The Schmooze

What happens when Jewish theatre returns to Calgary after nearly 40 years? In this episode of The Schmooze , Don and Jared sit down with Zelda Dean, Laura Schuler, and Tracy Smith from Chai Life Productions to discuss The Last Yiddish Speaker , the award-winning new production now running in Calgary. But this conversation became about far more than theatre. Together, they explore the disappearance...

There are weeks where the news cycle feels impossible to process. In this special edition of The Schmooze Between…, Don and Jared step away from the regular interview format to unpack a difficult week of headlines, politics, extremism, media narratives, and public reactions. The conversation covers: • Ben-Gvir and the flotilla controversy • Thomas Massie, AIPAC, and political polarization • Media...

“You knew Kevin Pillar the baseball player. This episode introduces you to the person.” Former Blue Jays star Kevin Pillar joins The Schmooze for a conversation that starts with baseball… and ends somewhere much deeper. Known in Toronto as “Superman” for his fearless catches and relentless style of play, Kevin reflects on the pressure of professional sports, redefining success through failure, gro...

The Middle East Is Changing. Is the West? This week on The Schmooze, Don and Jared sit down with Rachel Brynien and Fatema Alharbi from Sharaka, an organization dedicated to building relationships between Israel and the Arab world through the vision of the Abraham Accords. This conversation challenges many of the assumptions dominating Western discourse about Israel, the Middle East, and coexisten...

Something in Canada feels different. It is not always easy to name, but more and more people are feeling it. A sense that something foundational has shifted. That the country they recognize is no longer quite the same. In this episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Michael Westcott, founder of Allies for a Strong Canada, to explore what is driving that feeling and what can be done about it. Th...

What if the problem isn’t hate… but distance? In this episode of The Schmooze , Don sits down with Michelle Mather and Kim Kitai of Bridges YYC — an initiative bringing people together in a way that actually works. Not through debate. Not through headlines. Through Shabbat dinner. From the wake-up call of October 7th to a simple but powerful realization: Most people don’t hate what they know… they...

What does it mean to choose something you don’t have to choose? Noy Leyb grew up in Calgary. Like many Canadian kids, his path could have led anywhere. Instead, he made a decision that would define his life, he chose to leave it all behind and serve as a lone soldier in the IDF. In this Yom HaZikaron episode, we go beyond headlines and politics and into something far more personal: • What it reall...

What makes someone step into a fight that isn’t theirs? In this episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Jean-Luc Mudingayi, Alberta Campus Advisor & Advocacy Associate for Allied Voices for Israel, to explore what real allyship actually looks like. Jean-Luc didn’t grow up in the Jewish community. He didn’t have to enter this space. But through his experiences on campus, his background, and...

Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides, also known as the Rocky Mountain Rabbi, joins The Schmooze for a powerful and deeply personal conversation. Born and raised in Calgary as the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Rabbi Ilana’s life has been shaped by memory, resilience, and a commitment to Jewish community. From her early leadership in BBYO to over a decade as a Holocaust educator, her journey has touched...

What happens when ideology enters policing—and a community is forced to respond? In this episode of The Schmooze , Don and Jared sit down with Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton Over the past few weeks, Edmonton has found itself at the center of a growing national conversation. A routine visit to Israel by the city’s police chief sparked a political firestorm. But as t...

In this follow-up episode, we reconnect with Kaveh after our initial conversation in late January, when Iran was in the midst of widespread protests that received little global attention. Since then, the situation has evolved significantly. We explore what is happening inside Iran today, the strategic dynamics shaping the conflict, and the broader implications for the region and beyond. The conver...

In this timely episode of The Schmooze , Don and Jared sit down with Edmonton City Councillor Mike Elliott to discuss the controversy surrounding Edmonton Police Chief Warren Driechel’s recent trip to Israel and the political fallout that followed. Councillor Elliott brings a rare combination of civic leadership, policing experience, and moral clarity to the conversation. A former RCAF pilot, poli...

Don is back in Calgary, and this episode of The Schmooze picks up right where the last conversation left off, with snow outside, a lot on our minds, and plenty to talk through. Jared and Don discuss the emotional whiplash of returning home from Israel, the ongoing realities facing Israelis and the Jewish diaspora, and the larger context surrounding the conflict with Iran and its proxies. They also...

