Best Josh Arno Podcasts (2025)

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Antisemitism Is as American as Apple Pie + Pamela Nadell 48:14

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8d ago48:14

48:14

Historian Pamela Nadell joins us to confront an unsettling truth: antisemitism didn’t come to America—it was born here. In her powerful new book, Antisemitism: An American Tradition, Nadell traces how hatred of Jews took root in the New World, evolved with the nation itself, and continues to shape our politics, culture, and conscience. Learn more a…

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How do you go from hatred to hope? + Arno Michaelis 47:08

2M ago47:08

47:08

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 care…

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The book every Jew should read before the High Holy Days 50:17

2M ago50:17

50:17

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…

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The Scopes "monkey" trial has not adjourned 55:03

4M ago55:03

55:03

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 …

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'Have you changed your mind about President Trump?' 12:52

5M ago12:52

12:52

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 o…

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Why Southern Judaism Matters - with Shari Rabin 51:34

6M ago51:34

51:34

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 w…

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When Did October 7 Really Begin? A Conversation With Yardena Schwartz 57:09

7M ago57:09

57:09

Trigger warning: this episode contains references to sexual violence. October 7 reminds Jews of what happened in Hebron on August 24, 1929. In her book "Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict," Yardena writes: On that morning, 3,000 Muslim men armed with swords, axes, and daggers marched through …

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Why Pope Francis mattered for the Jews 52:19

7M ago52:19

52:19

Why does the death of the Pope touch me, as a Jew? I cannot think of a Pope who had the depth of relationships with the Jewish community as this Pope had enjoyed. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he had a close working relationship with the Argentinian Jewish community. His response to the 1994 bombing of the AMIA center in Buenos Aires -- until …

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The cafeteria approach to religion isn't only for Catholics 51:42

8M ago51:42

51:42

I was talking with a Roman Catholic-raised friend who no longer practices the religion of his youth. At a certain point in the conversation, he snorted about "cafeteria Catholics," which sardonically describes those who adhere to parts of Catholic teachings or practice certain rituals, but dissent from others. It made me realize I am a "cafeteria J…

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Vanessa Hidary is a "bad Jew." That's OK with her. 52:03

8M ago52:03

52:03

My friend, Vanessa Hidary. Vanessa Hidary is a cool person. She is a spoken word artist, an educator, and an advocate. She is a trail-blazer. Her work has had a profound impact on both the Jewish community and beyond. Recently, the ADL honored her as a "Hero Against Hate." Vanessa embodies the bravery of Queen Esther, the pride of Mordecai, and a l…

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Do Jews have dual loyalty? 58:21

9M ago58:21

58:21

What do Batman and Superman have to do with Jewish identity? Other than the fact that their creators were Jews: Batman by Bob Kane, and Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster? It is more than that. It is about having multiple identities. About a decade ago, I interviewed for a rabbinical position. A past president of the synagogue asked: "Rabbi, …

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When are we allowed to yell at God? 50:43

10M ago50:43

50:43

"If God lived in our neighborhood, we'd throw stones through His [sic] windows." I do not know who originally said that, though I think that the original was in Yiddish. But, it's true. And, if you were to ask me whether Jewish worship has a "design flaw," I would say that this is it: almost nowhere in our services do we get to yell at God, and to …

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Bishop Budde was speaking Hebrew 13:17

10M ago13:17

13:17

Remember the 10th commandment? "Thou shalt not covet"? This past week, many preachers violated that commandment. They were coveting the sermon Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered at the National Cathedral during a service the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, in which she pleaded with Trump to show mercy to the most vulnerable among…

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Amy Spitalnick: How Dangerous is Christian Nationalism? 49:38

10M ago49:38

49:38

It happened exactly four years ago. I am speaking of January 6, 2021 -- the attack on the US Capitol Building by supporters of Donald Trump – claiming that President Biden had stolen the election. It was, to quote Bill Kristol, our national day of shame. It was, to borrow FDR’s iconic phrase, a day that will live in infamy. There were many things t…

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Remembering David Ellenson 54:42

11M ago54:42

54:42

Last week, we observed the first yahrzeit (anniversary of a death) of Dr. David Ellenson -- past president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, past provost of that institution, a professor at that institution for a generation – a teacher, a theologian, a historian of Jewish ideas, a world class thinker. Someone said that “David wa…

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Are Jews God-phobic? With Arnold Eisen 51:39

