Episodes

  • Cheshvan: If I am only for myself, what am I?

    Cheshvan: If I am only for myself, what am I?
    Nov 1 2024
    We’re nearing the finish line of an unpredictable election season in the United States, so this month, we’re talking about the importance of civic engagement, and why Jews are called to live out our values by participating fully and enthusiastically in democracy. Our guest, Kentucky State Senator Dr. Karen Berg, says her political work is bolstered by a famous quote from Rabbi Hillel the Elder, a Jewish leader from the first century BCE: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” November is also Transgender Awareness Month, and Dr. Berg shares memories of her son Henry, and what she learned from him. “He was willing to share himself and his identity because he thought it would help create a better world,” she says. She also reminisces about growing up Jewish in Louisville, describes what it’s like to have your baby teeth used in art, and pushes back very passionately against one of our lightning round questions! We hope you get as much from this conversation as much as we did… and we hope you vote! (To see a picture of Dr. Harold Berg's mosaic in Keneseth Israel, visit our instagram @bluegrassschmooze)
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Tishrei: In appreciation of Jewish food

    Tishrei: In appreciation of Jewish food
    Oct 10 2024
    There are foods everyone thinks of as Jewish — matzo ball soup, bagels and lox, you get the idea — but there's no one way to define Jewish food. Our guest this month, food historian Avery Robinson, says that because Jews have lived all over the world, "we are culinary chameleons." After Avery gives us some historical and cultural context, we zoom into the bluegrass state, and talk with chefs Sasha Chack and Amy Messer about creating Jewish cuisine with a Kentucky flair.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Elul: The one with our spouses (and a live audience!)

    Elul: The one with our spouses (and a live audience!)
    Sep 4 2024
    This is it, folks: the last episode in our first season! And it’s a pretty special one. The tables have turned, and our spouses, Ariane Barrie-Stern and Joseph Eskin, are interviewing US, in a conversation we had live at Ohavay Zion Synagogue in Lexington. We laughed, we almost cried, and Joseph broke some very big personal news… about Ben and Ariane. We can’t wait for you to hear it. But first we’ll talk about the month of Elul. Before we get caught up in the High Holidays, Elul reminds us to be strong and courageous, and ready ourselves to turn towards G-d. We’ll cover it all as we say goodbye to season one and turn towards season two!
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Av: A place where you can make a Jewish life

    Av: A place where you can make a Jewish life
    Aug 5 2024
    This month on The Bluegrass Schmooze, we learn about Tu B’av, the Jewish day of love. And we’ll kibitz with Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky, a Kentuckian who moved away to lead a synagogue in New York City. Stick around for the end of this episode, when we share a big announcement about the future of our show!
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Tamuz: Women repairing the world

    Tamuz: Women repairing the world
    Jul 8 2024
    Tikkun olam. It's a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world." And our guests on this episode say it's the principle that compelled them to sue the Commonwealth of Kentucky over its near-total abortion ban. We'll talk about that lawsuit, and how the law affects people trying to become parents through IVF. And we'll learn about the month of Tamuz, a rather sleepy month that hits just when the summer heat has us feeling ready for a nap.
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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • Sivan: The many roads to revelation

    Sivan: The many roads to revelation
    Jun 7 2024
    We’ve been counting up to it for seven weeks, and it’s finally here: Shavuot, in the month of Sivan! On Shavuot, we celebrate receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai after a long journey through the desert. We’ll learn all about it this episode. And we’ll meet some Kentuckians who had revelations of their own. Hal Forbess and Ken Shuck are both Jews by choice, and they share their journeys with us, and with you.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Bonus: How Ira Glass learned to tell stories from Broadway and the bimah

    Bonus: How Ira Glass learned to tell stories from Broadway and the bimah
    May 23 2024
    When Ira Glass created "This American Life" in 1995, he wanted to expand on traditional news reporting and tell stories in new ways. Same thing in 2014, when he and members of his production team brought "Serial" to life and changed the podcasting world. But while he's known for innovation, he traces his own storytelling roots to older influences he experienced growing up in a Jewish community in the 1960s and '70s. Ira joined us for a conversation ahead of his appearance in Louisville on June 1. Find show details at LPM.org/ira
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    18 mins
  • Iyyar: Our story is ancient, but still unfolding

    Iyyar: Our story is ancient, but still unfolding
    May 9 2024
    We talk a lot on our show about old times. Like, reeeally old times, from many thousands of years ago. But this month, Iyyar, we explore three holidays that commemorate more recent moments in Jewish history: Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day, and Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Remembrance Day. And we kibitz with three Kentuckians who help educators teach about the Holocaust in ways that are ethical and engaging: —Janice Fernheimer is Zantker Charitable Foundation Professor of Jewish Studies, Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, and James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits Faculty Fellow at the University of Kentucky, and co-director of the University of Kentucky Jewish Heritage Fund Holocaust Education Initiative. —Karen Petrone is Professor of History and co-director of the UK-JHF Holocaust Initiative and a specialist in Russian and Soviet History. —Alice Goldstein has published widely on demographic studies focusing on population mobility in reaction to modernization, and on contemporary American Jewry. Alice is the author of Ordinary People, Turbulent Times, in which she tells the story of her own family’s resilience and escape from Nazi Germany. If you’re a middle or high school teacher in Kentucky, you can learn more about the University of Kentucky Jewish Heritage Fund Holocaust Education Initiative and sign up to participate at holocausteducation.uky.edu.
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    1 hr and 8 mins