The Jewish Lives Podcast

The feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921–2006), pathbreaking author of The Feminine Mystique , was powerful and polarizing. Join us with Rachel Shteir, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter , as we explore the life of the author and activist acclaimed as the mother of second-wave feminism.

Gershom Scholem (1897–1982) was one of the most influential figures in the field of Jewish Studies. Join us with historian David Biale, author of the Jewish Lives biography Gershom Scholem: Master of the Kabbalah , as we examine the life of the thinker who pioneered the study of Jewish mysticism and profoundly influenced the Zionist movement.

Both thoroughly German and unabashedly Jewish, Walther Rathenau (1867–1922) served in the exalted position of foreign minister in the early days of the Weimar Republic. His achievement was unprecedented—no Jew in Germany had ever attained such high political rank. But Rathenau’s success was marked by tragedy: within months he was assassinated by right-wing extremists seeking to destroy the newly f...

Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know about him ? Join us with esteemed biblical scholar Steven Weitzman as we reexamine Solomon's story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture in Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom . We also explore what Solomon's life, wisdom, and writings have come to mea...

Elie Wiesel is the author of the seminal Holocaust memoir Night and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Join us with Joseph Berger, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Elie Wiesel: Confronting the Silence , as we explore how a teenage survivor from a Hasidic family became the eloquent embodiment of Holocaust remembrance and of forceful opposition to indifference.  

Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1926, is one of the great comic voices of the twentieth century Join us with Jeremy Dauber, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew , as we explore how Brooks’s American Jewish humor went from being solely for niche audiences to an essential part of the American mainstream, paving the way for generations of Jewish (and ot...

Born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz, Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) was a master choreographer, dancer, and stage director, most famous for his stage productions of West Side Story, Peter Pan , and Fiddler on the Roof. Join us with Wendy Lesser, author of the Jewish Lives biography Jerome Robbins: A Life in Dance , as we explore Robbins’s life through his major dances in ballet, Broadway, and film. Music in...

The Warner Brothers—Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack—arrived in America as unschooled Jewish immigrants, yet they founded a movie studio that became the smartest, toughest, and most radical in all of Hollywood. Join us with celebrated film critic David Thomson, author of Warner Bros.: The Making of an American Movie Studio , as we explore how four immigrant brothers transformed themselves into the mog...

Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in southern Ukraine, Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was a revolutionary figure who led an upheaval that helped define the contours of twentieth-century politics. Join us with Joshua Rubenstein, author of the Jewish Lives biography Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life , as we uncover the brilliant and brilliantly flawed man who was both a world-class intellectual and a man c...

Most famous for All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , and The Crucible , Arthur Miller (1915–2005) was a playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater into a new level of cultural sophistication. Join us with distinguished theater critic John Lahr, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Arthur Miller: American Witness , as we explore the fault lines of Miller’s...

Said to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s iconic James Bond character, Sidney Reilly (c. 1873–1925) is one of the most colorful and best–known spies of the 20th century. Join us with historian Benny Morris, author of the new Jewish Lives biography  Sidney Reilly: Master Spy , as we sift through the reality and the myth of Reilly’s life and uncover a fascinating portrait of one of the most intri...

The Book of Ruth offers a vibrant portrait of a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynasty. Join us with Ilana Pardes, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Ruth: A Migrant’s Tale , as we explore the ever-changing perspectives on Ruth’s foreignness beginning in the Hebrew bible and rabbinic literature through Zionism and the modern world.  

Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) was an enormously influential photographer and champion of other artists. Join us with Phyllis Rose, acclaimed critic, biographer, and author of Alfred Stieglitz: Taking Pictures, Making Painters , as we explore Stieglitz’s role as a revolutionary force in the history of American art.

Martin Buber (1878–1965) was a seminal modern Jewish thinker. Join us with Paul Mendes-Flohr, an authority on the 20th-century philosopher and author of Martin Buber: A Life of Faith and Dissent , as we explore Buber’s contributions to Jewish thought, philosophy, biblical studies, political theory, and Zionism.  

Join us with composer Allen Shawn, author of Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician , for an appreciation of the great musical genius who stood at the epicenter of 20th-century American musical life.   Music in this episode:  Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim - "Cool" from West Side Story  Leonard Bernstein - Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety  Leonard Bernstein - Symphony No 3., Kaddish   Le...

Join us with Adam Phillips, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sigmund Freud and author of Becoming Freud: The Making of a Psychoanalyst, as we explore the early life of the father of psychoanalysis.

Few figures in twentieth-century Jewish life were quite so admired and loathed as Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940). The founder of the branch of Zionism now headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, he is perhaps the most controversial of all Zionist political leaders. Join us as author Hillel Halkin explores the life and legacy of Jabotinsky. Halkin will also explain the importance of Odessa, Ukraine, Jabotin...

Join us and explore the story of the prophet Elijah’s evolution from fierce zealot to compassionate hero and cherished figure in Jewish tradition.   Hear from National Jewish Book Award winner Daniel C. Matt, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation. Music in this episode: Hazzan Brian Baruch Shamash - arrangement of Eliahu Hanavi

Join us for a riveting exploration of the brilliant, combative, and controversial “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” Hear from Marc Wortman, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power.

Explore an insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and his tragic assassination. Join us as we listen to Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich, author of Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman. Music in this episode: Miri Aloni and Lehakat Hanachal - Shir LaShalom

Jaws. Jurassic Park. Schindler’s List. Join us as we listen to Molly Haskell, author Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films. Learn how Spielberg’s uniquely evocative filmmaking and story-telling have enchanted audiences for more than 40 years.

Civil Rights Leader. Anti-Vietnam War Activist. Rabbi. How did Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Hasidic rabbi from Warsaw, become a progressive Jewish icon? Join us as we explore why Heschel remains a symbol of the fight to make progressive Jewish values relevant in the secular world with Julian Zelizer, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement. Music i...

How could a man as gifted as Benjamin not see that he was complicit with evil? One of the first Jewish senators, Judah Benjamin (1811–1884) was a confidante to Jefferson Davis and leader of the Confederacy. Join us as we explore the difficult truth that Benjamin, who was considered one of the greatest legal minds in the United States, was a slave owner who deployed his oratorical skills in defense...

One of the most radically original artists of the 20th century, Man Ray (1890–1976), was a founding father of Dada and a key player in French Surrealism. Join us as we learn about Man Ray’s Jewish background as one filter to understand his life and art with Arthur Lubow, author of the new biography Man Ray: The Artist and His Shadows.

Son of a tin peddler, art adviser to Gilded Age Millionaires. Join us as we learn more about Bernard Berenson’s incredible self-transformation through the first half of the twentieth century - through two world wars and persistent anti-Semitism - with Rachel Cohen, author of Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade. Music in this episode: Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, III. Ani...