11M ago51:39

51:39

If you encounter someone who wants to talk about God, odds are that person isn't Jewish. Why? I am talking to a friend of mine about his experience on various dating sites. He tells me that from time to time, he will come across a profile that seems promising. And then, right there in the first paragraph, the woman will write: “Must love God.” As h…

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The Election and the Jews 48:44

12M ago48:44

48:44

Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with Rabbi Jonah Pesner, one of American Judaism's most prominent voices and the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Together, they dive into the deeply rooted relationship between Judaism, politics, and social justice, exploring why so many Jews align with liberal causes while maintaining a vibran…

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Remembering the late Alex Dancyg, a hostage from Warsaw 9:30

1y ago9:30

9:30

On Tuesday, July 16, I and a group of rabbis traveled south from Jerusalem — to the Gaza envelope. There, we visited the places that Hamas had ravaged on Oct. 7, 2023. We visited the site of the Nova music festival, where we said kaddish for the young victims. We visited Kibbutz Nir Oz. We walked through the rubble of the burnt houses, the burnt ki…

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A Reform Jewish woman and an Orthodox rabbi talk Torah: Abigail Pogrebin & Rabbi Dov Linzer 51:22

1y ago51:22

51:22

Two of my favorite people — Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer — who have just written a new book, "It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses," with a foreword by Mayim Bialik. This is a book about each Torah portion, as read through their lenses, and is a series o…

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It's More Than L'chaim: Judaism Is a Celebration of Life. With Rabbi Irving Greenberg 50:54

1y ago50:54

50:54

First, this modern Orthodox rabbi was one of the first rabbis to really touch my life and to engage me in what my Protestant colleagues would call “formation.” Rabbi Yitz Greenberg was a congregational rabbi in Riverdale, NY; the founder of the Jewish studies program at City College of New York; the creator of CLAL, the Center for Learning and Lead…

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When the reverend became a rabbi 11:49

1+ y ago11:49

11:49

We need to take the spiritual journey of Ana Levy-Lyons with the gravity it deserves. Truth be told: There is a shortage of rabbinical students. Jews need rabbis. Levy-Lyons obviously has the human, intellectual and spiritual skills for it. I look forward to welcoming her as a Jew, and certainly as a colleague. But there is far more to this story t…

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A new Jewish denomination: Josh Shapiro-ism 11:28

1+ y ago11:28

11:28

Jews have been living on an emotional roller coaster. In recent weeks, we experienced a welcome "high." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was under serious consideration for vice president on the Democratic ticket. Then, in recent days, for many Jews, a "low" when Josh Shapiro was passed over in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Jews have a right to b…

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Could the White House become a Jewish home? 10:59

1+ y ago10:59

10:59

More than forty years ago, as I prepared to ascend the pulpit for my first High Holy Days sermon as a rabbi, one of the elders of my congregation, dear old Arthur Leibowitz, pulled me aside. “Rabbi,” he said to me, “Preach the Dickens at ’em.” I said to him: “OK, Arthur. Just please don’t have any great expectations.” American Jews already know, in…

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The 39th-Generation Rabbi Who Is Reinventing Judaism: Amichai Lau Lavie 52:01

1+ y ago52:01

52:01

“I am running away to join the circus.” It was 2004, and my synagogue in Atlanta had welcomed Amichai Lau-Lavie as a guest speaker. Amichai had been the founder of Storahtellers, a ritual theater company, which was an innovative approach to presenting Torah in synagogue. He had come to our congregation along with what could only be described as a m…

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Is the Eclipse Good For the Jews? 11:08

1+ y ago11:08

11:08

I am experiencing serious FOMO. I am totally bummed that I am going to be out of the range on Monday to watch the solar eclipse. So, let's talk about Judaism and eclipses. Are there eclipses in the Bible? Most likely. It is possible that the plague of darkness during the Exodus from Egypt was a total eclipse of the sun. Likewise, when the sun stood…

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God loves you. Deal with it. 52:13

1+ y ago52:13

52:13

What are the three little words that rabbis almost never, ever, say to their congregations. Hold on, because I am about to say them. God loves you. That is the topic of Rabbi Shai Held's new book, "Judaism Is About Love,"` which is also the topic of today's "Martini Judaism" podcast. Wait a second, you are saying. Isn't this supposed to be Martini …

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A new poetry, post-Oct. 7 51:36

1+ y ago51:36

51:36

A very intelligent young person once asked me: “When did the Bible stop?” “What do you mean?” I responded. “I mean,” she said, “when did they decide that the Bible was finished? Why can’t we simply add on to it? Why can’t it be like a loose-leaf notebook, where you put things in and take them out whenever you need to?” I admit I had found that ques…

