Being Jewish with Jonah Platt

How did an 80-year-old Chabad rabbi become a global social media phenomenon, and why is his message resonating from Los Angeles to New Guinea?

Rabbi Manis Friedman, author, longtime educator, and one of the world’s most-followed rabbis on YouTube, joins Jonah to ask a deceptively simple question: why are we here? Friedman argues that creation has a direction and that modern anxiety grows from meaninglessness, not deprivation. People are safer and more comfortable than ever, he says, but without knowing what life is for, comfort becomes a treadmill. From tikkun olam to the fo...

From Saudi officials to diaspora Jews, why are so many people listening to Dan Senor?

Dan Senor, host of the Call Me Back podcast and co-author of Start-Up Nation, joins Jonah for a deep dive on Israel, Jewish identity, and the future of Jewish life in the Diaspora. Senor explains how Call Me Back built a devoted audience organically, attracting diaspora Jews seeking trustworthy information, journalists looking for good-faith dialogue, and even international listeners, including Saudi officials, drawn to its thoughtful, long-form conversations about Israel and the Middle East.

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From The Big Bang Theory to Jewish advocacy, Mayim Bialik shares the personal journey behind the public persona.

Jonah Platt interviews actress, neuroscientist, author, and Orthodox Jew Mayim Bialik (Blossom and The Big Bang Theory) about rising antizionism and antisemitism, arguing it functions as a hate movement that shuts down dialogue through intimidation and threats.

The conversation explores the rise of antizionist activism on college campuses, her parenting two sons amid the campus hostility, and her experiences navigating public criticism. She shares about her experiences visiting family in the...

What if the answer to "is antizionism antisemitism" is NO...but not for the reason you think? Adam Louis-Klein breaks down the history, language, and ideas driving the debate.

In a thought-provoking conversation, host Jonah Platt interviews Adam Louis-Klein, who returned from anthropological fieldwork with the Desana in the Amazon just after October 7, 2023, to discover the horrors of the attack on Israel. This drove him to become a leading voice opposing antizionism through his writing, appearances, and the organization he founded, Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ). Adam defines antizionism as hatred of Israel and argues it f...

Israeli comedian Yohay Sponder turns grief, antisemitism, and the Jewish experience into one of the funniest and most unexpectedly moving conversations you’ll hear all year.

In this hilarious, heartfelt, and surprisingly profound episode, stand-up comic Yohay Sponder joins host Jonah Platt for a wide-ranging conversation about comedy, Jewish identity, Israel, and the global Jewish experience. Known for his viral English-language stand-up and international tours, Sponder reflects on performing for Jewish audiences across Australia, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States while witnessing rising antizionist hate around the world. Sponder recounts the sh...

The Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler gets brutally honest about Judaism, fame, motherhood, and living with MS in one of her most personal interviews ever.

In one of the podcast’s most open and deeply personal episodes so far Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known for playing Meadow Soprano on The Sopranos, reflects on growing up Jewish on Long Island, navigating Hollywood at a young age, and finding strength in Jewish identity and community. The two discuss that advocacy doesn't have to be about conflict, but about just sharing your positive experiences with the world. She shares ho...

A Hollywood writer turned rabbi reveals the unbelievable true stories of Jewish survival history that they never taught in school.

Host Jonah Platt reunites with Rabbi Shmuel Lynn, his former University of Pennsylvania Maimonides Leadership Program teacher, to discuss Lynn’s path from screenwriting (Duke, NYU Film School, LA) to Orthodox Jewish education and leading young adults. Lynn describes growing up amid antisemitism in Palm Beach, discovering observant Jews in Hollywood, and being drawn to meaningful Jewish history through a Holocaust writing job. He explains his focus on college and post-college Jews through Olami in...

What happens when one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars says today’s antisemitism feels frighteningly familiar?

In this vital episode Holocaust historian and former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt discusses the dangerous surge and normalization of antisemitism worldwide, citing the incidents in London and the October 8, 2023 Sydney Opera House rally. Lipstadt argues antisemitism now operates as a “horseshoe” uniting extremes at the far right and left. She uses the analogy of an upside-down pyramid  to illustrate the threat to Jews, democracy, and international security (including “utilitarian antisemitis...

