Ask a Jew

Ask a Jew
Ask a Jew

Yael Bar tur, secular sinner, and Chaya Leah Sufrin, pious Haredi, ask each other the hard questions, from Torah to Tinder askajew.substack.com

  1. Wait Wait...Tell Me Everything!

    JUN 5

    Wait Wait...Tell Me Everything!

    Uri Berliner was a senior business editor at NPR for 25 years, when he decided to set his tote bag on fire and spill the tea. We talk to him about his bombshell essay, How NPR Lost America, NPR’s coverage of Israel, viewpoint diversity, journalism, podcasts and much more. It seems like every time we publish an episode, we add a line that says “we recorded this before that terrible thing that happened”. So we recorded this one after the horrific murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in DC, but before the Boulder terrorism attack. The sentiment is always the same, the grief and anger just get even stronger. If you want to talk, our Substack chat and comment sections are open. Askajew.substack.com Note: The thing that happens when you know the media is wrong about one thing and believe them on another is apparently called the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect: "Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know." – Michael Crichton (1942-2008) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 7m
  2. MAY 23

    The Book of Jonah... Platt

    Today is a heartbreaking and terrifying day for Jews in America—and for anyone who cherishes the values of decency, freedom, and civilization itself.The cold-blooded murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim last night in Washington, D.C., has shattered any illusion that the hate-filled rhetoric we’ve been hearing was just talk. It wasn’t. For those of us who have been warning that this kind of incitement would spill into violence, this is our worst nightmare come true. And yet we still hear people whispering, some quite loudly, that the Zionists had it coming. This was not random. This was the deadly consequence of a climate that has normalized antisemitism under the guise of politics. Some people think violent antisemitism is the result of the the war in Gaza. We know it's the other way around - the war in Gaza is the result of violent antisemitism. In this episode, which we recorded a few days ago before these horrific events, we sat down with Jonah Platt—actor, podcast host, and passionate Jewish advocate—to talk about Judaism, Israel, generational disconnects, and what it means to be a vocal Jew in today’s climate. Check out his excellent podcast, Being Jewish with Jonah Platt. We cover the following topics: * From Hollywood to Jewish Advocacy * The Role of Family in Jewish Identity * What’s Going Wrong with Jewish Education? * Jewish Students and the New Face of Antisemitism * Chabad, Cheese Plates & Jewish Hospitality * Why Aren’t More Jews in Hollywood Speaking Up? * Fighting Disinformation & Misguided “Allies” In the end, Jonah reminds us: don’t wait for celebrities to save us. We are done staying silent about this, and hope you can join us. Don't worry about being on the right side of your favorite Instagram influencer, worry about being on the right side of humanity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
4.9
out of 5
231 Ratings

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Yael Bar tur, secular sinner, and Chaya Leah Sufrin, pious Haredi, ask each other the hard questions, from Torah to Tinder askajew.substack.com

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