Explore the Jewish experience with The Jewish Lives Podcast

ANTIQUITY

Episode 31: ELIJAH

Join us and explore the story of the prophet Elijah’s evolution from fierce zealot to compassionate hero and cherished figure in Jewish tradition.

Hear from National Jewish Book Award winner Daniel C. Matt, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation.

ARTS / CULTURE

Episode 25: MAN RAY

One of the most radically original artists of the 20th century, Man Ray (1890–1976), was a founding father of Dada and a key player in French Surrealism.

Join us as we learn about Man Ray’s Jewish background - and understand how it affected his art with Arthur Lubow, author of the new biography Man Ray: The Artist and His Shadows.

Episode 24: BERNARD BERENSON

Son of a tin peddler, art adviser to Gilded Age Millionaires

Join us as we learn more about Bernard Berenson’s incredible self-transformation through the first half of the twentieth century - through two world wars and persistent anti-Semitism - with Rachel Cohen, author of Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade.

Episode 22: MARK ROTHKO

How did a little boy from Latvia become one of the greatest and most original painters of the 20th century?

Annie Cohen-Solal, author of the Jewish Lives biography Mark Rothko: Toward the Light in the Chapel, offers a fascinating exploration of the life and work of one of America’s most enigmatic postwar visual artists.

Episode 15: PEGGY GUGGENHEIM

Peggy Guggenheim was one of 20th century America’s most influential patrons of the arts.

Francine Prose, author of the Jewish Lives biography Peggy Guggenheim: The Shock of the Modern, offers a spirited portrait of the colorful, irrepressible, and iconoclastic American collector who fearlessly advanced the cause of modern art.

ENTERTAINMENT

Episode 28: STEVEN SPIELBERG

Jaws. Jurassic Park. Schindler’s List.

Join us as we listen to Molly Haskell, author of Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films. Learn how Spielberg’s uniquely evocative filmmaking and story-telling have enchanted audiences for more than 40 years.

Episode 17: BEN HECHT

Ben Hecht was one of America’s greatest screenwriters.

Adina Hoffman, author of the Jewish Lives biography, Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures, provides a vibrant portrait of one of the most accomplished and quick-witted writers in Hollywood.

Episode 21: HANK GREENBERG

Hank Greenberg was a baseball legend.

Mark Kurlansky, author of the Jewish Lives biography Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to Be One, offers a robust exploration of the slugger's Bronx boyhood, his spectacular discipline as an aspiring ballplayer, and the cultural context of virulent anti-Semitism in which his career played out.

LAW / POLITICS

Episode 29: YITZHAK RABIN

Explore an insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and his tragic assassination.

Join us as we listen to Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich, author of Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman.

Episode 20: BEN-GURION

David Ben-Gurion is a Zionist icon.

Anita Shapira, author of the Jewish Lives biography Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, explores the inner life of the Zionist leader responsible for the creation of the state of Israel.

Episode 26: JUDAH BENJAMIN

How could a man as gifted as Benjamin not see that he was complicit with evil?

One of the first Jewish senators, Judah Benjamin (1811–1884) was a confidante to Jefferson Davis and leader of the Confederacy.

Join us as we explore the difficult truth that Benjamin, considered one of the greatest legal minds in the United States, was a slave owner who deployed his oratorical skills in defense of slavery. Hear from James Traub, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Judah Benjamin: Counselor to the Confederacy.

LITERARY ARTS

Episode 18: PROUST

Marcel Proust was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Benjamin Taylor, author of the Jewish Lives biography Proust: The Search, explores how despite momentous historical and personal events, Proust became—against all expectations—one of the greatest writers of any era.

Episode 16: HEINRICH HEINE

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was one of Germany’s most important, world-famous, and imaginative writers.

George Prochnik, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Heinrich Heine: Writing the Revolution, offers a window into the dynamic life story and strikingly original writing of the virtuoso poet.

PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION

Episode 27: Abraham Joshua Heschel

Civil Rights leader. Anti-Vietnam War activist. Rabbi. How did Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Hasidic rabbi from Warsaw, become a progressive Jewish icon?

Join us as we explore why Heschel remains a symbol of the fight to make progressive Jewish values relevant in the secular world with Julian Zelizer, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement.

SCIENCE

Episode 30: ADMIRAL HYMAN RICKOVER

Join us for a riveting exploration of the brilliant, combative, and controversial “Father of the Nuclear Navy.”

Hear from Marc Wortman, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power.

BUSINESS

Episode 19: BUGSY SIEGEL

Bugsy Siegel was a notorious Jewish gangster who ascended from impoverished beginnings to the glittering Las Vegas strip.

Michael Shnayerson, author of the new Jewish Lives biography Bugsy Siegel: The Dark Side of the American Dream, sets out not to absolve Siegel but rather to understand him in all his complexity.

Episode 23: JULIUS ROSENWALD

Julius Rosenwald was a humble retail magnate whose visionary ideas about charitable giving transformed the practice of philanthropy in America and beyond.

Hasia R. Diner, author of the Jewish Lives biography Julius Rosenwald: Repairing the World, discusses the life and legacy of one of the founders of Sears Roebuck whose philanthropy supported Jewish and Black causes.