Jonah Fialkow’s name isn’t very well known—but his social handle, @JewishJonah, definitely is. With nearly 20,000 followers on TikTok, Fialkow has risen the ranks of the most recognizable food vendors in North American sports stadiums. His “Day in the Life of a Wrigley Field Vendor” videos, in which he narrates a prosaic itinerary to lo-fi piano jazz, are soothing and insightful, especially for fans of the backroom economics and private lives of the men and women who pace around baseball stadiums shouting about beer and peanuts. Fialkow joins for an in-depth interview about how he got started hawking, how many Jews work at Wrigley (spoiler: a lot) and why he proudly wears his Judaism on his sleeve.

Plus, Gabe and James recap all the Jewish plotlines of the NHL and NBA playoffs, including Jack Hughes’s stellar game with the New Jersey Devils and the recently uncovered rivalry between the Jewish mortgage-broker owners of the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Credits

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is “Organ Grinder Swing” by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter @menschwarmers or TikTok @menschwarmers. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast or donating to The CJN.