Tablet Studios

This week on Unorthodox, we’re ready to buzz in. Our Jew of the Week is JCC Krakow director Jonathan Ornstein, who returns to the show to tell us about Jewish life in Poland today.  Our Gentile of the Week is Antonio Pagliarulo, who joins us to talk about his new book, The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse.  Plus, we’re taking a trip Across the JEW.S.A. to Deadwood, Sout...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re looking for the recipe for Coronation Cholent.  Our Jew of the Week is Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis. He joins us to talk about life as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, what it was like to spend the night at St. James’s Palace when King Charles’s coronation fell over Shabbat, and why he’s so dedicated to interfaith work. Our second Jew of the Week is...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating our proximity Tony Award. Our Jew of the Week is the comedian Alex Edelman. He returns to Unorthodox to celebrate his solo show, Just for Us, heading to Broadway for the summer. He also shares why it’s important to him to be pushing the conversation on Jewish art forward, beyond the low-hanging fruit of “bubbes, brisket, and bagels." Our Gentile of the We...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re marching together. Or are we? Our Jew of the Week is the comedian Modi. He joined us to talk about coming out to his mother about being a comedian, and why he’s finding what he calls “moshiach energy” in being openly gay—and proudly Jewish.  And returning to the show as our most gentilic gentile of the week is our friend and rabbi, Father James Martin, a Jesuit pries...

This week on Unorthodox, the curious case of the Hitler-branded cocaine.   Our Jewish guest this week is David Cowan, who produced the documentary Afghan Dreamers, which follows an all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan as they compete in international competitions against the backdrop of the threat of Taliban rule.  We’re also bringing you another installment of our series Across The JEW.S.A.,...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re officially welcoming our new co-host, Joshua Malina! To celebrate Joshua’s arrival and his role as Hermann Merz in the Tony-nominated play Leopoldstadt, join us June 22 for a special Unorthodox night on Broadway. After the show, Stephanie and Liel will do a Q&A on-stage with Joshua. Get your tickets at bit.ly/uobroadway. Our Jew of the Week is Aaron Saidman, executiv...

Each year for Shavuot, we air our annual Conversion Episode, in which we share stories of people finding their way to Judaism. This year, inspired by our showrunner Courtney Hazlett’s Tablet article, “Don’t Call Me a Convert,” we’re focusing on the Jewish journeys we’re all on. Plus, at the end of the episode, we reveal our new co-host!  But first: We’re talking about interfaith relationships, and...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re smuggling fruit roll-ups into Israel.  First, we chat with Rabbi Ari Lamm about the surprising spirituality of this year’s NBA Playoffs.  Journalist Gabby Deutch joins us to talk about her 5-part investigative series about the 1984 murder of Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz of Kesher Israel Congregation in Washington, DC, a crime which remains unsolved nearly 40 years later. ...

This week on Unorthodox, Grover goes to Israel, and we go to Portland, Maine!  Our Jewish guest this week is Natasha Feldman, aka Nosh With Tash. She tells us about her new cookbook, “The Dinner Party Project,” and gives us some fool-proof tips on throwing a successful, low-stress dinner party.  We’re also sharing the latest installment of our Across the Jew. S.A. series, created with support of t...

After 360 episodes, we’re bidding adieu to our founding host, Mark Oppenheimer. We have good wishes from a famous friend, memories from listeners and Tablet staff, poignant interviews, and a final trip to Friendly’s.  To keep up with Oppenheimer happenings, you can subscribe to Mark’s newsletter at markoppenhiemer.substack.com.  We love to hear from you! Send us emails and voice memos at unorthodo...

This week on Unorthodox, we're discussing the protests in Israel and the larger context in which they are occuring.  Our Jewish guest this week is the writer Jonathan Rosen. He joined us to talk about his new book, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions.  We’re also bringing you a dispatch from Armenia. Liel traveled to Yerevan to learn about Birthright...

This week on Unorthodox, are green eggs and ham kosher?  Our Jew of the Week is audio producer and podcast guru Arielle Nissenblatt, who joins us to talk about all things audio and gives us some podcast recommendations.  Our Gentile of the Week is Andrea Wakefield, co-owner of the Italian restaurant Mrs. Robino’s in Wilmington, Delaware (and Liel’s favorite restaurant on the planet). She joined us...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re revisiting our 2020 Passover episode, in which we served up everything you need to know to pull off a meaningful and memorable Seder. The episode was created to address the fact that many people were suddenly hosting a Passover Seder for the very first time, under challenging and confounding circumstances, but we think there’s still a lot to be gained from going back...

