Amusing Jews

Mathew Klickstein is a prolific author, filmmaker, and pop culture historian, whose latest book is Lloyd Kaufman: Interviews, part of the Conversations with Filmmakers Series of the University Press of Mississippi. Lloyd Kaufman has been making independent movies for over 50 years as cofounder and president of Troma Entertainment, and is responsible for the likes of such schlocky “midnight movie”...

Jodi Kornfeld is rabbi of Beth Chaverim Humanistic Jewish Community in Deerfield, Illinois, and co-editor of a new book, Contemporary Humanistic Judaism: Beliefs, Values, Practices.  Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Contemporary Humanistic Judaism https://jps.org/books/contemporary-humanistic-judaism/ Jodi's Bio https://bethchaverim.net/about-beth-...

Mathew Klickstein is a prolific author, filmmaker, and pop culture historian. Rick Geary is a renowned artist, illustrator, and cartoonist. Their new graphic novel, Daisy Goes to the Moon, is published by Fantagraphics.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Mathew’s website https://www.mathewklickstein.com/   Rick’s website https://www.rickgeary.c...

Marc Summers is a legendary television personality, best known for hosting Nickelodeon’s Double Dare and Unwrapped for the Food Network. He is the author of Everything in Its Place: My Trials and Triumphs with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the star of a one-man stage show, The Life & Slimes of Marc Summers.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tom...

There’s an old debate about Yosemite Sam’s possible Jewish identity. Amusing Jews gets to the bottom of it!   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Donald Trump Mispronounces “Yosemite” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/04/trump-mispronounces-yosemite-white-house-event/3289122001/   Yosemite Sam is Actually Jewish https://www.dail...

Brothers Mark and Matthew Jacob are the co-authors of Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports. They previously co-authored What the Great Ate: A Curious History of Food and Fame. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook up the World of Sports https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538181454/Globetrotter...

Antonia Carlotta is a film historian and niece of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle. She explores her great uncle’s legacy on her YouTube channel and website, Antonia Carlotta Presents: Universally Me.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Antonia’s website https://www.antoniacarlotta.com/   Antonia’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/u...

Alex Shvartsman is an author, translator, and anthologist whose latest book is Dreidel of Dread: The Very Cthulhu Hanukkah Board Book. His other works include the fantasy novels Kakistocracy, The Middling Affliction, and Eridani’s Crown. His short stories have appeared in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and other publications.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engi...

Barbara Laven is a retired trauma therapist and daughter of producer-director Arnold Laven – one-third of Levy-Gardner-Laven, the production company behind the classic TV Western series The Rifleman and The Big Valley.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Levy-Garnder-Laven https://www.therifleman.net/about/   Arnold Laven’s IMDb https://www.imdb...

Liz Kleinrock is an antiracist and antibias educator and author of What Jewish Looks Like, a book for young readers co-authored with Caroline Kusin Prichard and illustrated by Iris Gottlieb. Her previous books include Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School; Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders; and Come and Join Us! 18 Holidays Celebrated All Year Long.   Co-h...

Glenn Kirschbaum is a documentary writer, producer, and director whose latest film is Remembering Gene Wilder. He also wrote episodes of Unsolved Mysteries, and has overseen hundreds of hours of programming on The History Channel, A & E, Discovery, National Geographic, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, HGTV, The Weather Channel, and more.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Fie...

Debra Caplan is an associate professor of theatre at the Graduate Center and Baruch College, City University of New York. She's the author of Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy, and co-editor of The Dybbuk Century: The Jewish Play That Possessed the World.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   The Dybbuk Ce...

Sam Firstenberg is an independent film director best known for his work with Cannon films, including Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo and the American Ninja series.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Sam’s website https://samfirstenberg.tripod.com/   Sam’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJpfRkG6T_kUII7sCRO5uAw   Sam’s IMDb https:...

Joel Silverstein is an artist, curator, teacher, critic, and a founding member of the Jewish Art Salon. His new book is The Brighton Beach Bible, an autobiographical painted narrative based around the Exodus story.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Joel’s website https://joelsilversteinart.com/mu.html   The Brighton Beach Bible https://www.ama...

Peter Benjaminson is a former reporter for The LA Times, Detroit Free Press, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He’s the author of several books, including The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard; Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar; and most recently The Life and Times of Betty Boop: The 100-Year History of an Animated Icon.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann &...

Stan Mack is a cartoonist best known for Real Life Funnies, which ran in The Village Voice for over two decades. His new book, Stan Mack’s Real-Life Funnies: The Collected Conceits, Delusions, and Hijinks of New Yorkers from 1974 to 1995, is published by Fantagraphics.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies https://www...

Margalit Fox is a journalist and author whose latest book is The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss. Her previous books include Conan Doyle for the Defense, The Riddle of the Labyrinth, Talking Hands, and The Confidence Men. As a senior writer in the Obituary News Department of The New York Times, she wrote sendoffs for some of the leading cultural figu...

Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, based in Washington, D.C. He’s the author of more than 20 books, including the graphic novel Whistleblowers: Four Who Fought to Expose the Holocaust to America and his latest, Cartoonists Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-eng...

Avi Decter is managing partner of History Now and the author most recently of Exploring American Jewish History through 50 Historic Treasures. He has served as director of the Museum of American Jewish History and the Jewish Museum of Maryland, head of education at the H.F. DuPont Museum and Gardens, and special assistant to the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.  ...

Phil Baron is a voice actor, singer, and songwriter best known as the voice of Teddy Ruxpin. He also voiced Piglet on the 1980s Disney Channel series Welcome to Pooh Corner.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Phil’s IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056295/   Phil’s Teddy Ruxpin Wiki https://teddyruxpin.fandom.com/wiki/Phil_Baron   Teddy Ruxpin...

Nolan Gasser, a composer, pianist, and musicologist, is the architect of Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project. He’s also the author of Why You Like It: The Science & Culture of Musical Taste.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Nolan’s website https://www.nolangasser.com/   Why You Like It (book page) https://www.whyyoulikeit.com/   Nolan’s...

Gabrielle Newman is a cantor and emo aficionado. Her cantorial thesis is titled, “Say Anything: The Significance of the Jewish Voice in Contemporary Mainstream Music.” Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Say Anything, “Hebrews” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qq-LoFCjEU   Say Anything, “Alive With the Glory of Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Eli Valley is a writer and cartoonist whose work has been featured in The Nation, The New Republic, The Village Voice, Jewish Currents, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Diaspora Boy: Comics on Crisis in America and Israel, and the forthcoming book, Museum of Degenerates: Portraits of the American Grotesque.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedm...

Rob Kutner is an award-winning author and television writer whose credits include The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Teen Titans Go!, Ben10, and many more. He’s also written for the Oscars, Emmys, Writers’ Guild Awards, MTV Movie Awards, and other awards shows. His books include Apocalypse How, Snot Goblins and Other Tasteless Tales, and The Future According to M...

Ari Richter is a visual artist and comics creator who’s a professor of fine arts at LaGuardia Community College in The City University of New York. His debut graphic memoir is Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz: A Graphic Family Memoir of Trauma & Inheritance.   Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field   Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren   Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz https://www...