The Jewish Lives Podcast
The Jewish Lives Podcast is a monthly show that explores the lives of influential Jewish figures. Hosted by Alessandra Wollner, each episode includes an interview with an acclaimed Jewish Lives author. Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of biography published by Yale University Press and the Leon D. Black Foundation. Join us as we explore the Jewish experience together.
Episodes
Franz Boas (1858–1942) is widely acknowledged for his pioneering work in the field of cultural anthropology.
Join us with Noga Arikha, author of the new biography Franz Boas: In Praise of Open Minds, as we explore how urgently relevant his voice and legacy have become again today.
Join our mailing list to learn more:
https://www.jewishlives.org/subscribe
Join us with Anthony Julius, author of the new biography Abraham: The First Jew, as we explore the origins of a fundamental struggle within Judaism between skepticism and faith, critique and affirmation, thinking for oneself and thinking under the direction of another.
Louis B. Mayer (1884–1957) and Irving Thalberg (1899–1936) were unlikely partners in one of the most significant collaborations in movie history.
Join us with film critic Kenneth Turan, author of the new biography Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation, as we explore their extraordinary partnership and role in creating the film industry as we know it.
In this episode, acclaimed author Ruth Franklin explores the transformation of Anne Frank (1929–1945) from ordinary teenager to icon, shedding new light on the young woman whose diary of her years in hiding is the most widely read work of literature to arise from the Holocaust.
With antisemitism once again on the rise, Franklin’s The Many Lives of Anne Frank takes a fresh and timely look at the debates around Anne Frank’s life and ...
Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657) was among the most accomplished and cosmopolitan rabbis of his time, and a pivotal intellectual figure in early modern Jewish history.
Join us with Professor Steven Nadler, author of Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi of Amsterdam, as we explore Menasseh ben Israel’s role leading one of the most vital Jewish communities of early modern Europe.
A powerful hero of the Bible, Jacob is also one of its most complex figures.
Join us with Israel Prize winner Professor Yair Zakovitch, author of Jacob: Unexpected Patriarch, as we explore the many layers of the life of the patriarch—Jacob’s wanderings, revelations, disgraces, disappointments, and ultimate success.
Episode 59: MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) was the seventh and last rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, one of the world’s best-known Hasidic groups.
Join us with Ezra Glinter, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Menachem Mendel Schneerson: Becoming the Messiah, as we explore the life and thought of one of the most influential—and controversial—rabbis in modern Judaism.
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was one of America’s most provocative writers of the 20th century. Her best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged have influenced three generations of Americans.
Join us with Alexandra Popoff, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success, as we explore Rand’s defense of
American capitalism, individualism, and creativity.
Music in this episode:
George Gershwin - "Rhaps...
The “German Socrates,” Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) was the most influential Jewish thinker of the 18th and 19th centuries. A Berlin celebrity and a major figure in the Enlightenment, Mendelssohn suffered the indignities common to Jews of his time while formulating the philosophical foundations of a modern Judaism suited for a new age.
Join us with Bar Ilan scholar Shmuel Feiner, author of Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity, as w...
Léon Blum (1872–1950), France’s prime minister three times, socialist activist, and courageous opponent of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime, profoundly altered French society.
Join us with one of France’s most eminent political sociologists Pierre Birnbaum, author of Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist, as we explore the extraordinary life and legacy of the first Jewish prime minister of France.
Other historical figures mentioned ...
Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a phenomenally energetic ruler who took advantage of the chaos of the Roman revolution to establish himself as a major figure in a changing Roman world and transform the landscape of Judaea.
Join us with Oxford University scholar Martin Goodman, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Herod The Great: Jewish King in a Roman World, as we explore the political triumphs and domestic tragedies of the Jewi...
Get ready for Passover with Jewish Lives. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue and Professor Daniel Matt, author of Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation, explore the life and legacy of the prophet Elijah, one of the most popular figures in Jewish folklore.
This episode comes from the Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast.
Henrietta Szold (1860–1945) is renowned as the founder of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, which quickly became one of the most successful of all Zionist groups.
Join us with award-winning author Francine Klagsbrun, author of the new biography Henrietta Szold: Hadassah and the Zionist Dream, as we explore the life of an extraordinary woman whose impact resonates to this day.
On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus’s cries of innocence were drowned out by a mob shouting “Death to Judas!”
As global antisemitism rises, join us with Yale scholar Maurice Samuels, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair, as we explore a story that is more important than ever.
Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza (1632–1677) was a radical free thinker who led a life guided by strong moral principles despite his disbelief in an all-seeing God.
Join us with award-winning writer Ian Buruma, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Spinoza: Freedom’s Messiah, as we explore the life and legacy of the enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time.
Born in the Land of Israel around the year 50 C.E., Rabbi Akiva was the greatest rabbi of his time and one of the most important influences on Judaism as we know it today.
Join us with Professor Barry W. Holtz, author of Rabbi Akiva: Sage of the Talmud, as we explore the life and teachings of one of the most beloved heroes of Jewish history.
Amos Oz (1939–2018) was one of Israel’s most prolific and prominent writers, as well as a regular contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was the author of dozens of novels, essay collections, and novellas written between 1965 and shortly before his death.
Join us with celebrated scholar Robert Alter, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Amos Oz: Writer, Activist, Icon, as we explore the life and work of the legendary w...
Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho, was celebrated for his slapstick portrayals, ingenious wordplay, and double entendre.
Join us with Lee Siegel, author of Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence, as we explore the life of the beloved American iconoclast through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television.
The feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921–2006), pathbreaking author of The Feminine Mystique, was powerful and polarizing.
Join us with Rachel Shteir, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter, as we explore the life of the author and activist acclaimed as the mother of second-wave feminism.
Gershom Scholem (1897–1982) was one of the most influential figures in the field of Jewish Studies.
Join us with historian David Biale, author of the Jewish Lives biography Gershom Scholem: Master of the Kabbalah, as we examine the life of the thinker who pioneered the study of Jewish mysticism and profoundly influenced the Zionist movement.
Popular Podcasts
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Charlie is America's hardest working grassroots activist who has your inside scoop on the biggest news of the day and what's really going on behind the headlines. The founder of Turning Point USA and one of social media's most engaged personalities, Charlie is on the front lines of America’s culture war, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of students on over 3,500 college and high school campuses across the country, bringing you your daily dose of clarity in a sea of chaos all from his signature no-holds-barred, unapologetically conservative, freedom-loving point of view. You can also watch Charlie Kirk on Salem News Channel