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Jewish Studies
Writ Large August 12, 2022

On Sholem Aleichem’s "The Tevye Stories"

A Discussion with Saul Noam Zaritt

Saul Noam Zaritt

Hosted by Zachary Davis
The original production of Fiddler on the Roof won nine Tony awards, held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical, and was adapted into a hit movie. But the musical …

Jewish Studies

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Interviews with scholars of Judaism about their new books.

Jewish Studies August 11, 2022

Power and Progress

Joseph Ibn Kaspi and the Meaning of History

Alexander Green

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
The philosopher and biblical commentator Joseph Ibn Kaspi (1280–1345) was a provocative Jewish thinker of the medieval era whose works have generally been overlooked by modern scholars.  Power and Progress …
Jewish Studies August 10, 2022

The Crowns on the Letters

Essays on the Aggada and the Lives of the Sages

Ari D. Kahn

Hosted by Matthew Miller
Rabbi Ari Kahn’s The Crowns on the Letters: Essays on the Aggada and the Lives of the Sages (OU Press, 2020) represents a major achievement in the study of the lives …
Jewish Studies August 8, 2022

The Idea of 'Israel' in Second Temple Judaism

A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity

Jason A. Staples

Hosted by Michael Morales
How did the concept of Israel impact early Jewish apocalyptic hopes of restoration? How diverse was Israelite identity in antiquity? Tune in as we talk with Jason A. Staples about …
Writ Large August 3, 2022

On Thomas of Monmouth's "The Life and Passion of William of Norwich"

A Discussion with Rowan Dorin

Rowan Dorin

Hosted by Zachary Davis
There is only one surviving copy of The Life and Passion of William of Norwich, but its story continues to haunt us. When 12th-century monk Thomas of Monmouth learned of …
Jewish Studies August 3, 2022

Thinking about Good and Evil

Jewish Views from Antiquity to Modernity

Wayne Allen

Hosted by Matthew Miller
Today I talked to Rabbi Wayne Allen about his book Thinking about Good and Evil: Jewish Views from Antiquity to Modernity (U Nebraska Press, 2021). Starting with the Bible and Apocrypha …
Jewish Studies August 3, 2022

The Bible with and Without Jesus

How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently

Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
In The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (HarperOne, 2020), Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler take readers on a guided tour …
On Religion August 1, 2022

On the Krampus Conundrum

A Discussion with Madison Tarleton

Madison Tarleton

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Madison Tarleton is a Ph.D. candidate and scholar of Medieval Judaism in Christian Europe, antijudaism and antisemitism. Madison is studying at the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology’s joint PhD …
Biblical Studies July 29, 2022

Eco Bible

An Ecological Commentary on Genesis and Exodus

Yonatan Neril and Leo Dee

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
What does the Bible say about ecology? As people face huge ecological challenges-including growing hurricanes, floods, forest fires, and plastic pollution-the groundbreaking Yonatan Neril and Leo Dee's Eco Bible (Interfaith Center for …
Religion July 28, 2022

The Origin of Sin

Greece and Rome, Early Judaism and Christianity

David Konstan

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
Where did the idea of sin arise from? In The Origin of Sin: Greece and Rome, Early Judaism and Christianity (Bloomsbury, 2022), David Konstan takes a close look at classical …
Middle Eastern Studies July 27, 2022

Unknown Past

Layla Murad, the Jewish-Muslim Star of Egypt

Hanan Hammad

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
Layla Murad (1918-1995) was once the highest-paid star in Egypt, and her movies were among the top-grossing in the box office. She starred in 28 films, nearly all now classics …
On Religion July 26, 2022

On Chrismukkah

A Discussion with Samira Mehta

Samira Mehta

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Dr. Samira Mehta a scholar of religion and the politics of the American Family and an assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies and Jewish Studies at the University of …
Biblical Studies July 25, 2022

Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context

Tova Ganzel

Hosted by Michael Morales
What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence …
Jewish Studies July 22, 2022

The Routledge Introductory Course in Modern Hebrew

Giore Etzion

Hosted by Michael Morales
Thinking about learning Modern Hebrew, but waiting for the perfect grammar? The Routledge Introductory Course in Modern Hebrew by Giore Etzion is an integrated language course adopting an eclectic approach. The course …
On Religion July 22, 2022

On American Jews on the Frontier

A Discussion with Shari Rabin

Shari Rabin

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Dr. Shari Rabin is a scholar of modern Judaism and American religions. Her first book, Jews on the Frontier: Religion and Mobility in Nineteenth-Century America (New York University Press, 2017) …
Jewish Studies July 22, 2022

The Biblical Hero

Portraits in Nobility and Fallibility

Elliott Rabin

Hosted by Matthew Miller
Today I talked to Elliott Rabin about his book The Biblical Hero: Portraits in Nobility and Fallibility (Jewish Publication Society, 2020). Approaching the Bible in an original way—comparing biblical heroes to heroes …
Jewish Studies July 20, 2022

Like Salt for Bread

The Jews of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Francine Friedman

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Francine Friedman's Like Salt for Bread: The Jews of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Brill, 2021) is the only comprehensive treatment in any language of a rather “exotic” Balkan Jewish community. It …
Women's History July 15, 2022

Birth, Sex and Abuse

Women's Voices Under Nazi Rule

Beverley Chalmers

Hosted by Jeannette Cockroft
Birth, Sex and Abuse: Women's Voices Under Nazi Rule (Grosvenor House, 2015) is a fascinating and gripping examination of birth, sex and abuse during the Nazi era. Dr Chalmers’ unique …
Environmental Studies July 14, 2022

Climate Politics and the Power of Religion

Evan Berry

Hosted by Brady McCartney
How does our faith affect how we think about and respond to climate change? Climate Politics and the Power of Religion (Indiana University Press, 2022) is an edited collection that explores …
Jewish Studies July 13, 2022

Towards the Mystical Experience of Modernity

The Making of Rav Kook, 1865-1904

Yehudah Mirsky

Hosted by Matthew Miller
Avraham Yitzhaq Ha-Cohen Kook (1865-1935) stands as a colossal figure of modern Jewish history and thought. Jurist, mystic, poet, theologian, communal leader, founder of the modern Chief Rabbinate and still …