Summer Reading
Ep 233: Sephardic family stories with Sarah Abrevaya Stein, Jews and entrepreneurship with David Sax, and anti-boomer ageism with Daniel Torday
This week on Unorthodox, three books to add to your summer reading list.
Our first guest is historian and UCLA professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein, who is the author of Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century. She tells us how she pieced together the Levy family story across generations and continents through their correspondence, what this family’s journey can teach us about the global Sephardic experience, and what the records we leave behind today might look like to future historians.
Next we talk to David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter and, most recently The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth. He explains the value of analog products and ideas in today’s tech-saturated climate, argues that true entrepreneurs aren’t the Silicon Valley disrupters we read about in the news, and makes the case for entrepreneurship as an often necessary Jewish habit.
Our final guest is Daniel Torday, who teaches creative writing at Bryn Mawr college and whose latest novel is BOOMER1, a tale of ageist angst taken to farcical and violent extremes. He tells us why our current cultural and economic moment is ripe for resentment toward baby boomers (Americans born roughly between 1946 and 1964), why intergenerational strife was such a compelling topic to take on, and what it’s like to have his novel exist in the world alongside memes like ‘OK Boomer.’
Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more.
Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram.
Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here.
Sponsors:
Masa Israel: Whether you’re interested in making a career change, volunteering, or just finding a new adventure, join young professionals from around the world and experience Israeli society firsthand through one of Masa Israel’s career development programs. If you or someone you know is looking to make next year meaningful and productive, visit masaisrael.org/unorthodox.
- UnorthodoxSitting TogetherEp. 390: A Beautifully Jewish Thanksgiving, featuring an iconic folding chair and a conversation with knitwear designer Inbal GrossNovember 22, 2023
- UnorthodoxDark Times, Bright LightsEp. 389: Reporting from the March for Israel in Washington, D.C.; Etgar Keret’s writer’s block; LeElle Slifer on advocating for her kidnapped Israeli cousins; and Tablet’s Hanukkah BazaarNovember 16, 2023
- UnorthodoxWords of WisdomEp. 388: Dan Senor on ‘The Genius of Israel’ and Gila Sacks on the legacy of her father, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, in this momentNovember 9, 2023
- UnorthodoxJewish PrioritiesEp. 387: A trip Across the JEW.S.A to Miami, plus timely conversations about Jewish identity, Israel, and more recorded live at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish HistoryNovember 2, 2023
- UnorthodoxClosely KnitEp. 386: Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or on living in the U.S. while Israel is at war, Tablet’s audience editor Ani Wilcenski on speaking up on social media, and artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren on teaching art to displaced children in IsraelOctober 26, 2023
- UnorthodoxMoving Forward, TogetherEp. 385: Rabbi Ari Lamm on what Jewish ethics says about freeing hostages and more; actress Lisa Edelstein on her new PBS series, ‘Little Bird’October 19, 2023
- UnorthodoxTime for ShabbatEp. 384: After a painful week, we’re embracing one of the most beautiful and steadfast Jewish traditionsOctober 13, 2023
- UnorthodoxVoices From IsraelEp. 383: Am Yisrael ChaiOctober 10, 2023
- UnorthodoxThe Good BookEp. 382: Co-host Liel Leibovitz on ‘How the Talmud Can Change Your Life,’ plus Israeli journalist Leore Dayan on his semi-autobiographical TV series ‘Normal’October 5, 2023
- UnorthodoxUnder the StarsEp. 381: Celebrating Sukkot in styleSeptember 28, 2023
- UnorthodoxTalking the TalkEp. 380: Linguist Deborah Tannen on ‘cooperative overlap,’ Peoplehood founder Julie Rice on creating community through conversation, and Mitchell Silk on communicating across languages and culturesSeptember 21, 2023
- UnorthodoxStealing the ShowEp. 379: ‘Golda’ director Guy Nattiv and ‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah’ writer Amanda SternSeptember 14, 2023
- UnorthodoxBeautifully JewishEp. 378: Starting the new year with a celebration of the objects that enrich our Jewish livesSeptember 7, 2023
- UnorthodoxWe Could NoshEp. 377: Jake Cohen’s new cookbook; the Jewish story behind PLNT Burger; New York’s rugelach king; and a trip Across the JEW.S.A. to the kosher Catskills August 31, 2023
- UnorthodoxSounds of the SeasonEp. 376: High Holiday music prep with Rabbi Josh Warshawsky, plus Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste, and the music archive of the National Library of IsraelAugust 24, 2023
- UnorthodoxEntering Elul Ep. 375: Diving into the month leading up to the High Holidays with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, Rabbi Diana Fersko, and moreAugust 17, 2023
- UnorthodoxRocky Mountain High NotesEp. 374: Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway’s new single, plus a trip Across the JEW.S.A. to ColoradoAugust 3, 2023
- UnorthodoxWorking It OutEp. 373: A Tisha B’Av refresher, plus football coach and ‘An Army of Normal Folks’ podcast host Bill CourtneyJuly 27, 2023