Another Education Is Possible

Another Education Is Possible

by Another Education Is Possible

Education Society & Culture

Season 1

Episode 24 - Hannah Mermelstein

Hannah Mermelstein's Palestine solidarity and education work spans decades, settings, and forms. Whether co-founding the Birthright Unplugged program or Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, Hannah's work remains committed to working for justice in Palestine. In this episode, Hannah takes listeners through delegations, book clubs, zine making, and many other anti-Zionist educational projects.

Episode 23 - Jews Against White Supremacy

Members of the internationalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-Zionist organization Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS) join the podcast to explore principled anti-Zionism, revolutionary struggle, and political education. While we spend a lot of time discussing educational experiences and the role of education in social movements, we also talk about how these experiences relate to engaging in direct action and mobilizing other Jewish folks to join the struggle against Zionism.

Episode 22 - Sarah Ema Friedland

Sarah Ema Friedland's work as a filmmaker and educator shows the wild, radical potential of documentary. In this episode, Sarah takes listeners through unlearning liberal Zionism and college lessons that helped her avoid Birthright. She also describes how Cuban film school and Palestinian filmmakers influence her work. Sarah and Rami Younis' sci-fi documentary about the city of Lyd offers an opportunity to nerd out on third cinema and speculative fiction. More importantly, the film shows the complexity and radical possibility found in the collective work of imagining and struggling toward a free Palestine.

Episode 21 - Rachel Joy

On a show that keeps mentioning mutual aid, we haven't yet explored its meaning or role within education. Luckily, abolitionist Rachel Joy joins us to talk all about this exact topic. We look at mutual aid as educational, part of Jewish tradition, and something urgent in this moment. We also discuss Rachel growing up queer in South Florida, discovering Judaism beyond Zionism in college through participating in SJP, and ongoing abolitionist work within the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

Episode 20 - Emmaia Gelman (with guest host Eli Meyerhoff)

Researcher, activist, founding Director of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, and fellow podcaster Emmaia Gelman joins guest host Eli Meyerhoff to discuss the role of radical study in organizing for Palestinian liberation. From being a Jewish kid in New York City to queer and anti-racist organizing, Emmaia shares a complex story that reveals the many ways people encounter Zionism, how to uncover it, and how we might collapse Zionism's superstructure. Eli and Emmaia's conversation offers forceful critique and thinks toward an expansion of our collective vision.

Episode 19 - Dan Cohen and Julie Kosowski

Teacher Dan Cohen and organizer Julie Kosowki take us through their decades of work in the Palestine Solidarity Movement in Chicago. The episode includes stories from Dan's public school teaching and Julie applying lessons from her survivor father to her activism. Dan and Julie are also married and close collaborators. They tell listeners about date nights watching Noam Chomsky documentaries and going to marches together. This is an episode full of grief, struggle, rage, and love. As Dan and Julie share, our work is about trusting and caring for each other, not because of shared identities but because of connected liberatory values.

Episode 18 - Dave Zirin

In this episode, we talk to writer and activist Dave Zirin about the political potential of sports. Dave takes us through his childhood in New York City Jewish communities, which included playing street ball with Kenny Anderson. He describes life lessons from anti-Zionist writer Mike Marqusee and former NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who refused to stand for the national anthem in the 1990s. It's a packed episode that touches on the role of BDS in sports, Zionist attempts to sports wash, and the ways that sports can be a site to struggle, escape, and imagine other possibilities.

Episode 17 - Anna Rajagopal

In this episode, writer and organizer Anna Rajagopal shares experiences from a Jewish upbringing in Texas. They describe the failures and frustrations of the NGO-ified so-called Jewish left and the ways in which their own political education has been shaped by Palestinian comrades "calling them out and calling them in." With compassion and critique, Anna invites listeners toward the quiet work of unmaking Zionism. As the episode shows, anti-Zionism is not the outcome of internal, individual unlearning for Jews but an endless, urgent, and collective praxis.

Episode 16 - Alison Glick

Writer and activist Alison Glick shares a story that moves from Jewish cooking in Cincinnati to experiential unlearning on a kibbutz (or, as Alison puts it "learning what Zionism actually is"). Alison discusses the First Intifada, the student encampments, and her novel, The Other End of the Sea. This is a moving and engrossing episode about family, writing, and so much else. A quick note about today's episode. Parts of the interview have been edited to protect identities and stories.

Episode 15 - Interlude (Jordan, Yardain, and Sam)

On this episode, we're pausing. Producers Yardain and Sam join Jordan to ask what a podcast does and what small role the slow work of a podcast about education can play in the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

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