Jewish History Nerds
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Whoever said history was boring clearly never heard these stories…Welcome to Jewish History Nerds! Join hosts Yael and Schwab each week as they take a dive into some deep cuts of Jewish history. From the Jewish Da Vinci Code to mass suicide pacts, explore true stories that feel larger than life.
Be in touch: nerds@unpacked.media
Afleveringen
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After the Execution: The Rosenberg Boys (Director’s Cut)
5 november 2026 · 22 min
Please join the conversation. Leave a comment wherever you get your podcasts and send us your video reaction to nerds@unpacked.media. Lees meer
When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953, they left behind two young sons. This outtake from our episode on the Rosenbergs follows Michael and Robert from the Jewish institutional system to the couple who gave them a new name, Meeropol. Yael and Schwab also revisit the Venona cables, where every Soviet spy had a code name except Ethel, and ask what the Jewish community’s near-silence on the Rosenbergs says about the golden age of American Jewry.
We want to hear from you, Nerd Nation! Please join the conversation. Comment wherever you get your podcasts. And, we're trying something new. Please send us your audio or video comments to nerds@unpacked.media with your thoughts. Should the fact that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg would leave behind two young boys have factored into the sentencing decision? What other children became the victims of their parents’ fame and alleged crimes?
Here's a link to the full episode: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: The case that divided American Jews.
Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story, by Ivy Meeropol.
An Execution in the Family: One Son’s Journey, by Rober Meerpol.
We Are Your Sons: The Legacy of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Here is an image of the Rosenbergs' grave.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
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For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living…
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Snakes, Synagogues, and Sand Floors (Director’s Cut)
29 oktober 2026 · 14 min
We’re back with a Director’s Cut of Jewish History Nerds, the 2x Signal Award winner. Yael and Schwab are digging into the mystery of sand floors in some synagogues in the Caribbean. This segment, which didn't make it into the original episode, also explores how Jewish communities have picked up customs from their neighbors, adapting them with their own local flavor. Lees meer
In case you missed it, here's a link to the full episode: Jewish Pirates and the Caribbean.
We want to hear from you, Nerd Nation! Comment wherever you get your podcasts. And, we're trying something new. Join the conversation. And please send us a video to nerds@unpacked.media with your theories or examples of customs adapted from neighboring societies.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
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For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
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Was Jabotinsky the Father of Likud and the Israeli Right? Revisited
22 oktober 2026 · 41 min
Jewish History Nerds is now an award-winning podcast! We took home two Signal Awards for history: Gold and Listener’s Choice. Thank you, Nerd Nation for coming out to vote. Lees meer
Speaking of elections, Israelis are gong to the polls. So we decided to revisit one of our favorite episodes, the story of Ze’ev Jabotinsky. The founder of Revisionist Zionism is widely claimed as the ideological father of Likud and the Israeli right. But what did he actually believe? Jabotinsky predicted the Holocaust, fought for Jewish self-defense, and built the movement that shaped modern Israel. This is the origin story of the Israeli right, and it’s not what you think.
If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. And email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We want to hear from you.
This episode was first released in February, 2024.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Wondering Jews
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The First Jews in the Americas Revisited
15 oktober 2026 · 50 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. So we decided to revisit the episode submitted for consideration. Lees meer
If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That same year, Jews who didn't convert to Catholicism were expelled from Spain. Those two events are more connected than you think, and together they explain why the first Jewish community in the Americas ended up exactly where it did. Spoiler alert, It wasn’t New Amsterdam. It was Recife, Brazil.
Check out some of the other incredible episodes in the Americas Series.
What came next after Jews docked in Recife, Brazil? Jews thrived in the Caribbean.
Jewish Pirates and the Caribbean
The surprising story of Emma Lazarus, the poet behind the Statue of Liberty’s famous words.
How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus (Part 1)
The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants (Part 2)
Email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We want to hear from you.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpac…
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"Bronx Man Leads Russian Revolution": Trotsky Revisited
9 oktober 2026 · 48 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
Leon Trotsky was one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century, and one of history’s most reluctant Jews. Born Lev Bronstein in Ukraine, he rejected his Jewish identity his entire life, yet it followed him everywhere. With the anniversary of what's known as the October Revolution coming up, Yael and Schwab are revisiting one of our most popular episodes. It’s so packed with surprising twists and details that it’s worth a second listen even if you caught it the first time around.
