What Gives? The Jewish Philanthropy Podcast

Episode 81 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Dr. David Bryfman, CEO of The Jewish Education Project and author of the new book Heroism and Hope: Recharging Israel Education in a Post-October 7 World. David and Andrés ask whether October 7 genuinely changed Jewish education...

Episode 80 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Mitch Silber, CEO of the Community Security Initiative and former Director of Intelligence Analysis for the NYPD. Mitch and Andrés talk about the changing security landscape facing Jewish communities in New York, across the Unit...

Episode 79 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Naomi Firestone-Teeter and Elisa Spungen Bildner of the Jewish Book Council, an organization that has spent a century championing Jewish books, Jewish writers, and the readers who find themselves through Jewish stories. In this...

Episode 78 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Senior Rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue and a leading voice in American Jewish life. Through his writing and public leadership, Elliot has been deeply engaged in some of the most contentious debates shaping...

Episode 77 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Mijal Bitton, spiritual leader of the Downtown Minyan in New York City and scholar in residence at Maimonides Fund, and Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute. This episode takes on one of the hardest question...

Episode 76 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Eugene Kandel, former Chair of Israel’s National Economic Council, chairman of the Board of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and founder and chairman of the Israel Strategic Futures Institute. Over decades of advising Israeli govern...

Episode 75 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Zack Bodner, CEO of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto and founder of the Z3 Project. Zack has spent more than a decade reimagining what a Jewish community center can be in an era of polarization, loneliness, and rapidly shiftin...

Episode 74 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation and author of the book Find Your Fight: Make Your Voice Heard for the Causes that Matter. Jay has spent years pushing institutions, media, and communities to think more s...

Episode 73 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Ronen Koehler, a former submarine commander and a leader of Brothers and Sisters in Arms. We recorded this conversation during Israel’s war with Iran, with Ronen joining us from inside a public shelter in Tel Aviv. He reflects o...

Episode 72 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Dr. Keren Fraiman, Dean and Chief Academic Officer of Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, and Dr. Sivan Zakai, Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and director of...

Episode 71 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, our guest is Sarah Hurwitz, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and the author of two widely discussed books about Jewish life and identity. Her newest book, As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who B...

Episode 70 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Elias Saratovsky, President and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation. As Birthright turns 25, we reflect not just on the nearly 900,000 young Jews who’ve visited Israel through this transformative program, but on how immersive tra...

Episode 69 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Shai Held, President and Dean of the Hadar Institute and author of the new book Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life. Shai returns for his second appearance on this podcast to talk about the enduring caricature...

Episode 68 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Josh Miller, Chief Program Officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation. Over the past 17 years, Josh has helped shape some of the most significant philanthropic investments in Jewish education and talent development. In this episode, we tal...

Episode 67 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Simon Greer, a longtime leader in Jewish philanthropy, former CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, now the driving force behind the Viewpoint Diversity Initiative at the University of North Carolina, and the founder of Cambridge He...

Episode 66 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. With decades of experience navigating Washington and Jerusalem, William offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the Conference builds consensu...

Episode 65 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Rabbi Noah Farkas, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Noah’s career has been shaped by crisis leadership: from his time as a Navy chaplain in Iraq, to rebuilding Jewish life in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina, to gui...

Episode 64 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we learn about the intersections of science, spirituality, and community with Dr. Neil Theise. Neil is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a pioneer in the fields of adult stem cell plasticity and the framework of t...

Episode 63 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Jeffrey Solomon, a towering figure in Jewish philanthropy whose impact has shaped the field for decades. As Senior Advisor to Chasbro Investments and former President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, Jeff’s influ...

Episode 62 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Stephen Bronfman, a leader in Jewish philanthropy with a strong commitment to environmental activism, and Nigel Savage, a pioneer in Jewish environmental education and the founding CEO of the Jewish Climate Trust. Together, we explor...

Episode 61 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we explore the power of dialogue and the transformative potential of Jewish study across ideological and denominational lines. Joining today are author, journalist, and podcast returnee Abigail Pogrebin, and Rabbi Dov Linzer, President and Rosh Ye...

Episode 60 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we host Dr. Noam Weissman, an educator and media expert who has pioneered new ways to tell Israel’s story and educate young people about the complexities and beauty of Zionism and Jewish history. Noam is the Senior Vice President at OpenDor Media,...

Episode 59 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Andrés and Yehuda dive into a topic that speaks to the heart of our communal and personal identities—how we grapple with change, wrestle with belonging, and find meaning...

Episode 58 of What Gives? the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Laura Lauder, a trailblazer in Jewish philanthropy whose work has reshaped the way communities approach innovation and impact. Laura’s story is one of vision, legacy, and a deep commitment to strengthening Jewish life. As Board...

Episode 57 of What Gives? the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, featuring JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés sits down with journalist and author Abigail Pogrebin, who takes over as host, placing Andrés in the hot seat to discuss his new book, Tradition and Transition: Jewish Communities and the Hyper Empowered Individual. Together, they dive into...