Judaism & Jewish Culture

Comic Jackie Mason. He's the star of the one-man Broadway show, "The World According to Me," a hit for eight months now. The show continues to draw more sold-out houses than any other non-musical attraction on Broadway.

Canadian writer Mordecai Richler, author of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Joshua Then and Now, both of which were adapted into films.

Alexander Slepak was able to leave the Soviet Union and emigrate to the United States. His parents, both prominent Jewish activists, continue to be denied the right to leave the country.

Theater critic Richard Gilman was born into a Jewish family, later joined the Catholic Church, and now identifies as an atheist. In his new memoir, he describes how restrictive teachings on sexuality drove him away form organized religion.

Art Spiegelman is the author of Maus, a book documenting his father's experience during the Holocaust.

The Nobel Prize-winning writer's formative experiences were informed by war in Eastern Europe, an itinerant childhood, and American novels and films. He has lived in the United States since 1960.

Early in his adult life, the writer believed that the narrow worldview of his Hasidic upbringing was at odds with his ambition to become a writer. Potok, however, is still very much tied to the Jewish tradition, which he explores in his novels.

Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton researches the psychological effects of wartime atrocities on both survivors and those who committed crimes against humanity.

Philadelphian and frequent guest Chaim Potok returns to the show. Potok is a writer known for his novels, including his first, "The Chosen," a best-seller. His latest novel, "Davita's Harp," has just been released in paperback. His fiction often looks at the interplay between religious and secular life, and Potok grew up in Hasidic community, and is a rabbi. Potok has also written non-fiction and was part of a committee of scholars that created a new translation of the Hebrew Bibile which was published in 1982 in three volumes.

Robert J. Lifton is a psychiatrist and author who is a board member of the group Physicians for Social Responsibility. His works include "Indefensible Weapons: The Political and Psychological Case Against Nuclearism" and "Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans: Neither Victims Nor Executioners." His latest book, "The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and The Psychology of Genocide," investigates the capacity for human cruelty and is based on interviews with former Nazi doctors and their surviving victims.

George Segal is known for his realistic, life-sized sculptures made by wrapping his models in plaster-soaked bandages. His commission for outdoor art have often be controversial. He joins the show to discuss his life and career.

Actor Joel Grey talks about the legacy of his father, comedic actor and clarinetist Mickey Katz. Grey's Jewish heritage helped him add complexity to his performance in the Broadway and film versions of Cabaret, in which he played the Master of Ceremonies.

Hankus Netsky is the founder and leader of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Klezmer mixes traditional Yiddish and Israeli music with American influences. Netsky joins the show to discuss the history of the genre and to share 78-records of klezmer music from the 1920s.

The second installment of WHYY's miniseries on religion, On This Side of Paradise, looks at Jewish culture, Jewish identity and antisemitism in the United States.

Jeffrey Dekro and Phyllis Taylor both draw inspiration from their Jewish faith to fight for civil rights and other social justice movements. They answer questions from Fresh Air listeners about the contrasting trends of Jewish assimilation into mainstream American culture and a growing number of devout and practicing Jews.

John Zogby is the National Field Representative of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The organization was founded in 1980 and opposes discrimination, ethnic slurs, and racism directed against Arabs. The group has protested advertisements, newspaper cartoons, and press coverage, and has lobbied Congress regarding Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Zogby is of Lebanese descent, and lives in Central New York, where he is involved in local politics and worked as a professor of political science and history.

Writer and rabbi Chaim Potok is best known for his novels. However, he served as the Secretary of the Writings Committee of the Jewish Publication Society Committee of Scholars. The group has been working since 1957 on a new translation of the Old Testament, and the third volume was just published. Potok joins the show to discuss the process of translating the scriptures and the differences from more familiar translations.

Mayron started in the theater before moving on to film and television. Her role in the movie Girlfriends led to more difficult roles like the television version of Arthur Miller's play Playing for Time, about the Holocaust, and Costa-Gravas' controversial film Missing.

The author's newest book draws on his experiences as an Army chaplain during the Korean War. He discusses the impact war has on faith, as well as the allure the mystical tradition of Cabala has for some Jews.

Ellen Willis is a writer for the the New Yorker. Her collection of essays, "Beginning to See the Light: Pieces of a Decade," covers many of the social and political issues of the last ten years. Feminism, rock music, 60s counter-culture and the backlash against it, the changing definitions of "family" amongst the left, religion, and abortion are covered. She also discovers her reconsidering of Judaism and God in general, after a her brother became Orthodox. She joins the show to discuss the book and its subjects.