July 3, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 58 - X-Men Again Again …with Guest Host Joel Swedlove In this episode, our guest host, Joel Swedlove, leads our team through a quote quote from a rabbi with a funny name name. We discuss the ever popular X-Men ‘97 animated series that recently completed and explore the similarities and di…

June 19, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 57 - To Everything There Is A Bluey…with Special Guest Cantor Emily Simkin This week’s episode of Bluey is called… Torah Smash! Sometimes special episodes come into our lives, this is one of those episodes. For real life! We talk about our feelings around the Heeler’s “moving” episode an…

June 5, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 56 - 2nd Anniversary Special - Paraders of the Blessed Ark - Part Two The second part of this year’s epic adventure to celebrate our podcast’s two years of being Jewish and nerdy. Can our heroes defeat this mysterious giant? Can they complete their mission? What happens to Tirza’s cat roc…

May 22, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 55 - 2nd Anniversary Special - Paraders of the Blessed Ark - Part 1 To celebrate two years of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited some of our previous guests from the past year back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to por…

May 8, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 54 - Very Special Episodes …with Guest Host Rabbi Alan Cook This week’s episode will talk about something very special. Since we want it to be extra memorable, we’ll bring in a special guest. That should help ensure that the purpose and topic stick out in your mind. Did that work for you g…

April 24, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 53 - Destiny Report You’re going to listen to this episode. How do I know? Because it’s destined to happen. The fact that you’re reading this now already tells me that this episode is in your feed. Just because you're reading this doesn’t change the fact that it’s going to happen. You s…

April 10, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 52 - Moses and the Justice League Passover is around the corner, so of course, we will look at the hero who, to avoid the destruction of his people, was sent by his parents to eventually grow up to be the hero we all look up to. I’ll give you a hint, they’re a member of the Justice Leag…

March 27, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 51 - You Are So Not Invited To My Borg Mitzvah Star Date: April 5, 2063. Earth has finally made contact with other intelligent life in the universe, so we better ask them all the important questions: Do lobster people keep kosher? How many people attend a Borg’s b’nai mitzvah service? A…

March 13, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 50 - Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish …with Special Guest Fabrice Sapolsky Purim is around the corner (some may say it’s around three corners) and throughout the holiday we disguise who we really are. Together with comic creator and publisher, Fabrice Sapolsky, we explore some comic heroes …

February 28, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 49 - Hogwarts School of Judaism and Wizardry…With Special Guest Rabbi Emma Gottlieb Filled with decades of knowledge, halls filled with history, and helping to teach the young ones the history, culture, and practices of their people. As we explore the starting point for the wizarding…

February 14, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 48 - What If Creation Wasn’t The Beginning?…With Special Guest Roy Schwartz Judaism encourages us to ask questions. In this episode, we try to answer Marvel’s biggest question of What If…? We discuss the most recent animated addition to the MCU and debate how the question could be us…

January 31, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 47 - Echo of Resilience Our Jewish history has been passed down through the generations and some experts may say that has made us more resilient. Superheroes learn about their ancestors’ ups and downs, but one in particular has shown the impact those stories can have when you fully em…

January 17, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 46 - The Incredible Samson You may have grown up hearing the story of Samson, whose strength was connected to his hair. Did you know that it was also tied to one of his emotions? RDY gently guides us on a comparative look of how Samson’s love of Delilah and his destructive anger ties …

January 3, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 45 - Our Heroes and Transformative Grief Ethan returns and shares about his brief hiatus from the show due to the loss of a loved one. In this episode, we celebrate the life of Kiya, we each discuss how our grief has shaped us, and the difficult personal experiences and choices that ca…

December 20, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 44 - Loki and the Whale…With Special Guest Joshua Edelglass In this episode, we timeslip between Loki, the TVA, and Nineveh with our guest, Josh Edelglass. We go back in time to talk about Loki season 2 and his learned compassion for others, just like Jonah who gained compassion for …

December 6, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 43 - Love, Jews + Robots …With Guest Host Joshua Sky Our guest host this week, Joshua Sky, is not only a writer for popular properties like He-Man , Heavy Metal Illustrated, and Ben10, but he is also a massive Sci-Fi fan. He gives us an in depth look at how the era of Science Fiction …

November 22, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 42 - Treehouse of Talmud …With Guest Host Rabbi Benjamin Sharff This week, guest host Rabbi Benjamin Sharff crashes into our living room couch and teaches us about the Jewish connections from the longest running sitcom in television history, The Simpsons. The incredible discoveries m…

