Noah Yasgur

All of my grandparents were born in the US; 3 out of 4 were first-generation Americans whose parents came over from Russia, Ukraine and Romania, presumably fleeing pogroms or antisemitism of some sort.  I unfortunately don't have too many stories of my relatives' lives in the 'old country.'

I was raised in a conservative Jewish household, more traditional than religious.  I went to Jewish summer camp every year, went to Israel on a Birthright-esque trip, had a bar mitzvah, and celebrated the major holidays.  We ate shrimp but not pork.  I went to public school, Sunday school from K-12 and Hebrew school twice a week from 3rd grade up to bar mitzvah.  If we went to synagogue outside of the High Holidays, it was the obligatory 1x/month sessions one had to do to get 'bar mitzva'ed.'  I wasn't necessarily interested or expected to bring what I learned in religious school into the otherwise secular part of my life.

Through my amazing mentor Kayla Soroka (of The Cincinnati Jewish Experience).  She holds awesome educational events in-person, independent of The Podcast Fellowship.  Her programming is the first Jewish education I've regularly participated in as an adult.  Kayla brought TPF up at one of her events, and a guy named Michael Evers and I were the two that took her up on it.

I would not have been interested in TPF without the stipend.  That being said, if this is me 'getting paid for my work,' then this is the best job ever.

Kayla, Michael and I usually round-robin, taking turns recommending what to listen to for the next week.  It is incredibly common that our conversations, in-person or on the phone, hit the 2-hour mark.  We get carried away.

Often for me, there's some terminology in the podcast that I didn't understand; Kayla educates me on it.

In terms of preparing for our discussions, I usually listen to the podcast and note--mentally or on my iPhone notes--what I thought was especially poignant or confusing.  The co-creation usually starts with just anyone chiming in on what they thought was significant.

I've enjoyed Sam Harris' episode on 'The 5 Myths of Israel and the War in Gaza.' the most.  I like talking about Israel, and I like talking about politics.

I am similar in Jewish observance to as I was growing up although I am trying to be more strict on not eating treyf and celebrating more of the minor fast holidays.

I have spoken with friends who are more critical of Israel than I would be, and contextualize the Oct. 7th attacks in a way I disagree with, but I haven't had any interactions related to the current war that I would characterize as anti-Semitic.  My only personal experience with ant-Semitism has been with coworkers who thought Jews were controlling the world---probably along the lines of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.  When I disagreed with them and they told me to 'do my research,' I informed them that I was in fact a member of the group which they were talking about.  They were not phased, embarrassed or caught off-guard.  The response was, of course, 'oh yeah, but you're one of the good ones.'  It is possible to be insulted by a compliment!

In general, I actually find it incredibly important to talk to people who are anti-Semitic (and find it unproductive to call them that).  I don't shy away from this; we need to humanize ourselves to them.  If they 'unknowingly' befriend a Jew, maybe the knowledge of this after the fact makes them rethink things, making us less of a caricature/fairy tale in their eyes.

“The Podcast Fellowship has allowed me the time each week to devote to deeper Jewish learning, something I didn't realize I was missing before starting.”