30 JUN 2024 · Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/311WBTY7mrs Tuvia Tenonbom is a character! He grew up in the Haredi enclave of Bnei Brak, which I've introduced you to in another video. He left the fold in his early twenties and became a bestselling author and journalist in Germany - with oft-hilarious, oft-controversial views. During covid, he was sent on an assignment to the insular Haredi enclaves of Israel, to the world of his childhood, to write about the experience. He was warned by many people that he'd be kicked out as soon as he arrived. But what happened left him surprised, humored, and a little bit in love with the Haredi world. The result of Tuvia's time in Bnei Brak is a book and a documentary, both of which I've experienced. The book is titled 'Careful, Beauties Ahead', and the documentary, which I saw at a small theater in Manhattan, is titled 'God Speaks Yiddish'. I don't believe you can watch the documentary anywhere except during limited screenings in various places, but you can get his book! 👉 Tuvia's book titled 'Careful, Beauties Ahead / My Year with the Ultra-Orthodox': https://a.co/d/015wC8l2 👉 Tuvia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuviatenenbom/ ✅Other Tuvia works: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ATuvia+Tenenbom&s=relevancerank&text=Tuvia+Tenenbom&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 \ 🔥📷Tour of Bnei Brak: https://youtu.be/f6cnYL94PSY?si=hzOSx4fBlcWpLDdO

16 JUN 2024 · Video interview: https://youtu.be/2saQ0LEwZXQ Gita Katz is a larger-than-life character. I got to know her through Pearl, the famous Hasidic woman whom I have had the honor of having on this program before. In this interview, she shares what it was like to grow up in Hasidic Williamsburg in the shadow of the Holocaust.

2 JUN 2024 · For the video version of this segment, click here: https://youtu.be/jiE9cTn6Yi0 Riki Rose grew up in Hasidic Williamsburg, in a very conservative family. From when she was young, she had that star celebrity quality to her. But as a woman, her ability to fully express her talents was significantly limited by the religious laws on Kol Isha, which prohibits women from performing to male audiences. Still, Riki's life has been full of joys, good humor, and great moments to shine. In this long-form interview, I talk to Riki about her amazing life story. And as a wonderful bonus, we even hear her sing some songs! 💌Please support Riki in the production of her first album by contributing to her fundraising efforts: https://thechesedfund.com/rikirose/the-riki-rose-album ✅And check her out on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/riki_rose ✅You can find a bonus video of Riki's music as a Hasidic teenager here: https://youtu.be/1eBVPsFmZy4 Timestamps for songs: 1. Yomtov Ehrlich's Song 'FRUNZER ESHALON' 15:08-18:07 English translation for the song: https://www.dinastorch.com/songtitle/frunzer-eshalon 2. Cantorial music: 45:23-48:35 3. Riki's original song "Woman": 1:32:15-1:35:40

8 MAY 2024 · Video version of this segment: https://youtu.be/tq8y3KkAWTk As many of you know, my first language is Yiddish. It is the language of the Satmar Hasidic community I come from. The story of why I grew up speaking Yiddish, and not Hebrew, is intimately tied to the story of the birth of Israel, Zionism and Jewish language. And so, today I want to delve into the history of how two Jewish languages came to represent contrasting Jewish ideologies.  I was inspired to do this segment after visiting the wonderful YIVO exhibit in Manhattan titled: 'PALESTINIAN YIDDISH: A LOOK AT YIDDISH IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL BEFORE 1948' Link: https://cjh.org/visit/exhibit-info/palestinian-yiddish Address: 15 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011 About my guest Eddy Portnoy, the curator of the exhibition: Eddy Portnoy is an expert on Jewish popular culture. Portnoy earned an MA in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University and a PhD in Jewish History from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He currently holds the position of Senior Researcher and Exhibition Curator at YIVO. You can follow Eddy on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/eddyportnoy You can see his book Bad Rabbi on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/cLuRcup

6 APR 2024 · For the video version of this discussion, see here: https://youtu.be/S2LMqtNjg6c The Hasidic community has been the subject of great, lurid fascination. People love to hear the stories of its unusual customs and darker sides. I see this fascination as part of a larger fascination with subcultures and cults. For instance, Youtube is full of channels that tell ex-Hasidic, ex-Mormon, ex-Amish and ex-Cult stories and these videos draw hundreds of thousands of views.  Guinevere Turner grew up in a cult. In the Lyman Family cult. What's unique about her is that she doesn't give the audience the lurid story they want. She also has written about how cults are talked about in the larger society. Her essay in the New Yorker, 'https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/06/my-childhood-in-a-cult, influenced my own writing, https://friedavizel.com/2020/01/29/is-the-hasidic-community-a-cult/?' In this episode, Guinevere joins me to discuss our experiences as women with life stories that draw so much fascination. We talk about why we think the world wants our stories, and why we might not want to give them up. We discuss the Lyman family cult and other groups that are perhaps communes, perhaps cults. A discussion that touches the tip of the iceberg!

17 MAR 2024 · Video version of this segment here: https://youtu.be/_H1hjrS2MLo A chained wife is a woman who is chained to a man in marriage, even after the relationship ends. This can happen in Jewish marriages when one partner refuses to give or accept the Get, the religious divorce. Malky is a Hasidic woman in Kiryas Joel who has been a chained wife for 4 years. In recent weeks the activist Flatbush Girl has spearheaded a campaign to pressure Malky’s husband to give a Get, by protesting in the strict and insular village of Kiryas Joel, by entering synagogues, and most controversially, by calling for a sex strike.  In this segment, I talk to Keshet Starr, the CEO of the organization ORA, or Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. We talk about how the problem of chained wives comes to happen, how these problems are unique in insular communities, how it impacts the children, the types of pressures that are applied, and more. Some links related to this segment: ORA’s website: https://www.getora.org ORA’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oraagunot/ Keshet Starr’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keshetstarr/ Flatbush Girl (Adina Miles)’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flatbushgirl/ Thanks for watching!

10 MAR 2024 · Link to video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/8oVcC5z24c4 The Satmar Rabbi is one of Hasidic Jewry's great figures, yet his legacy is mired in deep controversy. He is credited with much of the revival of Hungarian Hasidism post-holocaust. Still, his anti-zionism draws deep criticism, especially since he was rescued during the holocaust by the Kastner train, a special rescue train that was negotiated by the zionists. In this episode, I bring you a conversation with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz on the life and controversies of the Satmar Rabbi. Rabbi Katz was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and attended Satmar Hasidic Yeshivas. He now is a renowned Rabbi outside of the community. He has a lively presence on Facebook where you can read his writing and thoughts at: https://www.facebook.com/ysoscher

7 MAR 2024 · For the video version, see here: https://youtu.be/ywWcEMPALlM You might have heard that in Judaism, there are Hasidic sects. What do we mean by sects? What are the sects, and what’s the difference among them? In this segment, we’ll do a brief introduction to what Hasidic sects are. Please feel free to leave a comment with your questions! The book referenced in this video is ‘Hasidism, A New History’

25 FEB 2024 · A candid vlog with my thoughts on appropriate dress in Hasidic Williamsburg. Discussing tourist dress, the model Marisa Papen who walked through Williamsburg without any clothes, and my own choice to wear pants as an ex-Satmar woman. Video version: https://youtu.be/bE4mSWJzk3I

8 FEB 2024 · Youtube video link: https://youtu.be/2BmWbcCMW3M?si=B3yDwGD7exBuY4fc In many of my videos, I've explored how Hasidic Jews live in the 21st century. *But what happens to those for whom this way of life doesn't work?* Some, like myself, leave. But not everyone who has doubts or different beliefs leaves. Some stay. And in this interview, I explore the stories of what we'll call here "the double lifers". The people who stay, despite rejecting the Orthodox Jewish core theological tenets. Why do they stay? What's it like to live a double life? What are the moral quandaries of leaving or living a double life? Is it moral to have an affair after an arranged marriage? My wonderful guest delves into so many fascinating topics. Ayala Fader is Professor of Anthropology at Fordham University. She is the author of the book 'Hidden Heretics, Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age', which tells the stories of a group of hidden heretics, how they lost faith and how they navigated life in the community in their new ways of understanding the world. The book also explores the impact of the internet on Hasidic Judaism, a topic which as the viewers of this channel will know, has fascinated me greatly and been the subject of several of my videos, including my https://youtu.be/SQ-oaSPueTk?si=51djJQWzoWJi9nPC on how an insular society deals with the internet Ayala also wrote the award-winning book Mitzvah Girls Bringing Up the Next Generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn. You can get Ayala Fader's books https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/fader-ayala.