Jewish History Matters

Jewish History Matters


Latest Episodes

54: The Future of Democracy in Global Context, with Dahlia Scheindlin, Joshua Shanes, and Jeremi Suri
October 11, 2020

For this episode, tune in to an important and timely panel discussion about the future of democracy in a global context. We'll be looking at the erosion of democratic norms and the attacks on democratic institutions within Israel and the US,

53: Small Objects, Big Lessons: The Art of the Jewish Family with Laura Arnold Leibman
September 29, 2020

Laura Arnold Leibman joins us to talk about early American Jewish history and material culture, and the big lessons that we learn from looking at a handful of small objects which she studies in her recent book The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of...

52: Ghetto, Concentration Camp, Fascism: Why Words Matter with Daniel B. Schwartz
September 13, 2020

Why do historical terms matter, like Ghetto, concentration camp, and fascism? Daniel B. Schwartz joins us to discuss his book Ghetto: The History of a Word, and about why historical terms and words matter—why it’s important to understand their origins ...

51: Black Power and Jewish Politics with Marc Dollinger
August 30, 2020

In this episode, Marc Dollinger joins us for an important conversation about the history of Black-Jewish relations in the 1960s, and its ramifications and relevance for the continued struggle for civil rights and racial justice today.

50: We Are All Implicated in Violence and Oppression, Both Historical and Present-Day: A Conversation with Michael Rothberg
June 07, 2020

Listen in for an important conversation with Michael Rothberg about how we understand violence—both in history and in our own present day—and our place within it. This is obviously an important set of timely issues,

49: Why Jewish Books and Libraries Matter with Joshua Teplitsky
May 24, 2020

Joshua Teplitsky joins us to discuss his book Prince of the Press and the broader issue of the history of Jewish books and book collecting. Prince of the Press is a fantastic book, and it opens up a great set of issues about the meaning of books and li...

48: Modern Orthodox Judaism with Zev Eleff
May 10, 2020

Zev Eleff joins the podcast to discuss his recent book Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life and the broader topic of the history of modern Orthodox Judaism and why it matters—both in terms of the developments in American Jew...

47: Jews and Sex Work in Argentina with Mir Yarfitz and Geraldine Gudefin
April 26, 2020

Mir Yarfitz joins the podcast to discuss his book Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina, and the big-picture issues surrounding the history of migration, sex work and prostitution, and the morality tale of "white slavery."

46: Putting Partition in Global Context with Laura Robson and Arie Dubnov
April 12, 2020

Laura Robson and Arie Dubnov join us to talk about the history of partition and why it matters in a global context.

45: Jewish Emancipation with David Sorkin
March 29, 2020

David Sorkin talks about the history of Jewish emancipation, the process of Jews gaining (and sometimes losing) civic and civil rights in modern times.