From viral firestorms to death threats, this man isn’t backing down from the Israel conversation.

Jonah Platt sits down with conservative activist Xaviaer DuRousseau, who describes his rapid shift from a Bernie-supporting, BLM-boosting young liberal to a professional Republican who appears on Fox News, visits the White House, and publicly supports Israel, including traveling to Gaza during the war. Xaviaer recounts growing up in Chicago and Central Illinois with Marxist family influences, becoming an activist, then researching BLM finances and concluding the movement was fraudulent, which led him to vote for Trump and fa...

He's worth hundreds of millions, runs one of Canada's most powerful companies, and he still gets antisemitic replies every Friday when he posts “Shabbat Shalom,” here's why he refuses to stop.

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein joins host Jonah Platt for a wide-ranging conversation about Jewish identity, antisemitism, entrepreneurship, and legacy. Finkelstein, a grandson of Holocaust survivors whose family fled Hungary during the Soviet crackdown of the 1950s, opens up about why he has grown increasingly vocal as a public Jewish figure in Canada, especially in the wake of October 7th. He recounts two pivotal inci...

In this timely episode, host Jonah Platt sits down with Josh Gottheimer, the five-term U.S. Congressman serving New Jersey’s Fifth District. Josh is a leading pro-Israel voice in the Democratic Party and Vice-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus (which he co-founded). In Congress, Josh serves on two Committees, including the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the Ranking Member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee and is a member of the Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture Subcommittee. Gottheimer shares candid insights on navigating politics while being Jewish. He discusses U.S. ac...

Host Jonah Platt moderates part two of a spirited conversation between Rabbi Sharon Brous (IKAR, Los Angeles) and Rabbi David Ingber (Romemu, New York) about how Jewish leaders should balance moral self-critique of Israel with addressing antisemitism, especially after October 7. Ingber argues progressive Jews and rabbis overemphasize public Jewish self-criticism, undercall out antisemitism and extremism from allies, and should name today’s anti-Zionism as an ever-evolving hate movement that erases Jewish self-determination. Brous defends the Jewish tradition of teshuvah and accountability, urges speaking against West Bank settler violence and occupation, and warns that labeling all criticism or Palestinian solidarity as...

In this episode of 30 Minute Mensches, host Jonah Platt sits down with Rachael Fried, the Executive Director of JQY (Jewish Queer Youth). Rachael shares her personal journey from being a closeted Orthodox participant to leading the organization, which now operates a professional center in New York's Times Square with a $2 million budget. JQY serves as a vital mental health nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ youth (ages 13–23) from "historically non-accepting communities," specifically those from Orthodox, Sephardi, Mizrahi, and Russian-speaking backgrounds.

The discussion covers the critical safety risks facing these teens, including suicide and homelessness, and th...

At this live “Being Jewish with Jonah Platt” event in San Diego, supported by Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, and the Jim Joseph Foundation, Jonah Platt welcomes two influential spiritual leaders: Rabbi Sharon Brous, founding rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles, and David Ingber, founding rabbi of Romemu in New York. Together, they explore how their egalitarian, non-denominational communities are reimagining synagogue life by emphasizing spiritual aliveness, engaging prayer, and social justice.

Brous and Ingber speak candidly about the challenges of leading “big tent” communities in a deeply polarized time, where congregants often expect r...

She converted to Judaism yesterday! Jonah Platt interviews transgender activist, Emmy-nominated TV writer-director (Transparent, American Horror Story, Pose), and musician Our Lady J (Yona Speidel), less than 24 hours after she formally converted to Judaism. She describes her 12-year path, the beit din with three rabbis, her written reflection on Isaiah 56 and intersex identity, her mikvah immersion, and why she chose the Hebrew name Yona. She recounts growing up in a Mennonite household, losing trust in organized religion amid homophobia during the AIDS crisis, and later returning to spirituality through Judaism. The conversation addresses unconscious antisemitism, queer-community susceptibility to “they” cons...

Jonah interviews Daniel Lubetzky, Mexican-American Jewish founder of KIND, Shark Tank investor, and longtime bridge-builder, about how his Holocaust-survivor father and Mexican Jewish upbringing shaped his commitment to connecting communities. Lubetzky describes mourning his father, saying Kaddish, and launching both KIND and the OneVoice Movement the same year, crediting prayer and purpose with keeping him grounded. He explains PeaceWorks, a trade-based social enterprise linking Israelis and Arabs (and later other conflict regions), which succeeded in sustaining relationships but never scaled and ultimately closed. He recounts OneVoice’s effort to empower moderates against media-driven extremism, mobilizing nearly a million Israelis an...

In this delectable episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah records on location in Harlem, New York, at Tsion Café, America’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant, for a conversation with owner and chef Beejhy Barhany about Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) culture, food, and identity. Beejhy explains Tsion Café’s mission of bridge-building through vegan kosher cuisine and storytelling, and why she recently closed daily dining and now hosts only private events, due to years of anti-Zionist harassment, threats, and vandalism that intensified after October 7 and after becoming fully kosher. She discusses Harlem’s support, her meaning of “Zion,” and her belief t...

In this inspiring episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with members of the Israeli Bobsled Team (AJ Edelman, Ward Fawarsy, Uri Zisman, Ower Katz, Itamar Shprinz, and Menashem Chen) while in competition in Milano Crotina, to discuss the unlikely journey of building a team for a Winter Olympic sport in a country with no snow. Representing Israel on the global stage, the athletes share how they transitioned from backgrounds in track and field, rugby, crossfit, and other sports into elite bobsled competitors. They discuss training and competing internationally, and navigating the challenges of representing Israel...

In this delicious episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with New York Times bestselling cookbook author and Tel Aviv-based food writer Adeena Sussman for a conversation about food, culture, and the rituals of living in Israel today. Living steps from the Carmel Market, Adeena paints a vivid portrait of daily life in Tel Aviv, how Israelis continue daily routines amid rocket alarms, and what it means to compartmentalize in a country where normalcy and uncertainty coexist.

Adeena reflects on feeling like an insider-outsider as an “American Israeli,” and how the shuk itself mirrors Israel’...

In this delightful and hilarious episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, comedian Modi Rosenfeld opens up about faith, fame, identity, and building unity through Jewish comedy. Recently named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 10 New York Comedians, Modi discusses what it means to be a proudly Jewish comedian in today’s cultural climate, and why laughter is his path to creating what he calls “Messianic energy.”

From performing at the Comedy Cellar, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and soon Radio City Music Hall, to navigating conversations with fellow comics like Dave Chappelle and Ben Shap...

In this special emergency episode, host Jonah Platt interviews Adam Katz, president of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. They discuss the purpose and strategy behind the $15 million 2026 Super Bowl ad aired by the organization, founded by Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft. The discussion covers the ad's target audience, primarily the unengaged Americans oblivious to the severity of antisemitism. Adam explains the rigorous data-driven process behind creating and testing the ad and addresses varying reactions and criticisms from the Jewish community.

The episode also explores the effectiveness and future direction of the organization’s campaign to combat Jewish hate, emphas...

In this powerful episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah speaks with Jewish Iranian advocates, Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh of American Jewish University, Mandana Dayani of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, and Matthew Nouriel of JIMENA - Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, whose families fled persecution by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), offering an urgent and deeply personal look at life under the Iranian regime. The conversation exposes how the IRGC functions not just as a military force, but as an ideological and economic power structure responsible for widespread human rights abuses, political...

Host Jonah Platt interviews Allison Tombros Korman, the founder and executive director of the Red Tent Fund, a national abortion fund rooted in Jewish values. The conversation spans Korman's personal and professional journey, including her experiences with antisemitism in progressive spaces post October 7th, that led her to being forced out of her job at the DC Abortion Fund and eventually establishing the Red Tent Fund. They discuss the fund's mission to support abortion seekers through a Jewish lens, the impact of Roe v. Wade's overturning, misconceptions about third-trimester abortions, and the controversial 'Fund Abortion, Not War' campaign. 

