Best Klezmer Podcasts (2024)

1
Episode 114: Can We Talk? 2023-24 Season Wrap 27:17

2M ago27:17

27:17

In this episode of Can We Talk?, Jen, Nahanni, and Judith recap the past two seasons of the podcast, in which we entered the uncharted territory of a post-October 7 world. We discuss our approach to creating episodes about Jewish women’s responses to the attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, while still making space to tell stories about ot…

1
Episode 113: Getting Out Of Gaza 29:32

2M ago29:32

29:32

Since Hamas’s brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, Can We Talk? has focused on Israeli women’s responses to the war. In this episode, we turn our attention to Gaza, where Israel’s sustained bombardment has taken a terrible toll—tens of thousands of people have been killed, nearly two million people have been displaced, and the medical s…

1
Klezmer Podcast 135- Eve Sicular 49:34

2M ago49:34

49:34

Eve Sicular joins me for the third time. Eve and the Isle of Klezbos have released a new album titled Yiddish Silver Screen. After nearly ten years, Eve and I have a lot of catching up to do, and we have a wide ranging discussion about everything from Yiddish film history to our fondness for 78 RPM records. We also get to hear the track Bonia Shur'…

1
Episode 112: Oral History Showcase: Mollie's Fight for Gay Rights 16:57

3M ago16:57

16:57

Dr. Mollie Wallick didn't set out to be a gay rights activist; she stumbled into the role in 1983, when she was a guidance counselor at Louisiana State University’s medical school in New Orleans. In this episode of Can We Talk?, you’ll hear excerpts from Mollie’s 2005 interview for the “Women Who Dared” oral history project. As we kick off Pride Mo…

1
Episode 111: Ladino Makes a Comeback 22:29

3M ago22:29

22:29

Segun el tiempo, se abolta la vela. That’s a Ladino saying that means, “According to the weather, shift your sail.” And it's an apt way of describing Ladino's recent comeback. Ladino—or Judeo-Spanish—the language spoken by Sephardic Jews in Turkey, Greece and North Africa, saw a major decline after the Holocaust destroyed communities of native spea…

1
Episode 110: Oral History Showcase: Leni's Ladino Legacy 20:26

3M ago20:26

20:26

Lenora LaMarche, better known as Leni, was born in 1921 in the Sephardic Jewish community in Seattle, Washington, after her parents moved there from Rhodes, looking for better economic opportunities. She grew up speaking Ladino, and for over 30 years, she wrote a Ladino column in her synagogue newspaper called "Bavajadas de Ben Adam"—people’s fooli…

1
Episode 109: Oral History Showcase: Ronya's Liberation Story 21:27

4M ago21:27

21:27

When Ronya Schwaab was a young girl, the highlight of her year was preparing for Pesach—the snow was melting, and she got to help bake matzos. Ronya was born in 1909 in Belarus. She grew up amidst the violence and antisemitism of World War I and the Russian Revolution, and immigrated to America as a teenager. As an adult, Ronya devoted her life to …

1
Episode 108: Queer Klezmer with Isle of Klezbos 20:38

5M ago20:38

20:38

A lot of people love klezmer music and know that it made a big comeback a few decades ago. But not a lot of people know that the klezmer revival of the '70s and '80s was connected to queer Jewish liberation. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we’ll hear about how queer activism fits into the klezmer revival story from Eve Sicular, the drummer and lea…

1
Bonus Episode: The Nightingale of Iran 33:55

5M ago33:55

33:55

Last time on Can We Talk?, we spoke with Danielle and Galeet Dardashti about their new podcast, The Nightingale of Iran, which tells the story of their Persian family's musical legacy. Now, we're sharing the whole first episode with you. Enjoy!By Jewish Women's Archive

1
Episode 107: A Persian Family's Musical Legacy 29:12

5M ago29:12

29:12

Danielle and Galeet Dardashti grew up in a very musical family—they had a family band, their father was a cantor, their mother was a folk singer, and their grandfather was a famous singer in “the golden age” of Iran in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, with his own show on Iranian national radio. But growing up, they didn’t know much about the Persian sid…

1
Episode 106: A Pocket of Hope: Israeli Women Building a Shared Future 28:10

5M ago28:10

28:10

“From the deepest crises come the clearest visions…We're fighting for our lives. We're fighting for our future,” says Sally Abed of Standing Together, a grassroots political movement in Israel. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we hear from Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel who are working on shared society initiatives, even in the midst of …

1
Episode 105: Hear Their Voices: Sexual Violence on October 7 32:27

8M ago32:27

32:27

When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, they raped, tortured, and mutilated women’s bodies in unimaginable ways. News about the sexual violence emerged within days, but few women’s organizations spoke up to condemn it. Some even questioned whether the claims were true. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we discuss the sexual violence of O…

