Best Yiddish Language Podcasts (2025)

1
Learning and using Yiddish - an interview with Jake (Yankl) Krakovsky 15:50

12d ago15:50

15:50

Episode 7 // Season 6 לערנען זיך ייִדיש׃ אַן אינטערװיו מיט יאַנקל קראַקאָװסקין We’re back!!! I had a great time chatting with Jake (Yankl) Krakovsky for this interview. We discuss how Jake learned Yiddish and got into translation. This is an excerpt from a longer interview - I hope to release a little more in a few weeks as a bonus episode. Transcr…

1
The Art of Listening 27:45

16d ago27:45

27:45

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Dr Haru Yamada about how we listen in different ways across different cultures and social groups. It's the side of conversation that is not about talking, but which is equally - if not more - important to how we communicate. Haru is the author of 'Kiku: The Japonese Art of Good Listening', and she believes that …

1
An Actor Prepares - SHARON LAWRENCE on Crafting Complex Characters - Highlights 20:42

18d ago20:42

20:42

“I would encourage you, as I do if you're an actor, to know your own equipment, know your own psychology, and use the great teachers that are synthesized in my favorite teacher's book, Moss, who I studied with later. There is a book called Intent to Live that distills down Uta Hagen, Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, and Stanislavski. The great teachers a…

1
SHARON LAWRENCE on Acting, Activism & The Art of Transformation 1:02:31

19d ago1:02:31

1:02:31

“That transformation was key to my next step as an artist, to knowing that's what acting is. It isn't just posing; it isn't just being a version of yourself in a way that was free. Performing wasn't just performing; it was transforming. I think that artists find that in many different ways, and as actors, there are many ways into that. I would enco…

1
Lists 27:40

23d ago27:40

27:40

Most of us make lists in some form or other - from essential groceries to reasons to feel positive about life. In this programme Linguistics Researcher Jo Nolan talks to Michael about her interest in the language we use in their making and their uses in literature and society.Jo says the language we use in our lists is idiolectal - it reflects our …

1
The Welsh Language with Huw Stephens at the Hay Festival 27:50

30d ago27:50

27:50

In a special recording at the Hay Festival, Michael Rosen talks to bilingual Welsh radio and television presenter Huw Stephens about the Welsh language. And then Huw gets Michael to try reading 'Dyn Ni yn Mynd i Hela Arth, also known as We're Going on a Bear Hunt.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.…

1
The language that changed the world 27:27

1M ago27:27

27:27

Michael Rosen hears the fascinating story of the origin of all Indo-European languages from Laura Spinney, the author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language and Laura has been investigating how that came to be.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with t…

1
The End of the Full Stop? 27:53

1M ago27:53

27:53

The use of punctuation is rapidly changing within the quickfire back-and-forth of instant messaging. Are these changes causing misunderstandings? Presenter Michael Rosen and his guest Dr Christian Ilbury discuss. Is the full stop on the way out? What about capital letters? Exclamation marks and question marks seem to be holding their ground, but wh…

1
Street Names 27:10

2M ago27:10

27:10

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Philip Seargeant from the Open University about where our street names come from, including Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate in York, and Michael's old address, Love Lane. Also, have you ever thought about the difference between a street and a road? Are there regional differences in the names given to streets? And why are s…

1
Performance, Politics, Art & Society w/ Sociologist RICHARD SENNETT - Highlights 12:43

2M ago12:43

12:43

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?” Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labo…

1
The Performer: Art, Life, Politics with RICHARD SENNETT, Sociologist & Author 31:57

2M ago31:57

31:57

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of th…

1
ADAM MOSS - Fmr. Editor of New York Magazine, Author, Artist on Creativity as a Process - Highlights 14:23

2M ago14:23

14:23

“When I was working at the Times and the Times Magazine, on one Tuesday morning, the towers fell. September 11, 2001. The magazine had a 10-day lead time, so it was a weekly that was essentially 10 days old by the time it came out. We came to work and realized the world had changed, and the entire process, the magazine had been made for over a hund…

1
KATIE KITAMURA on Language, Identity & the Search for Agency - Highlights 10:04

3M ago10:04

10:04

“This novel is the third in what I see as a little set of books that all feature unnamed female protagonists who have experienced varying degrees of passivity and agency in their lives. They're all women who speak the words of other people.” Katie Kitamura is the author five novels, most recently Audition and Intimacies, which was named one of the …

1
Art, Performance & the Illusion of Agency - KATIE KITAMURA on her new novel AUDITION 32:31

3M ago32:31

32:31

“I'm really interested in the formal aspect of characters who are channeling language, who are speaking the words of other people, and in characters who are aware of how little agency they actually have, who have passivity forced upon them, who perhaps even embrace their passivity to a certain extent but eventually seek out where they can enact the…

