PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture This Puerto Rican-Jewish author misses her Mumbai home
Leah Franqui is stranded in her hometown of Philadelphia and missing her life in Mumbai. The 32-year-old Puerto Rican-Jewish novelist, whose books examine the United States and India through an outsider’s eye, has spent the last five years in the Indian metropolis, where she relocated after marrying her Kolkata-born husband. But the COVID-19 pandemic has…
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Culture In ‘Fiddler’ parody, Randy Rainbow continues a long musical ‘Tradition’
We Jews do not lack modern prophets. Many of them are musicians. Phil Ochs spoke truth to power with his guitar. Arlo Guthrie continued his father’s fascist-killing musical mission. Robert Zimmerman of Hibbing continues to reject the title of seer, but the fact he felt the need to do so proves he doth protest too…
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Culture The dramatic allure of Mandy Patinkin’s quarantine tweets
A child’s duty to his or her parents is a central tenet of Jewish tradition. If you are the son of stage and screen star Mandy Patinkin and writer, actress and activist Kathryn Grody and you are social-distancing with them, your duty is to embarrass them via Twitter takeover. 33-year-old actor Gideon Grody-Patinkin, in quarantine…
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Culture When Fred Willard spoke to (and for) the Jews
Fred Willard, the actor and improviser whose characters embodied blithe obliviousness, was not Jewish. The performer, rather, was at his best when he played the sort of un-self-aware putz that Jewish humor desperately needs — a sunny and thick-headed foil to the neurotic or arch sensibilities that Jews so often made their own. From his…
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Culture Rush Limbaugh says Philip Roth is the favorite author of the ‘uber left wing’
On May 14, listeners to Rush Limbaugh’s radio program were treated to a primer on “left-wing” literature and a lesson on a more clinical term for farts. We have Philip Roth to thank. The teachable moment was prompted by a “Fresh Air” review of Benjamin Taylor’s memoir, “Here We Are: My Friendship with Philip Roth,”…
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Culture Will ‘Scarface’ return to its Jewish roots?
Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are polishing the script to a reboot of “Scarface” for director Luca Guadignino. The sentence reads like a screen trade Mad Libs, but it is true nonetheless. The partnership seems like an odd one. But it’s actually a pretty good match. The Coens, after all, directed “Miller’s Crossing” and, having…
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Culture Goldie Hawn’s viral exercise video proves she’s cooler than I’ll ever be
I am not yet 30, and I am less in touch (and in shape) than 74-year-old Goldie Hawn. This chilling realization was brought to me courtesy of the actress’ Instagram, where she posted a vibrant cardio workout, dancing to Dua Lipa’s “Let’s Get Physical” on a miniature trampoline. View this post on Instagram My crazy…
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Culture David and Moshe Kasher on ‘Unorthodox’ and podcasting through a pandemic
Brothers Moshe and David Kasher have been fighting since they were kids. On one occasion, when David was dangling a loogie over Moshe’s face, he received a bloody nose for his efforts. Now the two are grown up and have matured (a bit). Moshe is a standup comedian with a handful of specials on Netflix…
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