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We need a post-October 7 Talmud: a conversation with Liel Leibovitz 44:33

1+ y ago44:33

44:33

It is November 10, 1938. It’s in a small city in Germany. It is the night after Kristalnacht, the night of broken glass that ushered in the mass roundups and the killings that would become the Holocaust, what we call the Shoah in Hebrew. There are a group of men shoved together in a cell. They are all of different ages. One of them turns to a much …

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Converts are Jewish. Period. 12:21

2y ago12:21

12:21

The other day, I was talking to someone about a friend of mine who had converted to Judaism, a.k.a., joined the Jewish people. My conversation partner stopped me in my tracks. "I don't believe in that," he said. "You can't convert to Judaism. You can't just join the Jewish people. You either are Jewish, or you are not. What — you take a class, and …

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Is the university good for the Jews? With Mark Oppenheimer 50:02

2y ago50:02

50:02

Did you ever think, in your wildest imagination, that the events of October 7 would lead to an all out culture war that would involve every sector of American intellectual and academic life? Me neither. And yet, here we are -- with the result that many American Jews are now questioning the role of the university in their lives, and in the life of t…

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Are American Jews in crisis? A conversation with Professor Jonathan Sarna 49:27

2y ago49:27

49:27

“Don’t know much about history…” Those were the immortal words of Sam Cooke. It happens to be true. Many of us don’t know much about history. Just think of the way that we use the word. Someone gets fired from a job, and what do we say? “She’s history.” But, I love history, especially American Jewish history. No one has nourished that love of histo…

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Why Israel matters: A conversation about the National Library of Israel with Rachel Ukeles 43:31

2y ago43:31

43:31

No one ever asks, "Why should India exist?" Or Albania. Or the United States. Or any country in the world. Except for one country: Israel. So, let me make this simple — and overly simplistic. Why does Israel exist? Here are my two R's of Israel. To rescue Jews who are persecuted. To save Jews from Jew-hatred. That was the wake-up call that Viennese…

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A Jewish rock star reflects on Oct. 7 + Peter Himmelman 55:00

2y ago55:00

55:00

Do you know what it’s like to fall in love? I don’t mean falling in love with a romantic partner. I am talking about the moment of falling in love with a performer — because you know that person gets it and gets you and understands you. That is what happened to me back in 1991, when a friend of mine played me an album called “From Strength to Stren…

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What's your story? A new podcast reveals the depth of the Jewish narrative 38:48

2y ago38:48

38:48

I first encountered Nora Gold when I read her amazing novel, Fields of Exile, which is about the anti-Israel ideologies that are now sweeping across the academic world – in her case, with a unique focus on what is happening in Canada. It is about antisemitism on the college campus. That book was enough to make me a total fan. Today, we are talking …

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What do we do now? Coping with the challenges of being Jewish today with David Hazony 50:49

2y ago50:49

50:49

What do we do now? Many Jews, all over the world, are asking themselves that question during these difficult weeks. Israelis are asking: What do we do now – to rebuild our land, our towns, our kibbutzim, our broken lives? What does it mean to maintain hope in the Jewish future? A new book -- "Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future o…

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We need to talk about antisemitism. A lot. With Rabbi Diana Fersko 43:01

2y ago43:01

43:01

A blood libel. That was the first thing that went through my mind when I heard about the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which claimed the lives of between 200 and 300 people. Palestinians, much of the Arab world, and various organizations immediately blamed Israel. There is now ample evidence, accepted by the United States, that t…

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How the _____ did this happen? Israel, Hamas, the Bible, trauma, and a podcast with Prof. Jacob Wright 41:15

2y ago41:15

41:15

I can't. I just can't. At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, they have found the bodies of some 40 babies, some of whom had been beheaded. This past week has been the most difficult week in the history of the Jewish people since the end of the Shoah/Holocaust in 1945. There is a word for what happened, and it is not an “attack.” It is a pogrom, and it makes the mos…

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Why social justice in Israel cannot wait: a conversation with Orly Erez-Likhovski 54:07

2y ago54:07

54:07

"Embarrassed." "Ashamed." "Confused." "Ambivalent." "Frightened." Last week, I sat with a group of Jews in a synagogue. It was an adult education session, and I had asked them to complete the following sentence: “When I think of Israel, I am…” Those were the reactions – what goes through their minds as they think about Israel, and what goes through…

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Five people in a submersible? OMG. Five hundred refugees? Meh. 10:59

