Gatecrashers
A podcast about the hidden history of Jews and the Ivy League, from Unorthodox co-host Mark Oppenheimer
September 13, 2022
What topic is more controversial, sensational, and endlessly captivating than college admissions? It’s a billion-dollar industry. It sends celebrities to jail. The Supreme Court is weighing in on who gets in and why. We might think we have read all there is to read on the issue, and heard all there is to hear. But if you want to understand everything that’s going on with college admissions today—not just the battles over diversity, but the very existence of college applications, the essays and interviews and standardized tests—you have to look at the first group that tried to diversify elite schools. You have to look at the Jews. Gatecrashers, an eight-part podcast series from Tablet Studios, tells the story of how Jews fought for acceptance at elite schools, and how the Jewish experience in the Ivy League shaped American higher education, and shaped America at large.
What topic is more controversial, sensational, and endlessly captivating than college admissions? It’s a billion-dollar industry. It sends celebrities to jail. The Supreme Court is weighing in on who gets in and why. We might think we have read all there is to read on the issue, and heard all there is to hear. But if you want to understand everything that’s going on with college admissions today—not just the battles over diversity, but the very existence of college applications, the essays and interviews and standardized tests—you have to look at the first group that tried to diversify elite schools. You have to look at the Jews. Gatecrashers, an eight-part podcast series from Tablet Studios, tells the story of how Jews fought for acceptance at elite schools, and how the Jewish experience in the Ivy League shaped American higher education, and shaped America at large.
Gatecrashers Trailer
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Gatecrashers Trailer
Episode One:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 1: Columbia and Its Forgotten Jewish Campus
What was Seth Low Junior College, and why did the brilliant Jewish writer Isaac Asimov get sent there?
September 13, 2022
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For more information about the Columbia episode, click here.
Episode Two:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 2: Princeton and the Dirty Bicker of 1958
The curious social scandal that left Jews out of—and nearly upended—the school’s exclusive eating clubs
September 13, 2022
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For more information about the Princeton episode, click here.
Episode Three:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 3: Dartmouth and the Jews Who Loved It
How a laid-back college in the mountains became an unlikely oasis for mid-century Jews
September 20, 2022
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For more information about the Dartmouth episode, click here.
Episode Four:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 4: Yale and the Slow Death of Quotas
The truth about historical caps on Jewish enrollment in the Ivy League
September 23, 2022
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For more information about the Yale episode, click here.
Episode Five:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 5: Brown University and Mrs. Smith's Kosher Kitchen
The Providence, Rhode Island, family that fed observant Jewish students and the 1960s push for on-campus kosher dining options
October 04, 2022
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For more information about the Brown episode, click here.
Episode Six:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 6: Cornell and Its Off-Campus, Off-Kilter Jewish Commune
The Cornell Havurah, a countercultural ‘anti-establishment establishment’ that brought Jewish students together
October 11, 2022
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For more information about the Cornell episode, click here.
Episode Seven:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 7: Penn and the Great Sorority Coup of 1987
Jewish Greek life, stereotypes, and what it means to represent Jewish womanhood
October 18, 2022
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For more information about the Penn episode, click here.
Episode Eight:
Gatecrashers
Ep. 8: Harvard and the End of the Jewish Ivy League
Declining Jewish student numbers, the changing face of the American university, and what happens in the generations after the gates are crashed
October 25, 2022
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For more information about the Harvard episode, click here.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the full series at tabletmag.com/gatecrashers. Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at (917) 310-0456.
Tablet Studios is the premier destination for smart and entertaining Jewish audio content. Our podcasts include Unorthodox, Take One, Hebrew School, and the limited-run series Gatecrashers, Adventures with Dead Jews, Radioactive: The Father Coughlin Story, The Franchise, and 49 Days to Stretch My Soul.
