The One with the Instagram Rabbis: Ep. 196

This week we're going to party like it's 5779, while we still can. First we sit down with Samantha Frank and Rena Singer, the rabbi and rabbinical student behind Modern Ritual, which models passionate, feminist Jewish life and content on Instagram. They tell us why they're they're thinking beyond congregational posts, and why they believe social media is the way to connect with young Jews today. We also talk to Saul Austerlitz, whose new book is Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show the Defined a Television Era. He gives us some Friends casting what-ifs and offers his theory on why the show remains incredibly popular on streaming platforms 25 years after it premiered. Liel talks to Wesleyan University president Michael Roth about his new book on free speech and political correctness on campus. Join us in San Francisco Monday, Sept. 23.  Get your tickets here and use code TABLET50 for 50% off the ticket price.  Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt. This episode is sponsored by KOL Foods, delivering great tasting, healthy, sustainable, and ethically raised kosher meat. Get a 10 percent discount on your next order using the code UNORTHODOX at kolfoods.com. This episode is also brought to you by the Tikvah Fund’s free online course, Tevye the Dairyman. Professor Ruth Wisse guides you story by story as Sholem Aleichem's famous character confronts the challenges of revolution, materialism, assimilation, and anti-Semitism. Visit tevye.tikvahfund.org/unorthodox to sign up today. (edited)