacy: The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture (SUP 2026) and A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany (SUP 2012), and co-editor of German-Jewish Studies: Next Generations (Berghahn 2023). She is currently working on a DFG-funded project (in collaboration with Prof. Astrid Lembke) on Old Yiddish adaptations of German literary texts, 1400–1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language

durée : 00:32:15 - Talmudiques - par : Marc-Alain Ouaknin - Gilles Rozier publie "D'un pays sans amour" dans la collection de poche de sa maison d'édition, l'Antilope. Accompagné de sa coéditrice Anne-Sophie Dreyfus, il revient sur ce roman qui tisse littérature, histoire et langue yiddish. - réalisation : Alexandra Malka Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France

We remember conductor, composer and musician Michael Tilson Thomas, who died April 22 at age 81. He was a longtime music director of The San Francisco Symphony, known for his innovation, his ability to translate classical music for the general public, and for fostering contemporary music. He founded the New World Symphony for young players. He got his musical inheritance from his grandparents, who were stars of the Yiddish theatre. When he was a kid, his grandmother took him on stage and pointed up to the last row in the balcony, telling him: “Up there are the cheapest seats and in those seats are the people who love the show the most. Whatever you're doing you must remember that it must reach those people.” He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994 and 2012. John Powers reviews ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.'See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Chaia is a composer known for her Yiddish techno music, sometimes known as "kleztronica" (klezmer + electronica). She joins Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman for a conversation honoring May Day (International Workers' Day). Together they explore the intersection of Yiddish, revolution, and folksong -- which, as it turns out, is an extremely prolific and inspiring intersection! They also explore broader Jewish questions about how we understand oldness and newness in Jewish tradition. -------------------------------------------- Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out upcoming mini-courses in the UnYeshiva: Holy Chutzpah, and Rebbe Nachman of Bretslev! Financial aid is available via this link. Join the Judaism Unbound discord, where you can interact with Judaism Unbound's hosts, and with fellow listeners all around the world, by heading to discord.judaismunbound.com. 

Adi Mahalel visited with "The Shmooze" to speak about his translation of Hanan Ayalti's "Boom and Chains". The novel provides a rare glimpse of the Jewish political left before the creation of the State of Israel and vividly illustrates the physical and mental toll of making a life in Mandatory Palestine. In conversation we discuss how author Hanan Ayalti's own journey resembles that of Zalmen, the novel's main character, and reflects his disillusionment with early Labor Zionism. Episode 410 April 30, 2026 Amherst, MA

Histories of Black-Jewish cultural interaction often focus on how Jews adopted and adapted Black vernacular music—ragtime, jazz, swing, R&B, blues—as performers, promoters, managers, club owners, and record labels. The phenomenon of African American musicians who performed Yiddish and cantorial music in and for the Jewish community in theaters, on record, on radio, and in concert between the World Wars deserves such scholarly inquiry. This talk will honor the memory of now forgotten Black cantors – Mendele der Shvartser Khazn, Reb Dovid Kalistrita, Abraham Ben Benjamin Franklin, Thomas LaRue Jones, and Goldye di Shvartse Khaznte, the first known Black woman cantor. This talk by award winning producer, author, and ethnomusicologist Henry Sapoznik will feature dozens of historic graphics, translations of period Yiddish newspaper previews, ads, and reviews, and the playing of the one known 1923 Yiddish and Hebrew recording of Thomas Jones LaRue. This lecture originally took place on June 15, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Histories of Black-Jewish cultural interaction often focus on how Jews adopted and adapted Black vernacular music—ragtime, jazz, swing, R&B, blues—as performers, promoters, managers, club owners, and record labels. The phenomenon of African American musicians who performed Yiddish and cantorial music in and for the Jewish community in theaters, on record, on radio, and in concert between the World Wars deserves such scholarly inquiry. This talk will honor the memory of now forgotten Black cantors – Mendele der Shvartser Khazn, Reb Dovid Kalistrita, Abraham Ben Benjamin Franklin, Thomas LaRue Jones, and Goldye di Shvartse Khaznte, the first known Black woman cantor. This talk by award winning producer, author, and ethnomusicologist Henry Sapoznik will feature dozens of historic graphics, translations of period Yiddish newspaper previews, ads, and reviews, and the playing of the one known 1923 Yiddish and Hebrew recording of Thomas Jones LaRue. This lecture originally took place on June 15, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Histories of Black-Jewish cultural interaction often focus on how Jews adopted and adapted Black vernacular music—ragtime, jazz, swing, R&B, blues—as performers, promoters, managers, club owners, and record labels. The phenomenon of African American musicians who performed Yiddish and cantorial music in and for the Jewish community in theaters, on record, on radio, and in concert between the World Wars deserves such scholarly inquiry. This talk will honor the memory of now forgotten Black cantors – Mendele der Shvartser Khazn, Reb Dovid Kalistrita, Abraham Ben Benjamin Franklin, Thomas LaRue Jones, and Goldye di Shvartse Khaznte, the first known Black woman cantor. This talk by award winning producer, author, and ethnomusicologist Henry Sapoznik will feature dozens of historic graphics, translations of period Yiddish newspaper previews, ads, and reviews, and the playing of the one known 1923 Yiddish and Hebrew recording of Thomas Jones LaRue. This lecture originally took place on June 15, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

On Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m., renowned scholar and curator Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett will explore what it means to put Yiddish on display in The Yiddish Book Center's 2026 Melinda Rosenblatt Lecture. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett is University Professor Emerita and Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University and Ronald S. Lauder Chief Curator of the Core Exhibition at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, in Warsaw and she joins us now.

In this episode, Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh. His book titled, The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) was published as a part of the "Russian Shorts" series. Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary 'Jewish' role of the region which now has only a few thousand Jewish occupants amongst its residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this episode, Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh. His book titled, The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) was published as a part of the "Russian Shorts" series. Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary 'Jewish' role of the region which now has only a few thousand Jewish occupants amongst its residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

durée : 00:32:02 - Talmudiques - par : Marc-Alain Ouaknin - A l'occasion des 10 ans des éditions de l'Antilope, Marc-Alain Ouaknin reçoit ses fondateurs : Anne-Sophie Dreyfus et Gilles Rozier. - réalisation : Alexandra Malka Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France

In this episode, Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh. His book titled, The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) was published as a part of the "Russian Shorts" series. Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary 'Jewish' role of the region which now has only a few thousand Jewish occupants amongst its residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

In this episode, Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh. His book titled, The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) was published as a part of the "Russian Shorts" series. Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary 'Jewish' role of the region which now has only a few thousand Jewish occupants amongst its residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

HIGHLIGHTS On the day of Israel Independence Day (Yom Haatsmaut) and one day after Israel’s Memorial Day (Yom Hazikaron), we welcome back Leybl Botwinik to talk about life in Israel while at war against Iran. Leybl Botwinik is a writer of science fiction, poetry and songs (in both Yiddish and English) who grew up in Montreal’s vibrant Yiddish cultural scene. He is the son of the late Dovid Botwinik, a composer of Yiddish songs, music educator, and Yiddish activist, and the brother of Sender Botwinik, a Yiddish educator, choral director, and music producer. We reached Leybl by phone at his home in Natanya on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026. From our archives (2008): Hasia Segal ז״ל talks about a relatively unsung hero of Israel, and a Bostonian, the late Dewey Stone, who made significant contributions to the establishment of the State of Israel. Music Dovid Esheth: Yerusholayim Shtot fun Gold Barry Sisters: Exodus Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: April 22, 2026

HIGHLIGHTS On the day of Israel Independence Day (Yom Haatsmaut) and one day after Israel's Memorial Day (Yom Hazikaron), we welcome back Leybl Botwinik to talk about life in Israel while at war against Iran. Leybl Botwinik is a writer of science fiction, poetry and songs (in both Yiddish and English) who grew up in Montreal's vibrant Yiddish cultural scene. He is the son of the late Dovid Botwinik, a composer of Yiddish songs, music educator, and Yiddish activist, and the brother of Sender Botwinik, a Yiddish educator, choral director, and music producer. We reached Leybl by phone at his home in Natanya on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026. From our archives (2008): Hasia Segal ז״ל talks about a relatively unsung hero of Israel, and a Bostonian, the late Dewey Stone, who made significant contributions to the establishment of the State of Israel. Music Dovid Esheth: Yerusholayim Shtot fun Gold Barry Sisters: Exodus Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: April 22, 2026

Today on AirTalk: Jet fuel shortage and travel (0:30) California's marine protected areas (17:07) Should college be 3 years? (35:24) Prediction market explainer (52:04) LA's theater scene (1:08:30) New documentary on Yiddish theater (1:28:34) Visit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency

In their anthology, In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union (Stanford University Press, 2026), Sasha Senderovitch and Harriet Murav provide an underappreciated perspective on the Holocaust, as it was experienced and remembered in the former Soviet Union. In these works, Jewish authors from Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus, writing in Yiddish and Russian, tell the stories of ordinary people living on after the devastation of the Holocaust. Filled with memories, love, and loss, these narratives describe not only how people died, but also how they continued to live. Despite the official view in the Soviet Union that Jewish deaths should be subsumed under the larger tragedy of Nazi Germany's invasion, Jews in the USSR profoundly engaged with thinking about and memorializing the Holocaust, addressing it in a wide range of literary works. Interviewees: Sasha Senderovich is Associate Professor of Slavic Languages & Literatures and of International Studies at the University of Washington. Harriet Murav is Center for Advanced Study Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the author of Brooklyn Odyssey: My Journey out of Hasidism and Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2026 is: kibitzer • KIB-it-ser • noun A kibitzer is someone who watches other people and makes unwanted comments about what they are doing. // It wasn't long after they bought their house that the couple heard from neighborhood kibitzers offering tips on landscaping and remodeling. See the entry > Examples: "During the chess games, the telegraph operators occasionally asked each other how many people were in the room. At times, a dozen kibitzers looked on. At others, only the rotating cast of chess players and telegraph operators was present." — Greg Uyeno, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025 Did you know? The Yiddish language has given English some particularly piquant terms over the years, and kibitzer (or kibbitzer) is one such word. Kibitzer came into English—by way of the Yiddish kibitser—from the German word kiebitzen, meaning "to look on (at a card game)." (Like its ancestor, kibitzer was originally, and sometimes still is, applied to vocal observers of cards as well as other games.) Although kibitzer usually implies the imparting of unwanted advice, there is a respectable body of evidence for a kibitzer as a person simply making comments or even just shooting the breeze.

In 1897, a small group of Jewish Marxists on the outskirts of the Russian empire founded the General Jewish Labour Bund. The Bundists were revolutionary socialists, unapologetic internationalists, champions of the Yiddish language, and implacable foes of nationalism of every stripe, including (especially) Zionism. Bundists helped found the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, organized militias to defend Jews against pogroms, fought on the frontlines of the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, fought fascists wherever they found them, and helped lead the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.  The history of the Bund is largely forgotten today — in part because Bundists were such early and prescient critics of Zionism. As one of its leader said in 1933, "If Jewish nationalism, as a general rule, is not bloodthirsty, this is only out of necessity, not virtue; if an appropriate opportunity arose, Jewish nationalism would show its sharp teeth and nails no less than the nationalisms of other nations.” Thankfully, Crabapple spent the last seven years rediscovering the Bund's fascinating history for her new book: Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund. It was thrilling to have her on to discuss it. “For leftist Jews longing for resources within our own past for combating the Zionist death cult," Crabapple says, "the Bund is a model.” Further Reading: Molly Crabapple, Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund, (April 2026) Sam Adler-Bell, "For leftist Jews, the Bund is a model': the radical history behind one of Europe's biggest socialist movements," The Guardian, Apr 7, 2026. Max Strasser, "What Does Judaism Look Like Without Zionism?" NYTimes, Apr 6, 2026.  *BUY TICKETS TO SEE MATT AND SAM AND MIKE DUNCAN IN NEW YORK* ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Four astronauts have taken humanity deeper into space than ever before, breaking a record set in 1970. We hear from space expert Dr Kevin Fong as well as Young and Sick, one of the bands whose songs have been played to the Artemis crew. Also on the programme: President Trump repeats his deadline for Iran to agree to a deal with the United States; and the discovery of Yiddish songs performed during the Holocaust. (Picture: A view of the Moon taken by an Artemis II crew member through the window of the Orion spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Handout via REUTERS)