Best Association of Jewish Libraries Podcasts (2025)

1
A Special Message from Heidi (A High, a Low, a Call to Action) 7:50

3d ago7:50

7:50

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/a-special-message-from-heidi-high-low.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/tomHSY9SlPPB1XDOQwsavTXOeUM?utm_source=copy_url I'm squeezing in this quick extra episode to share with you my personal response to the shooting at the Capitol Jewish Museum, with calls to action and a message of hope. LEAR…

1
Small Moments Made Large in Displaced Persons : a conversation with Joan Leegan 43:14

4d ago43:14

43:14

In March, Rena Citrin, chair of the Association of Jewish Libraries fiction award, told me (not quite in these words) to get my tush in gear and read Joan Leegant’s excellent short story collection, Displaced Persons. It took two months for it to percolate to the top of my “to be read” pile but I’m thrilled that it did. Her stories are full of rela…

1
#JAHM Throwback: The Book of Life in America, 2006 24:21

13d ago24:21

24:21

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/jahm-throwback-book-of-life-in-america.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/bd9VMkp1cnjgHm9z4cbdq7Usaak?utm_source=copy_url In celebration of May’s Jewish American Heritage Month (aka #JAHM) and The Book of Life’s 20th year of podcasting, I’m re-releasing the eighth-ever episode of the show, from …

1
Mendel the Mess-Up 32:17

27d ago32:17

32:17

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/mendel-mess-up.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/MYzjopAD_3R8aSnpGTydMmKNjv4?utm_source=copy_url Terry LaBan is an alternative cartoonist, a graphic recorder (we'll talk about what that means later), and now he's written his first graphic novel, called Mendel the Mess Up. I'm going to borrow th…

1
A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell 46:30

2M ago46:30

46:30

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/listen-to-podcast-read-transcript-buy.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/EnXlWNdrqXuQ4V3kzlKGwyqpPWk?utm_source=copy_url A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell is a lovely meditation on the natural landscape of Israel, written and illustrated by Miri Leshem-Pelly. Miri's voice is calm and dreamy, and I co…

1
Midwives' Escape: a conversation with Maggie Anton 42:40

2M ago42:40

42:40

It’s Passover! Time to slurp the soup, crunch the matzah, and make jokes about Moses never stopping to ask directions in the desert. It’s also a great time to speak with Maggie Anton about her latest book, the Midwives’ Escape. Through the eyes of the Egyptian midwives, we see what life was like for the Israelites as they learned to transition from…

1
Bonus: Next Year at the White House 1:43

2M ago1:43

1:43

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/bonus-passover-interview-next-year-in.html Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder, written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a nonfiction picture book that gives us the true backstory of how Passover first came to be celebrated in the White Hous…

1
AJL Fiction Award Winners 38:27

2M ago38:27

38:27

Every year, the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award committee scours the book world for books with significant Jewish content. They look for extra-ordinary writing, accurate depictions of Jewish life in all its diversity, and contributions to the field of Jewish literature. This month I am excited to speak with Rena Citrin about the laste…

1
Dara Horn's One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe 1:02:02

3M ago1:02:02

1:02:02

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/03/dara-horns-one-little-goat-passover.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/zU6o8qxtZlvMmyrGuICLUOmimzQ?utm_source=copy_url Dara Horn is the author of 5 Jewish novels for adults, the provocatively titled nonfiction essay collection People Love Dead Jews, and now a graphic novel for kids: One Little G…

1
Night Owls: Jewish Paranormal Romance Adventure! 38:09

3M ago38:09

38:09

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/03/night-owls.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/NeK1Grf7bTzi-TYHpbLocZlEbH4?utm_source=copy_url Night Owls is an paranormal YA romance adventure about Clara and Molly, two estries who run an art house cinema in the Village in New York City. In case you're wondering, estries are Jewish owl-shifting…

1
Finn & Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop 28:47

4M ago28:47

28:47

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/02/finn-and-ezras-bar-mitzvah-time-loop.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/FR6MxDDT0mG1gxfhcfN-6KoLAHA?utm_source=copy_url Finn & Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy is a 2025 Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and I'm thrilled to interview my friend Josh as part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award B…

1
2025 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Revealed! 46:37

4M ago46:37

46:37

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-2025-sydney-taylor-book-awards.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/g5yluS6SsAbhu4hkoKy62TZUgac?utm_source=copy_url The winners of the 2025 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children's and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 27, 2025 at the Americ…

1
One of a Kind: The Life of Sydney Taylor 18:29

4M ago18:29

18:29

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/01/one-of-kind-life-of-sydney-taylor.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/pOzW-X6i92Kh4g_Ou-vEKIAGWcM?utm_source=copy_url Sydney Taylor was the first author to write kids books that served as windows into Jewish life, not just mirrors. Her All-of-a-Kind Family series was game changing. These were the…

1
The Second Journey : an adventurous blend of Jewish & Chinese folklore and wisdom / a conversation with Joel Bigman 40:09

5M ago40:09

40:09

When the Buddhist monk Xuanzang returned to China from India, bringing back precious Buddhist texts, he thought his traveling days were over. But then he finds an intriguing scrap with writing that he does not recognize. Finally connecting it with the Jewish community in Kaifeng he is implored by the community to go on another journey – this time e…

1
The Bubbe of Them All: Kar-Ben Publishing 20:29

5M ago20:29

20:29

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-bubbe-of-them-all-kar-ben-publishing.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/K9B8p4G3Nr-quRj9KYrkhRaGZio?utm_source=copy_url Appropriately, as we kick off this podcast's 20th anniversary year, in this episode we are going to think about change and continuity. We say goodbye to an old friend, Joni…

1
Cheering On Jewish Books 23:00

5M ago23:00

23:00

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/12/cheering-on-jewish-books-hanukkah-gift.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/o0Yx3uuZxPHcUStwWsJbUa7xkmY?utm_source=copy_url HANDOUT: https://tinyURL.com/CheeringJewishBooks VIDEO WITH SLIDES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSBTYGDhCl4&t=2s For Hanukkah 2024, I got you a Jewish Book Advocacy Kit! …

1
Dangerous Golem? or Man of Her Dreams? A conversation about a Magical Meet Cute with Jean Meltzer 39:09

5M ago39:09

39:09

After her town is carpeted with antisemitic leaflets, ceramic artist Faye finds refuge in her studio and before she knows it, her hands have created the figure of a man. She enscribes all her wishes into the clay and buries it under her rose bushes. The next day she runs into a handsome stranger, knocking him unconscious and giving him amnesia. As …

1
A Very December 25th Hanukkah 38:46

6M ago38:46

38:46

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-very-december-25th-hanukkah.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/UWPCM0P5Hpt6NgXH36TIfIelswY?utm_source=copy_url Happy Hanukkah! Christmas and Hanukkah overlap this year, with Hanukkah beginning on December 25, so it's a good time to think about the juxtaposition of these two holidays. Hanukkah …

1
Celebrate Jewish Book Month 2024 13:32

6M ago13:32

13:32

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/11/jewish-book-month.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/EHJzDppX2El7s3XjfPnLd-PqW4I?utm_source=copy_url Here's a bonus episode for you, in honor of Jewish Book Month, which is marking its 99th year. Arielle Landau, the program coordinator at the Jewish Book Council, joins me to talk about the Counc…

1
When all else fails ... call the Magic Maker / a conversation with Mickey Dubrow 35:16

7M ago35:16

35:16

For 100 years the Rosenfelds have been trapped in a time bubble in their tenement apartment on the lower East Side of New York. They can only catch glimpes of the outside world which has no idea that they are there. Until one day, Esther Luna, who works in the building which has now been turned into the Tenement Museum see a girl in the window who …

