Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with The Accidental Talmudist, Sal Litvak! Sal discusses his path to becoming The Accidental Talmudist, his new movie Guns & Moses, his book Let My People Laugh, & much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, a great chat with film producer and director, Andrew Stevens! Andrew discusses the film he produced and directed about his mother, Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet. acting in shows and films like Dallas, The Boys in Company C, Hollywood Wives. & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with the former president of Universal Pictures, Thom Mount! Thom discusses overseeing films such as Smokey and the Bandit, Animal House, Blues Brothers, E.T. and Back to the Future, & much more! #movies #interview #scifi

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, had a great chat with the author of Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers, Yaron Weitzman! Yaron discusses LeBron's Lakers, power struggles, the Buss family, being responsible for bringing Cheez Doodles to Stephen A Smith, & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with pop culture icon Clint Howard! Clint discusses growing up in an acting family, voicing Roo in Disney's Winnie the Pooh, meeting Walt Disney, appearing in Star Trek, his memoir The Boys which he co-wrote with his brother Ron, & more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, had a great chat with the writers of the time travel classic Peggy Sue Got Married, Arlene Sarner and Jerry Leichtling! We discuss the making of Peggy Sue Got Married, behind-the-scenes stories, their film Blue Sky with Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange, & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, great chat with the former President of Programming for Showtime, Jerry Offsay! Jerry discusses his time as President of Production at RKO, where he greenlit films like Eight Men Out. His tenure at SHOWTIME, behind shows like Stargate, & The L Word. & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, an incredibly fascinating chat w/ the star of the musical CHESS and the singer of One Night in Bangkok! Murray discusses being in the original concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring in CHESS, acting w/Brigitte Bardot in Two Weeks in September, & more

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of Rewriting the Rules, Danna Zeiger! Danna discusses Rewriting the Rules about the life of Dr. Kathleen Friel, being a Biology professor at Fisher College, how her father was a political prisoner in the Soviet Union, & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had an incredibly fun chat with pop culture icon Mason Reese! Mason discusses how he got his start, starring in many classic commercials, Appearing on Dick Cavett, co-hosting talk shows with Michael Douglas, & much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Angela Cartwright from The Sound of Music! Angela discusses making the iconic musical, being one of the stars of the classic Sci/Fi series Lost in Space, appearing with legendary entertainer Danny Thomas on Make Room For Daddy, & more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of The Night Sparrow, Shelly Sanders! Shelly discusses her book The Night Sparrow, discovering she was Jewish as a teen, visiting Latvia and finding out that she had ancestors murdered in the Holocaust, and much more.

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with the co-writer of The Jerk & The Frisco Kid, Michael Elias! Michael talks about the two films, working with Gene Wilder and Steve Martin, helping create the sitcom Head of the Class, writing for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, & more!

My latest on Substack You Never Really Know How we don't know what other people are dealing with

My latest on Substack My Daughter Got Married, and my Life will Never be the Same open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of My Other Half, David Isaacson! David discusses the story behind his book, doing film reviews, antisemitism in London, and much more! #podcast #jewish #author #writing

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Robert Wuhl from Arli$$! Robert discusses his time on the sports-themed sitcom, his memorable role in Bull Durham, making Batman with Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, & much more! #podcast #TVshow #baseball #batman

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Kate Linder from The Young & the Restless! Kate discusses her tenure as one of the longest-running characters on American Soaps, her job as a flight attendant, working with Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, and Garry Marshall, & more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the CEO of the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, Hava Holzhauer! Hava discusses being the descendant of Holocaust survivors, her role as CEO of Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, being Regional Director of the ADL, & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a fun chat with Lou Diamond Phillips from La Bamba! Lou discusses his iconic roles in La Bamba, Stand and Deliver, and Young Guns. Performing on Broadway in The King and I. Appearing on The Masked Singer, his books in the Tinderbox series, and much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with iconic actress Pamelyn Ferdin! Pamelyn discusses the many roles she's played in her career, including her famous Brady Bunch episode, voice roles in Peanuts, and Charlotte's Web, playing Felix's daughter on The Odd Couple, & much more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the president of the Yiddish Book Center, Susan Bronson! Susan discusses the history of the Yiddish Book Center, the different collections they have, upcoming exhibits, & much more! #podcast #Jewish #writing #books

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with the host of the Fun For All Ages podcast, Frank Santopadre! @franksantopadre.bsky.social discusses co-hosting the Amazing Colossal Podcast with Gilbert Gottfried, his current show Fun For All Ages, writing for MAD Magazine & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, it's time for another edition of Forgotten Films! This time, we're joined by guest Ike Eisenmann, as we take a look back at 1980's The Formula, directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando, with a guest appearance by Ike himself!

Over at Judith Magazine, I have a post about Jews and "privilege". Would be grateful if you read.

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, had a great chat with the editor of The Practicing Writer Newsletter, Erika Dreifus! @erikadreifus.bsky.social discusses her popular newsletter, her books, Birthright: Poems, & Quiet Americans: Stories, being a board member of Artists Against Antisemitism & more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Ted Neeley from Jesus Christ Superstar! Ted discusses making the iconic musical, performing on Broadway in Hair and other shows, being directed by Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained, & much more! #interview #hollywood #musical

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with award-winning author Barbara Bottner! Barbara discusses her writing career, writing scripts for Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories and other TV shows, having lunch with Jim Henson and writing a song for a Sesame Street album, & much more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of Chai Noon, Jonathan Friedmann! Jonathan discusses his book about Jews in Westerns, Chai Noon, his podcast, Amusing Jews, the Jewish Museum of the American West, & much more! #podcast #jewish

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Kelly Stables from Superstore! Kelly discusses her time on Superstore, her recurring role as Alan's girlfriend on Two and a Half Men, playing Samara in The Ring Two, voicing Will Vandom on W.I.T.C.H, & much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had an incredibly fun chat with the Famous San Diego Chicken, Ted Giannoulas! Ted discusses how he got his start as the famous mascot, appearing on The Baseball Bunch with Johnny Bench, what made Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda angry with his antics, & more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, had a great chat with the author of The Delegation, Avner Landes! Avner discusses his unique book The Delegation, which has three different layers of reading, being influenced by and compared to Saul Bellow, his writing journey, and much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Ilene Graff from Mr. Belvedere! Ilene discusses working on the classic sitcom with Bob Uecker, performing on Broadway in Grease and Promises, Promises, appearing with Rodney Dangerfield in Ladybugs, and much more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of Go on Pretending, Alina Adams! Alina discusses her book Go on Pretending, writing for Soap Operas, the history of the Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan in the Soviet Union, & much more! #podcast #writing #interview

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great time welcoming back Burt Ward from Batman! Burt discusses behind-the-scenes stories from Batman, his pet food brand Gentle Giants, missing out on starring in The Graduate, & much more! #podcast #interview #Batman

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of Miriam’s Magical Creatures Files, Leah Cypess! @leahcypess.bsky.social discusses her new series Miriam's Magical Creature Files, the Sisters Ever After series, experiences while hiking in Costa Rica at night, & much more!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with legendary songwriter, Lynn Ahrens! Lynn discusses the shows she's written songs for including Ragtime & Suessical, writing and singing songs for Schoolhouse Rock, writing jingles for Bounty and Klondike Bar, & much more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the creator of the Heroes of October 7th Project, Hadassa Ben-Ari! Hadassa discusses the Octber 7th Project, talking with kids about difficult subjects, selecting which stories to include in the book, & much more! #Jewish #podcast

The more antisemitism we see, the more proud and in-your-face Jewish we will be. Shabbat Shalom to all, and hope it’s a great weekend!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Barry Pearl from Grease! Barry discusses the making of the iconic musical, his work on CPO Sharkey with Don Rickles, appearing on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie and Oliver!, and much more! #70s #podcast #musical #movies

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of The Center of the Earth, Darlene Campos! Darlene is joined by survivor Pete Phillips, as they discuss Darlene's book, how Ecuador took in Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, how Pete's family sought shelter there, & more!

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend!

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with the former lead singer of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Chris Thompson! Chris discusses his time with the band, turning Bruce Springsteen's Blinded by the Light into a big hit, performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, & more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with actress and talk show host Caryn Richman! Caryn discusses her Jewish upbringing, starring in the 80s sitcom The New Gidget, her role as Greg Brady's wife in The Bradys, co-hosting the talk show Chatterbinge, & much more!

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and a peaceful weekend

Over at @popcultureretro.bsky.social, we had a great chat with Jane Badler from the sci/fi classic V! Jane discusses her time on V, being part of the Mission Impossible reboot, making Ricky Stanicky with Zac Efron and John Cena, and much more!

Over at @thejewishlens.bsky.social, I had a great chat with the author of In That Sleep of Death, Jonathan Dunsky! Jonathan Dunsky talks about his series of Adam Lapid books, giving historical tours based on the locations in his books, teaching himself English by reading Stephen King, & more!

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend!

Over at @popcultureretro, We had a great chat with the former senior VP of rock promotion at Columbia Records, Paul Rappaport! Paul discusses his memoir Gliders Over Hollywood, stories involving some of the biggest names in music such as Springsteen, Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, & more!

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend!