Who’s this, disprespecting us on our podcast?? It’s our very own rare earth mineral, The Free Press columnist and host of the wonderful Breaking History podcast, Eli Lake! Did he even say thank you once? I don’t know. Probably at the end. Does it even matter? We hope you enjoy the episode. If you didn’t, it’s because Chaya Leah didn’t bring her tra…

Look. The words are done. They have just run out. So we filled the void with various mouth noises, about everything from the orthodox child labor, Meir Kahane, the Grand Canyon and Apple Cider Vinegar. Listen, some weeks are so icky, it’s ok to order a 7-11 Big Gulp on Uber Eats in the middle of a recording. Or is it? Anyway, please excuse our mess…

This week we welcome our pals and confidants, Kat Rosenfield and Phoebe Maltz Bovy, co-hosts of Feminine Chaos! Kat is a novelist, culture writer, and frequent contributor to the Free Press, where you should read whatever she writes, no matter the topic. Phoebe is the opinion editor of the Canadian Jewish News, contributor to The Globe and Mail, au…

Happy Valentines Day! That’s a Jewish holiday right? Well, we’re celebrating Rebbe Saint Valentine anyway. In this festive episode we get all googly-eyed over our guest Aleeza Ben Shalom, a matchmaker and relationship coach who you all know from Netflix’s “Jewish Matchmaking”, and author of the new book Matchmaker Matchmaker: Find Me a Love That La…

We totally thought Richard Hanania was a Jew, and by the time we found out he’s Palestinian (gasp!) it was too late to cancel. Just kidding, we loved talking to Richard about everything from the online right-wing “trollosphere”, antisemitism (which he gets his fair share of), Twitter politics, elite human capital, disappearing pronoun bios, and in …

We sit down to recap the events of the week, which feels like a decade. Check out videos and shownotes on askajew.substack.com Also: * Chaya Leah wants to deport Yael * The hostage releases are so emotional. And that emotion is rage. * Where do they keep the laminating machines in Gaza? * Let the sunshine in * Is Elon Musk a Nazi? And do we prefer …

That feeling you have in the pit of your stomach? We’re all there. A mix of hope, fear, anger and grief. An American friend asked me if I’m happy about the hostage deal, and it was hard to use that word in this context. Though I support the deal (like most Israelis) and believe it is the moral choice, it makes me sick to my stomach that we even had…

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, host of the FDD Morning Brief, and formerly a terror finance analyst for the US Treasury. There’s a lot to talk about this week, especially the hostages, an upcoming ceasefire deal that brings up all kinds of feelings, and of course - Houthi dance moves. F…

This week we welcome on of our favorite podcast hosts and top 5 favorite lesbians, non-Jew Katie Herzog! Katie is the co-host of the wonderful Blocked and Reported podcast about internet drama with Jesse Singal, which makes her a victim of antisemitism by association. Join the conversation on Substack today! Askajew.substack.com We discuss: * Wigs …

What do you people call it? 2025? Anyway, we hope it’s awesome! Is your new year’s resolution to listen more of the Jewish weave, covering everything from Hanukkah to TJ MAxx? If so, you’re in for a treat. Also: * Our sufganiyot (seasonal donuts) game-plan * Being Jewish out loud * Are celebrities allowed to be jewish? * A 2nd Hanukkah without the …

Brendan O’Neill is the chief political writer for Spiked and host of The Brendan O’Neill Show podcast. He writes for numerous publications, including the Daily Mail, the Spectator, the New York Post and The Australian. His latest book is After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation (Spiked, 2024) which you should all buy immed…

This week we welcome Judy Gold, comedian, writer, actor and author of "Yes, I can say that! When they come for the comedians we're all I trouble". We go everywhere in this one - feminism, lesbians Israel, comedy, cat calling - you name it, we laugh about it. Don't listen if you have kids in the car (unless your kids are cool) Follow Judy on Instagr…

Jonathan Elkhoury is just your typical Lebanese, Israeli, Christian, Gay Zionist. Born in Lebanon, Jonathan fled the country at the age of 8 with his family when Hezbollah took over their village. Since his father was in the South Lebanese Army and worked closely with the IDF, the family (along with about 6,000 other SLA members and their families)…

The girls share everything they know about Syria (not much), argue passionately about faith in the Messiah vs. faith in the Iron Dome, and try to determine who is the better Jew (the answer may suprise you!) In New York Dec 12th? Join us both for our Hanukkah party! Check askajew.substack.com for details or email [email protected]. Joing the AAJ…

Chaya Leah heeds the activists' advice and goes back to Poland. Also: Trumps hottest cabinet picks, our *least* favorite type of antisemites, and a wholesome dip into Mormon Twitter. Don't forget to RSVP for our Hanukkah party, Dec 12 in NYC! Details on Askajew.substack.com. Happy Thanksgiving! Links: The Perelmuters in Poland Hanukkah party detail…

Today we welcome Zibby Owens, bestselling author, CEO, bookstore owner , “book-fluencer”, and host of the widely succesful “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books” podcast. Most recently she published “On Being Jewish Now”, a collection of essays on Jewish identities in a post-October 7th world. Save the Date! Dec 12th AAJ Hanukkah Party in NYC! Sign u…

