The Frieda Vizel Podcast

Video link to this conversation: https://youtu.be/n8g9RwmGwF8

Dan is a Jewish interpreter who immigrated from the Soviet Union. He believes his Soviet past taught him important lessons about recognizing when society takes a wrong turn. He reached out to me to share his story, and I invited him for an in-depth interview. We discussed his Soviet upbringing, his life journey, and his experiences as a Jewish interpreter. Dan has thoughtful criticisms of contemporary human rights organizations (alongside genuine appreciation for their work) and feels it's important to share his unique perspective.

If you would like to get in touch with Dan, you can reach him here:
[email protected]

This video focuses specifically on our discussion about Dan's work as a Jewish interpreter. You can watch our complete interview here:
From a Soviet upbringing to Jewish identity | Dan’s story
https://youtu.be/Nmw9jZM2aYU

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/Nmw9jZM2aYU

The story of a Jew who grew up in the Soviet Union and learned little about his Judaism but some other hard lessons that would shape his life.

Dan is a high-level interpreter and a thoughtful, intelligent man. He reached out to me after noticing how different his experience as a Soviet Jew was from mine. I grew up deeply engaged with my Jewishness, while he grew up almost entirely disconnected from it. Our conversation convinced me that Dan's story needed to be documented and shared, so I invited him onto my podcast. What I heard was remarkable: the horrors his family endured, the gripping archival material he inherited documenting his grandparents' ordeals, and his unique perspective from working inside contemporary human rights organizations and other governmental bodies. Dan believes the progressive mission, which he sees as well-intentioned, is nonetheless misguided and heading toward dangerous territory. He also reflects candidly on the antisemitism he's encountered in his work as a translator in a world increasingly hostile to Israel.

If you would like to get in touch with Dan, you can write to him at: [email protected]
Want more on Soviet Jewry?

My interview with Anna Shternshis
https://youtu.be/hKN0_75EuqE
My interview with Igor Golyak
https://youtu.be/E5_n3p3Oto0
Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/4MPf67ftXME

Jacob Kornbluh is a Hasidic reporter covering the Mamdani beat at a moment when Zohran Mamdani has become a lightning rod in Jewish communities. For many, Mamdani represents fear, anger, political anxiety, and deep uncertainty about where New York is headed. And in the middle of that storm is Kornbluh.

Recently featured in The New York Times, Kornbluh occupies a complicated position. He reports on power while belonging to a community that often feels scrutinized by power. During COVID, some Hasidic critics accused him of “reporting on” the community to city officials. That tension hasn’t disappeared. If anything, it’s intensified.

I went into this interview not knowing what to expect. As a Hasidic man speaking with me, and about issues that feel raw and personal. This conversation surprised me and left me with an invite to travel across the world to a wedding. You never know!

You can follow Jacob Kornbluh here:
📰 Reporter at The Forward
https://forward.com/author/jacob-kornbluh/
🐦 Twitter / X
https://twitter.com/jacobkornbluh
🗞 His recent feature in The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/nyregion/jacob-kornbluh-mamdani-hasidic-jewish-reporter.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1A.Lkpv.51t0435BwIlj&smid=url-share

As always, I’m curious what you think. Please leave a comment!
Frieda.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Video link to this full Pearl repost: https://youtu.be/Uo5mf0_1izY

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

Link to video version of this conversation: https://youtu.be/2iPiYwftPyg

In this interview, I speak with Miriam Vidal about her childhood growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and her eventual decision to leave the faith.

As a Hasidic child growing up in Kiryas Joel, there was a strange building behind my house that we simply called “the church.” Every Saturday, rows of cars would pull up, and we kids would stand by the gate, watching and waving. Only years later, after I had left my own religious community, did I learn that this building was actually a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall.

Miriam was one of the people attending services there.

In this conversation, Miriam shares what it was like to grow up inside the Jehovah’s Witness community: the rules, the rhythms of daily life, the sense of belonging, and the limitations placed on childhood, education, and social life. We talk about her memories of the Kingdom Hall in Kiryas Joel, the wider culture of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and what it meant; emotionally and psychologicall... to leave such a structured religious world.

This interview is also about what comes after leaving: identity, belief, grief, freedom, and the slow work of figuring out who you are when the framework you grew up in falls away.
As someone deeply interested in religious subcultures, exit narratives, and the sociology of faith, this conversation felt especially meaningful.... almost like closing a loop that began when I was a child in my Shabbos dress, waving at strangers I didn’t yet understand.

Topics we cover include:

-Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness
-Family life, schooling, holidays, and missionizing
-The Kingdom Hall in Kiryas Joel and Miriam’s memories of it
-Community, ritual, and belonging
-Leaving a high-control religious environment
-The emotional and psychological impact of exiting
-Spiritual life and identity after leaving
-Reflections on religion, culture, and comparison with other faith communities

Want more?

Watch my video about the Jehovah's Witness Church in Kiryas Joel
https://youtu.be/naUJMITJ5sY

Watch my interview with Martha Ross, who left the Amish:
https://youtu.be/teadpfXWCO4

My own recounting of what it's like to grow up in Kiryas Joel
https://youtu.be/uHu_17N9GdE
The story of Anna Shternshis:
https://youtu.be/hKN0_75EuqE
Stay tuned for more stories of subcultures and religious groups.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.