1
Creature Double Feature Part I: Vampires & Werewolves with Deke Moulton 44:57

7M ago44:57

44:57

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/11/creature-double-feature-part-i-deke.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/9oU8bBDsH32kp0wvR50fWFGLTF0?utm_source=copy_url For the month of November 2024, we've got a 2-part series, CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE: ANTISEMITISM AND THE SUPERNATURAL. Our first guest is Deke Moulton, author of Don't Want to B…

1
Creature Double Feature Part II: Dragons & Golems with Emi Watanabe Cohen 47:10

7M ago47:10

47:10

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/11/creature-double-feature-part-ii-emi.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/LlqEguYzidUDn_uqBHgEK5B1QKY?utm_source=copy_url For the month of November 2024, we've got a 2-part series, CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE: ANTISEMITISM AND THE SUPERNATURAL. Our guest for Part II is Japanese American Jewish author E…

1
Will living "With a Good Eye" bring Luna luck? a conversation with Gila Green 33:05

8M ago33:05

33:05

Luna Levi may have graduated high school, but she is far from any kind of path to success. She works part time at a motel in Ottowa to help support her family since neither parent seem capable of it. Luna's mother has dreams of being a theater star and takes off for weeks at a time to perform in regional productions and her father, suffering from P…

1
How Many Secrets are Behind the Boy with the Star Tattoo / a conversation with Talia Carner 49:24

8M ago49:24

49:24

Sharon is surrounded by secrets. It is 1968 and she has been recruited to clandestinely bring Israel sailors, soldiers, and engineers to the French port of Cherbourg. She needs to help support them until the last 5 ships which were promised to Israel were fully constructed. Since France has instituted an embargo against Israel, the men would have t…

1
Festive Friends Part I: Teshuvah and Apologies with Gayle Forman & Marjorie Ingall 1:14:30

8M ago1:14:30

1:14:30

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/10/festive-friends-part-i-teshuvah-and.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/x1-e3vOomTqZOrPvQPzePL4ZOKQ In honor of this holiday-packed month, I've got a 2-part series for you. I'm calling it Festive Friends, because each episode features a pair of friends talking about books relevant to our fall hol…

1
Festive Friends Part II: Asian Jewish Kidlit with Mixed-Up Mooncakes 39:29

8M ago39:29

39:29

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/10/festive-friends-part-ii-asian-jewish.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/xKGzqMhNsej4ALLe6F7e2wBfNJg October 2024 is packed with Jewish holidays, so we've got a 2-part series for you to celebrate: Holiday Friends. In each episode, we hear from a pair of friends about their books that will help us…

1
The Main Character: a conversation with Jaclyn Goldis about secrets, lies, and murder! 23:35

9M ago23:35

23:35

Genevra Ex is a best-selling mystery author with a major quirk. Instead of inventing new characters, she hires a real-life person to be the main character of her book. The latest hire is a young woman named Rory. After an intensive three months of interviewing, Genevra gifts Rory with a ticket on the newly refurbish Orient Express. After boarding t…

1
Our Jewish Emotional Support Books 34:09

9M ago34:09

34:09

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/09/our-jewish-emotional-support-books.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/LVQ-f8Gwpfw2LLKvE4Y7TGOzHes?utm_source=copy_url At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2024 annual conference in San Diego, CA, I met up with Sheryl Stahl, host of our sister podcast, Nice Jewish Books. Inspired by the cartoon…

1
Jewish Emotional Support Books: a conversation with Heidi Rabinowitz and AJL conference attendees 37:14

9M ago37:14

37:14

Heidi Rabinowitz and I both saw a cartoon from the New Yorker in which one spouse was trying to move a pile of tottering books off the other spouses night-stand. The other spouse yelled in alarm (something like) "don't move those - they are my emotional support books!" We were inspired to ask our fellow attendees at the 2024 Association of Jewish L…