1
Episode 104: Crying and Doing: Iris Bahr and her Aging Mother 22:48

9M ago22:48

22:48

Iris Bahr was halfway around the world when she saw her mother having a stroke over video chat. Within days, she was on an airplane, uprooting her life to become her mother’s primary caregiver. The stroke led to vascular dementia– an irreversible condition. Iris is a writer and actor and chronicles the story in a poignant—and funny— one-woman show …

1
Ep #19: Azara: A Scottish Yeshiva 27:29

9M ago27:29

27:29

This week, Hebrew College rabbinical student Jessica Spencer is here to talk about how she helped found a yeshiva in her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. Modeled after projects like Pardes and Hadar, Azara brings together Jews from across the denominational spectrum to study sacred texts and stories. Tune in this week to discover how Azara is guidi…

1
Ep #18: Food Coop 18:21

9M ago18:21

18:21

This week, we’re pleased to bring you a discussion with three Hebrew College rabbinical students, Becca Heisler, David Mahfouda, and Chaim Spaulding, who have started a food coop for the Hebrew College community. Using local sources, students work together in preparing the meals, taking turns, and sharing responsibilities. Spending all day filling …

1
Episode 103: Kugels and Collards: The Southern Jewish Table 26:02

9M ago26:02

26:02

Food can be a vehicle for telling stories, connecting with people, and understanding our history—including the uncomfortable parts. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Jen Richler heads to Charleston, South Carolina to learn about Southern Jewish history through the lens of food. Over a home-cooked meal, Jen talks with Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa …

1
Episode 102: One Month Later 6:02

9M ago6:02

6:02

Today, November 7, 2023, marks one month since the Hamas attacks on Israel, when 1,400 people in Israel were killed. A month has passed, which feels both like a lifetime and like one long, terrible day. This tragedy is present, and raw and still unfolding. Close to 250 Israelis and foreign citizens are still being held captive in Gaza. At least 30 …

1
Episode 101: The Women's War Room 17:20

10M ago17:20

17:20

Israel has been at war with Hamas for nearly a month. Israeli and Palestinian casualties are devastating–and mounting. In Israel, women are on the front lines of a major grassroots mobilization: providing emergency relief to a country in crisis. An army of volunteers of all ages and genders has stepped in to organize clothing, food, and housing for…

1
Episode 100: Missing Vivian Silver 19:59

10M ago19:59

19:59

Vivian Silver has been missing since October 7, the day Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,400 people in Israel and took more than 200 hostages to Gaza. Since then, more than 3,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israel's air strikes in Gaza. Vivian is 74 years old, from Kibbutz Be’eri, on the Gaza border. In this episode, we speak wit…

1
Episode 99: A Wish in Dark Days 5:10

10M ago5:10

5:10

It's been a terrifying week of violence in Israel. Instead of our planned episode of Can We Talk?, this week we offer a poem called “Mishalot”—requests, or wishes—by Esther Raab, one of modern Hebrew’s first female poets, born in Israel in 1894. She wrote “Mishalot” in 1967, around the time of the Six-Day War. The poem is a reminder that even in da…

1
Episode 98: By Disabled Jews, For Disabled Jews 22:14

11M ago22:14

22:14

What did JOIN for Justice, the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network, do when the pandemic made its in-person community organizing fellowship impossible? It turned the obstacle into an opportunity, shifting to a virtual fellowship specifically for people with disabilities. Over seven months in 2021, a cohort of Jewish young adults with a wide ran…

1
Episode 97: Golda Reconsidered 22:45

11M ago22:45

22:45

Golda Meir is known as Israel's "Iron Lady": gruff, chain-smoking, and fiercely ambitious. In the eyes of many, she was also responsible for the Yom Kippur War, which cost thousands of lives. But Golda's story is far more complex. In this episode of Can We Talk?, as we approach 50 years since the Yom Kippur War, we go beyond the caricatures and tal…

1
Bonus Episode: Granfran in the Uber 14:01

1y ago14:01

14:01

While we’re hard at work on our fall season, which launches Sept 12, enjoy this bonus episode from Joia Putnoi. Joia recorded this conversation with her grandmother Fran Putnoi, or “Granfran,” for a college class. It's about passing recipes and stories from one generation of Jewish women to the next. We think you’ll love it.…

1
Episode 96: Can We Talk? 2022-23 Season Wrap 16:39

1y ago16:39

16:39

That's a wrap! In this episode of Can We Talk?, Nahanni Rous, Jen Richler, and Judith Rosenbaum recap the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 seasons—from a celebration at a queer Jewish chicken farm to the fight for Israel's "chained women" to reproductive rights after Roe, and much more.By Jewish Women's Archive