2+ y ago10:59

10:59

The word is "postmortem," and it fits. For that is what the media has been conducting in the wake of the catastrophe that befell the Titan in the North Atlantic with the tragic loss of five lives. And yet, almost immediately, there was an outcry. In the words of The New York Times: On one vessel, five people died on a very expensive excursion that …

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Is Your Career Over? with Bruce Feiler 56:42

2+ y ago56:42

56:42

This conversation with author Bruce Feiler could not have happened at a more opportune time. I am in the process of retiring from the full time congregational rabbinate. I am in the process of finishing up a pulpit career that lasted more than forty years. Over the last few weeks I have found myself repeating the words of my rabbi. Peggy Lee, who s…

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Why We Have Trouble Praying • with Art Green 52:49

2+ y ago52:49

52:49

“So, Rabbi, in your more than forty years in the rabbinate, what are those things that surprised you – those things that you never expected, or that you once expected that didn’t actually come to pass?” There would be a long list, but here is the one that moves me in particular. Forty years ago, we never would have expected that so many Jews would …

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You’re More Resilient Than You Think • Rabbi Denise Eger & Rev. Dr. Neil G. Thomas 58:39

2+ y ago58:39

58:39

If we held a moment of silence for every American who died of COVID it would take nearly two years at a rate of 24 hours a day to cover every name. More than 6.6 million people worldwide and counting have died of COVID -- including more than a million Americans. These are all people who loved and were loved. This is an extraordinary and grim statis…

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Why can't Israel be better? 12:46

2+ y ago12:46

12:46

"That's it!" my friend told me over coffee. "I am so done with Israel! The corruption, the situation with the Palestinians, the racists in the government...How can you still support them? How can you even want to go there this summer?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Religion News Service

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What Governor DeSantis needs to learn about the Holocaust and the Bible 12:09

2+ y ago12:09

12:09

I started my rabbinical career 42 years ago, when I served as an assistant rabbi at a large, urban synagogue in Miami, Florida. Those were interesting and challenging times. I arrived in the wake of the Mariel boat lift. I experienced the plight of the Haitian refugees. Those were the days of "Miami Vice," and I was living that television show. In …

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Should the Tree of Life shooter get the death penalty? • Marshall Dayan 45:06

2+ y ago45:06

45:06

It was the fifteen worst minutes in American Jewish history. It happened on October 27, 2018. It was a Shabbat morning. A gunman, Robert Bowers, entered the Tree of Life -Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – in the heart of the historically Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Bowers opened fire on the worshipers, and by the time hi…

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Happy 95th birthday, Cynthia Ozick! 10:35

2+ y ago10:35

10:35

Bernard Malamud. Saul Bellow. Philip Roth. Joseph Heller. Herman Wouk. J.D. Salinger. Norman Mailer. E.L. Doctorow. Chaim Potok. Leon Uris. That is a partial list of American Jewish writers of the recent past -- all of them lions of literature, and all of them now dead. There is one woman who belongs on that list, and she is the only one left of th…

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What Israel restored to the Jewish people 14:16

2+ y ago14:16

14:16

So, this really happened. Some years ago, my young cousin was on a United Synagogue Youth trip to Israel. While she was there, the group went north to tour the grottoes at Rosh HaNikra. Alas, while taking photographs, she dropped her camera into the water. She called her mother, heartbroken, and they both concluded the camera was irretrievably lost…

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Is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' a Jewish story? 10:45

2+ y ago10:45

10:45

It is time to play movie trivia. According to the American Film Institute, who is the greatest hero to ever appear in a movie? Indiana Jones? Rocky Balboa? Um, Gandhi? The answer: Atticus Finch, in "To Kill a Mockingbird" — played by Gregory Peck in the 1962 classic film adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega…

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Why I am saying kaddish for Al Jaffee of Mad magazine 9:38

2+ y ago9:38

9:38

Mad magazine was the haggadah of my childhood. It was my sacred text, my script and my constant companion — so much so that I cannot imagine my childhood and early adolescence without it. That is why these past few days have been sad for me, and for so many others. Al Jaffee, perhaps the last of the creators of Mad, has died at the biblical age of …

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When Israelis protest, it is music to my ears •Yossi Klein Halevi 52:39

2+ y ago52:39

52:39

I have been watching what has been unfolding in the state of Israel – the 5 percent (and growing) of the Israeli population that has taken to the streets of the Jewish state. They are protesting the proposed changes that would radically diminish the power of the judiciary, thus threatening the only thing that Israel has that represents a true balan…