arts & culture
Jewish Bizarre Podcast
Ashley Zlatopolosky
A new podcast is taking listeners
down a rabbit hole of bizarre
Jewish history.

Released in November, the “Jewish
Bizarre Podcast,” a new project from
Reboot, a Jewish arts and culture nonprofi t
and development platform (rebooting.

com), explores little-known pockets of
Jewish history that are strange, mysteri-
ous and often downright shocking.

In fact, podcast host Eddy Portnoy
calls it a “Jewish Atlas Obscura of histor-
ical material.”
“It’s the strange corners of history that
most historians don’t deal with,” he said,
“and that most people don’t even know
about.” The “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” is the
inaugural podcast of the new Reboot
Presents Podcast Network, which
features top idiosyncratic Jewish person-
alities. It’s produced by executive produc-
ers David Katznelson and Noam Dromi
and engineered by Jonathan London.

This new podcast features Portnoy,
academic adviser for the Max Weinreich
Center and exhibition curator at the
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, as
one of three co-hosts who join ranks to
discuss the Jewish bizarre.

Podcast hosts also include Tony
Michels, professor of Jewish American
history at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, and Jessica Chaffi n, writer,
comedian and host of the popular podcast
“Ask Ronna.” Together, they explore the
strangest corners of Jewish history.

The Topics Not Taught in
Hebrew School
Episodes are released weekly and
tackle everything from how an 1875
murder changed the perception of Jews
forever, to false messiahs and wrestling
rabbis, to even Jewish stereotypes such
as nose shape and how that impacted
the world’s view on Jews.

While all episodes are unique in their
own way, Portnoy, who is based in
Harlem, says one of the most bizarre is
about the Tonsil Riots of 1906, which the
podcast dives deeply into.

“In 1906, on the Lower East Side,
50,000 Jewish mothers rioted because
their children’s tonsils were taken out in
public schools,” Portnoy, 57, explained.

“It was really a major uproar and it’s an
unusual moment in Jewish history.”
This story, Portnoy said, is represen-
tative of the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast”
as a whole. “It’s one of the ones that I
fi nd appealing and exciting because it
reveals aspects of Jewish life that very
few people know about,” he continued.

Portnoy said each podcast episode
was researched extensively and that
listeners can expect a mix of humor,
seriousness and, of course, very shock-
ing stories.

“The historical aspect is serious, but
it’s dealt with in a lighthearted manner,”
he said. “Tony and I bring the content,
but Jessica draws it out in really clever
and humorous ways.”
Discussing stereotypes in particular,
Portnoy said, has become more important
than ever given the recent rise in public
Podcast hosts Portnoy, Jessica Chaffi n and Tony Michels
antisemitism, even if those stereotypes
are approached from an edge of humor.

“Stereotypes aff ect Jews adversely,”
he said, “and especially now that’s really
come to the forefront and become very
problematic.” Learning More About the Bizarre
To help listeners better understand each
episode, the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast”
has released an episode guide that
includes defi nitions for key terms, pho-
tographs, newspaper clippings, artwork
and additional visual resources and links
for reading.

Episodes drop weekly and can
be found on major podcast listening
platforms, including Apple Podcasts and
Spotify. Listeners can also fi nd them on
the Reboot website.

Following its release of the “Jewish
Bizarre Podcast,” Reboot Presents will
soon release top episodes from previ-
ous Reboot podcasts, including “The
Kibitz,” “Kasher v. Kasher,” “Closening”
and “In Quarantine with Steve Bodow”
as other new content is in production.

The “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” episode
guide includes “Only Murder in the
Shtetl,” which explores a famous murder;
“Jewish Anarchists and the Yom Kippur
Balls,” which discusses how young
Eastern European Jewish immigrants
discovered anarchism; and “The Tonsil
Riots and other Jewish Uprisings,” which
dives into the strangest Jewish riots.

Episodes also include “Jewish
Geniuses, Idiots and the Greatest Mohel,”
which explores the age-old question of
whether there really are more Jewish
geniuses; and “The Strange World of
Nosology and the Jewish Shnozz,” which
debunks the long-running stereotypes
surrounding Jews and nose shape.

Throughout the episodes, podcast
hosts discuss what it ultimately means
to be Jewish and share their personal
stories that relate to Judaism’s most
bizarre topics.

“The reception for our topics has been
pretty strong,” Portnoy said. “There’s
defi nitely interest there.” ■
Ashley Zlatopolsky is a writer for the
Detroit Jewish News, where this fi rst
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food & dining
Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches
Inspired by Chef Michael Solomonov
Garnishes of choice: halved cherry
tomatoes, sliced avocados,
shredded lettuce, pickles, et
cetera Keri White
Chicken Schnitzel
he Wall Street Journal recently
featured one of my idols in
its weekend “Slow Food Fast”
section: Michael Solomonov’s chicken
schnitzel recipe caught my eye, and
I was inspired to make a version for
dinner this week.

I did not use the chef’s recipe
precisely for numerous reasons —
none of which involved a notion that
I was improving the James Beard
Award winners’ technique. I did not
have matzah meal, so I used panko. I
did not have his recommended hawaij
spice blend, but a Google search
revealed that the Israeli seasoning is
a mixture of the spices listed below,
so I created a makeshift version. I
also used an “oven-fry” technique to
avoid standing over a hot skillet and
marinaded the chicken to optimize
the fl avor.

We served this dish with a simple
green salad — arugula, shredded
carrots and shaved raw beets, dressed
with a mustard vinaigrette.

My daughter and her friend said the
meal “slapped,” which is, apparently,
very high praise from Gen Z.

Here’s what I did:
Chicken and marinade:
2 pounds boneless chicken
breasts, sliced horizontally into
thin cutlets
2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
Photos by Keri White
T Serves 4
Coating: 2 eggs
1 cup plain panko
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons oil for cooking plus
cooking spray
Dressing: ⅔ cup tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
¼ teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Cold water
To serve:
4 loaves pita
1-2 tablespoons za’atar
Mix the chicken and marinade ingre-
dients together, and let them sit for
2-24 hours.

Heat your oven to 425 degrees F,
and place a large rimmed baking sheet
in the oven to heat.

While the oven heats, prep the schnit-
zel: In a large, shallow bowl, lightly beat
the eggs. In another shallow bowl, mix
the panko and seasonings. Dredge the
chicken pieces in the egg, then the
panko mixture, and place them on a
plate. When the oven is at temperature,
remove the cooking tray and coat it
with oil. Place the chicken pieces on
the hot tray, then spray the tops of the
chicken with cooking spray. Place the
tray in the oven, and bake for about 25
minutes until golden brown, crispy and
cooked through.

While the chicken cooks, make the
dressing: Mix the tahini, lemon juice,
salt and garlic. Add the cold water, a bit
at a time to achieve a consistency that
is spreadable but not too thick.

When the chicken is done, assem-
ble the sandwiches — sprinkle the
chicken with za’atar. Schmear the pita
with tahini, add the chicken, tomatoes,
lettuce, avocados, pickles, et cetera
and more za’atar, if desired. ■
Keri White is a Philadelphia-based
food writer.

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