A Podcasty Passover
Welcome to a second podcast-y Passover…somehow
It’s that time of year again. No, really— somehow it’s been a year, and it’s that time. Passover. Again. It’s hard to think that it’s been a year since our collective panic for zoom seders, obsessive (like reallllly obsessive) cleaning, and the star-studded virtual seder ~cue Idina Menzel singing Ma-Nishtana~.
Passover is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays, that’s why the collective outpour of emotion and panic for how to celebrate last year hit so hard. It’s integral for honoring our past, and celebrating our future (l’shana haba’ah not in quarantine!), and gives us a dedicated space and time to tell our story.
What makes Passover so awesome is the many symbolic themes and rituals we use to come together, remember, and celebrate our people. The ladies at EarBuds put together a list of podcasts to honor these themes and to get us into the holiday spirit, because we know that there is a podcast for anything— well, mostly.
We’ve identified some themes that fit into the Passover realm and then we found some podcasts and episodes on those themes. We’ll be exploring Telling Stories, A Path to Freedom, and A Night That’s Different Than All Other Nights. Some of these podcast picks may be a stretch, but, hey, just go with it. Please.
Telling Stories
On Passover night, we sit down to tell our story. We go through a formal order of events (a seder) on our path to freedom. Here are some podcasts that beautifully and exquisitely tell unique stories— similar to that of the Passover seder.
California Love: A wonderful audio memoir, California Love explores the life of Walter Thompson-Hernández growing up in Los Angeles, leaving, and coming back. Hernández leaves L.A. to work for the New York Times, and travels to write about identity, race, and belonging, but learns the most when he turns home. Captivating and beautiful audio storytelling. Everything from the sound effects to the narration make these stories a one-of-a-kind love letter to California.
Dolly Parton’s America: In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America's great icons. Tune into this nine-episode journey into the Dollyverse.
Appearances: Appearances is a one woman audio show that straddles the line between fiction and truth, bringing to life an Iranian-American family through the real and fantastical mental machinations of Melanie Barzadeh, a woman in her 30s who desires nothing more than to become a mother.
A Path to Freedom
Passover is truly a story about liberation and redemption. On Passover night, we sit together as a people, suspended in the space of the story that tells our ancestors’ path to freedom. We say we were once slaves in the land of Egypt. Many choose to use the Seder as a way to discuss the oppressions and ways we are hindered from our own personal freedom. There are so many ways in which people today are oppressed, whether it be shackled by their own insecurities, or imprisoned within a certain system— long story short, none of us are free until we’re all free.
Bodies: Changing Shape: Nico is obsessed with counting calories. But this compulsion to monitor food doesn’t line up with how they see themself. Why does Nico want parts of their body to disappear? Why isn’t eating disorder treatment working?
Immigrantly: The Immigrantly Podcast (formerly The Alien Chronicles) is a minority women owned & run weekly podcast that features immigrants from all different walks of life to share their immigrant experiences. Immigrantly deconstructs the archaic stereotypes of what it means to be an immigrant, a child of immigrants, a person of color and everything in between. Each episode brings a fresh perspective on the issues we address. Our conversations are complex, challenging, and oftentimes messy. But I wouldn’t trade the messiness for anything, because what we have created instead is a new, ongoing dialogue full of rich nuances.
Seizing Freedom: The story of the end of the Civil War you've probably been taught is that the slaves were freed by Northern white men. What's missing? The story of how Black Americans risked their lives to fight for their own visions of what freedom could be—struggling for their dignity in the face of horrific violence. Seizing Freedom tells the stories of these unsung American heroes.
A Night That Is Different From All Nights
On passover we ask, why is tonight unlike any other night? Well, for starters, we sit for hours with our relatives, and commit to not eating bread. Check out these podcasts that talk about some strange nights, and very unique occurrences.
Reply All: The Woman in the Air Conditioner: A man named Halen has just moved into his apartment when one night he hears footsteps coming into his room. Hosts of Reply All investigate. We’ll just leave it at that.
This American Life: Switched At Birth: On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. One of the mothers realized the mistake but chose to keep quiet. Until the day, more than 40 years later, when she decided to tell both daughters what happened. How the truth changed two families' lives—and how it didn't.
Story Worthy: When You Catch Them Cheating With Comedian Esther Ku: Comedian Esther Ku shares her story of how she got her heart broken while living in the big brutal city of New York. It is a hilariously sad story that includes breaking and entering, steamy sex and a real mugging. Listen to how she found herself in this precarious situation in the first place and how she's doing years later.
Classic Passover
And finally, for the more old-school crew, who want a more traditional tease to get into the holiday spirit, some funny, heartwarming, and funky podcasts on the chag (holiday).
Ask Unorthodox: Ep. 178 Passover Edition: In this podcast, we hear from New York Times food writer Melissa Clark about her Passover menu. Paul Germain, the TV writer responsible for the Rugrats Passover episode (genius!), tells us how that episode got made. PLUS Cat Goldberg on 4/20 seders, Gabriel Stulman on the Moroccan celebration of Mimouna, and thanks to The Marshall Project's Simone Weichselbaum, disgraced former charity head William Rapfogel tells us about the time he threw a Seder behind bars.
Kasher vs. Kasher: Judaism In A Pandemic: Two brothers, a rabbi and a comedian, try to figure out how to do Judaism during a pandemic. See if you can figure out who’s who. And listen for some incredible, Jewish banter. Hosted by Moshe & David Kasher.
Kibitz Podcast: Exodus: We love this podcast because the name is very appropriate, and it’s one of our favorite things to do! Listen as hosts Dan Crane and Jessica Chaffin kibitz (talk) about activism, Jewish atheism, anti-semitism, love, sex, comedy, death, and more. Name a better string of topics— we’ll wait. In episode 5, we learn about the Jewish origins of superheroes from Jonathan Lethem and Damon Lindelof, and talk about the genesis of the Haggadah and the Passover seder.
Here’s to weird amounts of tinfoil, awkward sing-alongs, and unleavened bread.
Happy Passover from us to you!
Hey, readers! Did you enjoy this blog post? We wanted to combine two of our favorite things: podcast listening and guest contributions. Do you have an idea for a blog post that combines podcasts with your favorite things? Let us know! We’d love for you to write a guest blog post for us!
