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Episodes
Does Bustin’ Make You Feel Good?
April 25, 2024 14:00 - 45 minutes - 33.9 MBThe new film, ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,’ a sequel to the ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ is a thing that exists. But should it? Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky have feelings. Is there something strange in the neighborhood? Are we ‘ready to believe’? Or is it just a matter of “If there’s a steady paycheck in it, I’ll believe anything […]
‘Manhunt’ and the Pursuit of Justice
April 11, 2024 14:00 - 48 minutes - 37.4 MBThe new AppleTV+ series ‘Manhunt’, adapted from James L. Swanson’s eponymous book, follows the 12 day search for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. As the hunt for Booth unfolds, it exposes a deeper conspiracy — one aimed at restoring white men to political dominance, despite the South losing the war. In this episode, Rabbis […]
The Poppys: PopTorah 2024 Oscars Special!
March 28, 2024 14:00 - 46 minutes - 34.9 MBThe 96th Academy Awards are behind us, and Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky are here to talk about the Torah of this year’s nominees. In this special episode, we discuss Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest, and more! Who won, who lost, who was snubbed, who stirred controversy, and who got the coveted “PopTorah Bump”? […]
Making the Old ’Daily Show’ New, and Making the New Holy
March 14, 2024 14:00 - 46 minutes - 35 MBJon Stewart’s back, baby! The influential Jewish comic who made ‘The Daily Show’ a cultural juggernaut before leaving in 2015 has returned, for a limited time, to his old seat. Does he have what it takes to make the show, and basic cable, relevant again? Is he the political savior we’ve been waiting for, who […]
A Pretty, Pretty…Pretty Good Episode
February 29, 2024 15:00 - 36 minutes - 27.4 MBHBO’s long-running comedy series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, starring legendary comedian and ‘Seinfeld’ co-creator Larry David as a slightly fictionalized version of himself, is coming to an end with its 12th and final season. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky take a look back at the hilarious highs and cringe-worthy lows of Larry’s many exploits, and discuss the […]
What’s ‘Good’ about ‘Grief’?
February 15, 2024 15:00 - 39 minutes - 29.9 MBThe new Netflix film ‘Good Grief,’ written, directed, and produced by star Daniel Levy, explores how we pick up the pieces in the wake of tragic loss, especially when we discover things about our loved ones after their death that complicate their legacy and our memories of them. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss what emerges […]
Don’t Passover ’The Holdovers’
February 01, 2024 15:00 - 46 minutes - 36.1 MBAlexander Payne’s newest film, ‘The Holdovers,’ stars Paul Giamatti as a prickly, demanding teacher at an elite northeastern boarding school who gets stuck supervising the one student left on campus during winter break. Set as the 60’s become the 70s, what ensues is emotional, funny, and ultimately uplifting — a coming-of-age story for student and […]
A Golden Ticket to ‘Wonka’
January 18, 2024 15:00 - 45 minutes - 34.1 MBThe new musical ‘Wonka,’ a prequel of sorts to the beloved Roald Dahl novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the classic Gene Wilder film based on it, is a celebration of imagination, lovingkindness, and, of course, chocolate. Grab your golden tickets and go on a tour of the factory — watch out for that […]
‘The Marvels’ and the Future of Marvel
January 04, 2024 15:00 - 39 minutes - 29.9 MBIt’s been an interesting and somewhat challenging year for superhero movies, with the once seemingly invincible Marvel Studios showing signs of wear and tear. For example, the studio’s latest tentpole team-up film (and one of its best in years), ’The Marvels,’ is now widely regarded as its first-ever commercial flop, and the actor Jonathan Majors, […]
It’s Not Whether ’Next Goal Wins’, but How You Play the Game
