https://media.blubrry.com/jewishhistorymatters/p/www.jewishhistory.fm/episodes/s4/61.mp3Podcast: Play in new windowSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS | MoreMagda Teter joins us to discuss the history of the blood libel accusation and its continued relevance. Listen in for
Continue readinghttps://media.blubrry.com/jewishhistorymatters/p/www.jewishhistory.fm/episodes/s3/50.mp3Podcast: Play in new windowSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS | MoreListen in for an important conversation with Michael Rothberg about how we understand violence—both in history and in our own
Continue readingCould fascists really have taken power in the US during the 1930s? It’s not just the stuff of fiction, as in “The Man in the High Castle” and The Plot Against America. In Steve Ross’ book Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America, we learn about the thrilling (and terrifying) history of how Nazis and fascists tried to establish a foothold on the west coast and the efforts of a handful of spies to try to take them down. In this episode, Steve Ross joins us to talk about his book and the history of fascist and pro-Nazi groups in LA, the real threat that fascism posed in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, and what it teaches us, unfortunately, about our present moment.
Continue readingSteven Zipperstein discusses the Kishinev pogrom and its afterlife in modern Jewish history and memory: the tremendous influence of Kishinev on how Jews have seen the world, the dangers of misinformation and propaganda, and how one event can shape a generation. Ultimately, the pogrom highlights how and why history matters: how the Kishinev pogrom has become so influential in modern Jewish history, and also the tension between the public memory of the pogrom and the actual historical events themselves. Today, we’re in an age when actual facts and details do matter, but the Kishinev pogrom shows the power of myth and memory too.
Continue readingLila Corwin Berman, Maja Gildin Zuckerman, and Jacob Labendz join us for a roundtable discussion about the attacks at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh: how we can try to contextualize, historicize, and respond to it, and to the broader rise of political violence and antisemitism.
Continue readingDavid N. Myers joins us to talk about his two new books, The Stakes of History: On the Use and Abuse of Jewish History for Life and Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction, and about why Jewish history matters.
Continue readingJoshua Shanes joins us to discuss his article, published in the Washington Post in February 2018, “How Benjamin Netanyahu Enables Antisemitism.” We talk about antisemitism today, why it’s particularly important right now, the relationship between antisemitism, Zionism, and Jewish politics, and also the role historians have to play in speaking about this and other issues.
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