Jessica Chaffin

In the mid 19th century, “Nasology” emerged, a pseudoscientific belief that claimed that you could tell a person’s personality type by the shape of their nose. Dr. Eddy Portnoy and Dr. Tony Michels get into the nitty gritty of the satirical origins of Nasology, its impact on the Jewish community, and what exactly the deal is with the stereotypical “Jewish shnozz.” Plus Jewish beauty queens, miraculous beauty products, and Tony Michels’ 7th grade yearbook superlative. Listen now to the season finale of The Jewish Bizarre podcast!

Throughout history Jews have earned a reputation for being highly educated, after all, Jews have won 20% of the Nobel Prizes despite being only .18% of the world’s population. But are there really more Jewish geniuses? Our own geniuses, Jessica Chaffin, Dr. Tony Michels, and Dr. Eddy Portnoy look at Jewish scholars and Jewish idiots throughout history to determine where this stereotype comes from, whether there is any truth to it, and what the repercussions are today. Plus non-Jewish Jews, excommunication letters, and the greatest mohel to ever come out of Russia. Catch it all in the latest episode of The Jewish Bizarre streaming now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the latest episode of The Jewish Bizarre, Eddy Portnoy and Tony Michels dive into the Tonsil Riots of 1906 – an uprising led by Jewish mothers in New York City after their kids were operated on without their knowledge – the Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902, and other Jewish protests that are absent from the cultural lexicon. Plus, the largest funeral to ever occur in New York City, inventive uses for raw meat, and a riotous story from Dr. Tony Michels’ own life. Listen now!

The second episode of The Jewish Bizarre podcast is now streaming! In the late 1880s, young Eastern European Jewish immigrants had discovered anarchism, Marxism, and other such ideologies that had radicalized them against religion. In an effort to protest religion and expose the lie they thought it was, they threw outrageous balls throughout New York City… on Yom Kippur. Tony Michels, Jessica Chaffin, and Eddy Portnoy discuss whether these anarchists were protesting or celebrating the holiday; plus, eating festivals, what it means to be Jewish, and what exactly you are allowed to enjoy on Yom Kippur. Listen now.

With the continuing obsession with crime podcasts, we are revisiting Episode 1 of The Jewish Bizarre Podcast: Only Murders in the Shtetl! In December 1875, a Jewish woman named Sarah Alexander is found dead in a Brooklyn cornfield, her neck slashed. The investigation and murder trial sweeps the nation and forever changes the perception of Jews in the United States. Dr. Eddy Portnoy (YIVO), Dr. Tony Michels (UW-Madison), and Jessica Chaffin (ASK RONNA) dive into what happened and why the case was so intriguing. Plus murder pamphlets, Jewish gangsters, and the other stories Jewish Historians didn’t want you to know. Listen Now! Find out more here and listen now to the full season of The Jewish Bizarre podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, YouTube or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Now Streaming: Dig into bloody murders, rioting mothers, anarchist parties and pseudoscience –  everything you never learned in Hebrew school and that your Rabbi still doesn’t want you to know. Dr. Eddy Portnoy, academic advisor for the Max Weinreich Center and Exhibition Curator at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Dr. Tony Michels, professor of Jewish American History at UW Madison, and Jessica Chaffin, writer, comedian and host of the popular podcast Ask Ronna join up on the Jewish Bizarre Podcast to discuss the strangest corners of Jewish history. Learn more here.

A tight, 15-minute set of jokes from Dan’s nana, who passed away this week at the spry age of 97.

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.