Let There Be Lanterns

This week, Brad and Steven are in good moods, discussing the recent midterm elections and the “Blue Tsunami.” They talk about the unexpectedly overwhelming outcome, some things to be cautious about, and the emerging presidency of newly-appointed White House Chief of Staff, the ghoulish and horrid Stephen Miller. While we’re not out of the woods […]

Brad and Steven are back this week, talking about Halloween, the upcoming mid-term elections, Republicans who are still afraid of the president, Monica Lewinsky and “the good old days, and the eventual need for a truth and reconciliation commission when this all ends. Have a listen, Happy Halloween, and don’t forget to set your clocks back! You […]

Social media promised to bring us together. Unfortunately, things haven’t quite turned out that way. In this episode, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning and our complicated relationship with the platforms we can’t seem to quit. What does Jewish tradition have to say about disagreement, responsibility, and staying in community when we […]

Brad and Steven are back at it this week, with Steven coming in live from Israel. The guys talk about Hummus, for obvious reasons, as well as Israeli transit, parking in Tel Aviv, the baseball playoffs and World Series preview as well as comings and goings (mostly goings) in the Trump administration. Spoiler alert: new […]

Being fearless sounds like a pretty good qualification for a superhero. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky dive into DC’s Lanterns, where cosmic powers collide with some very human problems. Along the way, we explore courage, the possibility of change, and what Jewish […]

This week, Brad and Steven are back for episode two of the new season. They bemoan the fate of the 2026 New York Yankees, who once again failed to perform well in the postseason, talk about US behavior on the world stage (spoiler alert: it’s not good), and wonder why the Secretary of Defense/War wants […]

Welcome back to all of our loyal listeners for the eleventh(!) season of the Amen Corner. After much delay, Brad and Steven are back at it, reflecting on their changes since the podcast began back in 2016. But as much as things change, there will always be some constants: this week, the guys talk about […]

What happens when your shot at redemption begins with a lie? In Hulu’s Chad Powers, disgraced quarterback Russ Holliday (Glenn Powell) disguises himself as an eccentric walk-on for the struggling South Georgia Catfish (get it?), hoping to play the game he loves again. It’s a ridiculous premise with a surprisingly serious question at its heart: Can […]

Five years ago, we declared that we believed in Ted Lasso, whose radical kindness and relentless optimism felt like just what the world needed. Now Ted is back — this time coaching AFC Richmond’s new women’s team — and so are we. In this episode of PopTorah, we return to the Torah of Ted Lasso and ask what […]

In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky debate whether Spider-Man: Brand New Day succeeds as a Spider-Man story — or gets tangled in the MCU’s ever-expanding web. Along the way, we explore Peter Parker’s self-imposed isolation, the ways protecting others can become an excuse for keeping them at a distance, and the Torah’s insistence […]