This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel.  Today, we head to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities most brutally attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. Liel, Josh, and Tablet’s Armin Rosen meet up with Chen Kotler, a lifelong Kfar Aza resident, who shows them the devastation firsthand.  For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael. For more eyewitness accounts from Israel,...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re sharing nine stories of Jewish light during a time when it’s never felt more necessary.  Liel brings us a reminder of the true spirit of Hanukkah. We share reflections from attendees and vendors at Tablet’s first Hanukkah Bazaar on how this year’s Hanukkah feels more important than ever. Producer Elie Bleier brings us a story from a makeshift army base near the Gaza Border, where Israeli civilians from across the country traveled to make IDF soldiers a...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re coming to you live from Baltimore, where we appeared at the 2023 Conservative/Masorti Shabbaton & Convening. We’re also sharing a new Beautifully Jewish segment for Hanukkah, featuring designer Jonathan Adler, Gabriel Goldstein of the Yeshiva University Museum, and a trip to visit Ahuva Gottdeiner, aka Homegrown Kosher, in Monsey, NY.  For more Beautifully Jewish, join our new Facebook group.  Listen to the Testimonies Archive for more eyewitness audio...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re rooting for the heroes.  Our Jewish guest is philosopher and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy, who returns to the show to tell us about the newest film in his Ukraine trilogy, called Glory to the Heroes. The film is a tribute to everyday Ukrainian heroes, including some Ukrainian-born Israeli soldiers who finished their service in the IDF and volunteered to fight for Ukraine. Get tickets for the local U.S. screenings here.  Our Gentile of the Week is Brooke Eby....

Today, we’re bringing Unorthodox listeners a special Beautifully Jewish Thanksgiving. Beautifully Jewish is a monthly audio series on Unorthodox that explores Jewish material culture, the ritual objects that inspire us, and the people who make them. On today’s segment, hosts Stephanie Butnick and Tanya Singer celebrate an unexpectedly significant object: the folding chair.  You’ll also get an update on the Beautifully Jewish craft-along for Israel and hear from Israeli knitwear designer...

Dark times call for bright lights, and we’re excited to announce Tablet’s Hanukkah Bazaar, taking place Sunday, Dec. 3 in New York City, featuring 40+ amazing vendors. Find out more at hanukkahbazaar.com.  Today we head Across the Jew.S.A to Washington D.C., for a special dispatch from this week’s March for Israel.  We also talk with Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Known for his short story collections, he’s pivoted in the weeks since the Oct. 7 attacks and is channeling his energy and talents...

This week on Unorthodox, we talk with writer and political advisor Dan Senor about his new book, The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World (a follow up to his 2011 book, Startup Nation, also co-written with Saul Singer). This interview will also air on Senor’s podcast Call Me Back. We also speak with Gila Sacks, daughter of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who joins us to talk about what her father might have said about the present...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re continuing our travels Across the JEW.S.A. We head to Miami, where newer communities are redefining Jewish life in Florida. Across the JEW.S.A. is created with the support of the Jewish Federations of North America. You can catch up on some of the other stops we’ve made at tabletmag.com/jewsa.  We’re also sharing highlights from the Jewish Priorities conference that Liel and Stephanie moderated at The Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia....

This week on Unorthodox, a mixup with a third (reich) party vendor.  We speak with Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or, who you may remember from the show Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. She moved to the United States just weeks ago, and gives us her perspective on the war as an Israeli living abroad. You can donate to the Israel Reservist Fund that Or started at: www.israelreservistfund.com.  Ani Wilcenski, Tablet’s audience editor, helps us make sense of the social media landscape since the war in...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re processing our emotions about the war on Israel alongside our listeners. We talk with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, host of the podcast Good Faith Effort, about turning to Jewish law and ethics for insight on how to deal with a dark and violent moment.  Our second guest this week is the actress Lisa Edelstein. She joins us to discuss her newest project, the PBS series Little Bird, as well as her experience as a Jewish actress in Hollywood.  Listen to the Testimonies...

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...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re sharing stories from Israel. We’ll hear firsthand from those who have faced unspeakable tragedy, and acted with incredible bravery since the terror attack on Oct. 7. You’ll hear from someone who escaped the NOVA music festival, friends donating supplies in Tel Aviv, and a report from the missing persons center near Ben Gurion Airport, where Israelis are coming in droves to look for information about their loved ones.  This episode features a rendition of “Avinu...

Our hearts and minds are heavy right now, and we here at Unorthodox are working hard to bring you a special episode in the coming days. In the meantime, we know many of you have questions about how we got here. To get to the root of some of them, Tablet Magazine hosted a zoom, moderated by our own Liel Liebovitz, and we want to share it with you now.