December 14, 2023 15:00 - 45 minutes - 32.6 MBThe new sports comedy ‘Next Goal Wins,’ directed by Taika Waititi, is based on the true story of American Samoa’s soccer team as it attempts to overcome its embarrassing status as the worst team in the sport’s history. The film stars Michael Fassbender as Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen, who has the unenviable task of helping […]
Lifting Up ’The Fall of the House of Usher’
November 30, 2023 15:00 - 44 minutes - 32.3 MBThe new miniseries on Netflix, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ is many things all at once: a love letter to Edgar Allen Poe, a gothic horror masterpiece, and a biting social commentary reminiscent of HBO’s ’Succession.’ Loosely based on a Poe story of the same name — and brimming with references to other […]
The Rabbis are (Still) Cray-Cray for Tay-Tay
November 16, 2023 15:00 - 46 minutes - 34 MBTaylor Swift’s long-awaited “Eras” tour was not only the pop cultural event of 2023, it was one of the most successful concert tours in music history. Each night Taylor took fans on an epic three hour tour of her career. And she has followed up on that success by releasing a film version of her […]
Special Episode — Israel at War
November 02, 2023 14:00 - 54 minutes - 39.9 MBYou know that Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky are lifelong friends, but did you know that they met as teenagers on a youth group summer trip to Israel? And did you know that they lived down the street from one another in Jerusalem for a year? Now, Israel is a central and inseparable part of their […]
Tradition and Change is ‘Elemental’
October 19, 2023 14:00 - 46 minutes - 33.6 MBDisney and Pixar’s latest animated feature, Elemental, became a sleeper hit at the box office this summer. Using the interaction of various elements as an extended metaphor for the immigrant experience and striking the balance between honoring one’s past while charting their own future, the movie has a lot of resonance with Jewish history and tradition. […]
Judaism and The Hollywood Strikes
September 28, 2023 14:00 - 53 minutes - 39 MBBack in May, film and television writers went on strike. Actors joined them on the picket lines in July, leading to the longest strike in Hollywood history (the WGA recently ended it’s strike when it struck a new deal with the studios, and it is expected that SAG-AFTRA will follow suit shortly). In this very […]
Inviting God and Tradition to ‘My Bat Mitzvah’
September 14, 2023 14:00 - 43 minutes - 31.5 MBRabbis Knopf and Olitzky seem like they would be the target audience for Adam Sandler’s new Netflix movie, You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. But while the film covers some explicitly Jewish subject matter, the rabbis had mixed feelings about it — as an Adam Sandler comedy, and as a piece of Jewish art. […]
The Summer of Barbenheimer
August 24, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 47.4 MBIt’s official — ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ are this summer’s unlikely “it” couple! This summer, we’re all obsessed with the World’s Most Famous doll taking on the patriarchy and wrestling with mortality, and the Father of the Atomic Bomb struggling with his conscience and (maybe) starting a chain reaction that will destroy the world. It all […]
Grin and ‘Bear’ It
August 03, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 32.5 MBThe Bear, whose first two seasons are currently streaming on Hulu, follows Carmy Berzatto, a rising superstar in the culinary world, as he seeks to revitalize his brother Mikey’s Chicago dive following Mikey’s suicide. The show masterfully explores very Jewish themes, like honoring difficult parents, carrying on a legacy, dealing with grief and guilt, the ethics […]
‘Indiana Jones’ and Longing to Live in the Past
July 20, 2023 14:00 - 48 minutes - 36.5 MBIndiana Jones is back! The dashing, swashbuckling, fedora-wearing, bullwhip-cracking, Nazi-punching archaeologist is literally racing against time in his fifth and, by all accounts, last, crusade. But did Disney choose wisely with this one, or does this iconic franchise belong in a museum? Join Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky to hear “just what the Hebrews thought” about […]
Should We Cancel ’The Flash’? Or did ’The Flash’ Cancel Itself?