1
Episode 95: Word of the Week: Shiksa 14:36

1y ago14:36

14:36

From Portnoy’s Complaint to Seinfeld, the word shiksa is firmly embedded in popular culture. Where does the word come from, and how has its meaning changed over time? In this episode, we’re bringing you another installment of our “Word of the Week” series, where we dig into one word and explore how it relates to Jewish women. Gitl Schaechter-Viswan…

1
Episode 94: Rebbetzins in America 27:50

1y ago27:50

27:50

What did talented, dedicated Jewish women do before they could become rabbis? Some became rebbetzins. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we’re looking at the changing role of the rebbetzin—the rabbi’s wife. Women have been rabbis in America for just over half a century, but for as long as there have been rabbis, there have been rabbis' wives—and they…

1
Episode 93: Alice Shalvi: Israeli Feminist Pioneer 19:44

1y ago19:44

19:44

Alice Shalvi has been an Israeli feminist pioneer for decades. Born in Germany and raised in England, she moved to Israel in 1949, a young woman excited to help build a new state. She’s spent her life there, working for gender equality and a more just society. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Judith Rosenbaum joins us to tell Alice’s story, and to …

1
Episode 92: Beyond the Binary: Making Hebrew More Gender-Inclusive 27:42

1+ y ago27:42

27:42

Hebrew is a very gendered language; every noun in Hebrew is either feminine or masculine. So are pronouns, including “I” and “you.” This makes it nearly impossible to utter a sentence in Hebrew without using gender. So as a Hebrew speaker, how do you refer to a mixed-gender group? What about nonbinary people? In this episode of Can We Talk?, we spe…

1
Episode 91: Israel at 75: Voices of Protest 27:30

1+ y ago27:30

27:30

Israel turns 75 this week. This milestone comes at a moment of unprecedented upheaval in Israeli society and escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Over the past few months, around 1.5 million Israelis have poured into the streets to protest the judicial reforms proposed by Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government, which would wea…

1
Episode 90: Reproductive Rights After Roe 20:34

1+ y ago20:34

20:34

When the Supreme Court issued the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade, it eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. As of April 2023, it is now essentially illegal to have an abortion in 15 states. That means limited to no access to terminating a pregnancy. But many people don't realize these bans also affect people who want to get preg…

1
Episode 89: Samira Mehta On The Racism of People Who Love You 25:11

1+ y ago25:11

25:11

Samira Mehta is the daughter of a white American mother and a South Asian immigrant father. She’s also a Jew by choice and a scholar of American religious history and women’s and gender studies. Her new book, The Racism of People Who Love You examines the subtle, everyday racism of intimate interactions. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Judith Rose…

1
Episode 88: Jewish Women Behind the Mic 23:01

1+ y ago23:01

23:01

Here at Can We Talk?, we’re podcast fanatics. And we especially like shows that feature Jewish women’s voices. So we decided to bring together some of our favorite Jewish women podcasters to talk shop. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Judith Rosenbaum takes us behind the scenes with Stephanie Butnick from Unorthodox, Judy Gold from Kill Me Now, and…

1
Episode 87: Jodi Kantor Said 26:26

1+ y ago26:26

26:26

In 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke the New York Times story about producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse of women. Their reporting lit a fire under the #MeToo movement, led to Weinstein’s conviction, and prompted a national reckoning with sexual abuse. They chronicled the experience in their book She Said, which was made into a film by t…

1
Episode 86: Fat Torah with Minna Bromberg 24:27

1+ y ago24:27

24:27

It all started at a preschool Hanukkah party a few years ago. That's when an offhand remark led Rabbi Minna Bromberg to start Fat Torah, a project to end fat stigma in Jewish communal life. In this episode of Can We Talk, Judith Rosenbaum speaks with Minna in her home in Jerusalem about how fatphobia plays out in Israel versus the US, the ways it i…

1
Ep #17: Writing as Spiritual Practice 41:29

1+ y ago41:29

41:29

On this episode of Speaking Torah, we’re introducing you to a tefillah with a difference. In this particular tefillah group, Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld leads the students not only in writing reflections on the prayers, but writing as an act of prayer. It is both the writing and the reading of poetry that allows for a deeply creative connection to …

1
Ep #16: Poetry as Midrash 44:15

1+ y ago44:15

44:15

In this episode, we’re sharing a discussion between Hebrew College faculty member Rabbi Rachel Adelman and her Rabbinical Student Risa Dunbar, about the power of poetry as midrash: the stories that open our text to even more questioning, along with understanding. Both writers bring their individual voices and experiences into the conversation with …