In this compelling episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah speaks with Bishop Michael J. Fisher, a prominent Los Angeles faith leader and longtime advocate for Black–Jewish solidarity. The discussion explores Bishop Fisher’s personal journey, deeply influenced by his father, Reverend W. Jerome Fisher, a World War II medic who helped liberate Jews from the Dachau concentration camp. Jonah and Bishop Fisher dig deeply into the real actions Fisher is doing to build bonds and bridges between the black and Jewish communities, and their shared perspective on what advocacy truly means. 

Bisho...

In this essential episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah speaks with Israeli public intellectual, former Knesset member, and political strategist Dr. Einat Wilf about Israel’s political future in the wake of October 7th. Wilf argues that Israel has reached a historic inflection point — one that requires shedding what she calls a lingering “diaspora consciousness” and fully embracing permanent, sovereign thinking.

Drawing on decades of scholarship and public service, Wilf challenges many of the assumptions that have shaped Israeli politics and peace efforts. She explains why the conflict cannot be resolved through ambiguit...

In this energetic and wide-ranging episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with comedy and television icon Howie Mandel (America’s Got Talent, Deal or No Deal, Gremlins, St. Elsewhere) for a conversation that moves effortlessly between laughter and reflection. From his early days as a stand-up comic to becoming one of the most recognizable faces in television, Howie reflects on a career that has spanned more than four decades, and the values that have grounded him throughout it.

With trademark honesty and humor, Howie opens up about his Jewish upbringing, fa...

In this episode of 30 Minute Mensches, Jonah sits down with longtime Jewish communal leader Jay Sanderson, recently appointed President of American Jewish University (AJU). Sanderson recounts a harrowing childhood marked by intense antisemitic violence while growing up in Boston public housing, including a near-fatal incident in which he was buried alive. That trauma ultimately propelled him toward a life of Jewish leadership after a transformative summer in Israel facilitated by the Jewish Agency, culminating in a pivotal childhood encounter with David Ben-Gurion.

The conversation traces Sanderson’s career running major institutions such as Jewish Fe...

In one of the most powerful and singular conversations ever featured on Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with Eli Sharabi, a survivor of 491 days in Hamas captivity. Eli joins Jonah for a two-part conversation that moves from public testimony to deeply personal reflection. The episode opens with a live, onstage discussion at a Magen David Adom gala in Miami, honoring Eli and tracing his journey from Kibbutz Be’eri to captivity and eventual freedom. It then shifts to an intimate studio conversation in Los Angeles, where Eli speaks with remarkable clarity, courage, and humanity about survival, re...

In this intimate and revealing episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, iconic supermodel and Jewish ally Cindy Crawford sits down for a rare interview with Jonah to discuss family, faith, and allyship. Known worldwide for redefining beauty and celebrity, Cindy opens up about the quieter values that have shaped her life — from her interfaith marriage to Rande Gerber to the loss of her only brother to leukemia at an early age.

Cindy shares personal stories about building a home rooted in Jewish and Protestant tradition, raising her children with an appreciation for Jewish ri...

Can we change the world with just ONE dollar? In this inspiring episode of '30 Minute Mensches,' Jonah talks to Dr. Jonathan Donath, founder and president of Daily Giving, the grassroots online platform that has turned daily donations of just $1 into almost $27 million distributed to over 75 Jewish causes worldwide. Dr. Donath shares the epiphany that led him to start Daily Giving, the importance of working the daily giving “muscle”, and the organization’s growth journey.  A true mensch, Dr. Donath’s appeal will have you racing to sign up so that you too can feel the joy of philanthr...

It’s Hanukkah! In this cozy episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah is joined by culinary expert, social media darling, and New York Times-bestselling cookbook author Jake Cohen for a conversation about Jewish food, ritual, and the unifying power of gathering around the table. Known for zhuzhing up traditional Jewish cuisine with a distinctly modern yet reverent flair, Jake reflects on how food has become his spiritual practice and creative outlet for expressing Jewish identity.

Jake shares how hosting Shabbat dinners became his primary avenue to building community and all the celebrity pa...

In this thought-provoking episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with world-renowned philosopher, author, and war correspondent Bernard-Henri Lévy (known as BHL) for an insightful conversation about the meaning of Jewish solidarity after October 7th and the collapse of moral reasoning in the West. Drawing on five decades spent on the frontlines of conflicts from Bosnia to Bangladesh, Lévy reflects on the role of the witness, the fragility of democracy, and the shattering implications of October 7th.