DECEMBER 12 HANUKKAH PARTY IN NYC! Follow askajew.substack.com for details. Some rational and irrational responses to the election that are sure to equally offend all the listeners, plus movies, planes, the orthodox draft in Israel, and more. This is probably the only podcast where a passionate argument about skincare will lead to a passionate argu…

Looking for a non-election podcast? How about 75 minutes of soothing soviet antisemitism? We got you. Our guest today is Izabella Tabarovsky, a scholar of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism. We discuss how everything old is new again, why being a self-hating Jewish celebrity is sooooo 1970s, and what you can do today to de-program you…

Bonjour from Paris! (Bonjour means “hello” in French). Miss us? We missed you, each other, and the sound of our own voices. That maybe explains the fact that neither of us could shut up on this one, in fact we almost forgot we were recording and maybe went a little more vulnerable than expected (people like that stuff, right?). In this episode, we …

In this week’s episode of “people we thought were Jewish” - Christine Rosen! Christine is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, columnist for Commentary magazine, cohosts of The Commentary Magazine Podcast, and author of the new book The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. We talk about Christine's very uni…

On the eve of October 7th, we gathered with 100+ of our closest friends (you guys!) to share our feelings, frustrations, sad tears and happy tears. Don't worry, we still found some space for holocaust jokes and hot dictators. Thank you to everyone who joined, from Portland to Iran - we are very lucky to have you. Special thanks to Super Friends and…

Sunday October 6 listener Zoom!! Go to askajew.substack.com for details. Shana Tova from the bomb shelter! Just kidding, the IDF said we can go out, plus, after an hour we finished folding laundry and drinking a bottle of whiskey, and we were bored. This episode was recorded before Iran launched a ballistic missile attack at our faces, so if we sou…

This episode is brought to you by the Federated States of Micronesia. No, they aren't paying us for sponsorship, but they are the only country that still loves us, so this one's on us! This week we discuss the Hezbollah pager explosions, the list of countries that can no longer sit with us, Hassan Nasrallah's glow-up, decolonized pizza at MIT, tips…

Greg Lukianoff is a First Amendment lawyer, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and co-author of the hits "The Coddling of the American Mind" with Jonathan Haidt and "The Canceling of the American Mind" with Rikki Schlott. He joins us to talk all things free speech, like why campuses are burning, how vio…

David Christopher Kaufman is a columnist and editor at the NY Post and an adjunct fellow at the Tel Aviv institute. He joins the girls this week to talk elections, Israel, and the identity of the half black, half Jewish, totally Zionist American journalist. Also: * The mood in Israel * The difference between being a Jew and being Jewish * Why Hamas…

We are joined by Brianna Wu, the Executive Director of Rebellion Pac, who proudly calls herself queer, progressive - and a friend of Israel. We discuss growing up in Mississippi, what progressives can learn from Hasidic Jews, the Women's March, Gamergate, being an inspiration for a Law & Order episode, her global ranking as an elite Super Mario 2 R…

We hopped on to record with a heavy heart this morning, after hearing the devasating news of the murder of 6 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity: Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov and Eden Yerushalmi. They managed to survive 11 months, only to be executed somewhere between Thursday and Friday by their captors.…

The girls are joined by retired British Army Major Andrew Fox, who has spent time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, and other exotic tourist destinations. We discuss wars of choice, try to pick a fight with Taylor Swift, compare military MREs, and wonder why Americans love tiny dogs and Hezbollah flags. Also: Wait why does England need an army? The US Mi…

This week we take your questions, very politely and with no conflict at all discuss Jewish extremism, and float the idea of a listener trip to Israel… You can send us your questions to [email protected] Make sure to check out our podcast recommendations and more on Substack askajew.substack.com Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.sub…

America’s favorite Nepo baby after Jesus, the greatest one-eye war hero since Moshe Dayan, the man who puts the Ho in Idaho - we are honored to welcome Ben Dreyfuss to Ask A Jew today. In this vulnerable, first of its kind tell-all, Ben opens up to us about his relationship with social media, his famous father, Judaism - and why he still hasn’t for…

A haunting and beautiful skit from the Israeli show "Hayehudim Baim" ("The Jews are coming") Peter Paltchik, olympic medalist, with his coach Oren Smadja who just lost his son in Gaza Isael's Olympic team (6 medals and counting!) Dr. Mijal Bitton at the NYU rally Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.com Email us your questions a…

Karmela Waldman may be a Holocaust survivor with a heartbreaking story, but the true victim of the Nazis is clealrly her son, Joel, as he tells us. The hilarious mother-son duo join the girls to talk about optimism, the True Crime podcast they co host, Surviving the Survivor, and the book Joel wrote about his mother by the same name, which he calls…

The girls are joined by Andy Mills, a reporter and a podcaster who spent time as both a fundamentalist Christian and an employee of The NY Times. You may know him from such podcasts as The Daily, The Witch Trials of J.K Rowling, and most recently, Reflector. We discuss faith and certainty, values, conspiracy theories about the media, how to pray in…

In this week's solopod, Judaism's Piers Morgan and Roger Waters sit down to discuss the woes of the Jewish people in 2024. But first, we waste your time with talk about toxic relationships, skincare, skimpy bathing suits. Fear not - about 26 minutes in we start to talk about Israel: hostage deals, the national mood, why trying to kill us will backf…

Reuven Fenton is a reporter for the NY Post and the author of the new novel "Goyhood", which the Jerusalem Post called "A unique story of identity and redemption that examines no less of an issue than the essence of Judaism." We talk identity, the Post, writing - and more. Don't forget to rate us 5 stars wherever you get your podcasts, and join us …

Why war isn't as simple as two armies fighting, the obsession with "2,000 pound bombs", Hamas's non-battlefield strategy (which the media helps it achieve) and so much more with John Spencer. No one understands the intricacies of modern warfare like John Spencer. As a retired US Army Major and chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Instit…

In this episode of Ask A Jew, we answer your questions like why can religious Jews go into a mosque but not a church? Does an alarm clock need to be kosher? And should you say a prayer every time you use the bathroom? Have a question? Send it to us at [email protected] is it time to post things on Instagram again? Before we get to that thoug…

Noam Dworman is the owner of the world famous Comedy Cellar in New York City, co-host of the podcast Live From The Table, and two-time MVP of Ask A Jew. We sat with him last week in a beautiful Soho studio (thank you Jonathan!) to talk about Israel, Trump, people you disagree with, and more. Manny Dworman, a 5th-grader with some strong opinions abo…

The girls welcome Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue for a very serious conversation about faith and Jewish identity in 2024, Anti-Zionist Jews, compassion, and what the future may hold for America's Jews. * The Interview beings 31 minutes in, after we catch up on Yael's meditation retreat and other spiritual adventures. Park Avenue…

0:00 - 47:00: the girls catch up on their week for the first part of the episode, talking about the joys of meditation (kind of), the miracle of procastination (with a touch of divine intervention), and a Eurovision recap. 47:00: In the second part of the episode, we talk to Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, creators of the October 7 play - yes, t…

This week we are delighted to welcome newly-minted Jew, our number one draft pick for the Tribe this season, the Caitlin Clark of Judaism - Nellie Bowles! Nellie is the Chief Stratgy Officer at The Free Press, formerly of The NY Times, and author of the wonderful new book “Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History” whi…

Glory to the Gays! This week we are joined by Ben Appel, author of the upcoming “Cis White Gay: The Making of a Gender Heretic” AND a graduate of the Popular People's University Formerly Known As Columbia. In this struggle session we cover the liberation of the Columbia campus, why Jews and Gays should unite against the world, and why your hairdres…

Forget college campuses, the real culture war will take place next week in Malmo, Sweden, where the Eurovision Song Contest (otherwise known as the "gay olympics") takes place. We are joined by sports journalist and Eurovision rainman Sharon Davidovitch to talk about how Israel will fare this year in the glitter soaked battlefield - even if you kno…

Sarah Rose Siskind is a science comedy writer and psychedelic comedian. she came by to tell us about how she hosted a psychedelic Shiva after October 7th, which she also wrote about for Psychology Today. We also discuss how drugs may have influenced Nova festival survivors, why Chaya Leah and Yael need to go on a “trip” to Auschwitz, and proposing …

Remember when OJ died?? That's what we were talking about a few days ago when we recorded this, and all was calm in the world. Coincidentaly this blissfully unaware episode is also number 100 for us! Thank you for that, Chaya Leah is petitioning to the Rabbis to make it a holiday as we speak (100 days of fasting? Need to workshop). We did have a lo…

Tom Aharon is an Israeli standup comedian, and co-host of Israel's top commercial daily radio morning show, New Morning. We discuss doing stand up for IDF soliders after Oct 7, Hezbollah's VP of Global Marketing and Natan Sharansky's underwear. Happy Birthday Tom! Notes: The head of Hamas's sister arrested in Israel Billboards in Hebrew In Iran (He…

Dr. Peter Berkowitz is the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, former Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, executive secretary of the department's Commission on Unalienable Rights, and senior adviser to the Secretary of State. Naturally we talk about princess Kate. But we also cover additct…

In this episode we cover a failed meditation, a succesful trip to Israel (it's all fine now), and the moral confusion about rapes that aren't planned but just kind of happen. Also: a listener creates a fun game: who said it white nationalist or left wing antisemite? Our apologies to Princess Kate for making fun of her, clearly we recorded this hour…

This week we welcome Jennifer Murtazashvili, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets. We talk about an interfaith initiative she co-founded with a Muslim colleague after October 7th, what it was like living as a Jewish woman in Afgh…

Two hours with one of our favorite Shiksa's, Bridget Phetasy! Fair warning that Bridget used to write for Playboy, and Chaya Leah was very interested in that, so this episode gets spicy. Bridget Phetasy is host of Dumpster Fire on YouTube and the Walk-Ins Welcome podcast, as well as a writer and contributing editor at Spectator. Follow her on Subst…