Recommended: The Nextbook Podcast

I’ve been meaning for a while to put in a good word for my friend Sara Ivry’s podcast for Nextbook. Nextbook is billed as “a gateway to Jewish literature, culture and ideas. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be particularly interested at first, but it turns out I was wrong. She interviews interesting people, and does it really well. I know Sara through the print-journalism world, but she’s a radio (or digital audio) natural. I would say three out of every four episodes have been really surprising, entertaining, or both.

For instance? Well, one recent episode is titled “Minstrel Show: Parodies that make us cringe today used to make people roar. A music critic discovers Abie Cohen, the Jewish version of Aunt Jemima.”

It’s an interview with said critic, who has “curated” an album that’s billed as “The world’s first and only anthology of Jewish minstrel songs.” And toward the end, Borat is discussed, and there’s a snippet of a Mocean Worker remix of one of these old songs. Check it out.