Episodes

  • Jewish Studies Unscrolled: American Horror and Sidney Lumet’s film The Pawnbroker (1964), with Jeremy Dauber

    Jewish Studies Unscrolled: American Horror and Sidney Lumet’s film The Pawnbroker (1964), with Jeremy Dauber
    Dec 30 2024
    Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we delve into a rare cultural intersection: Jewish life and the genre of horror. While Jewish contributions to American culture often focus on comedy, literature, or music, horror remains largely unexplored, even by prominent Jewish filmmakers. We’re joined by Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University professor and author of American Scary: A History of Horror from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond. Together, we examine Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film The Pawnbroker as a rare exception, highlighting its haunting depiction of Holocaust survivor Sol Nazerman’s trauma, particularly through the “thin place” of the subway—a space where the present collides with the horrors of the past. You can watch the subway scene we discuss here.
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    29 mins
  • Jewish Studies Unscrolled: Bruce Springsteen, with Rabbis Elliot Cosgrove and Neil Zuckerman

    Jewish Studies Unscrolled: Bruce Springsteen, with Rabbis Elliot Cosgrove and Neil Zuckerman
    Dec 26 2024
    Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we talk about Bruce Springsteen and his iconic song “Thunder Road.” While Springsteen himself isn’t Jewish, this song, and his songwriting in general, invites reflections on themes central to Jewish life: tradition, leaving home, and coming back again. We’re joined by noted Bruce fans, Park Avenue Synagogue rabbis Elliot Cosgrove and Neil Zuckerman. Drawing on their personal connections to the song and their shared journey through rabbinical training, Cosgrove and Zuckerman unpack the spiritual resonance of Springsteen’s work, asking why certain texts—whether Torah or rock lyrics—speak to us anew across the decades. You can buy Rabbi Cosgrove’s book, For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today, here.
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    37 mins
  • Jewish Studies Unscrolled: Hostages and Nathan Hanover’s The Abyss of Despair, with Adam Teller

    Jewish Studies Unscrolled: Hostages and Nathan Hanover’s The Abyss of Despair, with Adam Teller
    Dec 26 2024
    Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we explore Nathan Hanover’s 17th-century work, The Abyss of Despair, or, in the original Hebrew, Yeven Metsulah. The text documents the Chmelnitski Revolt of 1648, a catastrophic uprising that devastated Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. We’re joined by Adam Teller, historian and author of Rescue the Surviving Souls: The Jewish Refugee Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, to examine how Jews across Europe and the Middle East organized a remarkable rescue network to ransom hostages, despite the era’s limited communication tools. Drawing parallels to modern events, Adam Teller sheds new light on this often-overlooked chapter of history, showing how The Abyss of Despair holds untapped insights into Jewish resilience and global solidarity.
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    31 mins
  • Coming Soon: Jewish Studies Unscrolled

    Coming Soon: Jewish Studies Unscrolled
    Dec 19 2024
    Jewish Studies Unscrolled features host Alyssa Quint in conversation with expert guests and historians. Each episode focuses on a single classic Jewish text and covers topics ranging from a 17th-century hostage crisis, to modern classical interpretations of a Yiddish lullaby.
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    1 min