How do you go from hatred to hope? + Arno Michaelis
The Days of Awe are upon us. They always hit me with a familiar, bracing urgency: Look at your life. Consider your words, your choices. Where have you failed? Whom have you harmed? What will it take to begin again?
If we’re honest, most of us spend these days trying to clean up the usual messes: the casual slight, the simmering resentment, the careless word that cut deeper than we knew. We rehearse our regrets, and we whisper our promises to do better.
But once in a while, a life comes along that reminds us just how radical, how shattering, how possible teshuvah (repentance) really is.
That life belongs to Arno Michaelis. Check out our podcast with him.
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The book every Jew should read before the High Holy Days
Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz on faith, identity, and resilience.
What happens when a White House insider turns her attention to Jewish wisdom, identity, and survival in a turbulent age? Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with Sarah Hurwitz—former speechwriter for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and author of Here All Along and As a Jew—for a conversation that is sharp, soulful, and deeply relevant. Together they explore the challenges of antisemitism on campus, the tug-of-war over Israel, and why “cultural Judaism” isn’t enough. Hurwitz makes the case for reclaiming Jewish identity on our own terms—with humor, honesty, and hope.
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The Scopes "monkey" trial has not adjourned
What if everything you think you know about the Scopes “Monkey Trial” is—well, a little off? Jeff Salkin sits down with Doug Mishkin—lawyer, singer-songwriter, and amateur Scopes trial historian—for a deep dive into Inherit the Wind, the 1960 Hollywood classic that shaped generations of assumptions about religion and science.
They explore what the film gets right, what it gets deeply wrong, and what the real Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and John Scopes might say about today’s culture wars. From evolution to eugenics, liberalism to scripture, this episode reveals how a century-old trial still echoes in debates over education, parental rights, and who gets to define truth.
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'Have you changed your mind about President Trump?'
The late Arthur Hertzberg was one of American Judaism’s greatest rabbis and intellectual leaders.
But he did not start out that way.
More than 70 years ago, he was a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. One of his teachers was Mordecai Kaplan, one of American Judaism’s most seminal thinkers and rabbis, and the founder of the Reconstructionist movement.
The day came for young Arthur to deliver a trial sermon before the student body and the faculty. Afterward, Rabbi Kaplan lambasted Arthur for the ideas that he had presented.
“But, Rabbi Kaplan,” Arthur said. “You, yourself, said those things just a few days ago.”
To which Rabbi Kaplan responded: “Ah, yes. But, Arthur, I have changed since then.”
Let's talk about what it means to change one's mind — even ever so slightly.
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Why Southern Judaism Matters - with Shari Rabin
As we mark Jewish Heritage Month, how do we embrace the heritage of Southern Jews?
Ask Shari Rabin, one of the rising stars of Jewish studies in America. She is associate professor of Jewish studies, religion, and history and chair of Jewish studies at Oberlin College. This "born-in-Milwaukee-moved-to-Atlanta-after-her-bat-mitzvah" woman has just written a new book -- "The Jewish South: An American History." I could not put it down, and you will love our conversation.
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For those who want to be shaken and stirred.
Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.
Ireland