Checks and Balances

This week on Unorthodox, we’re celebrating Lag Ba’Omer! Our Jewish guest is Senator Joe Lieberman, whose new book, With Liberty & Justice: The 50-Day Journey from Egypt to Sinai, highlights the importance of the the period between Passover and Shavuot known as the Omer. He tells us about being one of the most publically observant Jews in politics, why he never wore a yarmulke in the Senate, and whether the Gore White House would have had a kosher kitchen.

Our Gentile of the week is Skylar Inman, the host of Intractable, a podcast that explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by sharing the narratives and stories of people living on both sides. Skyler, who was raised Evangelical in Houston, Texas, tells us about moving to Israel after college and the unexpected benefits of approaching such a heated topic as a complete outsider. We also call up Tobias Wilinski, host of the German rap podcast ThemaTakt, to get the full story behind the two German rappers whose album featuring anti-Semitic lyrics won a music award.

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This episode is also sponsored by One Day University, which brings together the greatest professors from the world’s top schools to present special versions of their best lectures live. Register for upcoming events at onedayu.com using the code UNORTHODOX for 30 percent off.

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.