I got naked and sweaty in Finland and then wrote about it.
Second Season of The Kibitz Available Now!
Can religion exist without God? Is Jewish atheism an oxymoron? Find out on The Kibitz podcast.
Our season two premiere is about Jewish atheism, and features Rabbi Susan Goldberg from LA’s Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the president of American Atheists David Silverman, legendary British comedian David Baddiel, and president of the Secular Coalition for America Herb Silverman.
How Strong is Your Sperm?
I wrote this piece for Men’s Health magazine, which explains that women aren’t the only ones who need to get healthy when trying to conceive. The link between sperm health and fertility may be in sperm epigenetics…
The Kibitz Ep 15: Sinatra, Israel, and a Bag Full of Cash
I tell the story of two strangers in the night, a bag full of cash, and a ship full of weapons bound for the fledgling state of Israel in this special episode dedicated to Frank Sinatra’s jewish activism.
In 1945, Frank Sinatra made “The House I Live In”, a short film in which he confronts a gang of kids bullying a Jewish boy and tells them to stop being Nazis and start being American. It’s disturbingly relevant today. In this episode I also talk about the film, and Frank’s lifelong commitment to #antisemitism.
Guests: Anthony Summers, David Lehman, Shalom Goldman, Paul Karolyi, and Tony Michaels.
The House I Live In (1945) – shockingly relevant today, considering what’s been going on in the world…
My Summer Job: Master of Airemonies for the World Air Guitar Championship
TheTotal Eclipse of Guitar – 2017
Nothing Really Matters – 2013
The Finland Countdown – 2012
Throwing Shade: NASA Harnesses Flower Power to See Distant Planets
This is a piece I wrote about a new, very cool NASA program in development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.
Ray & Remora Album Debut: Startle it Up – Review on BuzzBandsLA
My band Ray & Remora has a new full-length album of 11 original tunes coming out September 16. Here’s what BuzzBandsLA had to say about it:
“It’s smart, evocative dream-pop that at times recalls the likes of Camera Obscura, Saint Etienne, (certain periods of) Yo La Tengo and, on the opening track “The Happening,” Belle & Sebastian…File under: New indie-pop sophisticates.”
— BuzzBandsLA (Kevin Bronson)
WSJ: A Post-Brexit Tour of London’s Most British Restaurants
With British nationalism on the rise in England, I tasted my way through four of London’s oldest, most gustatorily patriotic restaurants—and learned to eat ‘stewed cheese’ along the way. Here’s your guide…
The Kibitz Ep10: Comedy
David Wain – (Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models) who reveals the origins of his beefy-calved Israeli character Yaron in Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and gives a shoutout about his summit experience.
Kasher vs Kasher – comedian Moshe Kasher and rabbi David Kasher square off on why jews are funny. Moshe dismisses the popular notion that comedy is about “finding truth” and unearths a little-known fact about Noah and his genitals in the bible.
Dan Patterson (Whose Line is it Anyway, Mock the Week) talks about the rise of anti-semitism in the UK.
Andrea Rosen (Episodes, Stella) talks about how being half-jewish influenced her comedy, and how she hates kugel.
Nana – my 95-year-old grandmother goes blue and tells some hilarious jokes
Episode 9 of The Kibitz: Animals
Ever wondered if kosher meat is more humanely raised and slaughtered than non-kosher meat? Want to know whether the eggs you’re buying are from humanely-raised chickens?
The 9th episode of The Kibitz features an exclusive tour inside Teva Foods, one of the few remaining kosher slaughterhouses in the LA area. We’ll discover how the kosher slaughter process takes place and examine whether kosher is a more or less humane method of processing beef for food.
I also interview Yadidya Greenberg—a Jewish Animal Welfare Advocate, Shochet, and Blogger who works with the Jewish Initiative for Animals—and Devora Kimelman-Block, the founder of KOL Foods, the only purveyor of pasture-raised grass-fed kosher beef in the US.
Episode 7 of The Kibitz: What’s the Deli, Yo?!
How did the pastrami sandwich come to be known as classic Jew food? Also, which sandwich is better, Langer’s #19 or the plain pastrami on rye? Episode 7 features interviews w/ David Sax, Norm & Tricia Langer and Zach Brooks of Food is the New Rock.
Episode 5 of The Kibitz: Exodus
Interested in the origin stories of the guys who invented the original superheroes? Then check out episode five of The Kibitz featuring a conversation on that very subject between Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn, Fortress of Solitude) Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) and Rabbi Sharon Brous.
Plus Moshe Kasher and David Kasher, Ronna, nana and more!
A Tour of London’s Best Afternoon Teas for the Wall Street Journal
Sure, some journalists travel to war-torn countries or expose pernicious political scandals, but I opted for the arduous task of finding the best tea in London.
(Sorry if this is behind a paywall, but high-minded journalism of this sort — much like afternoon tea — comes at a price).
EPISODE 3 OF THE KIBITZ: LOVE
Episode 3 of The Kibitz is an action-packed Valentine’s Day episode all about love. We’ve got an excerpt from Israel Story (the “Israeli This American Life”) hosted by Mishy Harman, brothers Rabbi David Kasher and comedian Moshe Kasher, Larry Smith of the Six Word Memoir Project, Ronna (of Ronna & Beverly), and my 95-year old nana telling jokes.
And if that weren’t enough to get you kvelling, Jeff Goldblum plays some jazz and banters about jewish holidays.
You don’t have to be Jewish to listen, but it wouldn’t hurt…