Our Favorite ‘Gentiles of the Week’ in 2022

Each week on Unorthodox, we interview two guests: a Jew of the Week and a Gentile of the Week. The Gentile of the Week, in a most beloved podcast tradition, gets to ask us a question they’ve always wondered about Judaism. No subject is off limits, no question too silly (or serious!). These conversations have been profound, thought-provoking, and hilarious, sometimes all at once. Here are five of our favorite Gentile of the Week segments from the past year of Unorthodox.

Ep. 335: Faith Salie

The multitalented Faith Salie—a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning, frequent panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, and author of Approval Junkie—tells us about growing up Catholic in Atlanta and learning about Judaism as she raises Jewish children with her husband.

Ep. 325: Negin Farsad

Iranian American comedian and Fake the Nation podcast host Negin Farsad is one of our favorite returning GOTWs. In this interview, she tells us about being mistaken for a Jew, and getting cast in “ethnically ambiguous” roles in TV and film.

Ep. 304: Jürgen Krauss

The Great British Baking Show semifinalist Jürgen Krauss, who won our hearts with his Passover pavlova recipe on season 9, is married to a Jewish woman and raising a Jewish family in the U.K. He tells us about representing his family’s Jewish faith in his flavors, and also shares a special Passover plava recipe with us.

Ep. 330: Michael Lewis

Author and podcaster Michael Lewis joins us to revisit his 1993 “Toy Goy” article in the New Republic, tell us about being on the receiving end of antisemitic taunts for attending the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, and share what he learned researching his 2016 book The Undoing Project, about the friendship between Israeli cognitive psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman.

Episode 323: Swami Tyagananda

Swami Tyagananda is a teacher at the Vedanta Center in Boston (where he also podcasts), and Hindu chaplain at MIT and Harvard. He explains how religion and spirituality play an important role in modern life and asks what Judaism believes about reincarnation.