Ask a Jew

• A very bad Jewish dad joke
• An exciting new AAJ Spin-off
• ((((((Why))))))

• Our friend and former guest Batya Ungar-Sargon kicking ass on Bill Maher
• Should you get a Aaron Bushnell face tattoo?
• Abolition week at Harvard
• Academia - Should we stay or should we go?
• Fantasy-league of Israel supporters
• Swifties for Palestine
• Imagine if the UN supported Israel? Recorded before they announced they found evidence of sexual asssault…gee, thanks, only took 4 months.
• A tribute to David Frum’s daughter, Miranda, who passed away. We didn’t know her, but were touched.
• We can’t afford to say “it’s all too much”
• How do you deliver aid to civilians during a war? The chair of urban warfare studies at West Point weighs in.
• A book recommendation (again), Palestine 1936 by Oren Kessler.
• The story of Purim…kind of.

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This week the girls welcome Rob Henderson, author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. Born to a drug-addicted, homeless mother in California, Rob was passed around 7 foster homes and grew to become a rowdy teenager. He turned his life around when he joined the Air Force after high school, and ultimately was accepted into Yale for his BA and earned his PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge.

We cover class in America, luxury beliefs of the elite, how to build resilience, Rob's first ever encounter with a Jewish person as well as his first ever encounter with ice cream (both left a lasting impression). 

Buy Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

Follow Rob on Substack

And on Twitter

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This week, we welcome Lord Winston Marshall (we assume he’s a Lord, he’s from England) - writer, podcaster, musician, and noble friend of the Jews. You may know Winston as co-founder of the band “Mumford and Sons” and more recently as host of “The Winston Marshall Show” which you can find on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts. Winston just returned from a trip to Israel where he did some excellent reporting, and he has a lot to say about the Middle East, Britian, October 7th and hope.

🎉🎉 In LA on Saturday, Feb 24th? Join us for a meetup!** More info here.  🎉🎉

Follow Winston on Twitter

Subscribe to the Winston Marshall Show

Attend the Dissident Dialogues Conference in NYC

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Make Colorblindness Great Again! Writer, musician, rapper, author and podcaster Coleman Hughes joins us this week to discuss his new book which you should buy and read, "The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America."

We cover Neoracism, Israel, wokeness, writing and more. Also, who called Coleman a "black shabbos goy"? Listen to find out.

Sure, Coleman has done a few interviews lately, but only ours bestowed upon him a porn name and you’ll have to listen to learn what it is. Ok, it's too good not to share. We'll tell you. It's Poleman Huge.

• Buy Coleman’s book The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America  
• Coleman was just on Bill Maher Friday 
• A Case for Colorblindness - the "dangerous" TED talk 
• The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up With, and Rejects, D.E.I. - Coleman featured in the NY Times last week, gift link. 

More on substack! 

Askajew.substack.com

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In this episode, we discuss the personal stories of two fallen IDF soldiers - Ahmad Abu Latif and Cedrick Garin. You can read more about Ahmad in this story from our friend Nancy Rommelmann, and see a video of both young men on our substack, askajew.substack.com.

We also share stories and photos from a visit to the site of the Nova massacre and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, warning - it gets a little heavy. 

But fear not - we leave plenty of time to talk about a bunch of NYPD cops going out for kosher sushi, the pros and cons of herring, and a personality breakdown based on your favorite Ninja Turtle.

Have a question? Send it to askajewpod@gmail.com

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James Kirchick is a journalist and author of the NY Times bestseller "Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington". You may know him from his work in  Air Mail, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and others. Follow Jamie on Twitter, read his excellent latest piece in the Atlantic about the importance of protecting free speech, and of course his exclusive interview with Armie Hammer.

Don't forget to join us on Substack for a discussion, plus next week will post some photos from Yael's recent visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza that was attacked on Oct 7. You can comment there, it's a nice place to vent and connect with other likeminded people (Substack, not the Kibbutz).

You can also support us by giving us a 5 star review and comment on Apple Podcasts, it helps us grow and reach more people! And send your questions to askajewpod@gmail.com

In this episode we discuss:

• Jamie's back story
• How bad is it? Not too bad. But social media is.
• The definition of Chutzpa
• DC vs. NYC
• Young people are still stupid
• Defund Oakland
• The mood in Israel + Bibi talk
• On Berlin
• On writing
• The scary gays
• Richie Torres for president
• Tree B'Shvat
• Where do you get your news

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Good morning from Israel, where it is currently October 116th. on this solo pod, the girls occupy familiar and new territories:

• Being sick at home
• We are brothers?
• Hostages forever.
• The Russian roulette that is Jerusalem bus travel
• Chaya Leah guarding trash cans
• A funny story about false teeth (is there a story about false teeth that isn't funny?)
• A tribute to Chaya Leah's beloved aunt, may her memory be a blessing
• Would you gain or lose weight in a Shiva?
• A very Israel soccer game
• What is a Ballerina Farm?
• Holocaust poetry
• Reagan Airport gets "Community Noted"
• The Rebbe demands....

