Joy and Conversation

by Daniel Osborn

Joy and Conversation is a podcast about Jewish history and culture. It is propelled by curiosity and a passion for teaching and learning. Eclectic but accessible, it is like looking into a kaleidoscope and seeing the vibrant colors, complex shapes, and rich dimensions of Jewish life and identity--but for your ears. It illuminates Jewish diversity by focusing on under-told stories. It emphasizes vitality and dynamism by showcasi ...   ...  Read more

Podcast episodes

  • From the Fragments of Translation

    From the Fragments of Translation

    In this episode, we speak with Yoni Battat about music, identity, and creativity. Yoni discusses what it means to explore the fragments of memory and identity through art. We discuss his experiences with klezmer music as well as the ways Mizrahi and Iraqi-specific influences inform his work as an artist. Learn more about Yoni Battat's music at www.yonibattat.com Learn more about Joy and Conversation at www.joyandconversationpodcast.com Donate and support Project Mosaics, the 501(c)(3) education nonprofit that produces Joy and Conversation at www.projectmosaics.org Follow Joy and Conversation on social media: Twitter- @JandCPodcast Facebook- @JoyandConversationPodcast YouTube- Joy and Conversation Episode Credits: Joy and Conversation is hosted by Dan Osborn Music supervision, editing mixing, and mastering by Nico Rivers (www.auraformaudio.com) Graphics and Klezmer theme song by Alec Hutson (www.alechutson.com & www.warbirdcreative.com) Website design by Jakob Lazzaro (www.jakoblazzaro.com) This episode featured music from Yoni Battat's album Fragments. Episode photo by Dan Osborn

  • Welcome to the Hotel Cubana

    Welcome to the Hotel Cubana

    In this episode, we return to Jewish Cuba and learn about a family who is bringing kosher accommodations and humanitarian aid to the island. We speak to Cindy White who operates Chateau Blanc alongside her brother Scott Berenthal and a team of dedicated staff in Cuba. Cindy and Scott are the American-born children of Saul Berenthal who left Cuba for the United States at age 16 after the Revolution. We talk about what it means to be Juban, what Jewish life in Cuba looks like today, and how the family is helping to make Cuba known to Jews and non-Jews from around the world. Learn more about Joy and Conversation at www.joyandconversationpodcast.com Donate and support Project Mosaics, the 501(c)(3) education nonprofit that produces Joy and Conversation at www.projectmosaics.org Follow Joy and Conversation on social media: Twitter- @JandCPodcast Facebook- @JoyandConversationPodcast YouTube- Joy and Conversation Episode Credits: Joy and Conversation is hosted by Dan Osborn Music supervision, editing mixing, and mastering by Nico Rivers (www.auraformaudio.com) Graphics and Klezmer theme song by Alec Hutson (www.alechutson.com & www.warbirdcreative.com) Website design by Jakob Lazzaro (www.jakoblazzaro.com) This episode featured music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). Sandy Shuffle Zulia Conspiracy Paramo Ocho Sargento Huffalo Episode photo by Dan Osborn

  • Sobremesa

    Sobremesa

    In this episode, we explore the modern history of Jews in Mexico and focus on the intersections between culture, cuisine, food, and family. We start with with Monica Unikel, who has dedicated herself to preserving and telling stories of Jews in Mexico City through street tours and reviving Jewish cultural and communal spaces. We continue with Jewish Mexican bakers who are bringing their recipes, memories, and expressions of cultural innovation to Chicago, California, and Brooklyn. We hear from Tamar Fasja Unikel and Elena Vazquez Felgueres of Masa Madre, Dennis Rael of Los Bagels, and Fany Gerson of Fan-Fan Doughnuts and La Newyorkina. With each morsel of bagels, babka, challah, and more, we see the ways Mexico mixes with Syria, Ukraine, Lithuania, and beyond. Learn more about Joy and Conversation at www.joyandconversationpodcast.com Learn more about Project Mosaics, the 501(c)(3) education nonprofit that produces Joy and Conversation at www.projectmosaics.org Follow Joy and Conversation on social media: Twitter- @JandCPodcast Facebook- @JoyandConversationPodcast YouTube- Joy and Conversation Episode Credits: Joy and Conversation is hosted by Dan Osborn Music supervision, editing mixing, and mastering by Nico Rivers (www.auraformaudio.com) Graphics and Klezmer theme song by Alec Hutson (www.alechutson.com & www.warbirdcreative.com) Website design by Jakob Lazzaro (www.jakoblazzaro.com) This episode featured music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). Palms Down Tarte Tatin Bundt Cornicob Kilkerrin Donnalee Episode photo by Dan Osborn

  • Under Vines and Fig Trees

    Under Vines and Fig Trees

    In this episode, we speak with Jonathan Dekel-Chen about the long history of Jewish agricultural life. The episode traverses continents and centuries, describing Jewish farming from Abraham through the 21st century. Jonathan is the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet & East European Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he holds dual a dual appointment in the Department of Jewish History and the Department of General History. He is the author of Farming the Red Land: Jewish Agricultural Colonization and Local Soviet Power, 1924-1941 and the co-founder of Bikurim Youth Village for the Performing Arts in Eshkol. Learn more about Joy and Conversation at www.joyandconversationpodcast.com Learn more about Project Mosaics, the 501(c)(3) education nonprofit that produces Joy and Conversation at www.projectmosaics.org Learn more about the Rutgers University exhibit "Jewish Agriculturalism in the Garden State" which was created by Jonathan Dekel-Chen and inspired this episode at sites.rutgers.edu/jewish-agriculture. Follow Joy and Conversation on social media: Twitter- @JandCPodcast Facebook- @JoyandConversationPodcast YouTube- Joy and Conversation Episode Credits: Joy and Conversation is hosted by Dan Osborn Music supervision, editing mixing, and mastering by Nico Rivers (www.auraformaudio.com) Graphics and Klezmer theme song by Alec Hutson (www.alechutson.com & www.warbirdcreative.com) Website design by Jakob Lazzaro (www.jakoblazzaro.com) This episode featured music from the Sephardic group, Voice of the Turtle (www.voiceoftheturtle.com). Azkir Khasdey Eyl Neh-Eman This episode featured music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). Di Breun This episode featured music from the Free Music Archive (www.freemusicarchive.org). Tres Tristes Tangos- "Planta Baja" Tres Tristes Tangos- "Kolderen Polka" Yair Yona- "Russian Dance" Alicia Svigals_Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash- "Beregovski Patch Tants" Serge Quadrado- "Russian Girl" Episode photo by Dan Osborn

  • Pathways to Parenting

    Pathways to Parenting

    In this episode, we speak with Amy Weinreb about parenting, family dynamics, and questions of "home." Amy is a cultural anthropologist and senior lecturer at the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at The University of Texas at Austin and the author of Cuba in the Shadow of Change: Daily Life in the Twilight of the Revolution. Amy is joined by Lisa Osborn, Elena Rafael, Carolyn Mahboubi, and Matthew Hilgart, each of whom shares their own relationship with Judaism and Jewishness, parenting, and finding pride and joy in family. Learn more about Joy and Conversation at www.joyandconversationpodcast.com Learn more about Project Mosaics, the 501(c)(3) education nonprofit that produces Joy and Conversation at www.projectmosaics.org Follow Joy and Conversation on social media: Instagram- joyandconversationpodcast Twitter- @JandCPodcast Facebook- @JoyandConversationPodcast YouTube- Joy and Conversation Episode Credits: Joy and Conversation is hosted by Dan Osborn Music supervision, editing mixing, and mastering by Nico Rivers (www.auraformaudio.com) Graphics and Klezmer theme song by Alec Hutson (www.alechutson.com & www.warbirdcreative.com) Website design by Jakob Lazzaro (www.jakoblazzaro.com) This episode featured music from the Sephardic group, Voice of the Turtle (www.voiceoftheturtle.com). Alevanta Mordekhai Üsküdar'a Gider Iken This episode featured music from Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). A Certain Lightness Quirk A Little Powder Fermin Canyon This episode featured music from Ezekiel's Wheels (www.ewklezmer.com). Abigale's Hora Episode photo by Dan Osborn