Podcasts + Videos

In Calabria, Italy’s southernmost region, nearly 50 percent of the population was once Jewish. Hundreds of Crypto-Jewish families were desperate to cling to a remnant of their Jewish traditions, and in order to stay safe from the Inquisition, they needed to hide in plain sight. Virtually walk with Rabbi Barbara Aiello during Sukkot, known by local Catholics as la festa delle capanne. We’ll find ourselves under the sukkah where the etrog grows and explore the Kabbalistic meaning of the lulav, the traditional Jewish bouquet of branches. Together we investigate the Calabrian mountain towns and see the remarkable things our Jewish ancestors did to keep their traditions alive.

The Spanish Island of Majorca is known for its beach resorts, limestone mountains, and being home to tennis celebrity Rafael Nadal. But Majorca holds a secret, never discussed in most travel guides. During the Inquisition, the Crypto-Jews or Chuetas publicly professed Catholicism while privately adhering to Judaism. In fact, in the year 1677 they were caught celebrating Yom Kippur in an orchard outside the city walls. Though they were condemned by the authorities, centuries later, the descendants of 15 endogamous families still quietly preserve the light of the Jewish flame. Join guide Dani Rotstein on a special virtual tour of Majorca’s history and its lessons for all Jews today.

After you’ve read The Forest of Vanishing Stars, join a thoughtful virtual conversation with author Kristin Harmel about how her latest novel came to be, and take a deeper dive into its themes and secrets.

In the closing event of this series in celebration of Pride, we hear from bestselling author Kristin Arnett. Blending the warmth and wit of her breakout hit, Mostly Dead Things, with a candid take on queer family dynamics, Kristen Arnett’s With Teeth is a thought-provoking portrait of the delicate fabric of family—and the many ways it can be torn apart.

In the third installment of this series in celebration of Pride, we meet Emery Lee, a kidlit author, artist, and YouTuber hailing from a mixed-race background. Meet Cute Diary is a swoon-worthy, heartfelt rom-com by Emery Lee that tells the story of how a transgender teen’s first love challenges his ideas about perfect relationships.

In their new book, Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide, health care and public policy experts Abdul El-Sayed, M.D., Ph.D., and Micah Johnson, M.D., go beyond partisan talking points to take a serious look at the policy and politics of Medicare for All. They’re joined in conversation by Sherry Glied, Ph.D., dean of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and former assistant secretary at the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the Obama administration.

A virtual panel and Q+A with the creators of Heartbeat Opera’s Breathing Free.
(If you joined us for the film, but missed the panel or had to leave early, you can get caught up here.)

In 2018, Heartbeat Opera collaborated with 100 incarcerated singers from six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020—the year of George Floyd’s murder, a pandemic that ravaged our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth—they curated a song cycle, brought to life in vivid music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro spirituals and songs by Black composers and lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, equity…and breathing free.

From 1984 to 1991, Doron Bacher, the house photographer at ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, photographed and documented the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry, known as Operation Moses. This resulted in over 10,000 images that enriched the museum’s archives. In 2014, the museum, along with Bacher and film director Orly Malessa, created an original exhibition examining what had transpired in the community and the lives of those in the photographs after making aliyah to Israel.

In this exclusive event, an ANU tour guide takes us virtually through the exhibition which includes videos and personal stories which lay out complex realities faced by Jews of Color in Israel today.

This event contains mature language.

In the second installment of this series in celebration of Pride, we hear from Dr. François Clemmons, who made history as the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children’s program, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. In his memoir, Officer Clemmons, he details his incredible life story beginning with his early years, through his studies as a music major at Oberlin College where Clemmons began to investigate and embrace his homosexuality, to a chance encounter with Fred Rogers that changed the course of both men’s lives—leading to a deep, spiritual friendship and mentorship spanning nearly 40 years.

For nearly 50 years, Festival Aviv in Mexico City has brought together members of the Mexican Jewish community through dance. Participants of the dance festival and the CDI (Centro Deportivo Israelita—The Jewish Sports Center) join us to discuss the uniqueness of Mexican Jewish culture and the importance of dance as an integrator of all Mexican Jewish sectors.

In celebration of Pride, the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, in collaboration with Dubbs Weinblatt and their podcast, Thank You For Coming Out, is presenting a conversation series that amplifies voices from a wide spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community. The universal themes will surprise, enlighten, and inspire you.

In the first installment of this series, we hear from popular LGBTQ advice columnist John Paul Brammer, who has written a hilarious, heartwarming memoir-in-essays, ¡Hola Papi!

Travel virtually through history and into The National Library of Israel (NLI), a vibrant cultural institution dedicated to collecting and presenting the treasures of Israel, the Jewish people worldwide, and the Middle East. Raquel Ukeles, Ph.D., head of collections at NLI, and Adina Kanefield, CEO of NLI USA, take us on a tour through the library’s main collections and share the history of this gem in Jerusalem.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with Paula McLain about her most recent work, When the Stars Go Dark, an atmospheric novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense. Paula McLain is the New York Times–bestselling author of the novels Love and Ruin, Circling the Sun, The Paris Wife, and A Ticket to Ride; the memoir Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses; and two collections of poetry.

In this new series, Culture Passport, The Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas takes you around the world to virtually explore exciting institutions, engage with artists, and experience unique cultures from an array of countries—all from the comfort of your own home. In this event we visit Morocco. Exploring an Arab-Islamic State affirming its Hebraic roots, we see some of the elements that have taken place within the past two decades that reflect a history of coexistence that goes back over 2000 years.