We, like you, are reeling from this weekend’s brutal attacks on Israel. We are working to bring you voices from survivors, and stories from Israel as people begin picking up the pieces, which you’ll hear soon. But in the meantime, we want to let you know you can join Tablet for a Zoom about Hamas’ War on Israel At 12 p.m. Eastern today, Oct. 9, Liel Leibovitz will be moderating a discussion about this weekend’s devastating attacks, and Israel’s next steps. Register...

Vote for us in the Signal Awards! We’re finalists for our Across the JEW.S.A: Louisville, Kentucky, episode (vote here!) and for our limited series podcast The Franchise: Jews, Sports, and America (vote here!). This week on Unorthodox, we’re battling the Spelling Bee.  Our beloved co-host Liel Leibovitz joins us as our first guest to tell us about his new book, How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book. Listeners have a very special opportunity:...

Unorthodox listeners, our show The Franchise has been nominated for the best sports documentary series in Signal Awards’s Listener's Choice competition! And we need your vote as we're currently running in second place behind some dogs on New Hampshire Public Radio. Voting closes THIS THURSDAY October 5: Now is the time to show your love for us and Jews in sports. Vote NOW by clicking here or by going to https://tabletm.ag/votethefranchise If you have any issues getting signed in to vote,...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating Sukkot in style. We head to the Malina sukkah, where we hear from Joshua’s parents, Fran and Robert, about their family traditions.  We’re also sharing the second installment of Beautifully Jewish, our series celebrating Jewish material culture, the ritual objects that inspire us, and the people who make them. Stephanie and Tanya explore how something as temporary as a sukkah can be a beautiful and meaningful structure, with the help of Rabbi Adam...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re preparing for Yom Kippur by learning how to communicate better.  We interview linguist Deborah Tannen, who coined our favorite phrase, “cooperative overlap.” She explains the real reason why we’re always interrupting each other on this show, and shares some tips for talking to people with different conversational styles.  We talk to Julie Rice, co-founder of Soul Cycle, whose new project, Peoplehood, teaches people how to better listen and communicate with...

This week on Unorthodox, you’re totally invited to our bat mitzvah.  First we talk to Amanda Stern—aka Fiona Rosenbloom—the author of the young adult novel You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, which the new Netflix film is based on. She shares (pre-strike!) what it was like to have her novel adapted into an Adam Sandler movie and gives us an update on what she’s working on now.  Then director Guy Nattiv joins us to discuss Golda, his new film about former Israeli prime minister Golda...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re unveiling our newest series: Beautifully Jewish, hosted by Stephanie Butnick with Tanya Singer. It’s a celebration of the objects that enrich our Jewish identities and observance, from Shabbat candlesticks to menorahs, tallis covers, mezuzahs, and much more.   Each month, Beautifully Jewish will celebrate Jewish material culture, the ritual objects that inspire us, and the people who make them. We’ll also get hands on, helping listeners create new Jewish things...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re chowing down.  Cookbook author and chef Jake Cohen returns to the show to tell us about his new cookbook, I Could Nosh: Classic Jew-ish Recipes Revamped for Every Day. He also shares some recipes for your Rosh Hashanah table.  Producer Quinn Waller brings us along to Lee Lee’s Baked Goods in Harlem to talk to Alvin Lee Smalls, the man behind some of the best rugelach in New York City.  Tablet writer Maggie Phillips returns to the show to visit PLNT Burger and...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re continuing our journey through the Hebrew month of Elul up to the High Holidays by focusing on music. Rabbi Josh Warshawsky returns to the show to walk us through the melodies of the High Holidays, plus he shares his new version of Hineni.  Then, we’re re-airing a segment with Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste, who shares her musical tribute to the lost Sephardic community of Monastir.  We’re also bringing you our latest installment of The Archive, our series...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re entering Elul, the Hebrew month leading up to the High Holidays. During this period, we try to be a little more introspective, to consider how we spent the last year, and how we are preparing for the next. But how do we do that, exactly?  To guide us, Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to discuss the purpose of Elul and how we can get the most out of this month. (Rabbi Bashevskin’s book, Sin•a•gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought, is another helpful...

This week on Unorthodox, was Oppenheimer a flop-enheimer? Our Gentile of the Week is podcaster and musician Hrishikesh Hirway. He hosted The West Wing Weekly with Joshua Malina, and he returns to Unorthodox to talk about his current podcast (and Netflix series) Song Exploder. He also shares his new single, Cascade, and asks a music-themed GOTW question.  We’re also taking a trip Across the JEW.S.A. Liel brings us along to a Jewish summer camp off the beaten path in Colorado. Across the...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re talking about Tisha B’Av and what we can learn from this ancient day of mourning. Then, we’re bringing you an extended conversation with our Gentile of the Week Bill Courtney about the things we all can do to give up resentment and division and commit ourselves to empathy and change. He’s the football coach depicted in the Academy Award-winning documentary, Undefeated, and now hosts the new podcast, An Army of Normal Folks.  We love to hear from you! Send us...