Campfires and Color Wars

Beth Orlansky went viral recently when during her appearance on Jeopardy(!) she gave a shout out to the Jewish summer camp in Mississippi where she met her partner, Steve Orlansky. As it turns out, all three Orlansky siblings can trace their marriages to that same camp, Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, MS, and so in this episode we get the origin stories for all three pairings - Beth and Steve Orlan...

On location at Crane Lake Camp this summer, I sat down with director Efraim Yudewitz for a fun conversation about the differences between camp when we were growing up versus camp now, as well as pranks, camp love, and much much more. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Camp expert and all-around good guy Jack Schott joins for our latest episode! We talk about the ability for camp counselors to influence our lives, the beauty of unstructured time, and much much more! Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

It's our 100th episode of Campfires and Color Wars! We're so glad to be joined by comedian Ariel Elias, as we talk about her journey through music camp and the difference between that and band camp plus many other topics. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

For the second year in a row, I took the opportunity to discuss camp and teen issues with a group of campers at Ramah New England. We had great conversations about independence, technology, and much much more. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Comedian Benji Lovitt and writer/culture critic Esther Kustanowitz join to breakdown the mid-90s summer camp movie "Heavyweights", featuring Ben Stiller and written by Judd Apatow. How realistic is their portrayal of camp? Listen in and find out!

We celebrate Valentine's Day with our annual camp couples edition of the podcast! Noah and Rena Allen, Jeffrey and Tami Arnowitz, and Sandi and Alex Stern join to share their memories of camp love and revisit the paths they took to romance. One of our favorite episodes every year! Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

When someone makes a true-crime serial podcast about a scatalogical prank at summer camp, you know we're gonna have to get them on the podcast to talk about it. Jeremy Enns, the man behind Summer Camp: The Case of the Phantom Pooper, joins to share his favorite camp stories and shed some light on his investigation. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Micah spends a few days teaching podcasting at Camp Ramah New England, and hosts a roundtable discussion with several campers to discuss some of the hot-button issues facing camps today from a teen's perspective. A really interesting conversation and a lot of fun!

Comedian Antonia Lassar went to summer camp for almost the entirety of her childhood, and she enjoyed...actually not that much of it. Why was that? We dive into it in a hilarious conversation about anxiety, performing, twinning, and much much more. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with our annual camp couples special, featuring relationships that came together because of summer camp in one way or another! Part 2 features Samantha and Brian Isenstein, who share their story of an epic proposal taking place in the shadow of Mount Rushmore. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with our annual camp couples special, featuring relationships that came together because of summer camp in one way or another! Part 1 features Judy and Ian Silver, who share their story of a late-blossoming camp romance at Goldman Union Camp Institute. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with our annual camp couples special, featuring relationships that came together because of summer camp in one way or another! Part 3 features Lisa and Benjamin David, who share their story of a long-standing friendship that slowly evolved into romance at Camp Harlam. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Graphic novelist Eric Glickman joins to share his adventures growing up at camp and how they led him to create a graphic novel loosely based on them! Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

It's a crossover episode as The Cocoon Podcast co-host Kim Lindauer joins to share her favorite memories of growing up at Jacobs Camp in Mississippi, including a syrup-chugging contest gone wrong, the joy of planning evening programs, and not being good at skits because of always breaking character. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Author Emma Carlson Berne joins to talk about her summer camp-set book Shabbat Sabotage as well as her experiences at a variety of camps growing up. We talk about Amish camp, adventures in leg-shaving, and much much more! Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Poet, writer, and performer Caroline Rothstein joins the podcast to revisit her time growing up at Camp Walden in Maine, and discusses her transformation from quiet, shy kid to loud, boisterous show lead. Plus we discuss first kisses, going to camp far from home, and much much more. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Educator, performer, and activist Rebecca Kling joins to share her memories of growing up at a variety of day camps in the Chicago area as well as her involvement with Camp Aranu'Tiq, a traditional sleepaway camp for trans youths. We have a great conversation about the evolving attitudes of camp towards inclusion, plus share stories of parody song-writing and more. Don't waste a minute, take a lis...

Sarah Lefton joins the podcast to talk about her experiences (good and bad) at summer camps throughout her childhood and adulthood, including the time she got left behind at an amusement park(!) and the time while working at camp she created the iconic "Yo Semite!" t-shirt. Don't waste a minute, take a listen.

Writer-director Brenden Gallagher joins to discuss his time going to theatre camp and his list of the most appealing fictional summer camps in pop culture. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

Eric Schaar, writer for the Disney show Bunk'd joins the podcast to talk about working on a summer-camp themed show and how his own experiences have played a role in what he does for a living. Plus we talk about homesickness, the "crying tree", and much much more. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

The amazing and talented women behind Rogue Shul, Caroline Dorn and Ellie Klein Goldman join the podcast to share their stories of summer camp and how it shaped their wit and creativity with their popular Twitter account and thriving consulting practice. We discuss creativity in camp punishments, what happens when a theater director goes a bit off the rails, and the songs that most remind us of ca...

It's another Camp Movie Night as Micah is joined by Arielle Nissenblatt, Shira Moskowitz, and Michael Wormser to discuss the 1979 camp movie Meatballs, Bill Murray's first big starring role. How does it hold up after 40+ years? Is there enough coverage of the campers? How old are these people supposed to be anyway? You know what - IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER. Warning: There is frank discussion of sexua...

Multi-talented performer Jonah Platt is part of a large, multigenerational camp family and joins to share some hilarious stories of his time growing up at Ramah Ojai, including a prank so good a national publication did an oral history of it! Don't waste a minute, take a listen!

The hosts of the Pray For Us podcast Jacey Naccarella and Jessica Dollin join to share their memories of camp growing up, including stories about mascot flirtations, dino nuggets, and underwear humiliation. Don't waste a minute, take a listen!