Let Us Tell You a Story: Love Letter Vol 04 – Podcasts
Podcasts transport us by telling stories – and help us feel comfort, a sense of community, less alone. For the fourth Love Letter in this project to inspire hope and resilience during our time apart, we’re excited to feature a curation of podcasts by Ezra Bookman.
A director, poet, performance artist, ritualist and experience designer exploring the intersection of arts and spirituality, Ezra is the Artistic Director for Lab/Shul, an experimental, artist-driven, everybody-friendly, God-optional Jewish community in New York. He is also the founder of Ritualist, a consultancy designing more meaningful work-life and connected communities, and the youngest member on the Board of Directors of The Secret City, an Obie-Award winning arts organisation.
Before I hand over to Ezra, I invite you to join us in a spot of #collectionfishing for Pesach over on Instagram. At over 20,000 items, our collection comprises the largest repository of the Australian Jewish experience in the world, and while our doors are closed we’re sharing our treasures with you there.
Until we meet again, stay safe and well.
Jessica Bram
Director & CEO
If I only had time for one podcast in my life, this would be it. A Peabody Award-winning interview series asking life’s biggest questions of some of the world’s biggest thinkers. I’ll pop a shameless plug in here: don’t miss the episode with Lab/Shul’s Founder Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.
Poetry Unbound / The Slow Down
Poetry is an invitation to look at the world (and yourself) more clearly, calmly and kindly. Make these podcasts – via former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and Irish poet, theologian and conflict media Pádraig Ó Tuama – your go-to’s for a five to 10-minute pause of insight and inspiration.
Making space every day to simply sit, breathe and be present is one of the only things keeping me sane right now. Brach’s podcast includes short accessible guided meditations as well as longer talks delving deep into mindfulness practices, including several newly released episodes like ‘Facing Pandemic Fears with an Awake Heart.’
Jew Too: Tales of the Mixed Multitude
Jew Too Is a podcast from Lab/Shul’s Rabbi Emily Cohen (who also co-created The Hamilton Haggadah) celebrating the growing diversity of the American Jewish family. I love how the show weaves moving personal narratives together with clever commentary and a rotating cast of special guests.
15-minute sermons from two of my favorite Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Sharon Brous and Rabbi David Kasher – leaders of the groundbreaking Los Angeles synagogue Ikar. Deep Jewish wisdom, enough said.
Powerful storytelling, compelling journalism, and top quality production for when you need a little escape. Consider this the Israeli version of This American Life.
And in closing, some honourable mentions of phenomenal Jew-ish podcasts: The Kibitz, Judaism Unbound, Unorthodox, and Can We Talk?