The Kibitz Podcast

A special Hanukah Kasher vs. Kasher debate, recorded live at IKAR in Los Angeles on the last night of Hanukah, 2018 featuring Rabbi David Kasher and his brother, comedian Moshe Kasher, hosted by Dan Crane. The event was sponsored by IKAR TRIBE, Give Light and Reboot.

Is there something peculiar to Judaism that makes us think about death differently? With no proscription for a definitive heaven or afterlife, how does that affect how we live our lives and think about death? Are Jewish rituals an effective way of dealing with grief? Are there better ways to think and talk about death with friends and family? In our final episode from season 2 we address these questions with British comedian David Baddiel (who you might remember from this season’s atheism episode), Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie from NYC’s Lab/Shul, founder of Death Over Dinner and DoD Jewish Edition Michael Hebb and Dan Crane’s 97-year-old nana.   

"A Catskills Kibitz,” our first ever live Kibitz event, was held at the “World Famous” Kibitz Room at Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles on the second night of Hanukkah and featured standup from Moshe Kasher, a conversation with Michael Showalter and a performance by the Living Sisters. We also set a world record for the most number of people to eat a pastrami sandwich in 60 seconds as officiated by RecordSetter.com.

How has our understanding of history been curated by the choices of photographers, journalists and historians? This episode features curator at the International Center for Photography in New York Maya Benton talking about the photos of Roman Vichniac, and Yiddish scholar Eddy Portnoy discussing what he calls "The Jewish OJ trial of the 1870s” from his book, Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange But True Stories from the Yiddish Press.

Was Moses tripping when he saw the burning bush? Are psychedelics the key to unlocking the mysteries behind Jewish texts? And did you hear the one about the rabbi who did LSD with Timothy Leary? Featuring Rick Doblin founder and Executive Director of MAPS—the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Plus an excerpt from our friend Moshe Kasher’s comedy central show Problematic, and Rabbi David Ingber of New York’s renewal movement temple Romemu. Turn on, tune in, drop out and prepare to expand your mind with this episode of The Kibitz.

We continue our discussion of immigration and refugees with Mark Hetfield, the CEO of HIAS: the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Back in 1882, HIAS was formed to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. Today, HIAS is leading the charge against the Trump administration’s attempt to ban most refugees from coming to the United States.  

When Donald Trump issued his first executive order to curb immigration from majority Muslim countries, it seemed to strike a chord of eerie and disturbing familiarity with Jews everywhere. To put this in perspective, we’ll hear a story about Jewish immigrants fleeing Germany in 1939 trying to come to the US, and we have some stories of Jews on the front lines of our current battle over immigrants and refugees. Last, we’ll make the case that there are ways we can all help, including, perhaps surprisingly, with our stomachs. Featuring Rabbi Susan Goldberg of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, Talia Inlender of Public Counsel and author/journalist David Sax. 

Why did a Jewish philanthropist put up a million dollars of his own money to get Jews to move to Alabama? And ten years into his experiment, does he consider it a success? And as synagogue membership declines across the US, how do we define a Jewish community? The Kibitz speaks with Larry Blumberg, the man behind the program offering $50,000 for families to relocate to Dothan, Alabama, as well as some of the families that have made the move. Plus director of the documentary There Are Jews Here, Brad Lichtenstein.

Author AJ Jacobs explains how we’re all mishpucha, and we discuss his new book, It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree.

What did Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers and Wilt Chamberlain have in common? Why did Jews on vacation need so much entertainment? How did the Catskills become the epicenter of Jewish middle-class vacationing and why did it collapse almost as quickly as it began? Who's putting baby in the corner—and why? Hosts Dan Crane and Jessica Chaffin explore the history of the Catskills with documentarians Caroline Laskow and Ian Rosenberg, scholar Eddy Portnoy, and photographer Marisa Scheinfeld.

Can Jews be atheists and still be Jews? Hosts Dan Crane and Jessica Chaffin host the second episode on this question, featuring a conversation with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie of New York City’s Lab/Shul.

Can Jews be atheists and still be Jews? Hosts Dan Crane and Jessica Chaffin explore the question of Jewish atheism with Rabbi Susan Goldberg of LA's Wilshire Boulevard Temple, president of American Atheists David Silverman, British comedian David Baddiel, and founder and president emeritus of the Secular Coalition for America Herb Silverman.

Host Dan Crane interviews Eric Pavony, the “Knishioner" of Major League Dreidel and creator of the Spinagogue (not to mention Brewskee-Ball, a competitive Skee-Ball league for adults). And author/storyteller Joel Ben Izzy reads an excerpt from his recent Chanukah book, "Dreidels on the Brain.”

Host Dan Crane tells the story of two strangers in the night, a bag full of cash, and a ship full of weapons bound for the fledgling state of Israel, in this special episode dedicated to Frank Sinatra’s jewish activism. Guests: Anthony Summers, David Lehman, Shalom Goldman, Paul Karolyi, and Tony Michaels.

In this election special episode of The Kibitz, comedian Moshe Kasher and his brother David Kasher debate the past, present and potential future of Jewish activism with host Dan Crane.

The high holidays are upon us, so this episode of The Kibitz is all about reflection and 10Q—a project powered by Reboot. Guests include the Kasher brothers and Nicola Behrman (co- founder of 10Q), as well as Jenn Maer, Raleigh Harrell, and Libby Lenkinski, who all speak about their experience doing 10Q.

It’s back-to-school time, so host Dan Crane talks to Joel Stein (Time magazine), Tiffany Shlain (Character Day), Ari Kelman (Stanford) and the Kasher brothers (a rabbi, and a comedian) about Jewish education — from Hebrew school to how to be a mensch.

From the alt-right to the hard-left, this episode of The Kibitz discusses a new wave of antisemitism that's spreading throughout the US and Europe. With guests including NY Times editor Jonathan Weisman, creative director Richard Brim, Whose Line is it Anyway creator Dan Patterson and others, this episode is sure to be an eye opener for those who are interested.

Guests David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Stella, Children’s Hospital) and Dan Patterson (Whose Line is it Anyway, Mock the Week) were both deeply influenced by similar experiences - find out what on The Kibitz! This episode also features Andrea Rosen (Episodes), Kasher vs Kasher, and a 95-year-old nana telling jokes. Plus host Dan Crane compares a body part to Muppets Statler and Waldorf.

Our 9th episode of The Kibitz, titled ANIMALS, features an exclusive tour inside Teva Foods, one of the few remaining kosher slaughterhouses in the LA area. We’ll discover how the kosher slaughter process takes place and examine whether kosher is a more or less humane method of processing beef for food. I also interview Yadidya Greenberg—a Jewish Animal Welfare Advocate, Shochet, and Blogger who works with the Jewish Initiative for Animals—and Devora Kimelman-Block, the founder of KOL Foods, the only purveyor of pasture-raised grass-fed kosher beef in the US.