David Arfa’s walks in the woods might seem like an ordinary embrace of the outdoors. But those hikes – on which he leads groups of children – actually form part of a venerable Jewish tradition. Arfa, who lives in western Massachusetts, identifies as a maggid, a religious storyteller common across Eastern Europe, especially in the…
With Passover looming, it is a fine time to meditate on the idea of exile. As we know from the Haggadah, we were exiled in the land of Egypt, enslaved by the Pharaoh, and eventually liberated and returned to our native land in Israel. We remind ourselves of the story year after year, of the…
“S-Town,” the newly released podcast from Serial Productions, an outfit led by the creators of “Serial” and “This American Life,” has shattered previous podcast download records. As The New York Times reported, “S-Town” was downloaded 16 million times in its first week of release. The first season of “Serial” reached 16 million downloads after eight…
Almost a decade after he was arrested for running the largest Ponzi scheme in financial history, Bernie Madoff is opening up about his life and experiences with journalist Steve Fishman in a new podcast called “Ponzi Supernova.” “We’re running through his story and we’ve developed a kind of rapport. I mean, you know, there’s a…
Podcasts hosts Dov Linzer and Bat Sheva Marcus. Does Jewish law allow practicing the Kama Sutra? Is it a mitzvah to use a vibrator? What does the Talmud say about sexual fantasies? It turns out, quite a bit. The recently launched podcast, “The Joy of Text,” covers topics not usually discussed by your local Orthodox rabbi. Hosted…
Jews dominate podcasting. Don’t believe me? Put away your mah-jongg, grandma, because today we’re counting Jews. A list of hosts of the top podcasts in iTunes reads like a passenger manifest on the Exodus: Ira Glass (“This American Life”), Robert Krulwich (“Radiolab”), Peter Sagal (“Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”), Stephen Dubner (“Freakonomics Radio”), Terry Gross (“Fresh…
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman Season one of Serial is over. I don’t know about you, but I shed a tear. My Thursdays just won’t be the same without the sensational “This American Life” spin-off, produced and narrated by Sarah Koenig. While Serial was a Serious podcast — serious with a capital “S,” because the true…
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman (JTA) — No spoilers here about the “Serial” season finale, but I will say this much: The episode ends with … a special thanks to a certain Jewish studies professor. That would be Benjamin Schreier, the interim director of the Jewish studies program at Penn State and the husband of “Serial”…
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