TV or Talmud? For modern audiences, pop culture is the new Bible

Avi and Phoebe talk about the Jewish side of ‘Succession’—and Taylor Swift’s relationship.
Fans are reading into the finale of ‘Succession’ like scholars analyze the Talmud. (Photo: David M. Russell/HBO ©2023 HBO. All Rights Reserved.)

On this week’s show, pop culture takes over. We’re talking about Taylor Swift’s probably-not-Nazi maybe-boyfriend, the biblical undertones behind the recently concluded hit TV show Succession (and the wave of Talmudic-style episode recaps) and give nachas to jazz musician Tevet Sela and the new HBO series Being Mary Tyler Moore.

Then, to kick off Pride Month, we share some feedback from our recent episode on the suicide of Herschel Siegel, a gay Orthodox man who died in April 2023. From there, we dissect Barbara Kay’s recent article on the same subject, which makes a natalist argument calling out “inherently infertile” gay Jewish couples.

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast or donating to The CJN.

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