🎙️ Emergency Episode – Live from Israel In this urgent new episode of The Schmooze , Don joins us live from Tel Aviv after waking up to air raid sirens marking the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Over the past 36 hours, he’s gone to a bomb shelter more than 30 times. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, he shares what it’s like on the ground right now — the sirens, the uncertainty, the tragic lo...

In this episode of The Schmooze, Don and Jared sit down with Rabbi Mark Glickman of Temple B’nai Tikvah in Calgary for an honest, respectful conversation about what it means to lead with principle in complicated times. We talk about Reform Judaism (what it is, what it values, and how it approaches modernity), the diversity of views inside a single congregation, and how Rabbi Glickman has worked to...

In this episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Adam Louis-Klein —writer, anthropologist, musician, and PhD candidate at McGill —to unpack a framework that’s reshaping how many Jews are responding to what’s happened since October 7. Adam argues that anti-Zionism isn’t merely “criticism of Israel” that sometimes crosses a line . He describes it as a distinct hate movement with its own ideology,...

In this episode of The Schmooze , Don and Jared sit down with Mike Fegelman, Editor-in-Chief of HonestReporting Canada, to talk about media bias, journalistic malpractice, and what Canadians can do when coverage crosses the line. Mike shares his origin story — from spotting a “fight media bias” poster in Jerusalem to becoming one of Canada’s most persistent media watchdog voices — and explains how...

We’re dropping this one early because Charlotte Korchuk is in Alberta this weekend for a live community program hosted by Friends of JNF Canada . In this passionate and wide-ranging conversation, Don and Jared are joined by Jay Cairns (Executive Director, Friends of JNF Canada – Alberta) and Charlotte Korchuk (Jerusalem Education Institute) to talk about Jewish identity, Zionist pride, and the urg...

This week on The Schmooze , we sit down with Ofer Idels , an Israeli historian and postdoctoral fellow in Israel Studies at the University of Calgary . Ofer breaks down Zionism in both academic and plain language, and explains why debates around “anti-Zionism” often function as debates about whether Jews are allowed to be active agents in history, rather than passive participants judged by others’...

Iran is in turmoil. Nationwide protests that began with economic frustration have escalated into a direct challenge to the Islamic Republic, amid internet shutdowns, mass detentions, and reports of severe crackdowns. On this episode of The Schmooze , Don Schapira and Jared Shore are joined by Kaveh Shahrooz, a Toronto-based Iranian-Canadian lawyer, human rights activist, and Senior Fellow at the M...

How does real community impact begin? In this episode of The Schmooze , Don sits down with Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin , whose volunteer leadership transformed Holocaust education and remembrance in Calgary. From the creation of Here to Tell to major public partnerships and survivor-centered education, their work has reached classrooms, cultural institutions, and tens of thousands of people acr...

In this episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Yael Berkovich for an honest conversation about Jewish and Israeli identity in Canada — and what it means to live openly and authentically on campus today. Yael shares her journey from growing up in a Zionist household to navigating public school, university life, and student leadership, as well as the challenges Jewish students are facing in the...

In this episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Emile Scheffel , Managing Director of CJPAC (the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee). Emile shares his personal journey into Jewish advocacy, why civic engagement matters more than ever, and how real relationships — not outrage or slogans — shape political outcomes in Canada. We explore how Jewish Canadians and allies can meaningfully par...

What happens when hate is tolerated long enough to feel “normal”? In this powerful episode of The Schmooze , we sit down with Rev. Mark Leach — Anglican pastor, lifelong ally, and founder of Australia’s grassroots movement Never Again Is Now Australia . Mark shares: What he witnessed after October 7 and why silence is never neutral How the Bondi attack became a national wake-up call Why antisemiti...

This special episode of The Schmooze was recorded in response to the Bondi Beach massacre and the questions it forces us to confront. We sit down with Shuv for a direct and urgent conversation about: The attack at Bondi Beach and what it reveals about modern extremism The failure of mainstream media in Canada to report with clarity and moral consistency Why political leadership continues to repeat...