History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast

The Jews are unwelcome across Europe although England now offers the appearance of hope. But it's a high-stakes game which someone will lose and the tangled politics may just be too much too soon.

Ancona was a place of refuge for Portuguese Marranos, until the betrayal. Which left the Jews of Pesaro with a choice: Take revenge and risk the anger of the Pope or flee to Turkey.

Dreyfus - a watershed event in France’s history. But it is preceded by dire scandals, leaving France looking for a scapegoat, which would linger until the French holocaust in 1942

In the game of politics, an American passport is the ticket to freedom, but not necessarily for the Jews. And victory is often short-lived. But who was She? The Jew described by the NY Times as the most politically powerful woman in the USA? 

It took enterprise to survive in the early years, with some taking their 'careers' to an extreme. But The Forverts was always around to offer advice - some of it decidedly UnOrthodox

To Go or Not to Go - that was The Question. Although the German Jews got there first, as did Jewish America’s first congressman (1845-1851), only to be committed later to an asylum for the insane.

The Gold Rush brought thousands of Jews from all over the world to the untamed Wilderness of the West, arousing the interest of the Rothschilds, Strauss and the Orthodox community of Jerusalem.

Three Jews in Colonial America:  An Officer serving under Benedict Arnold, a Spy who worked for George Washington and a Chocolate manufacturer who tried to make peace.

Sholom Aleichem - a Friday night prayer of possible heresy, that breaks one of the Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith. And how did Hollywood get it so wrong?

“Times are a Changing” and change brought a clash between Kabbala & Halacha, Orthodoxy & Reform, The New World & The Old.

How loyal were the Jews to Czar Alexander II ? Why was there a fast day in England in 1803 & in America in 1812? Salvation isn’t always Redemption.

A new emperor & new clothes. Language. Education. Freedom?. And a eulogy in Shul for Maria Theresa by the Noda Biyehuda, the world-famous Rabbi of Prague.

An 8 year war involving Vienna, Berlin & Prague, which leaves the Jews no option other than a face-to-face meeting with King George II of England.

Why would a zealous missionary priest, print the Talmud for the Jews of Prague? And what controversial role did a famous Dayan in Prague play?

The revenge of an apostate Jew and the clash of Politics, Religion and Money over a library valued in the millions. 

How do you survive lying alone in a grave for 2 months? Where does a teenager find the determination and belief to overcome betrayal, loss and danger through the terrible years of war?

Who were the Kapos? Listen to an unknown story of tragedy and heroism. A Kapo in Auschwitz. A family pulled apart. A truth eventually uncovered.

What would you do if you were told a truth which you could not do anything about, but which would change lives forever?

Two prominent Jews in Parliament, the sinking of the Titanic and insider share trading made up the ingredients of a scandal that threatened the foundations of the UK Government - 2/2.

Two prominent Jews in Parliament, the sinking of the Titanic and insider share trading made up the ingredients of a scandal that threatened the foundations of the UK Government - Part 1 of 2

In the 19th century, Jews may not become Members of Parliament. But somehow they get elected anyway. Apostasy, division and determination, in pursuit of the greatest political goal: Prime Minister of Britain. The story of the Disraelis 

Why was a Jew subjected to an excommunication in 1705, that was never revoked? And how did it create a power struggle in the Ashkenzai community of England?   

Jews lived across England from 1070 onwards, but 600 of them were imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1278? Why? And how did the Jews add Hebrew words to the English medieval language?