This year we’re traveling Across the Jew. S.A – visiting 12 places around the country with fascinating Jewish stories. On this installment, producer Josh Kross and showrunner Courtney Hazlett head to Louisville, Kentucky to learn about the bourbon industry’s Jewish history, find a surprising Seinfeld connection, and more Across the JEW.S.A. is created with support from the Jewish Federations of No...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re investigating Faux-hanim. Our first guest is Chanie Apfelbaum, creator of the popular kosher food blog Busy in Brooklyn. She joined us to talk about her new cookbook, Totally Kosher, and share fun ways to incorporate all sorts of cuisines into your kosher cooking.  Next we celebrate Opening Day with a chat with Zack Hample, a baseball fanatic who has caught more than...

This week on Unorthodox, are the Muppets Jewish?  Our Jew of the Week is Ruth Markel, whose son, Dan Markel, was murdered in 2014 (the case is featured on the first season of the podcast Over My Dead Body). She joined us to discuss the book she’s written about dealing with the trauma of losing a son to murder, as well as becoming an activist against grandparent alienation.  Our Gentile of the Week...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re going down the rabbit hole.  Our Jew of the Week is Hen Mazzig, who joined us to talk about fighting antisemitism online, as well as his new book, The Wrong Kind of Jew: a Mizrahi Manifesto. Our Gentile of the Week is Gabriel Said Reynolds, who teaches theology at Notre Dame and runs a popular YouTube channel called Exploring the Quran and the Bible.  We love to hear...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re streaming History of the World, Part II. Our Jew of the Week is professor and Jewish comedy expert Jeremy Dauber, who joins us to talk about his new book, Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew.  Our Gentile of the Week is actress Elisa Donovan, who tells us about acting in Clueless, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Beverly Hills, 90210, and about the experiences she writes about...

This week on Unorthodox, it’s Purim! We’re bringing you fresh takes about the holiday Purim from our own Liel Leibovitz, as well as friend of the pod—and frequent Take One guest—Dovid Bashevkin.  In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion month, we visit Shemesh Farms in Malibu, CA, to learn about how they provide meaningful work and community to adults with diverse abilities.  We love...

This week on Unorthodox, pshhhhhhhhhh.  Our gentiles of the week are Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis, the hosts of the Jesuitical podcast. We each assign them something to give up for Lent and also prepare Rootless Cosmopolitans for them (the recipe for which can be found on our newsletter).  We’re also bringing you the second installment of Across the JEW.S.A., our series highlighting different Je...

This week on Unorthodox, do Jews celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Our Jew of the Week is returning guest David Sax, who joins us to talk about his newest book, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World.  Our Gentile of the Week is writer and surfer (and surf writer) William Finnegan, who talks to us about his memoir, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, and his experiences reporting on war and...

This week on Unorthodox, Belgium is still the worst.  Our Jew of the Week is the novelist Gabrielle Zevin. She joins us to talk about her newest novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, plus how video games can be vehicles for teaching morality and how she approaches writing about Holocaust survivors.  Plus, the hosts discuss the new Netflix disaster that is You People, with insight from our m...

This week on Unorthodox, we’re eating macaro(o)ns.  Our Jew of the Week is writer Bill Deresiewicz, who returns to the show to talk about his latest book, The End of Solitude, which laments how we’ve forgotten how to be alone in the digital age.  Our Gentile of the Week is audiobook narrator and author Julia Whelan, who tells us about her new book, Thank You for Listening, and what it’s like to be...

This week on Unorthodox, stories of survival and Jewish pride in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  First, host Stephanie Butnick shares the lesson her Holocaust survivor grandparents taught her about taking every opportunity to celebrate life, starting with her over-the-top baby party.  California restaurateur Victor Ivry shares the story of honoring his mother, Auschwitz survivor...

This week on Unorthodox, who deserves a spot on the Jewish Mount Rushmore?  Our first guest is author Rina Raphael, who joins us to talk about her book, The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care.  Then we’re joined by "Weird Al" Yankovic’s drummer of more than 40 years, Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, who talks with Liel about bringing brilliant parody music to life for...