NOTES:

Nancy Rommelmann reporting from Israel! https://nancyrommelmann.substack.com/, and on Twitter too,  and of course her pod with Sarah Hepola, Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Beautiful story about a fender bender that is so much more.

Film recommendation: Maktub

Reagan Airport tweet.

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Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason, the libertarian magazine of "free minds and free markets," and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie, he’s also our favorite libertarian!

In this episode we talk about:

Hollywood’s portrayal of Israel

(we all agree that Paul Newman is the perfect looking Jew)

Exodus by Leon Uris (the book!) Get the Book

Exodus (the movie!) Watch the movie here  

Excellent article in Mosaic Magazine Read the article here

Fiddler on the Roof

Does anyone really care about the Palestinians

Are college students worse today (Nick defends them!) 

The death of institutions

Free speech on campus

Leslie Fiedler

Capitalism and the Jews by Jerry Mueller

Get the book here

Why is our political system so broken?

We are not our grandparents, but maybe ChayaLeah's kids are.....

Jewish Power

And much, much more 

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This week on Ask A Jew, the girls sit down with their colleague at the top of the podcasting charts Mike Pesca, who just returned from his first ever reporting trip to Israel. We discuss the war with Hamas, growing up Italian and Jewish, and attempt to answer some of the nation’s most divisive questions like - does ketchup belong on a bagel? Should the voting age be raised to 45? And what kind of Jews wear hats?

Mike Pesca is host of "The Gist" the longest running daily news podcast in history, consistently ranked in Apple's Top 20 Daily News charts.  During his 10 years as a correspondent for NPR, Mike has guest hosted All Things Considered and the news quiz Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.  His work has been featured on This American Life,  Radiolab, and Planet Money. He has frequently appeared on MSNBC, CNN, and The PBS Newshour, and written for The Washington Post, The Guardian, GQ, Slate, and Baseball Prospectus.

More Mike Pesca  - https://www.mikepesca.com/

Here is Mike talking about his Israel trip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMRuqfbfhjo

Follow him on Susbtack and Twitter too

Upon Further Review - The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History - https://www.mikepesca.com/publications

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Join the discussion on Susbtack askajew.substack.com

Follow, review and rate Ask A Jew five stars us on Apple podcasts, it helps us grow!

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This week we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes,  "All I want for Christmas is Jews", from December 2022. In this episode we interview Rabbi David Komerofsky, an expert on Christmas music. I know, right??

If Rabbi K's name sounds familiar, it's because his congregation in Canton, Ohio was just the target of a shooting plot by a 13-year-old. Such are the times. 

But first - Chaya Leah is back from Israel and we talk about the horrors she saw there, as well as the horrors she saw in her hometown of Long Beach.

0:47 is where the Christmas Episode begins

All I Want For Chsitmas is Jews Spotify Playlist 

Trouble in the LBC

Join the discussion on Substack!

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Thank you to everyone who showed up at the Hanukkah Party! It was lots of fun, we had donuts, drinks, home made hamentaschen (why not!) and more laughs than awkward introductions. Lets do it again sometime! Pics here.

This week:

• Pray for the social media manager
• The IDF is gay, ew/The IDF isn’t gay enough
• Would you take a bullet for your Twitter friends?
• Sweet Chabad kids
• What it's like in Israel right now
• Move over Julian Edelman
• That Spielberg with his Jew obsession, ugh.
• Do we care what the world thinks?
• Listener questions! Thank you for writing in, you can send us Qs on substack or email askajewpod@gmail.com. 
• Chaya Leah’s cleaning lady just doesn’t get it!

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SEE YOU WEDNESDAY, DEC 13 Hanukkah Bash - 3 sheets bar, 134 West 3rd street, 6pm. RSVP

More info on askajew.substack.com

In a nice catch-up episode we discuss this non-fun rollercoaster of emotions, turn our rage to all different directions (this was before the congressional hearing on Antisemitism featuring your favorite  Ivy Leage presidents), discuss masterpieces like "Gremlins 2" and "Untamed Heart", and contemplate the legitimacy of Hanukkah decorations.

PLUS:

Help Hamas catcalled me

Can Jews pull this off?

Why going to the movies is sexy

The greatest moment in the movie Gremlins 2

Israeli launch non-proportional diss track against Nassrallah and Bellah Hadid

Horrific testomonies of sexual violence

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As part of our ongoing therapy, we welcomed Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Jonathan is one of our favorite authors, and his books “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought” and “The Constitution of Knowledge -  A Defense of Truth” are heavily earmarked in both our bookshelves. 

We ask Jonathan to help us hold on to our values and ideals in the face of October 7th, when everything we thought we knew was challenged. We talk about moral courage, what the roles of universities should be, how silence can be weaponized to make us feel like a minority, and we draw some optimism from Jonathan’s struggle for gay marriage – when it seemed like the whole world was against him.

• Why JR was not surprised by the reaction to October 7th
• And why it’s good that the veil came off
• It is your job to educate
• “Ohio State opposed Genocide” – does it matter?
• When massacre and rape are too controversial to condemn
• Swastika graffiti is too easy to condemn
• Spirals of silence and false consensus 
• If you don’t speak up – you lose.
• The parallels to Jonathan’s fight for gay marriage 
• Are idealism and policy incompatible? 
• The amazing story of Frank Kameny
• Fallibilism > skepticism.
• What JR missed when he wrote Kindly Inquisitors
• Twitter/X is an epistemic sewer
• Civic literacy
• Thanks for the free publicity, crazies
• Don’t rise to the bait of the craziest person. 
• The person you need on your side is the quiet person in the middle
• Optimistic? Hopeful.

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~~Save the Date - December 13th Hannukah party in NYC~~

Follow substack  for more info: askajew.substack.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam Harris is amazing. 

Me too, unless you’re a jew

WHO? Unicef? UNHRC? GTFO

Ilhan "some of my best friends are Jewish" Omar 

For the soul - Escaping Twin Flames on Netflix 

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We welcome young journalist and activist Blake Flayton, fresh off a ground invasion into academia. He tries to explain to us what is wrong with the kids today, what TikTok and peer pressure has to do with it, and why we need different kinds of Jews on campus.

Stay in touch - sign up for our substack

Blake’s NY Times piece about antisemitism on campus

Follow Blake on Twitter

Make Zionism Sexy Again

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In honor of Islamophobia month, we detained Mujahed Kobbe and Siraj Hashmi, otherwise knows as the Habibi Bros, hosts of the Habibi Power Hour."  Seriously, this is the most fun we’ve had all month - and that's before we strip searched them. Follow their show and socials if you don't believe us!

We heard these boys are safe and funny, but when Mujahed showed up to our video call with a background of a tunnel, we knew we had found our people.

Rate and review us 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts - it helps us grow

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The girls use their guest Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Hartman Institute, as a free therapist.

Warning: This episode gets funny and lighthearted at times, some might even say optimistic. We talk:

• Israeli music is so….Israeli.
• Why is Yossi doing a bit better?
• Hamas really messed up by making us stop hating each other.
• Our leaders don’t deserve us
• Moral failures
• What the hell does Hashem want from us??
• Even the orthodox are becoming Zionists (and why that’s weird)
• Mental health help is not the answer to antisemitism
• The privilege of the progressive Jew
• Why there can never be a two-state solution and yet there HAS to be a two-state solution.
• There are more people of good will on the other side than the right thinks, but less than the left thinks.

Links:

More about Yossi

https://www.yossikleinhalevi.com/

Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Palestinian-Neighbor-Yossi-Halevi/dp/0062844911

Spotify Avoda Ivrit playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5RZ2TSTjeQqglz9G35n8Uk?si=mtj5VHRMQ0O4UN9m4CUpMw

The Genesis War - Yedidia Stern

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/yedidia-stern/

Chaya Leah's YKH-inspired playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2oWIUXjGtjZwB9nOgQeFnh?si=S2kSqXUUTOCU7a70uYs0rw

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On October 6th, we sat down for a lovely conversation with journalist  Mary Katharine Ham, who you may know from CNN, The Federalist, and as the co-host of wonderful podcast "Getting Hammered". 

I'd like to say that back 3 weeks ago when we recorded this we didn't have any problems, but we did, just at a much smaller scale. We discuss a lot of the things that were on our minds then and now like Israel, journalism, and American campus madness in this timeless episode. In her southern generosity, Mary Katharine agreed to come back a few days ago, so we also recorded a more timely intro for y'all where we discuss the last couple of weeks. 

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12 Days of War - with IDF Col. (Res.) Miri Eisen

We are joined by IDF Colonel (Res.) Miri Eisen, formerly a senior intelligence officer and now the head of the International Institute for Counterterrorism at Reichman University. 

We discuss Hamas's endgame, future escalation, and the enviable strength of the people of Israel.

If you are a new listener, our episodes are usually a lot funnier. Stick with us please till we make it past these dark days and go back to being our usual lighthearted and goofy selves. We have every plan to bounce back!

Please rate and review us five stars on Apple Podcast

Email us your questions and comments at askajewpod@gmail.com

Follow us on substack https://askajew.substack.com/

And you can also follow Yael on Twitter with updates from Israel https://twitter.com/yaelbt

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