We’re joined in this episode by the brilliant Cole Moreton who joins us on the virtual couch.  Cole is a Radio 4 presenter, journalist, writer and podcast host - he has recently launched his new podcast Can We Talk? - a story-telling podcast about encounters with remarkable people such as Nelson Mandela, Scarlett Johnasson and Tiger Woods - and what they have taught him about being a better human.    He tells us about his foray into evangelical Christianity as a teenager, how he left this...

The spotlight is thrown on one of our hosts when Leo’s three sisters join us on the virtual couch.  Hear how brilliant he was growing up and why his three sisters think he is the best sibling ever*  Use the following links to find out more on social media   https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for...

In the opening episode of our second season, it’s just the three of us.  We hear about co-host Rebecca’s adult Bat Mitzvah at Kingston Liberal Synagogue and how her background led to her becoming Bat Mitzvah at the age of 50 - and the benefit of having Bar/Bat Mitzvahs - at any age! We also hear about the inauguration of Rabbi Leah Jordan at Kehillah North London and the extent to which our communities are truly inclusive.   We touch about coming out of lockdown and have our usual cultural...

We’re joined in this episode by Tal Ofer who moved to the UK from Israel over 14 years’ ago and in our conversation he reflects on his experiences as an Israeli in the UK in the time of Brexit, Corbyn and Covid.  He tells us about how he became actively involved in the UK’s Jewish community through Synagogue membership, his time being the elected representative of his Synagogue on the Board of Deputies of British Jews  - and we hear about recent changes in this aspect of his life.   We also...

Our guest this week is Joanna Lovell - a member of the Unitarian Universalist Faith, who lives in Pennsylvania, US.  Jo met Leo through the Hybrid Ministries Tech Forum - an international body bringing people of all faiths together to share best practice around delivering religious services online. Jo tells us about the Unitarian universalist faith and we discuss some similarities with Liberal Judaism.  As a former Choir Director we also compare notes about the role of music and music leaders...

We are joined in this episode by Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying for a fascinating and really important conversation. Dignity in Dying is national campaign and membership organisation, arguing in favour of the option of assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. Sarah explains about the work of the organisation, including its Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying, chaired by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Remain MBE.   We discuss the choices made at the end of life...

We’re really excited this week to be joined by Stephen Bush from the New Statesman.   As well as discussing his recent report into racial inclusivity within the Jewish community we also hear about Stephen’s upbringing and the role of his Jewish heritage.  Stephen also tells us about life as a left-leaning journalist during a time when antisemitism is a political football, and how he decides if and when to engage in discussions on this thorny issue.     And we try to persuade him to train as a...

On the eve of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) conference, Connections 2021, we are delighted to welcome WUPJ President, Sergio Bergman, to our virtual couch. Sergio tells us about his life and journey to the Rabbinate and the WUPJ - from being born “at the bottom of the world” in Argentina to being ordained as a Rabbi - despite his father-in-law thinking that this was not a suitable profession for a nice Jewish boy! We look ahead to this week’s conference - its main themes,...

Our guest this week is the indefatigable Julie Siddiqi.  Named as one of the 100 most influential Muslim women in the UK, Julie is the co-founder of The Big Iftar during Ramadan, Sadaqa Day - a one-day focus on social action, and Nisa-Nashim, the Jewish-Muslim women’s grassroots organisation.  She is also a regular contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. We discuss many topics including the role of converts in Islam and Judaism, Julie’s advocacy for women’s spaces within Islam and her...

Recorded the day after Mother’s Day, the team try to guess what Rabbi Charley’s children managed to buy her with £10 - Rebecca is disturbed at the revelation.  We also hear about Charley’s 8-year old daughter’s burgeoning perfume business.  Our guest this week is BBC Radio 2’s OJ Borg, OJ talks about his fear of offending his guests and the pitfalls of social media and then things get a bit chaotic as we get distracted by Charley’s hair, her dog, and a trip down memory lane with cartoons and...

In this episode we have the pleasure of being joined by 2 guests - both of whom have the surname Baginsky.  Not a coincidence as they happen to be Charley’s brothers Abe and Ben. Abe joins us from New York and Ben from Tel Aviv.  Sadly, there is a paucity of dirt-dishing on Charley although we do hear about how they viewed her decision to enter the Rabbinate and how having a ‘badass Rabbi’ as a sister is a great first-date opener.  The siblings also reflect on how growing up in the Liberal...

Our guest this week is Ed Kessler, founder of the Woolf Institute.  Based in Cambridge, it combines teaching, scholarship and outreach, focusing on Jews, Christians and Muslims, to encourage tolerance and foster understanding between people of all beliefs. He tells us about their important recent study “How We Get Along” - the largest known study of diversity in the UK, and how this was received on publication.  This leads to a conversation about the importance of the workplace as a place of...

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Our guest this week is Josh Edelman - a Rabbi’s husband and lecturer in Theatre Studies.  Josh is a US citizen living in the UK so there is much talk about the US - the inauguration, white supremacy, Kamala Harris, whether Biden can unite the country - and what was Lady Gaga wearing? We hear about Josh’s current project - British Ritual Innovation under Covid-19 (Bric19) - which is examining how Britain’s religious communities have adapted to life under Covid 19 given the restrictions...

This week we’re super excited to be joined by journalist and writer Sarah Tuttle-Singer from the Times of Israel. Recording just after Boris Johnson’s announcement of another national lockdown much of the chat is about Covid - which was also really timely as Sarah was on her 8th day of the illness as we spoke - so we were able to cover the topic on a very personal level as well as on a national and global scale.  Sarah tells us about life in Israel in the current climate with the pandemic,...

Our guest this week is Kington Liberal Synagogue member, Lior Locher. Lior has recently joined the Jewish people, having first encountered Judaism in Japan, beginning the conversion process in the US and then later completing it with Kingston.  Lior tells us about her Catholic upbringing in a small town in Germany, and her journey to Judaism. She talks about her conversion as a non-binary member of the LGBT community and how this was reflected and celebrated by Liberal Judaism.  We get quite...

In this episode we are delighted to welcome Reverend Dr John Seymour who is presently an interim minister in a parish in Hillingdon. His previous ministry has included work as a school chaplain, teaching at a theological college and parish ministry in the East End of London. He has been involved in campaigning for LBGTI equality in the Church of England. A really fascinating and wide-ranging conversation this week.  Father John tells us about his journey to the priesthood and we discuss the...

In this, our second episode, we welcome BBC's Nick Coffer to our virtual couch to discuss just a few issues: bullying and gender, divisiveness and tribalism, Atheism in Judaism, the joy of swearing, Christmas adverts - and is the word "jew" offensive? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this first episode of Jew Know What, we chat about the US election - is it good vs evil?  We also reflect on the sad passing of Rabbi Lord Sacks, the impact of lockdowns on our Shuls - and Charley's new puppy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.