Heat Check

This week, it’s coronavirus versus Purim, with a quarantine update from one of our producers.

Our Jewish guest is Wall Street Journal sports reporter Ben Cohen, who joins us to discuss his new book, The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks. The last of the host’s spouses to appear on the show, Ben tells us about his deep dive into the world of patterns, probability, and statistics, plus the many Israeli psychologists he encountered in his research, and, of course, life with Cat Stevens.

Our gentile of the Week is Mo Rocca, who returns to the show to discuss his new book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving, an outgrowth of his podcast of the same name. He tells us why he was inspired to dig through history to discover quirky and overlooked life stories, and what he learned about humanity along the way.

Our tour events for March 2020 have been postponed. Stay tuned for more information about livestream offerings and rescheduled dates.

Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at [email protected] or leave a message at 914-570-4869.

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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.