From Hamas to ISIS, Sudan to Ukraine, BHL draws sharp parallels between th...

Jonah hosts an insightful conversation with Israeli-American Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern, a Harvard-affiliated clinical psychologist and renowned trauma expert, about her experiences growing up in Israel during times of conflict and how they shaped her career in trauma and mental health. She explains her groundbreaking work on the concept of 'traumatic invalidation' in the Jewish community after October 7th, and the importance of recognizing and addressing this community trauma on an individual level. They discuss her shift to advocacy post-October 7th, and her role with Parents for Peace, a non-profit aimed at radicalization prevention. The episode highlights the crucial need...

In this landmark 50th episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah celebrates the milestone with his wife, Courtney Ann Platt (Glee, So You Think You Can Dance, Rock of Ages), the world-class dancer, television star, and multiple sclerosis advocate whose journey into Judaism has become a defining part of the traditions and values in their home. From growing up Italian Catholic in New York to becoming a Jewish mother raising three young Platts, Courtney opens up about the turning points that reshaped her life.

With humor and candor, Courtney and Jonah revisit the...

It’s Turkey Time! In this warm and wonderfully flavorful Thanksgiving episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah sits down with Duff Goldman — celebrity pastry chef, bestselling cookbook author, Food Network Icon, and beloved host of shows like Ace of Cakes, Kids Baking Championship, Buddy vs. Duff, and Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time.  Together, they dig into the stories and traditions that shaped Duff’s life long before he became America’s favorite baker.

Duff opens up about his personal experiences with anti-Jew bigotry in New England, and how that deepened his connection...

In this uplifting episode, Jonah speaks with Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, the Executive Director of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda. ASYV was founded to support orphans of the Rwandan genocide, providing a holistic education model rooted in Jewish principles like Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Tikkun Ha Lev (repairing the heart). Jonah has a personal connection, having volunteered there soon after college.

Jean-Claude (JC) and Jonah discuss the Youth Village's success in preparing students for adulthood, which a recent Tulane University study highlights with impressive outcomes, including high rates of college placement and...

In this spirited and emotional episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Broadway legend Seth Rudetsky — actor, pianist, musical director, SiriusXM host (Seth’s Big Fat Broadway, Seth Speaks), comedy writer, and tireless advocate — joins Jonah for an honest conversation about the deep history of Jewish contributions to Broadway. They discuss the rise of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment in the arts world, and the creations of the Jewish Broadway Alliance, a grassroots effort Seth launched in the wake of October 7th. 

Drawing from decades on stage and behind the piano, Seth opens up about the cha...

In this powerful episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Academy Award-nominated producer Lawrence Bender — the creative producing force behind Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Reservoir Dogs, An Inconvenient Truth and Inglorious Basterds — Joins Jonah for a candid conversation about the film industry’s reckoning after October 7th and the moral weight of telling real stories in the aftermath of tragedy. Bender’s latest project, Paramount+ miniseries Red Alert, dramatizes the true stories of horror, heroism, and hope that took place on October 7th, 2023, the darkest chapter in Israel’s history.

Bender shares what drew him t...

In this special Election Day episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Emmy Award–winning journalist Jake Tapper joins Jonah for a candid and wide-ranging conversation on politics, identity, and truth-telling in a polarized world. Best known as the anchor of CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper and State of the Union, Jake reflects on his decades covering America’s most defining political moments — from the Virginia governor’s race to the New York City mayoral election — and how journalism has evolved in an era of social media outrage and political echo chambers.

Together, Jo...

Ami Kozak is redefining what Jewish comedy and commentary look like in 2025 — blending sharp impressions, fearless satire, and moral clarity in a time of chaos.

In this episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt: 30 Minute Mensches, Jonah sits down with Ami — modern Orthodox comedian, musician, and host of the podcast Ami’s House — to talk about how his Jewish faith and sense of moral clarity shaped his response to anti-Jew bigotry and misinformation after October 7.

Ami shares: