Judaism Unbound

Andres Spokoiny, the President and CEO of Jewish Funders Network, joins Dan and Lex for a deep dive into questions of Jewish philanthropy. Spokoiny takes on big-picture questions like "what is Jewish…

Jay Eidelman joins Dan and Lex to explain his theory of "How Hanukkah Explains Everything." Through a comprehensive encapsulation of the historical events of Hanukkah and analysis of them, Eidelman s…

Dan and Lex are joined by guest co-host Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Rabbi-in-Residence and Director of Education at Be'chol Lashon, for a discussion about the future of Hanukkah in America. Starting wi…

Adam Chalom is the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism's Dean for North America and serves as rabbi of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He joins Dan an…

Dianne Ashton, Profession of Religion Studies at Rowan University and author of the book Hanukkah in America: A History, joins Dan and Lex to describe the evolution of Hanukkah over the course of Ame…

Burton Visotzky, the Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, joins Dan and Lex to discuss the topic of his recent book, Aphrodite and the Rabbis: …

How should the Jewish present and future relate to the Jewish past? Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and author of the book Shuva: The Future of the Jewish P…

Wrapping up our discussion of Jewish and "extra-Jewish" sensibilities, Dan and Lex begin an examination of which concrete elements of present-day Judaism will likely be retained in the next Jewish fu…

Craig Taubman, acclaimed Jewish musician and founder of Pico Union Project in Los Angeles, Zach Lasker, the organization's new Executive Director, and Jason Chu, its Chief Storytelling Officer, bring…

Jay Michaelson, legal affairs columnist for The Daily Beast, contributing editor to The Forward, and teacher of Buddhist and Jewish meditation, joins Dan and Lex for a wide-ranging discussion on cont…

Judaism Unbound co-host Dan Libenson visits TanakhCast, hosted by past Judaism Unbound guest Dan Mendelsohn Aviv. They dive deep into Yochi Brandes's recently released book, The Secret Book of Kings,…

Jonathan Woocher and Lee Moore of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah join Dan and Lex to kick off a series of episodes beginning to discuss the content of the Judaism of the future by int…

Is being "welcoming" and "inclusive" enough? Is pain a necessary prerequisite to the successful implementation of radical, new, Jewish ideas? Benay Lappe, the founder of SVARA: A Traditionally Radica…

UpStart Unbound is our first-ever collaborative podcast episode, recorded in front of a live studio audience in Silicon Valley. UpStart has been the premier accelerator of Jewish innovation over the …

Rabbi Joshua Lesser, of Bet Haverim (House of Friends), a Gay- and Lesbian-founded synagogue in Atlanta, joins Judaism Unbound for a discussion on being Jewish and Queer, reflecting on the history of…

Sandra Lawson, described in a recent article as "an African-American lesbian who converted to Judaism, eats vegan, and is now studying to be a rabbi at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College," join…

Professor Helen Kim and Associate Dean of Students Noah Leavitt (both of Whitman College) join Judaism Unbound for an episode on their book, entitled JewAsian. The book provides an in-depth explorati…

How can the methodology of an artist shape or re-shape Judaism in new ways? How can we begin to understand Judaism as a material of art in and of itself? In this final episode of Judaism Unbound's se…

Aliza Kline, Executive Director of OneTable and former Executive Director of Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh, joins Judaism Unbound for the third episode in a four-episode series on Juda…

How might Judaism, atheism, and art blend together into a deep exploration of the meaning of a key Jewish practice today? Celebrated comics artist and animator Nina Paley, creator of the highly regar…