November 8, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 41 - Ahsoka Tano, RJE In this episode, Ethan teaches us what makes Ahsoka and her Star Wars Rebels teammates different from those who came before them. Is it how they were taught? Or how they were teaching others? And which of the series’ characters are the most Jewish? Jump on a inte…

October 25, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 40 - Top 5 Jewish Characters ...With Special Guest Isaac Brynjegard Bialik We welcome back Isaac to the show in this exploratory look at Jews in pop culture. We count down each of our top five favorite Jewish characters in pop-culture. We may have had some overlap in our choices, but …

October 11, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 39 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Beshert Jock! Start the podcast! This episode we explore the most recent installment to the Indiana Jones franchise and the titular character’s entanglement with destiny. We also ask why everything belongs in a museum? And why did it have to be snake…

September 27, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 38 - The Latest Last of Us …With Guest Host Rabbi Eric Linder This episode’s guest host, Rabbi Eric Linder, reintroduces us to the recent HBO drama The Last of Us and its artful history. We’re not playing games when we explore the connections between this retelling of the Playstatio…

September 13, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 37 - Jews in Space? …With Special Guest Dr. Miriam Mora The Co-Creator of JewCE (the Jewish Comics Experience), Dr. Miriam Mora, joins us as we explore strange Jew worlds, seek out Jew life and Jew civilizations, and boldly discuss which of the numerous Star Trek species are Jewish.…

August 30, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 36 - Cobra Chai …With Special Guest Dr. Betsy Stone Torah Smash has special guest Dr. Betsy Stone to help us as we prepare ourselves for the High Holy Days. We always tend to take a look inward and think of all the people to which we may have done wrong, because every year even though …

August 16, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 35 - Genesis of the Spider-Verse …With Special Guest Danny Fingeroth In this episode, we explore the converging and diverging realities of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse with one of the writers and editors of the Spider-Man comics, Danny Fingeroth. We explore the origins of The Sp…

August 2, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 34 - Mishpacha of the Galaxy Think back to the families that came before us: Abraham and Sarah; Rebecca and Isaac; Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah; and of course Rocket, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. Join as we review the many different family structures within the Guardians of the Ga…

July 19, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 33 - Cancel Lashon Hara …With Special Guest Rachel Frish In this episode, we are joined by Rachel Frish as we look at the complexities of the Hebrew phrase “lashon hara.” What happens when cultural icons speak poorly of others and how does it impact us as their nerdy fans? 00:03:28 Defin…

July 5, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 32 - The Mikvahlorian …With Special Guest Ellery Weil Join us and special guest, Ellery Weil, as we learn the way of the Mandalorian and the uncanny connection to one of Judaism’s ritual practices. While they don’t make their tallit out of beskar the history, culture, and customs we learn…

June 21, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 31 - Movie Midrash: D&D - Honor Among Family Get ready to roll initiative again because we’re heading into a new medium for D&D! This episode we explore some of the Jewish “connections” that we found in the recent hit film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. We also talk about what …

June 7, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 30 - Movie Midrash: QWundermania …With Special Guest Terry Wunder In this episode, we are joined by Terry Wunder as we explore the recent dive into Marvel’s quantum realm and discover what bothers us about the newest Ant-Man movie as well as Terry’s hopes and dreams for the future of the …

May 24, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 29 - Anniversary Special: A One-Shot of Biblical Proportions! To celebrate one year of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited our previous guests back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to portray (character descriptions below…

May 10 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 28 - STRANGERAMA Good news, everyone! Exodus is full of travelers, but never did we expect to travel so far into the future! We love fish out of water stories, but when Moses decided to name his son Gershom, meaning “stranger in a foreign land,” we wonder if that stranger also became a del…

April 26, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 27 - Forgotten Torah Stories: The Director’s Cut Not all Jewish stories are told. There are some that get left behind on the cutting room floor. Who decides which stories get told and how does that impact our teachings? Ethan leads us on an exploration of the forgotten, the rewritten, a…

April 12, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 26 - It’s Not Easy Being Keen …With Guest Host Rabbi Elisa Koppel Join us as Rabbi Elisa Koppel (REK) makes a most colorful connection between her biggest fandom, the Muppets, and the part of herself that she most identifies with, Jewish education. Explore our favorite muppet characters…

March 29, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 25 - Passover’s Four Children, Mmkay? Read the passover haggadah like never before and explore a wild theory that Barak once heard about four famous never aging 10-year-old tv characters and their connection to the four children of the passover seder. 00:01:44 The Four Children of the P…

