Birthright for WASPs?

If you love listening to Unorthodox every week, please consider donating to keep us going for another hundred episodes. We put together a bunch of fun gifts for donors, from tote bags to a tour of Yale with Mark and a study session with Liel.

Our Jewish guest is linguist Sarah Bunin Benor, an expert in Jewish languages and the author of Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism, an in-depth study of American Jewish language. She breaks down the linguistic “tells” of Orthodox Jews, explains how religious Jews often code switch depending on their audience, and describes her experience as a non-Orthodox Jew immersing herself in Orthodox homes and communities for research.

Our gentile of the week is architect and card-carrying WASP Duo Dickinson, who returns to the show to tell us about his forthcoming book, A Home Called New England. He also tells us what it’s like being a white Christian male in America today, especially one who loves football, and poses an interesting question: Are weeklong summer trips to Vermont essentially Birthright for WASPS?

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

This episode is brought to you by Jewish Lives, biographies that illuminate the Jewish experience. Visit JewishLives.org to get 25 percent off all books and curated collections with the code JLBOOKS.

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.