Laser Focused: Ep. 261

This week on Unorthodox, we’re firing up our Jewish space lasers. Mark and Liel talk to legendary actor Ed Asner about his latest project, The Tattooed Torah, an animated short about the inspiring journey of a Torah scroll and the little boy who swore to rescue it from the Nazis, about great TV and why they don't make shows like they used to, and about standing up to your political beliefs, even when you have to pay the price. Then Liel talks with author Cambria Gordon about her YA book, The Poetry of Secrets, which tells the story of a young Jewish woman in Inquisition-era Spain whose family was forced to convert to Catholicism, but continue to practice Judaism in secret. Do you have a great Jewish name or know someone with a great Jewish name? Enter our Jewish Name of the Year bracket! Email your suggestions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. As always, 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. Want to book us for a live show? Email producer Josh Kross at jkross@tabletmag.com.