Friendly Faces: Ep. 251

This week on Unorthodox, Mark says goodbye to a staple of his childhood as Friendly’s files for bankruptcy. To cheer him up, we’ve got two great Jewish guests. First we talk to comedian Gilbert Gottfried, whose voice you may have recognized on our 2019 episode celebrating the publication of our book, “The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.” He explains why comedy in dark times is essential and cathartic, tells us about his own podcast, "Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast," where he schmoozes with and celebrates show business legends, and regales us with the story of his family’s infamous Zoom bat mitzvah incident. Our next guest is Gavriel Savit, who started his Unorthodox journey as an angry letter-writer, became Mark’s neighbor in New Haven, welcomed us into his home to record an episode, and finally joins us as a proper guest to tell us about his magical and deeply Jewish young adult novel, “The Way Back.” He makes the case that the fantasy genre is in fact quite Jewish—is Hogwarts basically a yeshiva?—and explains why a book like his, which is proudly filled with Jewish imagery and takes place in an Eastern European shtetl, can still hold universal appeal. Let us know what you think of the show! Send us comments and questions at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt. Sponsors: Wisdom Studio is offering two new four-week programs focused on Jewish Women. “When Bubbe Met Amy” explores the work of funny Jewish women like Amy Schumer, Tiffany Haddish, Rachel Bloom, Abbi Jacobson, and Ilana Glazer, and “Not a Nice Jewish Girl” explores the role and history of women in Israeli cinema. Learn more at gordoncenter.com/wisdom-studio. The Great Courses Plus offers thousands of online classes on hundreds of topics, all taught by professors and experts in their fields. We’re currently streaming the course on “Jewish Intellectual History: 16th to 20th Century.” Start your free trial at thegreatcoursesplus.com/unorthodox. American Jewish World Service is fighting poverty and pursuing justice in the developing world. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, AJWS is currently twice-matching all donations; find out more about the organization and make your donation at AJWS.org/unorthodox. ORT America combines Jewish values with an education that prepares students for careers and lives of meaning. Thousands of ORT students in 30 countries are learning to address today’s most urgent challenges: climate change, cybersecurity, medical advancements and more. Change the world with them at ortamerica.org. PJ Library sends free storybooks to children (newborn to 12 years old), making it easy to start sharing Jewish traditions. Sign up at pjlibrary.org/unorthodox.