Jewish History Nerds

The Jewish History Hiding in Japan and Korea

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 surpris

How America Changed the Jewish People: Reflections With Dr Henry Abramson

What makes the American Jewish experience unique, and how have Jews shaped America in return? Historian, Dr. Henry Abramson, usually works behind the scenes but in this e

Why Did Sammy Davis Jr. Become Jewish?

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 nea

Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer: The Jewish Story Behind Hollywood’s First Talkie

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

The Girl Rabbi of the Golden West: Ray Frank Revisted

As we look back at Jews in the Americas for the 250th, we’re revisiting the story of Ray Frank, the “Girl Rabbi of the Golden West.” In the 1890s, she became a celebrated

How a Plate of Shrimp Changed American Judaism

The infamous 1883 Trafa Banquet was meant to celebrate America's first ordained rabbis. But a menu of shrimp, clams, oysters, and frog's legs in cream ignited a firestorm

Anarchism, Feminism...and Judaism? Emma Goldman Revisited

As we continue our series exploring Jews in American history, we're revisiting our episode on Emma Goldman, the revolutionary Jewish anarchist who helped shape feminism,

The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants: Emma Lazarus

She wasn't an immigrant, but Emma Lazarus gave the Statue of Liberty its voice. In Part 2, Schwab and Yael explore how a wealthy poet became a champion for refugees, an e

How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus wrote The New Colossus, the poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty. But she was nothing like the huddled masses she described. In part 1 of a two part ser

The Jews of 1789: Citizens

In Part 2, Yael guides Schwab through what happened after the Revolution, as America's 2,500 Jews became citizens of a brand new nation. Together they explore how the Con

The Jews of 1776: The American Revolution

A broker who bankrolled the Continental Army and died penniless. An officer who refused pork in a British prison. A bill sent to George Washington for a missing fork. In

Why The First Jews in Colonial America Nearly Vanished

Well over a century before the Declaration of Independence, a boatload of Jewish refugees landed in New Amsterdam with no money, no synagogue, and a governor who desperat

Jewish Pirates and the Caribbean

Were there really Jewish pirates in the Caribbean? The answer is far more complicated (and fascinating) than the legend. From Samuel Pallache, the so-called Pirate Rabbi,

The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition to Brazil

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Fleeing the Inquisition, Crypto-Jews who had been forced to hide their

Yitzhak Rabin: Not the Peacenik You Think He Was | with Noam Weissman

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Jewish History Nerds welcomes its first-ever guest, Noam Weissman, host

The Real Reason Anne Frank Became a Global Symbol

June 12th marks Anne Frank’s birthday, and it was on her 13th birthday that she received the diary that would later become one of the most widely read books in the world.

King David: A Divided Heart

Few figures in all of Jewish history are as celebrated, as contradicted, and as human as King David. But how well do we really know him? We're kicking off new bonus episo

New Episodes, Coming Next Week

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Yael and Schwab are back — and this season, they're diving into the his

Voices of the Warsaw Ghetto: A Yom HaShoah Re-Release

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Yael and Schwab revisit the remarkable story of the Oneg Shabbos archiv

The Haggadah: The Book of the People of the Book

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! The Haggadah is the most widely read Jewish book in the world, and yet