The Great Depression

This week on Unorthodox: A Jewish writer and an Episcopal priest walk into a podcast.

Our Jewish guest is writer and essayist Daphne Merkin, whose latest book is This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression. She tells us what it was like to write such a personal book—Tablet literary critic Adam Kirsch called it “a hybrid of memoir, case study, and confession”—plus the stigma that continues to surround depression in the Jewish community and beyond, and the different ways in which male and female writers have historically depicted depression.

Our Gentile of the Week is Father Ed Bacon, a retired Episcopal priest legendary for his work with All Saints Church in Pasadena, California, which he turned into an activist, multi-ethnic congregation in a mostly white and wealthy town. He is also an Oprah favorite and author of the book 8 Habits of Love.

We love hearing from you! Email us at [email protected]—we’ll share our favorite notes on air.

Unorthodox is a smart, fresh, fun weekly take on Jewish news and culture hosted by Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick, and Liel Leibovitz. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.