March 15, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 24 - Is It Golem? …With Guest Host Rabbi Josh Fixler This episode, we take a tour of the virtual Golem Museum with its curator, Rabbi Josh Fixler! What should we talk about? Oh, I know: Superman! And Star Trek! And supercomputers! Actually, the conversation is about the Golem…or is it? …

March 1, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 23: Loving Everything, Everywhere, All At Once This movie has won award after award across every multiverse. In this life, RDY takes his time to guide us through the 2022 film: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. We explore the clutter, the googly eyes, the IRS receipts, and of course b…

February 15, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 22: Producing a Hit Spiel ...With Guest Host Rabbi Leah Berkowitz We explore the ideas behind the very first Purim Spiel and the villain we all love to mock with our guest host, Rabbi Leah Berkowitz. Join us as we discover the connections to one of Mel Brooks’ classic films and share…

February 1, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 21 - Phase IV: The Genesis Saga The first book of the Torah, Genesis, has many of the characters exploring the questions of “How do we know who we are or who we are supposed to be?” Lucky for us, similar themes run through the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four projects! Get ready f…

January 18, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 20 - Captain Janeway’s Transporter Trolley Dilemma Ethan takes us back for a rewatch of an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, titled “Tuvix.” A miscalculation with the transporter causes two crew mates to be merged into a new being. Captain Janeway has quite the conundrum in front of her …

January 4, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 19 - Movie Midrash: May Wakanda Forever Be A Blessing We laugh and cry until it hurts in this look at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with special guest Myq Kaplan. Join us as we celebrate the lives of both Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa. Also, why did they change the name to Talokan? 00…

December 21, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 18 - Hershel and the Torah Smash Chanukah Special! Walking down the dark, quiet road is Hershel of Ostropol and, what’s this? He’s real?! Not only did this yiddish folklore legend save Chanukah, but he also has so much in common with another character from nerd culture. Find out who …

December 7, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 17 - I. Am. Jacob …With Guest Host Micol Zimmerman Burkeman Our guest host, Micol Zimmerman Burkeman, leads us in discussion of her favorite and least favorite representations of a hero in the bible. They may not always be fighting a villain who is the opposite of them. Sometimes it’s…

November 23, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 16 - Rogue One: A Midrash Story RDY leads us in an exploration of Rogue One and the implications it has on the vast expanding Star Wars universe. You’re probably just as surprised as us that Ethan wasn’t the lead on this episode. TIME STAMPS 00:00:50 - RDY’s Star Wars nostalgia 00:02…

November 9, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 15 - Nerd Mitzvah: A Rite Of Passage Ethan reminds us that life happens in stages. In Judaism, we experience milestones like our b’nai mitzvah or religious school or summer camp. What rituals do nerd children have to look forward to? Listen if you want to learn how to best prepare for…

October 26, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 14 - The McFlys of Hillel Valley …with special guest Micah Hart We find a new Jewish connection as we are joined by the host of the Jewish geography game show, Who Knows One?, Micah Hart. Join as we explore the numerous timelines of the Back to the Future trilogy and how it connects p…

October 12, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 13: Dungeons & Discrimination? RDY dives into his background as a Dungeon Master for a D&D group of Rabbis and we look into an article on magical creatures that makes us question our perception of the world around us. 00:02:20 RDY has a few things to say 00:04:12 Our Cassandra problem…

September 28, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 12 - Choice Effect 3 Finally, our first video game based episode! Ethan shares his insights to one of the most controversial decisions from the last decade that was made in the virtual RPG world. Listen to the episode or not, the choice is entirely yours. Or at least maybe that’s wh…

September 14, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 11 - Movie Midrash: Iyov and Thunder We proudly present our second Movie Midrash episode! Join us as we review the recently released Thor: Love and Thunder, and discover which biblical character’s story has immense similarity to one of the main characters in this newest addition to …

August 31, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 10: It’s Daf Yomi, Mr. Frodo! …With Special Guest Miriam Anzovin We form a small fellowship as we are joined by writer, visual artist, and TikTok creator, Miriam Anzovin. Explore the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and many other nerd culture references. as we consider the forces of good and …

August 17, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 9 - Finding the Value of Why There are distinct similarities between the subject of Mathematics and the study of Judaism. We won’t ask you to come up to the chalkboard to prove it, but make sure you have your pocket protectors and TI-85 ready for today’s class…I mean episode. 00:00:38 …