Amusing Jews

Atheists United Studios

An interview show celebrating Jewish contributors and contributions to American popular culture co-hosted by Jonathan Friedmann and Joey Angel-Field.

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176 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes176

Newest first

Apr 25, 2024 · 27 min
Seder-Masochism Passover Special
Nina Paley is a cartoonist, animator, and free culture advocate. She’s best known for her 2008 animated feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, based on the Ramayana, and her 2018 animated feature, Seder-Masochism, a jukebox musical recounting the Exodus,...
Apr 22, 2024 · 35 min
Earth Day Special
Nancy Pearlman is an award-winning broadcaster and environmentalist who has dedicated her career to protecting the planet’s ecosystems. She organized the first Earth Day in Southern California in 1970, has hosted the Environmental Directions radio...
Apr 15, 2024 · 20 min
Ep. 49: The Ten Plagues Come to Town – with actor Eva Bilick
Eva Bilick is an actor, writer, and producer behind the 2020 podcast series A Place Called Fairneck and the 2018 web series Weird in Bed. Co-hosts: Jonathan Friedmann & Joey Angel-Field Producer-engineer: Mike Tomren Eva’s website...
Apr 8, 2024 · 30 min
Ep. 48: Jewish Summer Camp Revisited – with cartoonist Eric Glickman
Eric Glickman is a cartoonist who spent 36 years in advertising before switching gears and becoming an art educator. His new graphic memoir, Camp Pock-a-Wocknee and the Dyn-O-Mite Summer of ’77, reveals what really happened at Jewish summer camp and...
Apr 1, 2024 · 25 min
Ep. 47: An American Tail: Optimism & Disappointment – with poet Andrew Burt
Andrew Burt is a poet, author, and lawyer whose writings have appeared in the New York Times, LA Times, Slate, The Atlantic, Politico, Harvard Business Review, and other publications. He’s the author of American Hysteria: The Untold Story of Mass...
Mar 25, 2024 · 46 min
Ep.46: Hanging with “Mr. Sci-Fi” – with screenwriter Marc Scott Zicree
Marc Scott Zicree is a science fiction author, screenwriter, and producer who’s written hundreds of hours of TV programs for most of the major studios and networks. His credits include, among many others, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek:...
Mar 18, 2024 · 22 min
Ep.45: Walking with the Beatles – with historian and tour guide Susan Ryan
Susan Ryan is a Beatles expert and proprietor and tour guide of Fab 4 NYC Walking Tours, which visits New York City sites related to the group. Her writing has appeared in Daytrippin’ Magazine, the London Beatles Fan Club Magazine, Newsbeat, REBEAT...
Mar 11, 2024 · 56 min
Ep. 44: Jews & Phish with Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Green
Oren Kroll-Zeldin and Ariella Werden-Greenfield are the co-editors of a new book, This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity. Oren is assistant director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice and assistant...
Mar 4, 2024 · 22 min
Ep. 43: We Are Not Strangers – with cartoonist Josh Tuininga
Josh Tuininga is an author, illustrator, and musician whose debut graphic novel, We Are Not Strangers, follows his grandfather’s efforts to help his Japanese American neighbors who were incarcerated during World War II. Josh is also the founder and...
Feb 26, 2024 · 30 min
Ep. 42: Guide Dogs, Art, and Zen – with memoirist Ari Ashkenazi
Ari Ashkenazi was a professor of art at Cal State Los Angeles from 1972 to 1991. He took a disability leave due to the onset of blindness, earned a certificate in rehabilitation teaching for the blind, received ordination as a Zen Buddhist monk, and...
Feb 19, 2024 · 32 min
Ep. 41: Amusements Parks & Immersive Entertainment – with attorney Wendy Heimann
Wendy Heimann is co-founder and managing partner of Nolan Heimann, an intellectual property and strategic planning law firm for creative thinkers and business makers. She specializes in the location-based, experiential, and immersive entertainment...
Feb 12, 2024 · 23 min
Ep. 40: Jews, Tattoos & Rock 'n' Roll – with artist Howard Teman
Howard Teman is a world-renowned tattooist and poster artist who has a series of lithographs depicting pop culture icons from film, television, music, comedy, sports, and more. He designed t-shirts for bands like Bon Jovi, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Cypress...
Feb 5, 2024 · 34 min
Ep. 39: Anime in America – celebrating animation pioneer Fred Ladd
Jennifer Laderman and Jed Laderman are the daughter and son of television and film writer and producer Fred Laderman, known professionally as Fred Ladd, who was responsible for introducing anime to the Americas. Ladd adapted Astro Boy, Gigantor, Kimba...
Jan 29, 2024 · 24 min
Ep. 38: Diversity in Animation – with writer-producer Dustin Ellis
Dustin Ellis is an animation writer and producer whose career began at Warner Bros. Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and Universal Cartoons. He’s best known for the holiday special Babak & Friends: A First Norooz and the PBS series Mixed...
Jan 22, 2024 · 23 min
Ep. 37: The Three Stooges Forever! – with Stoogeum founder Gary Lassin
Gary Lassin is the founder and curator of the Stoogeum in Ambler, Pennsylvania—the only Three Stooges museum in the United States. Gary has been president of the Three Stooges Fan Club since 1986, and is the author of a new book, A Tour de Farce: The...
Jan 15, 2024 · 39 min
Ep. 36: EC Comics, Censorship, and The Unwanted – with historian Robert L. Reiner
EC Comics, Censorship, and The Unwanted – with historian Robert L. Reiner Robert L. Reiner writes about, curates, and exhibits original comic and fantasy illustration art with a focus on popular culture, censorship, and social change. His new book,...
Jan 8, 2024 · 24 min
Ep. 35: Fine Art, Ranching, and Rural Living – with artist Katie Herzog
Artist Katie Herzog is a ranch owner and descendent of German Jewish cattle traders who established a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley over 150 years ago that is still in production today. Her artwork is found in numerous collections, including...
Jan 2, 2024 · 34 min
Ep. 34: Painting America’s Pastime – with artist Graig Kreindler
Graig Kreindler is an artist known for his oil paintings depicting baseball. His work has appeared in nationally distributed books, newspapers, and magazines, including the United States Postal Service book Play Ball! His paintings hang in the Bob...
Dec 26, 2023 · 17 min
Ep. 33: Iditarod, Sled Dogs, and the Frozen Chosen – with musher Fred Agree
Fred Agree is a resident of Alaska and the first Jew to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Fred’s Iditarod bib and other ephemera from the 1984 and 1985 races are on display at the Alaska Jewish Museum in Anchorage. He also designed the Alaska...
Dec 18, 2023 · 25 min
Ep. 32: Kafka and Popular Culture – with author Kathi Diamant
Kathi Diamant is a broadcaster, author, professor, and director of the Kafka Project at San Diego State University. Her book, Kafka's Last Love: The Mystery of Dora Diamant, has been translated into several languages. More recently, she authored Heart...