The Jewish Lives Podcast

Join us with David Rieff, author of the new biography Robert Oppenheimer: The Sphinx Without a Secret, as we explore the inner life, contradictions, and enduring mystery of the man who helped usher in the atomic age.    

Edmond de Rothschild (1845–1934) was born into one of the wealthiest families in history, but his legacy lies beyond aristocratic privilege. Join us with award-winning historian James McAuley, author of the new biography Edmond de Rothschild: Finding Zion, as we explore the story of a man who defied his elite world to support a radical cause: the creation of a Jewish homeland.

Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021) was a towering figure in American musical theater. Join us with Daniel Okrent, author of the new biography Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy, as we explore the ways Sondheim’s music and lyrics express the inner life of one of the twentieth century’s most beloved theatrical composers.

Rabbi, writer, teacher, and thinker, Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881–1983) was one of the leading Jewish personalities of twentieth-century America. Founder of the Reconstructionist movement, he was a maverick who reshaped religious faith and practice, generating controversy at every turn. Join us with Jenna Weissman Joselit, author of the new biography Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul, as we explore the legacy of this influential and iconoclastic thinker and shed new light on the meaning of American Judaism, identity, the limits of belonging, and the role of faith in modern society.  

Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) is widely considered one of the most creative cultural critics of the twentieth century.Join us with Harvard University scholar Peter E. Gordon, author of the new biography Walter Benjamin: The Pearl Diver, as we look beyond the image of Benjamin as a tragic figure of German-Jewish history and explore his complex personality of unique and multifaceted gifts.