Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

The Gospel According to (Nato) Green

On coming from San Francisco: My wife and I are a typical San Francisco couple. We recycle; we’re into light bondage; our safe word is “Zinfandel.”

On his wife’s pregnancy (with twins): It was a tough time. She was eating for three; I was drinking for four. We didn’t want to know whether they would be boys or girls. People would say, “What gender are they?” People, I’m from San Francisco. They get to pick.

On gluttony: I need more of a continuum. I have “hungry” and “full” but I don’t have a concept of “satisfied,” “enough,” dayenu.

On fatherhood: Now that I have children, I realize nobody actually likes children. Children are like free jazz and Christianity — much better on paper.

On his former occupation: I used to be a union organizer. People always want me to make jokes about the labor movement, but I think it’s tacky to make fun of the dead.

From “The Nato Green Party” (Rooftop Records)

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.