Episodes

  • How to Be a Jew …. Who is Starting a Print Magazine, with Alana Newhouse

    How to Be a Jew …. Who is Starting a Print Magazine, with Alana Newhouse
    May 29 2025
    Tablet has launched a new print magazine, beginning this June. Why start something so "old fashioned" in the year 2025? Alana Newhouse, our editor in chief, joins us to explain why the current media landscape is actually begging for news you can hold in your hands. If you’re interested in subscribing, click here.
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    24 mins
  • How to Be a Jew ... Who Says Yes to the Dress

    How to Be a Jew ... Who Says Yes to the Dress
    May 14 2025
    Pnina Tornai became a recognizable name to Americans across the country as a personality and designer on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. She shares the surprisingly spiritual story of her success and talks about what it means to represent Israel on the global stage.
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    36 mins
  • How to Be a Jew … Like Israel's Most Famous Female Architect

    How to Be a Jew … Like Israel's Most Famous Female Architect
    May 7 2025
    Ada Karmi-Melamede is an architect who has designed famous buildings across Israel, including the Supreme Court building and the gateway to Ben Gurion airport. Her daughter, filmmaker Yael Melamede, talks to us about her new film, ADA: My Mother the Architect, which is a heartfelt investigation of Ada’s work, philosophical approach, and her relationships with her family.
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    30 mins
  • How To Do Activism Right, with Jay Ruderman, Tuly Weisz, and Pesach Wolicki

    How To Do Activism Right, with Jay Ruderman, Tuly Weisz, and Pesach Wolicki
    May 1 2025
    These days, it seems like everyone is a so-called activist. Activism itself seems to have morphed into something different; it’s not about organizing communities or advocating for legislation, it’s about blocking roads and intimidating anyone with a different opinion. This week on Rootless, Liel talks with three different activists, with two very different causes, who are doing activism right. First, he talks with Jay Ruderman, author of the new book Find Your Fight, who advocates for disability rights. Then he talks with Tuly Weisz and Pesach Wolicki of Israel365, who will tell us about a little-known election, coming up in a few days and that we’re all eligible to vote in, which is far more influential than most realize.
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    47 mins
  • How to Be a Jew ... or an ally like Zarna Garg

    How to Be a Jew ... or an ally like Zarna Garg
    Apr 30 2025
    Zarna Garg is a comedian whose standup centers around her life as an Indian mom in America. She joins us to discuss her new book, This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir, as well as how she's supporting the Jews in a post 10/7 world.
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    24 mins
  • Israel’s Most Controversial Politician, with Itamar Ben-Gvir

    Israel’s Most Controversial Politician, with Itamar Ben-Gvir
    Apr 24 2025
    There’s no more divisive Israeli public figure than Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. Starting out his career as a Kahanist firebrand known for his controversial stances—like decorating his living room with a photograph of Baruch Goldstein, or working to free Yigal Amir, Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin—Ben-Gvir evolved from a political sideshow to kingmaker, winning several Knesset seats and joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. For some Israelis, he’s the strong-willed, strong-armed course correction after too many years of being too soft on terror. To many others, he’s an abomination, subverting the nation’s democratic values. Visiting New York this week, Ben-Gvir attended a live event moderated by Liel to talk about his past, his actions in office, and his vision for the future of the war against Hamas.
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    45 mins
  • How to Be a Jew … like Matisyahu

    How to Be a Jew … like Matisyahu
    Apr 23 2025
    After bursting onto the music scene with his 2005 single “King without a Crown,” Matisyahu has built a career mixing a unique combination of reggae, hip hop, and deeply Jewish soul. We talk to him about his wandering journey with Judaism, his experiences touring after October 7th, and even the Jews’ love for jam bands.
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    31 mins
  • Passover Crossover - How to Be a Jew ... Like Dara Horn

    Passover Crossover - How to Be a Jew ... Like Dara Horn
    Apr 17 2025
    Rootless is off this week for Passover, but we wanted to bring you an episode of How to Be a Jew we think you'll like. Like most Jews, the news of the murder of the Bibas children not only saddened us, but it also made us ANGRY. How do we deal with our own thoughts about the event, and the greater world’s response as well? Dara Horn, a prolific author known for her book People Love Dead Jews (and the podcast Adventures with Dead Jews) as well as her work fighting antisemitism, joins us to deal with our anger and provide context for why we should be optimistic about the future of Jews. We also talk about her new Passover-themed graphic novel for kids, One Little Goat. How does a seder that won’t end lead to a time-traveling adventure? Have a listen.
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    51 mins
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