1
The Mitzvah of Voting, Encore 27:28

10M ago27:28

27:28

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-mitzvah-of-voting-edited-encore.html TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/ql3_Vi81NBwkvNT97SKZiyh8_yM?utm_source=copy_url Four years ago in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I ran a 3-part series called The Mitzvah of Voting. Here we are in 2024 in a presidential election year again and defending…

1
Jackpot Summer! a conversation with Elyssa Friedlander 35:00

10M ago35:00

35:00

Whether you play the lottery or not, I think that all of us dream about what we would do if we won a major jackpot. This is what happened to three out of the four Jacobson siblings. Matthew, Laura, Sophie, and Noah were gathered to pack up the family summer house on Long Beach Island, when Noah announced he was going out and would be buying a lotte…

1
The State of Middle Grade 35:25

10M ago35:25

35:25

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-state-of-middle-grade.html I love middle grade books! But what defines a middle grade book? What are the challenges to publishing for this age group? What is the state of middle grade literature today? To learn more, I invited 2 experts on the genre: ~ Librarian Karen Jensen, author of "Treat…

1
What Will be Found in the Cave of Secrets: a Conversation with Lynne Golodner 28:25

11M ago28:25

28:25

Eve is only looking for some shelter from the rain, but what she finds will change her work, her heart, and her life. In a small cave in the Scottish highlands, Eve finds a journal written in as a series of letters from a woman named Shira to her lover Benjamin. Eve realized that the letters contain secrets about the family of her new love Mac. Wha…

1
"Espionage! Secrets! Suspense!" Holocaust Books with Adam Gidwitz & Steve Sheinkin 1:03:08

11M ago1:03:08

1:03:08

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/07/espionage-secrets-suspense-holocaust.html Two incredible authors, Adam Gidwitz and Steve Sheinkin, joined me to talk about their most recent books, Max in the House of Spies and Impossible Escape. As many listeners know, I tend to avoid Holocaust books because I've kind of overdosed on them durin…

1
The Hebrew Teacher: three novellas by Mara Arad 30:47

12M ago30:47

30:47

Often we just want to connect with all the people around us and fix any problems we see. In the Hebrew Teacher, a collection of three novellas, people attempt to do this in very different situations. But sometimes, other people see the problem from a different perspective, or the problem is not what it seems. And to connect with someone else, they …

1
Joyful Song: Lesléa Newman & Susan Gal 54:48

12M ago54:48

54:48

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/06/joyful-song-with-leslea-newman-susan-gal.html Joyful Song: A Naming Story is Lesléa Newman's newest picture book, and once again she's paired up with the amazing Susan Gal. This dynamic duo brought us Here Is the World in 2014 and Welcoming Elijah in 2020. Their new 2024 book is about a baby nami…

1
Two Girls: One Lives in Manhattan, the Other in a Parable. A discussion about To and Fro with Leah Hager Cohen 34:48

1y ago34:48

34:48

. Annamae lives in New York with her brother and linguist mother. She yearns for connection and feels that someone will show up to take her away to where she is supposed to be. In the meantime, she pours her thoughts and dreams into her diary. Ani lives on a homestead which is a safe place for misfits and homeless. One day, the Captain, one of the …

1
Across So Many Seas, with Ruth Behar 35:35

1y ago35:35

35:35

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/05/ruth-behar-on-across-so-many-seas.html Lucky Broken Girl, Letters from Cuba, Tia Fortuna's New Home, and now, Across So Many Seas. Award winning author Ruth Behar keeps finding new ways to share her Sephardic and Ashkenazi Cuban Jewish heritage with us, and it's fresh and fascinating every time. …

1
RAS Award Winner: Early Jewish Cookbooks: Essays on Hungarian Jewish Gastronomical History 50:24

1y ago50:24

50:24

Every year the Research, Archive, and Special libraries division of the Association of Jewish Libraries (otherwise known as RAS) gives awards for excellence in Reference and in Bibliography. Since these are obviously not fiction, they wouldn’t ordinarily be a candidate for this podcast. But I got an opportunity to share the interview with last year…

1
Project Shema 44:55

1y ago44:55

44:55

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/04/project-shema.html As you may remember, in December 2023 I participated in The Artists Against Antisemitism auction, which raised funds for Project Shema. Today we'll talk with April Powers, Vice President of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Project Shema, to learn more about their mission and h…

1
Could we adjust Once We Were Home? a conversation with Jennifer Rosner 34:04

1y ago34:04

34:04

During the Holocaust, desperate Jewish parents placed their children with Christian families and in convents in the hope that the children would survive the war. After the war, Jewish organizations went to reclaim these children to be raised in the Jewish community. But how did the children deal with yet another displacement. Join me for a conversa…

1
The Miracle Seed 27:21

1y ago27:21

27:21

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-miracle-seed.html The Miracle Seed is Martin Lemelman's nonfiction graphic novel about how modern science brought the Judean date palm back to life after a thousand year extinction. We met in person at the local public library's recording studio to talk about his book, his art, and the truly …

1
Discovering the mysteries in Our Little Histories : a conversation with Janice Weizman 43:33

1+ y ago43:33

43:33

We start in a familiar place, in contemporary Chicago, where Jennifer, a museum curator, is asked to go to Belarus to create a living installation of Jewish life there before the Holocaust. She invites a distant cousin to participate, and she brings with her an old Yiddish literary magazine to use as a prop in the installment. In each chapter we mo…

1
The 2024 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Revealed 40:10

1+ y ago40:10

40:10

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-2024-sydney-taylor-book-awards.html The winners of the 2024 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children's and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 22, 2024 at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards event. Aviva Rosenberg is the curre…

1
Can a kid survive the turmoil of the 70s as well as his Bar Mitsvah? Adam Unrehearsed with Don Futterman 49:55

1+ y ago49:55

49:55

Adam is a twelve year old boy preparing for his bar mitzvah in Flushing New York in the early 1970. In many ways, he is a typical kid, trying to fit in at school, but also trying to find himself and find ways to stand out. But his year is off to a difficult start when his parents decide to move the family to a different neighborhood and at the same…

1
The Artists Against Antisemitism 22:49

1+ y ago22:49

22:49

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-artists-against-antisemitism-auction.html The Artists Against Antisemitism is a new organization formed to give creatives of all kinds a way to fight anti-Jewish hate. Their very first action is to hold an auction, happening December 15-22, 2023. The auction will benefit Project Shema, which …

1
New Translations of Yiddish Literature 1:01:42

1+ y ago1:01:42

1:01:42

While the body of Yiddish literature is vast, many people still think of Tevye the milkman, trudging along with his lame horse and arguing with God. But the many new translations of Yiddish fiction show the breadth and depth of the settings, characters, and topics covered as well as the many different voices of the authors. This past fall, Nice Jew…

1
Hanukkah Upside Down 39:50

1+ y ago39:50

39:50

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2023/12/hanukkah-upside-down.html In September 2023, I zoomed with Elissa Brent Weissman from across the world, to record an interview about her new picture book, Hanukkah Upside Down. It's the story of a cousin in New York and a cousin in New Zealand, and how they connect during this wintertime AND summ…

1
The Last Jewish Daughter of Kaifeng : a conversation with graphic novelist Fabrice Sapolsky 44:40

1+ y ago44:40

44:40

Leah is not your typical Chinese-Jewish owner of a kosher Chinese restaurant. She is also a woman on the run from Yuk-Wong, a drug lord determined to marry her against her will. And if that wasn't enough drama in her life, she is also the host/recipient of the Spirit of Water with all the powers that entails. When Yuk-Wong's minions find her in New…

1
Two Tribes 41:29

1+ y ago41:29

41:29

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2023/11/two-tribes.html Emily Bowen Cohen is a Jewish member of the Muscogee Nation. Her debut graphic novel, Two Tribes, explores the complexities that come with having a dual identity. I can't think of a better book to read in November, which is both Jewish Book Month and Native American Heritage Month…

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