1
Bonus: Rabbi Jane Kanarek Shares a Story 4:01

1+ y ago4:01

4:01

Rabbi Jane Kanarek shares a story about humility.By Hebrew College

1
Ep #15: The Women Are Waiting for Us To Speak 29:21

1+ y ago29:21

29:21

Tune in this week as Rabbi Genevieve Greinetz weaves together the words of the Bavli, Ancient Greek Philosophers, contemporary literature, and her own thoughts on finding women’s voices in our ancient texts, and Rabbi Jane Kanarek discusses the importance of observing Talmud with an assumption of women’s presence, rather than an assuming their abse…

1
Episode 85: Teens and Mental Health in the (Post)Pandemic 20:37

1+ y ago20:37

20:37

Teens were already struggling before COVID. When the pandemic hit, things just got worse. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we speak with Vanessa Kroll Bennett, co-host of The Puberty Podcast, parenting writer, and mother of four, about teens and mental health—before, during, and after the pandemic—gender differences, and what caregivers and Jewish …

1
Episode 84: Modern Loss with Rebecca Soffer 21:45

1+ y ago21:45

21:45

For a long time, Rebecca Soffer, co-founder of the website Modern Loss, had been planning to write a guide to coping with grief. Then the pandemic hit, and the need felt especially urgent. So she wrote The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Resilience. The book came out earlier this year. In this episode…

1
Episode 83: Fighting for Israel's "Chained Women" 23:15

2y ago23:15

23:15

In Israel, marriage and divorce are governed by Jewish law and controlled by the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical courts. If a Jewish woman wants a divorce, she has to get permission from her husband, in the form of a document called a get—and he can refuse. That's exactly what happens to about 1 in 5 Jewish women in Israel who want a divorce, according t…

1
Episode 82: When Jewish Women Talked to the Dead 21:35

2y ago21:35

21:35

In this season of ghosts and haunted houses, we’re taking you back to a time when communicating with the dead was a popular way to spend an evening. Séances were the main practice of the spiritualist movement, which is based on the belief that when people die, they survive as spirits, and that we can talk to these spirits with the help of a medium.…

1
Episode 81: Linke Fligl Ends With Love 22:56

2y ago22:56

22:56

On a hot, humid day in late August, Nahanni Rous joined a gathering at Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish chicken farm and cultural organizing project in New York's Hudson Valley. (Linke Fligl is a pun—Yiddish for "left wing.") For the past seven years, queer Jews have celebrated holidays, farmed, and built community on this ten-acre, off-the-grid piece o…

1
Bonus Episode: A Bintel Brief: For Richer or Poorer 29:32

2y ago29:32

29:32

While we're hard at work preparing for Can We Talk's fall season, enjoy this episode of A Bintel Brief, an advice show with a Jewish twist, from our friends at The Forward. In this episode, For Richer or Poorer, hosts Ginna Green and Lynn Harris give their advice to a 30-something woman looking to settle down with a long-term partner. She might've …

1
Ep #14: Educating for Hope Across Difference 17:59

2y ago17:59

17:59

Tune in for this episode to discover Hebrew College’s and our wider community’s work in creating community and hope across difference. Our panelists are discussing what hope means to them, the practices they have discovered help find common ground and acknowledge differences and their insights into building a world where all voices are heard. Get f…

1
Ep #13: You Shall Teach Your Children 11:43

2y ago11:43

11:43

Tune in for a dynamic talk between Rabbi Dan Judson and Dr. Jonathan Sarna, giving us a deep insight into Hebrew College’s commitments to Jewish culture, Jewish leadership, and passing wisdom from generation to generation, even giving you a glimpse into the cultural curriculum at the college 100 years ago. Get full show notes and more information h…

1
Can We Talk? 2021-22 Season Wrap 19:39

2y ago19:39

19:39

That's a wrap! In this episode of Can We Talk?, Nahanni Rous, Jen Richler, and Judith Rosenbaum recap the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 seasons—from the story of an underground abortion collective in the years before Roe to the 100-year history of the American bat mitzvah to our "Word of the Week" mini-series, and much more.…

1
Episode 80: Toxic Hookup Culture in Jewish Youth Groups and Summer Camps 24:23

2y ago24:23

24:23

Jewish summer camps and youth movements are a time-honored tradition—tens of thousands of Jewish teens participate. But a group of young Jews is calling out what they say is a “toxic hookup culture” in many of these institutions. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Jen Richler talks with Dahlia Soussan, Ellanora Lerner and Madeline Canfield, three of …

1
Episode 79: Word of the Week: Eshet Chayil 15:12

2y ago15:12

15:12

"A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far beyond rubies..." So begins a 22-verse acrostic poem from the Book of Proverbs. The poem showers praise on an unnamed woman of valor—eshet chayil, in Hebrew—and is sung in some Jewish families on Friday night before the Shabbat meal. In the final installment of our Word of the Week series, we talk w…

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