Heinrich Heine: Poet, Writer, Critic
Speakers: George Prochnik, Abraham Socher Born in 1797 Heinrich Heine was a virtuoso German poet, satirist and visionary humanist whose dynamic life story and strikingly original writing are ripe for rediscovery. In Heinrich Heine: Writing a Revolution, George Prochnik, who won a National Jewish Book Award for his biography of Stefan Zweig, explores both his […]
Cities of Strangers
Speakers: Miri Rubin, Dominic Selwood In her latest book Miri Rubin illuminates life in European towns and cities for both the settled population and the newcomers who joined them between 1000 and 1500 AD. Some city-states enjoyed considerable autonomy and invited groups from afar, as well as professionals such as physicians, notaries and judges to […]
Israel: Its Own Worst Enemy?
Speakers: Ami Ayalon, Anshel Pfeffer A three-decade military career that began in 1963 saw Ami Ayalon awarded the Medal of Valour, and a meteoric rise to the position of Commander of the Israeli Navy, before becoming head of the Shin Bet security agency and later serving in the Cabinet. Now in his Friendly Fire: How Israel […]
Why Do Jews Love The Godfather
Speakers: Rich Cohen, Harlan Lebo, Jonathan Freedland Five decades on, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaption of Mario Puzo’s novel remains at the top of numerous greatest movies ever lists. What is it about this very Italian-American film series that has captured the imaginations of generations of Jewish men in particular? Jonathan Freedland is joined by Vanity […]
You Talkin’ to Me
Speakers: E.J. White, Harry Mount From ‘con man’ to ‘rush hour’, New York City has given us numerous popular words and phrases, along the way fashioning a recognisable dialect all its own. In You Talkin’ to Me? The Unruly History of New York English E. J. White explores a hidden history encompassing social class, immigration, real estate, and the original plan […]
Hidden Heretics
Speakers: Ayala Fader, Adam Taub What if openly questioning your religious faith would mean losing your family and the only way of life you have ever known? In Hidden Heretics Ayala Fader tells the fascinating and often heart-wrenching stories of married ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women in New York, who surreptitiously break commandments and explore forbidden secular worlds […]
Knowledge Under Attack
Speakers: Richard Ovenden, Erica Wagner In our digital age, we are drowning in information, faced with new and complex challenges around data preservation and organisation; at the same time, media censorship is a global phenomenon, fake news is rife and, more than ever, libraries have to fight for their existence. In Burning the Books, Bodleian Library […]
Kosher Poker
Speakers: Patrick Marber, Shelley Rubenstein, Peter Alson Poker has long been linked with both writers and the Jewish community. Journalist and poker player Shelley Rubenstein has been dealt a strong hand with her guests for this discussion. Then primarily known as a comedy performer, Patrick Marber chose the game as a setting for his debut […]
Living with Other Species
Speakers: Matthew Stadken, Esther Woolfson,Tom Ryan Humans have lived side by side with animals for millennia, but how much do we understand about this complex relationship? In How To See Birds: An Enthusiast’s Guide broadcaster Matthew Stadlen argues, as he takes us on a personal journey from London to the Masai Mara, that while we all see them, many of […]
Modern Jewish Literature
From mass emigration out of Eastern Europe to the creation of Israel, the last century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writers: their novels, plays, poems and memoirs provided intimate access to new worlds of experience. In The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century, […]
The House of Fragile Things
Speakers: James McAuley, Patrick Bade Between 1870 and 1945 several prominent French Jews, pillars of an embattled community, invested their fortunes in France’s cultural artifacts, sacrificed their sons to the country’s army – and were ultimately rewarded by seeing their collections plundered and their families deported to Nazi concentration camps. James McAuley, Paris correspondent for […]
Taking Liberties: Jewish Women Poets
Speakers: Aviva Dautch, Jacqueline Saphra From Bible stories to re-envisioning the work of great artists, Aviva Dautch and Jacqueline Saphra explore, with conversation and readings, what it means to be a Jewish woman poet. Previously poet-in-residence at the Jewish Museum and commissioned by Bradford Literature Festival and the British Museum, Dautch has read her work on […]