Explore every episode of the podcast Translations
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shema Session: Why We Don't Define Antisemitism | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:27:08 | |
...Our first-ever Translations podcast Shema Session, a behind-the-scenes conversation series featuring Project Shema colleagues as we navigate the complex issues at the heart of our work. In this inaugural episode, we sit down with our CEO, Oren Jacobson, to explore why, as an antisemitism education organization, Project Shema does not adopt any formal definition of antisemitism. Together, we explore why, in most cases, a formal definition isn't necessary to understand the concerns of the community, including in educational environments and, at times, with policymakers. We also dive into the question on many people's minds: is anti-Zionism antisemitism? 00 - :35 – Introduction :35 - 2:25 – Kara and Oren - Set up of Conversation Giving shape to words and how it involves conversations where being wrong is part of the process of work and learning. Disagreement is necessary as it indicates the diversity of the members and ideas represented in the organization. 2:54 - 3:42 – Why Project Shema does not define Antisemitism even though it is central to our work 3:43 - 5:14 – Jewish Harm and Trauma can happen even if something is not antisemitism 5:15 - 7:57 – Antisemitism and micro-invalidations 7:58 - 9:28 – Defining does not address the harm 9:29 - 12:45 – International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition Intergovernmental vs Jerusalem Declaration definition and PS’s position as educators Who is the definition for? How is it helpful? 12:46 - 14:38 – A Guideline is necessary but only as a guideline 14:39 - 18:24 – What is the Role of Defining Antisemitism in promoting Jewish Inclusion? 18:25 - 23:41 – How do we define Antisemitism? And how does Anti-Zionism fit in here? 23:42 - 26:20 – Caring, Curiosity, Empathy and Listening are what PS advocates for 26:21- 27:01 – Recap and Conclusion (Kara) Resource Referenced: Yael Silverstein, Caryn Block, “Making the invisible visible: A taxonomy of contemporary antisemitic experiences on college campuses,” Journal of Jewish Education (2025): 1-26. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review: Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| We Might Be Wrong: Tom Ginsburg on Free Speech, Campus Life, and Protecting Jewish Students | 31 Aug 2026 | 00:48:16 | |
Recorded 08/13/2026 What does "free speech" actually mean, and where are its limits, especially on a college campus? In this episode of Translations, we talk with Tom Ginsburg, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and faculty director of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, to break down how free speech really works. We talk about the difference between public and private universities, why the classroom, the quad, and the dorm room all operate under different rules, and how Title VI comes into play when speech crosses into harassment. We dig into real campus cases, including an incident where a Jewish student was targeted in their own dorm room, and talk through a practical way to think about the difference between protected political speech and targeted harassment. Along the way, Tom shares a simple idea he believes could fix a lot of what's broken on campus discourse: we might be wrong. This episode is released alongside a new Project Shema resource on free speech and anti-Semitism in the campus environment. 0-0:39 - Introduction 0:40 - What is Freedom Speech? 05:26 - How is Free Speech a Value vs a Law? 07:11 - Is Free Speech understood better in its absence? 11:46 - Free Speech on College/University Campuses is Different 17:01 - Free Speech in Private Vs Public College/University? 20:43 - Title VI and Jewish Harm on Campus 35:01 - Campus as Democratic Spaces of Co-Existence 38:35 - Words “Academic Freedom” is most dangerous to Jews? 40:29 - Targeted vs Non-targeted Speech 44:42 - Hate Speech Laws Limit Free Speech 47:21 - Conclusion
Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| Netanya Cranford on Belonging, Big Tents, and Progressive Jewish Life | 22 Jun 2026 | 00:43:20 | |
On today’s episode, we are joined by Netanya Cranford. Netanya is a Jewish activist in San Diego. She is a founder and member of the group of “Change Begins With Me,” a San Diego Indivisible chapter started on the eve of Trump’s first inauguration. We explore her insights on building coalition spaces and her activism as a progressive Jew. Netanya’s politics are rooted in her ability to talk about her “story of self,” building coalitional politics, and local small “p” politics that allow her to make change in a variety of ways and across various communities. Chapter Breakdown:
Resources:
Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review! Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| At the Jewish Table with Hélène Jawhara Piñer | 02 Jun 2026 | 00:46:30 | |
Today we are joined by Hélène Jawhara Piñer to discuss her research at the intersection of food and history and how what we eat—and what we’re not allowed to eat—can actually tell a deeper story about the world. Hélène’s work helps us understand how Jewish dietary practices were used to target and isolate Jews, and how in the present day we can still see echoes of that historical exclusion through attacks on Jewish, Israeli, and kosher spaces. Chapter Breakdown:
Resources: Please subscribe, rate, and review! Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| March 2026 Webinar recording: An Iranian Jew and a Palestinian in Conversation | 12 May 2026 | 01:12:02 | |
This episode comes from a special webinar we hosted on March 26,2026, “Dialogue as a Tool of Safety: An Iranian Jew and a Palestinian in Conversation.” Kara and Eli facilitated a courageous and deeply human conversation between Iranian Jewish peace activist and writer, Daniel Bral, and Palestinian peace activist and conflict resolution expert, Hamze Awade. Together, they explored what it means to engage in difficult dialogue across divides. Through personal stories, shared communication principles, and real-time modeling of tough conversations, this gathering highlights how empathy, respect, and curiosity can create spaces of safety and understanding, without erasing pain or identity. This session marked the launch of the Translations podcast. Chapter Breakdown:
Resources:
Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| Beyond Survival: Whitney Weathers on Thrivival and Inclusive Leadership | 21 Apr 2026 | 00:51:21 | |
Today’s guest is Whitney Weathers, who brings a rare combination of scholarship, strategy, and spirit to every space she enters. A consultant, educator, and thought leader in Black theology, urban education, and organizational culture, Whitney is the founder of Whitney Weathers Consulting, and a doctoral candidate at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Whitney brings a very unique combination of both academic research and lived experience to challenge institutions toward deeper inclusion. She defines the term “thrivival,” (moving past survival into thriving) and what that means specifically for Black women, which can then be applied for all of us to build more inclusive spaces. Listen for Whitney’s truly unique leadership style that centers vulnerability. Chapter Breakdown:
Resources:
Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review. Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| What Gets Lost (and Found) in Translation: with Andrew Mbuvi | 24 Mar 2026 | 00:44:08 | |
Kara and Eli are joined by Andrew Mbuvi, distinguished scholar of biblical studies whose work bridges theology, race, and social justice. A leading voice in antiracist pedagogy, his scholarship examines how the histories of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament intersect with the realities of race, violence, and power. This conversation is a powerful foundation for understanding why Project Shema is so interested in translation in the first place—how the words we use shape our understanding of both text and one another. Chapter Breakdown:
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review: Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| Kara & Eli | 24 Mar 2026 | 00:26:48 | |
In this episode, Kara and Eli explore how our inability to translate our language, and ourselves, undermines meaningful dialogue. How can we challenge complex norms and ideas if we remain more committed to binary frameworks than to understanding one another’s lived experiences? The antidote, they argue, is storytelling. By illuminating how our experiences shape our perspectives, storytelling has the power to depolarize conversation. It’s an approach at the heart of Project Shema’s work. Chapter Breakdown:
Resources:
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review. Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||
| Introducing Translations | 27 Aug 2025 | 00:01:19 | |
A lot of our conversations are closing space for empathy and care instead of opening new pathways for understanding. Much of that can be attributed to binary thinking and the refusal to engage with and translate the lived experiences of others. Translations is about breaking down binaries by practicing dialogue across differences. We are here to translate words that carry weight so they don’t end conversations, they open them up. Each episode will share stories, skills, and real conversations that show how people can stay in the room even when the tension is real. As we know, these differences are not going away. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review. Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations | |||