Jewish History Nerds
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S5 The Many Lives of Anne Frank
June 12th marks Anne Frank’s birthday, and it was on her 13th birthday that she received the diary that would later become one of the most widely read books in the world. Anne Frank remains one of…
S5 King David: The Divided Heart
Few figures in all of Jewish history are as celebrated, as contradicted, and as human as King David. But how well do we really know him? We're kicking off new bonus episodes in partnership with the…
New Episodes, Coming Next Week
Yael and Schwab are back — and this season, they're diving into the history of Jews in the Americas, just in time for the US's 250th birthday. But first: special episodes sponsored by The Jewish…
S5E12 Voices of the Warsaw Ghetto: A Yom HaShoah Re-Release
Yael and Schwab revisit the remarkable story of the Oneg Shabbos archive from the Warsaw Ghetto in honor of Yom HaShoah. The tins held the second of three caches of the Oneg Shabbos archives: a…
S5E11 The Haggadah: The Book of the People of the Book
The Haggadah is the most widely read Jewish book in the world, and yet it was never supposed to be a book at all. Yael takes Schwab through its surprising history: how an oral commandment became…
S5E10 Albert Einstein: Was He a Zionist? (Part 2)
Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner tackle one of Jewish history's most debated questions: was Albert Einstein a Zionist? From Nazi Germany naming him public enemy number one to eventually being offered…
S5E9 Albert Einstein: Rebel. Reject. Genius. (Part 1)
Before Albert Einstein became the wild-haired icon who changed how we understand the universe, he was a struggling patent clerk with a rejected dissertation, no job prospects, and a messy personal…
S5E8 The Girl Rabbi of the Golden West: Ray Frank
Ray Frank was a gifted Jewish teacher, journalist, and speaker who became a sensation in the American West in the 1890s. Crowds packed opera houses to hear her preach, newspapers called her the “Girl…
S5E7 Gambling Addict, Renaissance Rabbi? Leone da Modena
What happens when a rabbi becomes a compulsive gambler? Yael and Schwab explore the life of Rabbi Leone de Modena, a remarkable Renaissance thinker from the Venetian ghetto. A prodigy, prolific…
S5E6 Crusades, Martyrdom & Radical Piety: The Hasidei Ashkenaz
What happens when trauma reshapes religious life, and suffering itself becomes sacred? This week, Jonathan Schwab introduces Yael Steiner to the Hasidei Ashkenaz, a small but intense medieval…
S5E5 The Rosenbergs: "Atomic Spies" or Scapegoats? The Jewish Community’s Reckoning
In 1953, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sent to the electric chair. They were condemned by a Jewish judge, and executed on a Friday night. The charge: espionage. The backdrop: Cold War hysteria.…
S5E4 Rivka Tiktiner: The First Jewish Woman to Publish a Book — And You've Never Heard of Her
In 1609, Rivka Tiktiner did something no Jewish woman had ever done before: she published a book. Meneket Rivka, printed in Prague, is the earliest surviving full-length work by a Jewish…
S5E3 Who was Leon Trotsky? The Reluctant Jew Behind the Russian Revolution
Leon Trotsky’s name gets thrown around a lot—but the story behind it is darker and stranger than most realize. This week, Yael Steiner walks Schwab through Trotsky’s rise from an assimilated Jewish…
S5E2 Secret Jews: Samuel Schwarz’s Discovery of Portugal’s Crypto-Jews
This week, Jewish History Nerds explores the extraordinary story of Portugal’s secret Jews—families forced into hiding who preserved Judaism for centuries after the Inquisition. Through Samuel…
S5E1 Janusz Korczak: Polish Icon. Holocaust Hero
Yael Steiner and Jonathan Schwab are back for a new season of Jewish History Nerds, starting with the remarkable story of Janusz Korczak—the Jewish-Polish pediatrician and educator who insisted…
S6 Jewish History Nerds is BACK on January 22nd!
Jewish History Nerds is back for Season 6! Hosts Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner return with a new slate of smart, engaging stories from Jewish history—blending deep research with curiosity, humor,…
Revisiting Hebrew Hammer: The True Story of Hannukah
Help us take Unpacked podcasts further by supporting our crowdfunding campaign: https://unpacked.bio/podgift2025 Season 5 is coming soon. In the meantime, to celebrate Hanukkah, we’re…
S4 Listener Survey is Here
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S4E10 The JNF Blue Box: A Symbol of Hope, Controversy, and Nation-Building
In this season finale, Yael Steiner and Jonathan Schwab explore the powerful and surprising story of the Jewish National Fund's iconic blue tzedakah box—also known as the JNF "Blue Box." What began…
S4E9 The Judensau: How Pig Imagery Fueled Centuries of Antisemitism
This week, Schwab and Yael dive into one of the most disturbing and enduring symbols of antisemitism in European history: the Judensau, or “Jew Pig.” From its origins in 13th-century German churches…
Frequently Asked Questions
Jewish History Nerds has published 63 episodes since November 2022, covering topics in History, Judaism.
Jewish History Nerds is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 38m.
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