1
Old English, New English 27:38

4M ago27:38

27:38

Michael Rosen explores the evocative Old English words used in daily life a thousand years ago, many of which are still in use now. He's joined by the linguist author of The Wordhord, Hana Videen. Hana has been hoarding words from Old English (450 AD to 1150 AD) for a decade, when she began tweeting one a day. Now she has lots of people following h…

1
The Creative Process w/ JULIE ANDREWS, PAUL SCHRADER, JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY, ETGAR KERET, JOY GORMAN WETTELS, CHAYSE IRVIN, MANUEL BILLETER 14:03

4M ago14:03

14:03

JULIE ANDREWS (Oscar, Tony & Pulitzer Prize-winning Actress & Singer · The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins) Andrews shares her experience working on Mary Poppins, revealing behind-the-scenes secrets about the character. She reminisces about her collaboration with Walt Disney and Tony Walton. ETGAR KERET (Cannes Film Festival Award-winning Director & A…

1
New songwriting in minority languages: Yosl Landau & Kneecap 8:13

4M ago8:13

8:13

after a long unexpected break we're back! thanks for sticking with us! Episode 6 // Season 6 שרײַבן נײַע לידער׃ יאָסל לאַנדאַ & קנידעקל New songwriting in minority languages. In this episode we hear from Yosl Landau about the process he used to write new songs in Yiddish for his band Yosl and the Yingels. And I discuss the film Kneecap, about a hip…

1
Talking Cockney 27:35

4M ago27:35

27:35

Michael Rosen's parents both grew up in the East End, and now he talks cockney with Andy Green and Saif Osmani from the Modern Cockney Festival. Including some mythbusting about rhyming slang, a discussion about how cockney has evolved, and of course a mention of Dick van Dyke. The Modern Cockney Festival takes place from March 1st to 31st with a m…

1
Creating Languages for Film and Television with Professor David Adger 27:52

5M ago27:52

27:52

David Adger is Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London. He's created new languages for TV series and films and he explains to Michael Rosen how he goes about it. For his latest language he used existing Creole languages for his 'conlang', or constructed (artificial) natural language. He talks Michael through the grammar and lang…

1
Politeness with Louise Mullany 27:40

5M ago27:40

27:40

Professor Louise Mullany talks to Michael Rosen about politeness, and how it governs our lives, from the behaviour of football managers to the different ways children can embarrass us. Why, in this country at least, is it so mortifying to mistakenly assume someone is pregnant, when in other cultures it's simply thoughtful to book two seats on a pla…

1
Jackie Kay on the Scots language 27:29

5M ago27:29

27:29

Poet Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots: Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. She joins presenter Michael Rosen to talk about her love of the language and what it meant to her growing up. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz…

1
How Art Helps Us Understand the World - Filmmakers, Writers & Artists Share their Stories 11:52

5M ago11:52

11:52

How do our personal lives influence the art we make? JIM SHEPARD (Author of The Book of Aron, Project X, & The World to Come starring Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby, Katherine Waterston · Winner of the PEN New England Award, The Story Prize) explores historical human dilemmas, the emotional imagination and literature's role in extending empathetic un…

1
The Language of Genetics 27:56

5M ago27:56

27:56

Adam Rutherford joins Michael Rosen to make sense of the heavily-loaded and often unscientific language that we use to talk about genetics, inheritance, ancestry and race. Adam is a geneticist, science writer, and lecturer in Biology and Society at University College London. His work tries to make sense of what our genes do (or don't) tell us about…

1
Susie Dent's World of Words 27:55

6M ago27:55

27:55

Susie Dent joins Michael Rosen to talk about her lifelong fascination with words and their origins. It's a programme bringing some apricity, which is one of Susie's favourite words. Her love of language began when she was a child, then found expression in her passion for French and German and now in her work as a lexicographer, writer and language …

1
THREE WOMEN starring Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise, Betty Gilpin: Conversation w/ LAURA EASON - Highlights 12:43

6M ago12:43

12:43

“I think the show conveys to the women watching that their lives matter. They don't have to be some gorgeous aspirational person, although Sloane absolutely fits that mold. But for others living in the Midwest, struggling and feeling unseen, hopefully, the mirrors of Lina and Maggie will help them not feel so alone and remind them that their storie…

1
Female Desire, Sex & Intimacy: Emmy-nominated Producer, Writer, Playwright LAURA EASON on THREE WOMEN 52:43

6M ago52:43

52:43

What is love? How do the narratives we internalize shape our understanding of relationships, intimacy, and family? Laura Eason is an Emmy-nominated producer, screenwriter, and playwright. Currently, she is the executive producer and showrunner of the Starz drama series Three Women. Based on a book by Lisa Taddeo, the series stars Shailene Woodley, …

1
How Does Art Shape Our Lives? Musicians, Writers, Filmmakers & Actors Share Their Stories 11:22

6M ago11:22

11:22

How do the arts help us find purpose and meaning? What role do stories play in helping us preserve memories, connect us to each other, and answer life’s big questions? MAX RICHTER(Award-winning Composer & Pianist · His album Sleep is the most streamed classical album of all time) reflects on the importance of creativity and how literature, music, a…

1
Theater, Creativity & Intuition - Filmmakers, Musicians & Artists discuss their Creative Process 16:04

6M ago16:04

16:04

Where does our intuition come from? How are lifelong creative partnerships formed and what role do friendship and personal connection play? How do our personal lives influence the art we make? Erland Cooper (Scottish composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist) explores the emotional and transformative effects of music and visual arts. He undersc…

1
Annie Kaufman on translating Avreml Broide 19:02

7M ago19:02

19:02

Episode 5 // Season 6 אַן אינטערװיו מיט אַניע קױפֿמענטשען I had a great time talking to Annie Kaufman all about her new translation of Ben Gold’s book Avreml Broide. Annie speaks clearly and slowly so although this is an interview episode it’s not as hard as some of them - give it a go and remember you can slow it down if needed. Buy the English tr…

1
Bonus: Full interview with Hy Wolfe 27:54

8M ago27:54

27:54

Bonus Episode // Season 6 דער גאַנצער אינטערװיו מיט אַקטיאָר און קולטור טוער חײם װאָלפֿען. This bonus episode is a full version of the interview from episode 4 with Hy Wolfe, Yiddish actor and hard working cultural activist. In this extended version Hy talks more about his career as an actor, the history of the Yiddish theatre and a collection of Y…

1
An interview with Hy Wolfe 11:59

8M ago11:59

11:59

Episode 4 // Season 6 אַן אינטערװיו מיט אַקטיאָר און קולטור טוער חײם װאָלף. An interview with Hy Wolfe, Yiddish actor and hard working cultural activist. You can find out more about Hy on his website here and about CYCO here. CYCO is also on Facebook. This is an edited version of our interview - I’ll release a full version soon. Transcript Reading …

1
Sasha's ethnographic expedition and a little poem 8:30

8M ago8:30

8:30

Episode 3 // Season 6 מיר הערן פֿון סאַשע פּאַליאַן װעגן אַן עטנאָגראַפֿישע עקפּעדיציע. און אַ ביסל פּאָעזיע פֿון אונדזער מיסטעריעזער מענטש. A guest contribution from Alexandra Polyan all about her first ethnographic expedition. And some poetry from our mysterious mentsh. You can read more about the expedition here and hear interviews here. Alexandra’…

1
The Meat Riots & Mysterious Mentsh 9:19

9M ago9:19

9:19

Episode 2 // Season 6 װײסט איר װעגן "די פֿלײש ריאָטס"? אונדזער גאַסט יאָרדאַן דערצײלט אַ ביסל װעגן זײער אַ טשיקאַװע געשיכטע און מיר האָבן נאָך אַ מיסטעריעזער מענטש. Do you know about the “Meat riots” of 1902? Our guest Jordan Weinstock shares a bit of this fascinating history of women’s activism. And Mysterious Mentsh is back - who is this figure f…

1
Social media language 27:59

9M ago27:59

27:59

Michael talks to linguist Dr Andreea Calude about her research into how language is used on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter/X. And he asks if we're witnessing the death of email. Dr Andreea Calude is the author of The Linguistics of Social Media: An Introduction. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.Subscribe to the Word of …

1
Di Yiddish Vokh 9:35

9M ago9:35

9:35

Episode 1 // Season 6 מיר זײַנען צוריק מיט זײער אַ פֿײַנעם עפּיזאָד רעקאָרדירט אױף דער ייִדיש װאָך פֿון ליליע װײַצמאַן. We’re back with something new for the show - Lily Weitzman has put together a special program for us at the Yiddish Vokh - hear from different participants about what they like to get up to at this Yiddish retreat. Lily is also ac…

1
How Animals Talk 27:39

9M ago27:39

27:39

Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum about the latest research on how and why different types of animals communicate, from wolves howling to dolphins whistling: a world of soundscapes. He also explains how animal communication can help to shed light on the human variety. Dr. Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist and the author of: Why Animals Ta…

1
A Poet Writing in Three Languages 27:44

9M ago27:44

27:44

How best to write about love and other things. Nabeela Ahmed talks about writing in a second language and how her early life in Kashmir shaped the language she uses to express different aspects of her life. She is also a champion for the Pahari language in her home city of Bradford. Pahari is a language spoken by people in Northern areas of India, …

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