Episode 1: Light
The launch of The Kibitz podcast begins with all things related to light, Hanukkah and oil. Join host Dan Crane as he takes us on a journey to discover what Hanukkah means in the 21st century.
Check out the animated excerpt from the launch episode:
Who's in this episode?
The quintessential latke with Chef Micah Wexler of Wexler's Deli
Launched by chef Micah Wexler and partner Michael Kassar in 2014, Wexler’s Deli was born of a desire to serve classic Jewish deli food, rooted in tradition and handcrafted by people who care. Using old school methods to smoke, brine, and prepare all of the ingredients in-house Wexler's Deli has been celebrated for the quality and flavor achieved in each dish. Praised by LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold for the bagel and lox, Wexler’s Deli has also been recognized as the “Best Pastrami in Los Angeles” by LA Weekly and was named as one of Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants in 2014 as part of the Downtown L.A.'s Grand Central Market, for which the Deli has become a fixture. For more information, please visit wexlersdeli.com or follow on Instagram.
Kasher vs. Kasher
David Kasher grew up in Oakland, California, but spent his summers in Hassidic Brooklyn, and he's been integrating these experiences ever since. After graduating from Wesleyan College, he knocked around for several years in yeshivas in Israel before landing in rabbinical school at Chovevei Torah, where he was ordained in 2007. He now spends his time bringing Torah to the people, one living room discussion group at a time, as the Senior Rabbinic Educator at Kevah. He's also working on a doctorate in Legal Philosophy, and writes a blog on the weekly Torah portion. You can read it, or listen to the podcasted version, at www.parshanut.com
Moshe Kasher. Comedian. Child Genius. Jew. Jew Comedian. OBGYN. Pleasure center. Good tipper. Guiding light. Beefcake. He lives alone in LA. Featured on: NBC, E!’s Chelsea Lately, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s Drunk History, @midnight, Conan, Carson Daly, Showtime’s Shameless, MTV & more… Currently the Co-host of The Champs podcast and the author of the acclaimed memoir Kasher In The Rye on Grand Central Publishing. Selected as one of Variety Magazine’s “Ten Comics to Watch”, LA Times’ “Faces to Watch”, and iTunes’ “Comic of the Year”.
Why Hanukkah?
Joel Stein grew up in Edison, NJ, went to Stanford, and in 1997, became a staff writer for TIME. In 1998, he began writing his sophomoric humor column that now appears in the magazine every week. He’s also written fourteen cover stories for TIME, and has contributed to The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, Details, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Businessweek, Wired, Real Simple, Sunset, Playboy, Elle, Los Angeles Times, and many more magazines, most of which have gone out of business. He has appeared as a talking head on any TV show that asks him, taught a class in humor writing at Princeton, and wrote a weekly column for the back page of Entertainment Weekly and the opinion section of the Los Angeles Times. This is the most he’s ever written in third person.
Rick Brim lives in London with his wife and three kids, but will bore anybody rigid about how he wants to move to the states. He is the executive creative director at adam&eveDDB, named as number 3 in Fast Companies list of 2014. The guardian recently listed him in the UK’s top 100 creative innovators, although he suspects they may have the wrong Richard Brim.
Dr. Laurel Braitman was raised alongside donkeys and goats on a citrus ranch in Southern California. She is author of the New York Times Bestseller Animal Madness (Simon & Schuster 2014), now translated into more than six languages. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Wired, and Fast Company; she performs live for Pop Up Magazine in San Francisco and frequently collaborates with filmmakers, visual artists, physicians and musicians. These collaborations have been featured on NPR, the BBC and elsewhere. She received her PhD in history and anthropology of science from MIT, is a TED Fellow and lives on a houseboat in Sausalito CA with her dog Cedar. She often speaks to the media, from Good Morning America to Al Jazeera, on issues relating to science, medicine, animals and us.
Josh Howie is a stand-up comedian, writer blah blah. Hobbies include fatherhood, high-altitude weekends contemplating the future of Judaism, and referring to himself in the third person. His last solo show 'AIDS: A SURVIVOR'S STORY' debuted at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe before transferring for a run at London's Soho Theatre in 2015.
Ronna and Beverly get advice with Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo
Ronna Glickman & Beverly Ginsberg are the best-selling co-authors of You’ll Do A Little Better Next Time: A Guide to Marriage and Re-marriage for Jewish Singles (“It says Jewish in the name — but it’s for everyone!”). These outspoken fiftysomethings from Boston, who can be seen regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA, dispense their unique brand of relationship advice while interviewing/interrogating celebrity guests.
A Kid Walks into a Bar- The sklar Brothers
Growing up outside of St. Louis, Randy & Jason Sklar developed a love of comedy at an early age. Moving to New York in 1994, the brothers worked various jobs during the day to support their comedy performances at night. Their first big break came when MTV asked them to host a hybrid comedy show with sketch, stand up, and short films woven into story lines. The result was APT. 2F and even though it only lasted one season, the brothers were off and running.
Host: Dan Crane
Dan Crane is a writer, musician, Jew (lax, loves lox) and professional air-guitarist. He’s the author of To Air is Human and stars in the documentary, Air Guitar Nation. He writes about culture and travel for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, California Sunday, Slate, and numerous other publications. When he’s not writing, or hosting air guitar championships at home and abroad, he plays “there” guitar in various bands including Nous Non Plus and Ray & Remora.
This podcast is sponsored by the Emanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies.