The Art/Lab Podcast: Conversations About Jewish Arts and Culture

S4E10 Are We All Works of Art? (w/ Fred Harwin)

 Rosh Hashanah is traditionally called the Birthday of the World. I've been thinking about the difference between two ways of talking about the world's beginning. The sci

S4E9 Best of: When the Stories We Tell Ourselves Stop Working (w/ Tom Haviv)

Anyone who takes Jewish sacred texts seriously  has to care about how we interpret these stories, which means how these storeis and myths are re-told, invested with new d

S4E8 "Best of": How do We Face Competing Narratives of the Past? (w/ Rebecca Clarren)

My guest today is journalist Rebecca Clarren. Her work has appeared in Mother Jones, High Country News, The Nation, and Indian Country Today. For her reporting, she's won

S4E7 "Best of": Is Judaism Fundamentally an Artistic Tradition?

A Reflection by Rabbi Josh

S4E6 Why One Artist Is Turning to Tradition to Innovate

In this episode, I sit down with multi-instrumentalist David Rosman — guitarist, violinist, and klezmer devotee — to talk about how he found his way into klezmer music no

S4E5 Best-Of Episode: Israeli Master Musician Yair Dalal

This is a re-release of Season 3 Episode 43.     Welcome to The Genesis. If you heard my episode with Eric Stern, then you already know that today's guest will be per

S4E4 Can Dance Teach Jewish Ideas? (re-release of S3E13 w/ Jen Gwirtz)

In this episode, Rabbi Josh sits down with Portland-based dancer, choreographer, and Jewish educator Jen Gwirtz to explore the meeting place of Judaism, language, and the

S4E3 When the Stories We Tell Ourselves Stop Working (w/ Tom Haviv) (re-release)

S3E11 Tom Haviv Anyone who takes Jewish sacred texts seriously  has to care about how we interpret these stories, which means how these storeis and myths are re-told, i

S4E2 Why a Jewish Arts & Culture Program Now? (Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem) (re-release)

Summer schedule update: Art Lab is slowing down for the summer — fewer new episodes (about one a month), plus some re-released favorites. Behind the scenes, we're preppin

S4E1 Forgetting and Jewish Creativity (with Rachel Attias)

One of our recent guests, David Winitsky, was asked to recommend a work of art he loves — he chose Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. I found myself

S3E53 Jewish Art & Memory in a Time of Change (with Judy Margles)

Judy Margles, longtime director of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, joins me to talk about the institution she spent a career building — and t

S3E52 Language, Music and Resistance: Yiddish Folk Music in the 21st Century (with the band Brivele)

I think about language a lot. Understanding and translating Hebrew is a core part of what keeps me busy and engaged, and in my study of Kabbalah I often confront the limi

S3E51 What Questions Are Jewish Artists Asking in the 21st Century? (David Winitsky)

Jewish artists have always found themselves in relationship with the world around them. Sometimes that relationship is generative. Sometimes it is uneasy. Often it requir

S3E50 A Jewish Artist on Making Work that 'Disturbs' (w/ Bronte Grimm)

Hi friends, and welcome to the Art Lab podcast. I'm Rabbi Josh. My guest this week is Brontë Grimm, an Art Lab alum and multimedia artist whose work wrestles with diffi

S349 How Can Jewish Culture Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century (Lou Cove)

This is a Greatest Hits episode - a re-release of the second part of my conversation with Lou Cove, from Season 2 Episode 21 (the interview spanned episdoes 20 & 21). 

S3E48 Can Americana Music Be Jewish? (Mark Rubin)

Welcome to The Art/Lab Podcast: Conversations About Jewish Arts and Culture (previously The Genesis). Mark Rubin is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, bassist,

S3E47 Can Creativity Overcome Darkness? A Story for Shavuot

Here's one of my favorite stories from the Talmud. I hope you find some inspiration in it.  Please note that starting next week the podcast will have a new name: The Ar

S3E46 How Jewish Mysticism - and Pain - Inform One Artist's Work (Re-Release)

We are re-releasing this episode recorded back in February because our guest is coming to Portland for a residency starting May 18th.  But even if you're not here in the

S3E45 How Jewish Music is Creating a Space for Unity in Israel - and Right Here (with Zamru)

Rabbi Josh hosts Amitai Man and Talia Erdal of Jerusalem's Zamru Ensemble, a Fuchsberg Center project, ahead of Zamru's June 8–10 Portland residency presented with ArtLab

S3E44 What is the Source of Jewish Musical Creativity? (with Yankl Falk)

Welcome to The Genesis. I'm Rabbi Josh. My guest this week is Yankl Falk. We've been on a bit of a tear interviewing musicians—Michelle Alany, Yair Dalal, and now Yankl