Email us at nerds@unpacked.media. We really want to hear from you.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out:
The Rosenbergs Were executed but the Evidence Was Thin
Revisionist Zionism: Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s Journey
(As mentioned, Jabotinsky was also originally from Odessa)
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
Won…
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Vote Now for Jewish History Nerds
6 oktober 2026 · 3 min
Update: Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
If you enjoy this show, please leave a comment and review wherever you get your podcasts. We will be back soon with a brand new season of episodes.
Here's a link to the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition.
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Before Jews Danced With the Torah: The Lost Simchat Torah Tradition
1 oktober 2026 · 13 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category! If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
More than 400 years ago, Rivka Tiktiner wrote the earliest known full-length published work by a Jewish woman. She also created a Simchat Torah poem that reveals how women helped prepare Torah scrolls for the holiday in Prague. For Simchat Torah, Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner revisit Rivka Tiktiner's extraordinary learning, the evolution of Jewish customs, and whether it makes sense to call this mysterious historical figure a feminist.
Here's a link to the full episode on Rivka Tiktiner: The First Jewish Woman to Publish a Book.
Here is a link to our episode on Ray Frank, mentioned in the episode.
Check out the the story of another remarkable Jewish woman, Emma Lazarus, the poet behind the Statue of Liberty’s famous words.
How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus (Part 1)
The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants (Part 2)
Here is the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for this year's competition. The First Jews in the Americas, Fleeing the Inquisition.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David …
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The Jewish History Hiding in Japan and Korea
10 september 2026 · 54 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
How did Jews escaping the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions end up in Japan? Dr. Henry Abramson joins Yael and Schwab for a special bonus episode to uncover the surprising story of Jewish life in the Far East. While Europe persecuted Jews, Japan’s religious landscape offered a strikingly different environment, shaped by Shinto, Buddhism, trade, migration, and a remarkably tolerant reception for some Jewish refugees seeking safety abroad. Plus, they explore South Korean's fascination with the Talmud.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
To learn more about Dr. Henry Abramson's trip to Japan and South Korea, check out his lectures on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TYJtzL_4y4&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpCjuQMk4H0
Birth of Beate Sirota Gordon, who wrote equality into the postwar Japanese constitution.
Talmud as a New Intellectual Project by Sarit Kattan Gribetz
The Talmud in Korea: A Study in the Reception of Rabbinic Literature by Sarit Kattan Gribetz, Claire Kim
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
…
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How America Changed the Jewish People
3 september 2026 · 28 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
Historian Dr. Henry Abramson usually works behind the scenes, but this week he joins Yael and Schwab to explore what makes the American Jewish experience unique. Together, they reflect on 250 years of Jewish life in America, from Emma Lazarus and immigration to Superman, antisemitism, and Jewish creativity. They also explore stories still waiting to be told, including the remarkable Jewish adventurers who journeyed to Antarctica throughout history.
Dr. Henry Abramson sat down with Yael and Schwab for this episode The Jewish History Hiding in Japan and Korea.
Here's the first episode in the America's Series The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition, the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
Check out Dr. Henry Abramson's lectures on Jewish history here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryAbramsonPhD
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
Unpacking Israeli History
…
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Why Did Sammy Davis Jr. Become Jewish?
27 augustus 2026 · 53 min
Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. If you enjoy this show, please comment wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back soon with a brand new season of episodes. Lees meer
Sammy Davis Jr. was already one of America's biggest entertainers when he made a choice few expected. He converted to Judaism. His journey began with a car crash that nearly killed him and grew through years of study, faith, and a powerful connection between Black and Jewish history. From the Rat Pack and the civil rights movement to JFK, Nixon, and Israel, Schwab and Yael explore Sammy Davis Jr.'s story in part 2 of a series of Jews in Hollywood, and what it reveals about the search for belonging in America.
Check out Part 1 in this series, Al Jolson and the Jazz Singer: The Jewish Story Behind Hollywood's First Talkie
Go back and watch or listen to the first episode in the America's Series The First Jews in the Americas: Fleeing the Inquisition, It's the episode submitted to the Signal Awards for consideration.
Sammy Davis Jr. recorded his hit song I've Gotta Be Me in 1968 for Reprise Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXYndNL4Mu8
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on youtube and Spotify.
Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
Borderlines with That Semite
Soulful Jewish Living
Stars of David with Elon Gold
U…
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