Shake It Off
Ep. 245: Celebrating Sukkot and talking with NPR’s Peter Sagal, political writer David French, and ‘Remix Judaism’ author Roberta Kwall
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This week on Unorthodox, we’re shaking that lulav and etrog for Sukkot.
To help us understand the various Jewish holidays that arrive in quick succession after the High Holidays—Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Shemini Atzeret—we talk to Roberta Kwall, author of Remix Judaism: Preserving Tradition in a Diverse World. She tells us about the traditional “smashing of the willows” and other lesser known Jewish practices that can add meaning to our modern Jewish identity.
Then we’re joined by Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me. He tells what he’s learned from hosting the very entertaining news quiz show for more than 20 years, and why it’s important to find humor even when the headlines are bad.
Mark chats with David French, senior editor at The Dispatch and author of Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. He explains the rift between conservatives who, like him, don’t support Trump and those who do, and warns against the danger of today’s hyperpartisan era.
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