Whoever said history was boring clearly never heard these stories…Welcome to Jewish History Nerds! Join hosts Yael and Schwab each week as they take a dive into some deep cuts of Jewish history. From the Jewish Da Vinci Code to mass suicide pacts, explore true stories that feel larger than life.
Be in touch: nerds@unpacked.media
Site
RSS
Apple
Données mises à jour le 23/10/2026
Classements récents
Dernières positions dans les classements Apple Podcasts et Spotify.
Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts
Liens présents dans les descriptions d'épisodes et autres podcasts les utilisant également.
Was Jabotinsky the Father of Likud and the Israeli Right? Revisited
Saison 6 · Épisode 18
jeudi 22 octobre 2026 • Durée 40:43
Jewish History Nerds is now an award-winning podcast! We took home two Signal Awards for history: Gold and Listener’s Choice. Thank you, Nerd Nation for coming out to vote.
Speaking of elections, Israelis are gong to the polls. So we decided to revisit one of our favorite episodes, the story of Ze’ev Jabotinsky. The founder of Revisionist Zionism is widely claimed as the ideological father of Likud and the Israeli right. But what did he actually believe? Jabotinsky predicted the Holocaust, fought for Jewish self-defense, and built the movement that shaped modern Israel. This is the origin story of the Israeli right, and it’s not what you think.
If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. And email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We want to hear from you.
This episode was first released in February, 2024.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
The First Jews in the Americas Revisited
Saison 6 · Épisode 17
jeudi 15 octobre 2026 • Durée 49:57
We're a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. So we decided to revisit the episode submitted for consideration. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That same year, Jews who didn't convert to Catholicism were expelled from Spain. Those two events are more connected than you think, and together they explain why the first Jewish community in the Americas ended up exactly where it did. Spoiler alert, It wasn’t New Amsterdam. It was Recife, Brazil.
Check out some of the other incredible episodes in the Americas Series.
What came next after Jews docked in Recife, Brazil? Jews thrived in the Caribbean.
Jewish Pirates and the Caribbean
The surprising story of Emma Lazarus, the poet behind the Statue of Liberty’s famous words.
How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus (Part 1)
The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants (Part 2)
Email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We want to hear from you.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
"Bronx Man Leads Russian Revolution": Trotsky Revisited
Saison 6 · Épisode 16
vendredi 9 octobre 2026 • Durée 47:44
We're a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We will be back soon with a brand new season.
Leon Trotsky was one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century, and one of history’s most reluctant Jews. Born Lev Bronstein in Ukraine, he rejected his Jewish identity his entire life, yet it followed him everywhere. With the anniversary of what's known as the October Revolution coming up, Yael and Schwab are revisiting one of our most popular episodes. It’s so packed with surprising twists and details that it’s worth a second listen even if you caught it the first time around.
Email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We really want to hear from you.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out:
The Rosenbergs Were executed but the Evidence Was Thin
Revisionist Zionism: Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s Journey
(As mentioned, Jabotinsky was also originally from Odessa)
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
Vote Now for Jewish History Nerds
Saison 6
mardi 6 octobre 2026 • Durée 02:50
Voting has closed. Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category and has the. chance to win a listener's choice award.
If you enjoy this show, please leave a comment and review wherever you get your podcasts. We will be back soon with a brand new season of episodes.
Here's a link to the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition.
Before Jews Danced With the Torah: The Lost Simchat Torah Tradition
Saison 6
jeudi 1 octobre 2026 • Durée 13:11
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season.
More than 400 years ago, Rivka Tiktiner wrote the earliest known full-length published work by a Jewish woman. She also created a Simchat Torah poem that reveals how women helped prepare Torah scrolls for the holiday in Prague. For Simchat Torah, Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner revisit Rivka Tiktiner's extraordinary learning, the evolution of Jewish customs, and whether it makes sense to call this mysterious historical figure a feminist.
Here's a link to the full episode on Rivka Tiktiner: The First Jewish Woman to Publish a Book.
Here is a link to our episode on Ray Frank, mentioned in the episode.
Check out the the story of another remarkable Jewish woman, Emma Lazarus, the poet behind the Statue of Liberty’s famous words.
How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus (Part 1)
The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants (Part 2)
Here is the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for this year's competition. The First Jews in the Americas, Fleeing the Inquisition.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
The Jewish History Hiding in Japan and Korea
Saison 6
jeudi 10 septembre 2026 • Durée 54:06
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please leave a comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season.
How did Jews escaping the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions end up in Japan? Dr. Henry Abramson joins Yael and Schwab for a special bonus episode to uncover the surprising story of Jewish life in the Far East. While Europe persecuted Jews, Japan’s religious landscape offered a strikingly different environment, shaped by Shinto, Buddhism, trade, migration, and a remarkably tolerant reception for some Jewish refugees seeking safety abroad. Plus, they explore South Korean's fascination with the Talmud.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
To learn more about Dr. Henry Abramson's trip to Japan and South Korea, check out his lectures on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TYJtzL_4y4&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpCjuQMk4H0
Birth of Beate Sirota Gordon, who wrote equality into the postwar Japanese constitution.
Talmud as a New Intellectual Project by Sarit Kattan Gribetz
The Talmud in Korea: A Study in the Reception of Rabbinic Literature by Sarit Kattan Gribetz, Claire Kim
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
How America Changed the Jewish People
Saison 6 · Épisode 13
jeudi 3 septembre 2026 • Durée 28:26
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season.
Historian Dr. Henry Abramson usually works behind the scenes, but this week he joins Yael and Schwab to explore what makes the American Jewish experience unique. Together, they reflect on 250 years of Jewish life in America, from Emma Lazarus and immigration to Superman, antisemitism, and Jewish creativity. They also explore stories still waiting to be told, including the remarkable Jewish adventurers who journeyed to Antarctica throughout history.
Dr. Henry Abramson sat down with Yael and Schwab for this episode The Jewish History Hiding in Japan and Korea.
Here's the first episode in the America's Series The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition, the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
Check out Dr. Henry Abramson's lectures on Jewish history here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryAbramsonPhD
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
Why Did Sammy Davis Jr. Become Jewish?
Saison 6 · Épisode 12
jeudi 27 août 2026 • Durée 52:56
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes.
Sammy Davis Jr. was already one of America's biggest entertainers when he made a choice few expected. He converted to Judaism. His journey began with a car crash that nearly killed him and grew through years of study, faith, and a powerful connection between Black and Jewish history. From the Rat Pack and the civil rights movement to JFK, Nixon, and Israel, Schwab and Yael explore Sammy Davis Jr.'s story in part 2 of a series of Jews in Hollywood, and what it reveals about the search for belonging in America.
Check out Part 1 in this series, Al Jolson and the Jazz Singer: The Jewish Story Behind Hollywood's First Talkie
Go back and watch or listen to the first episode in the America's Series The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition, It's the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
Sammy Davis Jr. recorded his hit song I've Gotta Be Me in 1968 for Reprise Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXYndNL4Mu8
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
How Jews Built Hollywood: Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
Saison 6 · Épisode 10
jeudi 20 août 2026 • Durée 57:17
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season.
Al Jolson was the biggest star in America, a Jewish immigrant who left the synagogue behind to conquer Broadway and Hollywood. Jonathan Schwab guides Yael Steiner through his journey from cantor's son to star of The Jazz Singer, the 1927 film that made synchronized sound a sensation and told a deeply Jewish story to all of America. Trading film history along the way, Yael and Schwab unpack assimilation, blackface, race, and how Jewish immigrants didn't just work in Hollywood, they built it.
Don't miss Part 2 in this series: Why Did Sammy Davis Become Jewish?
Check out: How a Plate of Shrimp Changed American Judaism
Here's the first episode in the America's Series The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition, the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
Credit: The Jazz Singer Singer Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date October 6, 1927.
Clip from The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson:
https://youtu.be/mTufuWn3jv8?si=PE35erbhfZsqnqAH
Why Did Negroes Love Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer?: Melodrama, Blackface and Cosmopolitan Theatrical Culture by Charles Musser
Blackface, White NoiseJewish Immigrants in the Hollywood Melting Pot by Michael Rogin
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
She Spoke from the Pulpit Before Women Could. Revisiting Ray Fank
Saison 6 · Épisode 9
jeudi 13 août 2026 • Durée 48:02
Jewish History Nerds is a finalist for a Signal Award in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please leave a comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season.
As we look back at Jews in the Americas for the 250th, we’re revisiting the story of Ray Frank. Long before women were ordained as rabbis, Ray Frank was already doing something almost unthinkable: speaking from the Jewish pulpit, drawing huge crowds, and changing the future of American Jewish life. In this episode of Jewish History Nerds, Schwab and Yael explore the remarkable story of the woman known as the “Girl Rabbi of the Golden West” and the complicated legacy she left behind.
If you enjoy the story of Ray Frank, check out: How a Plate of Shrimp Changed American Judaism, the story of the Reform Movement and the Trayfe Banquet.
Hannah Szenes: Defiance Amidst Darkness, another story of one of the most remarkable Jewish women in history.
Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media. We really want to hear from you.
Here is a photo of Ray Frank from 1890:
https://jwa.org/media/ray-frank
Sources and summary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v2WzLQvSagiMdKQMP_mqNoz4HqCDHWktsVD80sDPRQE/edit?usp=sharing
Watch Yael and Schwab on YouTube.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out Unpacked on youtube.
------------------
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu
Découvrez des podcasts liées à Jewish History Nerds. Explorez des podcasts avec des thèmes, sujets, et formats similaires. Ces similarités sont calculées grâce à des données tangibles, pas d'extrapolations !
