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Rabbi David Wolpe has been described as one of the most influential Rabbis in America. He's known for his pointed debates on the importance of religion, his outspokenness on current affairs, and a desire to shape today's Jewish leaders and their passion for Judaism. In this episode, Rabbi shares countless pieces of wisdom, an inside look at what's happening to Jewish denominations today, and opens up about his hilarious personality! Follow Rabbi Wolpe on Instagram @davidjwolpe Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Center for Jewish History. **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:24 From aspiring writer to accidental rabbi 06:00 Native to America but immigrants to Judaism 11:30 Why young Jews lost the sense of peoplehood 16:00 Talking to students at the Harvard encampments 19:30 Courage, competence, and turning the argument around 24:00 Is Orthodoxy the "original" Judaism? 29:00 What 30 years taught him about influence 33:00 Optimism, bots, and confusing your enemy 36:30 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Lindsay Pinchuk built a seven-figure company from scratch, sold it, and became a mentor to hundreds of women over 40 who thought it was too late to start. Then, October 8th, 2023 happened. She posted a video in the parking lot of Whole Foods about what it felt like to be a Jewish American woman, and woke up to 100,000 views and a comment section full of "me too." Three years later, speaking up for what's right didn't cost her the business. Inquiries went up 500%. If you needed a reminder that it's never too late to chase your dreams - this episode is it. Follow Lindsay on socials @LindsayPinchuk and check out her work at www.lindsaypinchuk.comSupport our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknowWhat We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:00 From advertising to Bump Club to Dear FoundHer 07:00 The Whole Foods parking lot video that changed everything 11:00 Fracturing, infighting, and why antisemitism shouldn't have a political party 15:00 Getting brands to work with Jewish creators 20:00 Why activism isn't a career (and why you need another lane) 28:00 What hundreds of female founders taught her 34:00 Raising two daughters after October 7th 40:00 The "From the River to the Sea" shirt and the letter to the principal 47:00 The SWEEP marketing framework 52:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Gila Pfeffer lost her mother at 20 and her grandmother before that — both to cancers she carried the genetic blueprint for. So she did something very atypical at the time: a preventative double mastectomy in 2008, years before Angelina Jolie made the choice a norm. Unfortunately, Gila got breast cancer anyway. Both a previvor AND survivor, Gila is one of the funniest people you'll ever hear talk about all of it. An award-winning author and humorist, Gila wrote her memoir *Nearly Departed* through the lens of her Orthodox Jewish life — Shiva, mikveh, wigs during chemo, the whole thing. This conversation lands during a week built for grief, and Gila makes the case that laughter isn't a betrayal of grief. It's the way through. Follow Gila on Instagram @gilapfeffer and check out her novel, Nearly Departed, anywhere you get your books! Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 06:00 Writing Nearly Departed through an Orthodox lens 12:00 Same chemo as her mother, thirty years later 17:00 Phil, and the birthday that felt like a sign 21:00 Grief you don't expect — and its sixth stage 28:00 Emuna, agency, and choosing the mastectomy 35:00 Why teenage Gila would be shocked 40:00 How Margarita and Gila actually met (a Carnegie Hall heist) 45:00 Find a way to laugh 47:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Rabbi Leor Sinai changed Margarita's life before he ever met her. He ran Alexander Muss High School in Israel, the program that completely shaped Margarita's Jewish identity. Years later, they finally sit down together. Now, Leor is serving as the Senior Vice President at the Israel Innovation Institute. This is a conversation about the story we tell ourselves. Leor makes the case that "the world hates us" is a losing pitch — and that Jews are, in fact, the winningest team in human history. He also names something uncomfortable: America is in decline, and Israel was never meant to be an insurance policy. Check out Leor's work at www.leorsinai.com and learn more about the Israel Innovation Institute at www.israelinnovation.org.il/ Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknowWhat We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 04:21 From New York nightlife to rabbinical school 09:00 Why Muss worked: experiential learning that sticks 14:00 The winning-team pitch vs. the world-hates-us story 22:00 America in decline and the rise of antisemitism 32:00 Innovation for the Jewish world: finding root causes 40:00 Living consciously and trusting your gut 48:00 Israel as home, not insurance policy 53:00 A generation of lions, not the TikTok generation 55:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Dara Horn, by her own admission, hates arguing with people. So how did the author of *People Love Dead Jews* become one of the sharpest, most fearless voices confronting antisemitism today? Necessity, mostly. And a refusal to keep pretending. In her return to the show, Dara unpacks her new book, *The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story For The Living*, and makes a case that'll stick with you: antisemitism isn't a bias, it's a lie — and the lie is always the same. Plus, why the anti-Israel movement is a "bag of hot air" with three words of substance behind it, and the data-poisoning plot she was handed in private. Buy Dara's new book everywhere books are sold and check out her work at www.darahorn.com Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow This episode was brought to you in partnership with the Center for Jewish History What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 04:00 Courage over knowledge, and whether we can expect heroism 12:00 The Gentleman's Agreement and the price of passing 21:00 Standing up to an organized hate movement 28:00 Antisemitism as a lie, not a bias 37:00 Jewish civilization as a 3,000-year anti-tyranny movement 44:00 The Wikipedia and Reddit data-poisoning plot 50:00 Her son, the gaming Discord, and cowardice at Harvard 56:00 The collapse of the humanities and the lost art of argument 58:30 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Nadav Roet started doing magic at 4 years old in Israel, moved to Amsterdam to live in his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's hometown, and landed in New York — where he now runs The Bluff, the city's underground magic show built for the young, cool crowd. He's an award-winning mentalist featured in Cosmopolitan and New York magazine, and in this episode, Nadav will convince you that magic is the single coolest art form ever invented. Follow Nadav on socials @NadavRoet and @TheBluffNYC Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:00 Growing up in magic and building The Bluff 06:30 The magic renaissance and why every party has a magician now 11:00 A third-generation Holocaust survivor's Jewish identity 14:00 Israeli skeptics vs. American audiences 17:00 A live mind-reading trick (watch on video) 24:00 Why magic is a proudly Jewish — but never insular — art form 30:00 Magic Camp, meeting your heroes, and killing your darlings 38:00 Where the female magicians are 41:00 Do what you love, with what you have, and have fun 43:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Harrison Greenbaum does 900 shows a year. The Harvard grad turned comedian-magician has been called "the hardest working man in comedy." He's also the guy who wrote his college thesis on whether jokes can make people less racist. Turns out the answer is complicated — and there's one type of humor that can actually make prejudice *worse*. Harrison gets honest about the sharp rise in antisemitism showing up in his comments, the audience member who blurted "no" when he said he was Jewish, and why being a grandson of Holocaust survivors makes him want to talk about Jewish stuff *more*, not less. Plus: why so many magicians are terrible, and how to (maybe) reverse-pickpocket a mentalist. Follow Harrison on socials @harrisoncomedy Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:09 From Magic Camp to Harvard's Jewish Fraternity 06:30 The Secret Algorithm of 900 Shows a Year 12:00 His Thesis on Whether Jokes Fight Prejudice 17:30 Being a Jewish Comic in a Weirder Climate 22:00 Running Off to Join Cirque du Soleil 25:00 Why Every Magic Show Looks the Same 29:00 The Reverse-Pickpocketing Sting Operation 32:00 What the Jews Bring to Magic 34:06 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Chloe Hechter calls herself "the People's Jewish American Princess," and she means it as a mission, not a punchline. Former child actor, recovering sorority girl, and now a comedy creator with 300,000+ followers, she's spent years reclaiming an insult and turning private-school-summer-camp-Murray-Hill life into beloved sketches.But the skits are just the surface. Chloe opens up about exposure therapy for emetophobia starting at age ten, why she believes Jewish women have to be "ten toes down," and her sharpest take yet: that a lot of Jinsta creators are failing. Follow Chloe on all socials @ChloeHechterrSupport our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow This episode is brought to you by ReturnQueen, making your returns easy! Use promo code **PJWK50** on the ReturnQueen app for 50% off an Annual Membership—just $99 for the year (regularly $199.99). Your membership includes: 4 return pickups every month Up to 12 items in your pickup Or, if you'd like to try ReturnQueen first, use promo code **FREERETURN** on the app for your first pickup free!💜 Download the ReturnQueen app and let them handle your returns—and your resale. Follow ReturnQueen on Socials @return.queen **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 04:00 Reclaiming Jewish American Princess 06:30 Becoming a full-time content creator post Syracuse 13:00 Why Chloe wants to manage her own socials 15:00 Growing up the Jewish girl at theater camp 18:00 Emetophobia and exposure therapy 24:00 The camp meds line 28:00 American Jews and the myth of the golden age 32:00 Jewish girls and the trends they started 40:00 Chloe's upcoming book, being a woman in the creator space, and why Jinsta ghettoizes Jews 49:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Yardenne Greenspan is a Tel Aviv-born writer and Hebrew translator whose work appears in numerous publications and has earned notable awards. She's married to Shai Davidai (yes, that one — Activist, former Columbia professor, and Margarita's viral early guest), but she's built her own formidable kind of activism: humanizing Israelis one carefully chosen word at a time. She's the person you drift toward at every Jewish event without quite knowing why. In this episode, Margarita and Yardenne discuss the importance of translation, the true reality of activism, and how to always take the high road. Follow Yardenne on Instagram @YardenneGreenspanSupport our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 03:27 Growing Up Secular in Tel Aviv 07:15 Meeting Shai & Moving to America 10:30 Post-Mortems on Activism 14:00 The Twitter Fight & Refusing the Bait 19:45 Translation as a Form of Activism 26:00 Vulnerability as Strength 30:30 Raising Kids Under Attack 36:00 Translating Trauma in Kazakhstan 41:00 Message to the Jewish People 44:03 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Eitan Levine - you know him, you love him. He's a popular Jewish comedian, political commentator, and the man behind the beloved "Jewish or Antisemitic" series. This episode goes deeper than expected. Eitan opens up about the sarcoma that shaped his teens and twenties. He also delivers a blistering and hilarious critique of how Jewish organizations spent money after October 7th — and why he thinks it backfired. Follow @eitanthegoalie on Instagram and check out his work at www.eitanlevine.com Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 03:41 From celebrity journalism to Jewish comedy 06:00 Cancer at ten and the Russian leg-lengthening device 14:00 Manischewitz Matchmakers and reinjecting Jewish joy 23:00 Why the post-October 7th messaging failed 30:00 Watching Trump press conferences from a bomb shelter 33:00 Jewish or Antisemitic: New York City edition 38:00 Find allies before enemies 40:00 Brad Lander, endorsements, and showing up in city government 43:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Adam Malev has performed at over 1,000 stand-up shows, built an app that maps every open mic in New York City, and once did a full minute of 9/11 jokes on Kill Tony. He's a proud Zionist, the self-proclaimed last Jew in his family's lineage, and — brace yourself — a genuine, non-satirical Zohran Mamdani voter. Margarita was sure the "Zionist for Zohran" bit was a joke. It is not. This episode is a real-time reckoning, a lot of laughing, and zero eye-to-eye. They stay friends anyway. Follow Adam on Instagram @adammalev & @malevcomedy Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 05:04 From EY consultant to full-time comedian 07:30 Building Comediq, the open mic app 09:00 Last Jew in the family 13:00 Zionist for Zohran, explained (and not satire) 17:00 Affordability, potholes, and the case for Mamdani 20:00 Synagogue buffer zones and Jewish safety 24:00 The @Antisemitism account and manufactured outrage 27:00 Kill Tony regrets and the Jewish Kanye West 31:30 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Arno Michaelis is a former Neo-Nazi turned activist, writer, and tremendous ally to the Jewish people. He was a founding member of a racist skinhead crew, lead singer of a hate metal band, reverend in a violently antisemitic church — and then he walked away, worn down by exhaustion and undone by the kindness of the people he was taught to hate. Today he's a Buddhist, an author, and a peer specialist at Parents for Peace who talks pissed-off young men out of the abyss for a living.In this episode, Arno explains why every extremist ideology, left or right, eventually converges on hating Jews. And why that's not a Jewish problem to solve. Follow Arno on Instagram @ArnoMichaelis and check out www.parents4peace.org Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:45 Storytelling and the work of Parents for Peace 07:30 The archetype of "Joe Pissed Off White Kid" 11:00 Arno's childhood, addiction, and the roller coaster of hate 18:00 The night his newborn daughter changed everything 22:00 Regret vs. remorse — the mechanism of real change 25:00 How white nationalism recruits today 31:00 Why every extremist ideology converges on Jew hatred 36:00 Whose problem antisemitism actually is 39:00 Arno's question to Margarita 41:00 Closing Remarks

Raheel Raza is a Pakistani-Canadian author, journalist, and president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow. She'll help you understand everything you'd like to know about Radical Islam. She's testified at the UN, spoken at Harvard and Oxford, and visited Israel 14 times. She also happens to be one of the warmest humans you'll ever meet. This is the conversation where Margarita finally gets to ask the questions that feel too "icky" to ask — about dhimmitude, about why Western Muslim leaders skew extreme, and about how Jews and Muslims can actually still be friends. Raheel answers every single one with patience and zero PC filter. Learn more about Raheel's work at www.raheelraza.com Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:30 From Karachi to Canada — finding the Jewish world through Anne Frank 05:10 Why the Jewish-Muslim conflict isn't religious 07:40 Inside the Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism 11:00 Defeat radical Islamism, defeat antisemitism 15:30 Hadith-based Islam and the politics of extremism 20:00 What the Palestinian diaspora gets wrong, and the promise of the Abraham Accords 24:30 What Jews can actually do — Rabbi Sacks, samosas, and culinary diplomacy 32:00 Canada's "polite pogrom" and the Mamdani problem 38:00 Dhimmitude vs. reform Islam 44:00 Raheel's three-question litmus test for any Muslim you meet 49:00 Closing Remarks

Marina the Marathon Princess has run 76 marathons, finished multiple Ironmans, and walked the entire length of Israel. Her running joke, pun intended, is that she's one of the slowest people doing some of the hardest races in the world. Marina is an activism trendsetter who printed "Stand With Israel" on a race shirt years before October 7th. What started as a couchsurfing trip to Tel Aviv with a giant backpack turned into a years-long love affair with Israel, the Hebrew language, and the runners who cheer her on at every kilometer. Learn from Marina about what it takes to do the hardest things with the biggest smile. Follow Marina on Instagram @marathon.princess Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:30 From investment banking to 76+ marathons 05:15 Willpower is overrated — systems and mental tricks for endurance 09:00 The Tinder match that turned into a love for Israel 12:45 Printing a "Stand With Israel" shirt and losing followers 15:30 Why people who visit Israel walk away changed 18:00 What people misunderstand about being Jewish 21:00 Reclaiming Zionism and reframing antisemitism as conspiracy theory 24:30 On Nice Jewish Runners 26:00 Closing Remarks

Brianna Wu is the voice of reason on the left. The video game developer turned political commentator turned Democratic insider has spent her career being first to name what other people are too scared to say out loud — and she brings that same clarity to one of the most uncomfortable conversations on the American left right now. In this episode, Brianna talks about why democrat elites privately know better, why "respectability politics" are failing Jews, and what an actually effective information war would look like. Follow Brianna Wu on Instagram @BriannaWuSays Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow **What We Discuss:** 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 02:45 Mississippi, the Democratic Party, and the long project against Jews 08:20 The Jews who showed up when Brianna transitioned 12:10 Regrets about supercharging the progressive movement 18:30 No panacea for antisemitism (or Jew hatred) 24:15 Stop the conferences, start the information warfare 30:40 What's actually happening to the trans community right now 37:20 Why "as a Jew" isn't a credential 43:50 Brianna's question for Margarita 46:30 Closing Remarks