Jew-ish, the new cookbook by popular chef and modern mensch Jake Cohen, puts a fresh spin on classic favorites. Cook along with Jake as he makes an exciting new dessert for your seder, while Unorthodox’s Stephanie Butnick talks with Cohen about the inspiration behind the book.

In this new series, Culture Passport, The Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas takes you around the world to virtually explore exciting institutions, engage with artists, and experience unique cultures from an array of countries—all from the comfort of your own home. Our first stop: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews with Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with Lauren Fox about her latest book, Send for Me, an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness. Lauren Fox is the author of the novels Days of Awe, Still Life with Husband, and Friends Like Us. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Parenting, Psychology Today, The Rumpus, and Salon.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with Rumaan Alam about his latest book,

Leave the World Behind, an instant New York Times bestseller that explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis. Rumaan Alam is also the author of the novels Rich and Pretty and That Kind of Mother, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Bookforum, and The New Republic.

WNYC’s Jami Floyd discusses the outcomes of the 2020 election with Arun Venugopal, a reporter who focuses on issues of race and immigration for WNYC; and Lee Hill, Executive Producer for The Takeaway.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with J. Courtney Sullivan about her latest book, Friends and Strangers—an insightful, hilarious, and compulsively readable novel about a complicated friendship between two women who are at two very different stages in life. J. Courtney Sullivan is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, Saints for All Occasions, and Friends and Strangers.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with author Lysley Tenorio about his recent book and about how hard times affect creativity. The Son of Good Fortune is Tenorio’s debut novel. He is also the author of the story collection Monstress, named a book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. His stories have appeared in the Atlantic, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Ploughshares, and have been adapted for the stage by The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the Ma-Yi Theater in New York City.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with authors Madeline Miller (Circe) and Lily King (Writers & Lovers) about their most recent works and how hard times affect creativity. King is the award-winning author of the novels The Pleasing Hour, The English Teacher, Father of the Rain, and Euphoria, which was one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2014. Miller’s book The Song of Achilles was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction and has been translated into 25 languages.

Ten days before she died, acclaimed author Amy Krouse Rosenthal had a piece published in The New York Times’ Modern Love section that was a heartbreaking play on a personal ad encouraging her husband, Jason, to find happiness after she died. The column instantly went viral, reaching over five million people worldwide. Jason discusses love, loss, and resilience,and his new memoir, My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me, in conversation with Jeannie Blaustein, founding board chair, Reimagine.

Literary agent Julie Barer talks with author Anna Solomon about her most recent work and how hard times affect creativity. One of Entertainment Weekly’s “Most Anticipated Quarantine Reads,” Solomon’s The Book of V. is a bold, kaleidoscopic novel intertwining the lives of three women across three centuries as their stories of sex, power, and desire finally converge in the present day.

Julie Barer talks with author Ann Napolitano about her most recent work and how hard times affect creativity. Napolitano’s Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.

Interviewed by Abigail Pogrebin

Interviewed by Rabbi David Ingber

With Thomas Friedman in conversation with CEO and author Dov Seidman

Director of the Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas and The David H. Sonabend Center for Israel at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.

Learn what this longtime Ulpan instructor loves about Hebrew, learning in community, and the sweetness of teaching. For more about Ulpan at the JCC, visit mmjccm.org/hebrew.

Married for over 50 years, Yvonne and Roger Puckett are beloved NIA instructors. Dancing helps them stay young at heart, and the JCC is where they help others heal. To learn more about NIA, click here.

If you spend time in our third floor gymnasium, odds are, you know Coach Shereef. Not only has he taught children important sports skills, he’s become the role model he would have loved to have during his own childhood.

For eight summers and counting, Kerin has brought her infectious spirit and positivity to JCC summer camps. While our campers learn many important values from her, she’s learned a thing or two from them as well. Kerin was with the JCC Day Camp @ Pearl River until the summer of 2015. In 2016, we moved into our new home, Camp Settoga.

Battling an illness can be an isolating experience. Thanks to her dedicated JCC aquatics students, who called themselves her “Mermaids,” Orit never had to feel alone. Orit Spanier passed away Feb 6, 2019. May her memory be for a blessing.

As a membership supervisor and one of the first faces people see when they come to the JCC, Zurisadai’s message is simple—that we don’t want you to leave! Become a JCC member today: mmjccm.org/membership

In the decade-plus that Nadia Sachs took ceramics at the JCC, she created over 100 beautiful pieces of art. But more important, she found a family. We had the pleasure of talking to Nadia in her UWS apartment.  To read the story about senior ceramicists in action that appeared in our Winter/Spring 2019 Program Guide, click here. Nadia Sachs passed away July 2020. May her memory be for a blessing.

Few exemplify the JCC journey better than Hannah Schrader, who has been a part of the JCC community her entire life. To learn more about BBYO and other teen programs visit: mmjccm.org/children-families/tweens-teens

Member Allison Pillinger Choi cofounded Experiment in Dialogue, a JCC-hosted group that allows people with diverse viewpoints to come together over dinner and find common ground. Learn more about Allison and Experiment in Dialogue: To read the story about EID that appeared in our Fall 2018 Program Guide, click here.

Serious physical obstacles haven’t kept JCC + Adaptations member Sarah Heller from participating in 50+ marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, and more. For her, every day is a gift to be cherished. To read the story about Sarah Heller that appeared in our Fall 2018 Program Guide, click here. For more information visit achillesinternational.org

Since 2004, Sarah-Kay has developed free and low-cost Shabbat and holiday celebrations for our community and beyond. To read the story about Shabbat Shabbang that appeared in oure Winter/Spring 2017 Program Guide, click here.