Jewish Culture Club

This week on Jewish Culture Club, Martine and Shira talk with Rebecca Missel and Rabbi Melanie Levav of Shiva Circle and Shomer Collective about the Jewish approach to death, because it comes for us all. We cover what shiva is and how to sit one in a tiny NYC apartment, then dive into shiva in pop culture and which Jew in history’s shiva we’d most want to attend. We also finally settle that pesky...

Artist, jeweler, scholar, and translator Yael Kanarek joins Jewish Culture Club to talk about Toratah , her project re-gendering the text. She shares where the project stands, which changes took the most chutzpah, and which felt the most empowering. The conversation turns to why Jewish women have been so central to contemporary feminism, and the paradox of Jewish women’s power. Then it’s time to d...

This week we’re on a shmear campaign with bagel expert and ambassador Sam Silverman. Listen along as we go down the bagel hole exploring the history, linguistics, and culinary intricacies that go into arguably the most iconic Jewish food. Sweet vs. savory. Toasted vs. fresh. New York vs. London. If this episode were a bagel, it would be everything.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri...

Yochai Greenfeld, better known as Abbi G'zunt, joins the Jewish Culture Club to talk about growing up religious and how he found his way into Jewish drag. Along the way, we ask the big question: what exactly makes drag so Jewish? Yochai also spills all the tea on our favorite biblical figures. Who was the biggest drama queen in the Torah? We're here for the gossip! It's part Torah study, part talk...

Willie Zabar grew up with lox in his blood, and he's at the Jewish Culture Club to tell us all about it. We talk deli culture, what it was really like working his way up in the family business, and the time New York's rival family delis sat down together. Then we get to the questions that keep us up at night: what do famous New Yorkers actually order at the counter? And is Big Cholent secretly run...

Settle in for a cozy Sukkot episode of Jewish Culture Club with author Dahlia Abraham-Klein! We dig into the differences between an Ashkenazi sukkah and a Mizrahi sukkah, travel back in time to our ideal moments in Jewish history, and ask: what Ashkenazi food would Dahlia actually eat? Plus, we explore unexpected places Jews live all across the world.  So shake your lulav, grab a snack,...

Who can talk about Yom Kippur without talking about the fashions? On this episode of Jewish Culture Club, we’re in our repenting season and getting into the dos and don’ts of Yom Kippur. We’re joined by Rabbi Arielle Stein, the rabbi, style icon, and Instagram sensation who is here to settle the debates once and for all, can you wear leather? What about jewelry? And Is white really the move? Fashi...

Happy Jewish New Year! Jewish Culture Club is back for Season 2, and we're kicking off with new episodes to celebrate. Today, we're joined by comedian Eitan Levine for a conversation about Rosh Hashanah traditions, weird Jewish foods, the New York Mets, and so much more! We even tried to get Eitan to apologize and make t'shuvah for his internet rants. Don't miss these spicy takes for a sweet new y...

In our season one finale, Martine sits down with Rebecca Guber, Founding Director of The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life in Brooklyn. Rebecca shares how her work, from launching The Neighborhood to founding Asylum Arts, has built creative Jewish communities around the world. Martine and Rebecca talk about what makes Brooklyn such a dynamic Jewish city, how art can open space for...

Musician and anthropologist Dr. Galeet Dardashti joins Jewish Culture Club to talk about reclaiming a heritage that skipped a generation. The granddaughter of Yunes Dardashti, one of Iran’s most famous singers, and the daughter of a beloved cantor, Galeet grew up surrounded by Jewish music, but not by the Persian and Mizrahi sounds that shaped her family’s story. In this episode, she reflects on r...

This week on Jewish Culture Club , Martine talks with playwright and street performer Nick Cassenbaum, whose work shines a light on British Jewish life with humor, heart, and honesty. From his early days performing on the streets to acclaimed plays like Bubble Schmeises , Nick reflects on how art can preserve traditions while exploring working-class histories. Their conversation moves through the...

Author and cultural critic Jason Diamond, known for Kaplan’s Plot and Searching for John Hughes , joins Jewish Culture Club to talk about the working-class Jewish roots of Chicago, family survival stories, and why he proudly claims both his Jewish and Midwestern identities. He and Martine swap stories about Ferris Bueller, bagels, Mahjong, and Mel Brooks, finding humor, heart, and history in what...

Comedian Ariel Elias joins Jewish Culture Club for a fast, funny, and thoughtful conversation about all things Jewish and pop culture. She weighs in on summer camp (rated!), kugel (overrated!), and why cats might secretly be the most Jewish animal. Ariel and Martine talk Jewish reality TV icons, synagogue smells, and the quiet comfort of shared tradition, plus why Ariel wants to bring back The Red...

What happens when language, movement, and memory meet on the same stage, and in the same family? In this episode, multidisciplinary artists Stav Marin and Neta Weiner join Jewish Culture Club for a wide-ranging conversation about art, identity, and repair. Partners in life and performance, their work spans dance, theater, music, and activism, blending Hebrew, Arabic, and Yiddish into a living, bre...

Culinary historian and writer Michael W. Twitty joins us for a rich conversation about food, memory, and identity. We talk about Kosher laws as a creative framework, the diverse influences behind Southern cuisine, and his new book Recipes from the American South. Michael reflects on the importance of preserving family recipes as acts of justice and legacy, shares what he’d serve at his dream Shabb...

On the first episode of Jewish Culture Club, we talk to Susan Stainman - a visual artist we’ve commissioned to build a Sukkah - alongside her renowned spiritual interlocutor Rabbi Jill Hammer. You can visit Susan’s art installation during one of the ten public programs that make up Sukkot in The Neighborhood - a week-long festival of Jewish arts, culture, and spirituality in an art installation Su...

Welcome to Jewish Culture Club– a podcast where we talk to the artists and thinkers shaping the Jewish story today. Subscribe now so you don’t miss our first episode dropping on September 29! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .