New Books in Jewish Studies

New Books in Jewish Studies

Marshall PoeMarshall Poe
Release Date

All Episodes

Scott D. Seligman, "Murder in Manchuria: The True Story of a Jewish Virtuoso, Russian Fascists, a French Diplomat, and a Japanese Spy in Occupied China" (U Nebraska Press, 2023)

On an August night in 1933 Harbin in then-Japanese controlled Manchuria–Semyon Kaspe, French citizen, famed concert musician, and Russian Jew, is abducted after a night out. Suspicion falls on the city’s fervently anti-semitic Russian fascists. Yet despite pressure from the Frenc ...  Show more

 . 43min 7sec
Naming The Need For "Order"

In this episode David and Modya look at the final Torah portion of Vayechi in the book of Genesis through the lens of order (seder). In this parsha the patriarch, Jacob, bestows blessings on each of the 12 sons, well, 13 actually since Joseph’s two sons each get the blessing. We ...  Show more

 . 30min 0sec
David M. Freidenreich, "Jewish Muslims: How Christians Imagined Islam as the Enemy" (U California Press, 2023)

Uncovering the hidden history of Islamophobia and its surprising connections to the long-standing hatred of Jews.Hatred of Jews and hatred of Muslims have been intertwined in Christian thought since the rise of Islam. In Jewish Muslims: How Christians Imagined Islam as the Enemy  ...  Show more

 . 58min 51sec
"Order" and the Big Reveal

David and Modya explore the challenges of balancing relationships with getting things done in life. They see how in parsha VaYigash order and disorder play against or with each other and how missteps can cause suffering for self and others. The path forward is to find one’s purpo ...  Show more

 . 23min 30sec
Yaron Eliav, "A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean" (Princeton UP, 2023)

Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Ba ...  Show more

 . 1h 20min