July 06, 2023 14:00 - 52 minutes - 37.3 MB‘The Flash’ was supposed to be an exciting reset for the beleaguered DCEU, even heralded by some Hollywood luminaries as one of the greatest superhero films of all time. Instead, it was at least as much of a mess as many of its predecessors, and doubly burdened with instability at Warner Bros. (the parent company […]
The Rabbis Enter ‘the Spider-Verse’
June 22, 2023 14:00 - 43 minutes - 32.5 MB‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse’ is the sequel to the hit 2018 animated adventure ‘Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse,’ and the second part of a planned trilogy following Miles Morales as the titular wall-crawler, along with hundreds of other spider-people. Our friendly neighborhood web-heads, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky, want to talk about the high-flying, wise-cracking, multiverse spanning […]
’Succession’ and the Meaning of Success
June 08, 2023 14:00 - 42 minutes - 32 MBThe hit HBO series Succession, currently in its final season, is deceptively complex. On the surface, it’s about members of a wealthy family vying for control of their father’s media empire. But while most similar shows would either glorify or revile wealth and power, Succession deals in shades of grey that are truer to life and closer to […]
Guarding the Galaxy and Perfecting the World
May 25, 2023 14:00 - 44 minutes - 34 MBThe MCU has been in a bit of a rough patch lately, but ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3’ gets things back on track. The final chapter of James Gunn’s trilogy about this wisecracking gang of galactic misfits has jokes, action, and lots of heart. In this episode, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky argue that the […]
Is ’The Mandalorian’ The Way?
May 11, 2023 14:00 - 36 minutes - 26.2 MB‘The Mandalorian,’ whose third season is now streaming on Disney+, is one of the most critically and commercially successful offerings of Disney-era Star Wars. Noted Star Wars nerds Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss the show’s very Jewish themes, its relationship to Torah and Midrash, and the relative value of complex mythology in modern pop culture. […]
How ‘Super’ is the ‘Mario Bros.’ Movie?
April 27, 2023 14:00 - 56 minutes - 33.4 MBMario, Luigi, Toadstool, Princess Peach, and Bowser are back — this time in the cleverly-titled blockbuster animated comedy ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie.’ Is it super? Or is it the film equivalent of hitting a banana peel on Rainbow Road? What does it say about the state of entertainment and society? And what does it […]
Trying ’Shrinking’ On For Size
April 10, 2023 14:00 - 39 minutes - 30.7 MB‘Shrinking,’ the new series streaming on AppleTV+ boasts some big names (have you heard of this guy Harrison Ford? We think he’s got a promising future in showbiz…) and a big premise: what would happen if therapists got more involved in their patients’ lives, and let their patients get more involved in their own lives? […]
The Best Episode in ‘The History of the World: Part II’
March 23, 2023 14:00 - 40 minutes - 30.2 MBIt finally happened! The sequel to Mel Brooks’ 1981 classic ‘History of the World: Part I’ that nearly every Jew of a certain age has been waiting for is here at last. Was it worth the wait? Is it the greatest sequel in ‘The History of the World: Part II’? Or is it more of […]
The Poppys: PopTorah 2023 Oscars Special!
March 09, 2023 15:00 - 38 minutes - 22.7 MBThe 95th Academy Awards are fast approaching, and Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky are here to talk about the Torah of this year’s Best Picture nominees. In this special episode, we discuss Avatar, Elvis, Top Gun, The Fabelmans, and more! Who should walk away with this year’s top prize? Who will win? And, most importantly, which movie […]
’The Last of Us’ and the Torah of the Zombie Apocalypse
February 23, 2023 15:00 - 52 minutes - 30.5 MBThe new HBO series, ‘The Last of Us,’ based on the acclaimed video game of the same name, explores what life might look like 20 years after a pandemic decimates the world. The show features plenty of terrifying zombies (especially if you’re freaked out by fungus), but more importantly explores what remains — love and […]
‘You People’ and Black-Jewish Relations
February 09, 2023 15:00 - 57 minutes - 32 MBThe new Netflix film ‘You People,’ starring Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill, is a romantic comedy in the mold of ‘Meet the Parents.’ The twist, however, is that this time, the parents are African American members of the Nation of Islam, and the prospective son-in-law is a white Jew from West LA. While the movie […]
Oui, oui, ‘Emily in Paris’!
January 26, 2023 15:00 - 54 minutes - 38.5 MBThe first three seasons of Darren Starr’s guilty pleasure series ‘Emily in Paris’ are now streaming on Netflix. Most viewers agree that the show is the pop culture equivalent of junk food: delightful, but mostly empty calories. But what would happen if we took the show (too) seriously? Thankfully, that is Rabbi Knopf and Rabbi […]
Peeling Back the Layers of ‘Glass Onion’
January 12, 2023 15:00 - 49 minutes - 35.1 MBThe new film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is Rian Johnson’s follow-up to his critical and commercial 2019 hit Knives Out. Once again starring Daniel Craig as “world’s greatest detective” Benoit Blanc and an all-star cast (including some incredible cameos), Glass Onion finds Blanc attempting to solve a mysterious murder that has taken place against the backdrop […]
Sex, Lies, and Power in ‘The White Lotus: Sicily’
December 29, 2022 15:00 - 39 minutes - 28.5 MBThe follow-up to the smash HBO limited series ‘The White Lotus’ explores issues of sex and relationships, trust and power, class and privilege, beauty and treachery in a new luxurious setting. Also, can you believe that <SPOILER> died?! And also <SPOILER>, <SPOILER>, and <SPOILER>?! Intrigued? Enticed? Enjoy a romantic, exotic, and dangerous getaway with Rabbis […]
‘Fleishman’ and the ‘Trouble’ of Love, Loss, and Longing
December 15, 2022 15:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBThe new Hulu series ‘Fleishman is in Trouble’, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Claire Danes, is a show about how love can become hate, marriage can devolve into divorce, midlife can spiral into a crisis, comfort can turn into boring routine, and the blessing of kids can turn into the thankless burden of parenting. In other […]
Wakanda Forever!
November 23, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 44 MB‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is the eagerly-awaited sequel to one of the most critically and commercially successful films of all time. The original ‘Black Panther’ was not only a mega-hit, but a watershed in pop culture, particularly for many in the African-American community. Adding to the significance of ‘Wakanda Forever’ is the fact that the […]
One Ring to Rule Them All
November 10, 2022 15:00 - 42 minutes - 29.9 MBThe new Prime Video series ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,’ is based on one of the most popular book and film series ever, and is the most expensive TV show ever produced. Does it rule them all? Has the king returned? And just how Jewish are harfoots and hobbits, anyway? Rabbis […]
On the Couch with ‘The Patient’
October 20, 2022 14:00 - 31 minutes - 23.5 MBThe new FX/Hulu series The Patient is a psychological thriller about a therapist, played by Steve Carell, who is kidnapped by and forced to treat his patient, a serial killer, played by Domnhall Gleeson. The show touches on many powerful Jewish themes appropriate for the High Holy Day season, as well as the complicated dynamics of families […]
’She-Hulk’, Combatting the Patriarchy, and Pursuing Justice
October 06, 2022 14:00 - 36 minutes - 26.7 MBThe new Marvel TV series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ is currently streaming on Disney+, “hulking out” on subjects ranging from toxic masculinity to celebrity culture to embracing one’s power and taking responsibility for others. As always, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky have thoughts. What does this series say about the state of the MCU, and what […]
Recapping the 2022 Emmy Awards
September 22, 2022 14:00 - 49 minutes - 38.1 MBSo much great TV, so little time! Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky recap everything Jewish about the 2022 Emmy awards. Who won, who was robbed, who wore what best, and who got that coveted PopTorah bump? Plus we discuss what the night’s biggest winners and losers tell us about the state of pop culture today, and what it […]
Pop-pourri: Recapping Summer 2022
September 08, 2022 14:00 - 59 minutes - 42.1 MBRabbis Knopf and Olitzky are back from summer vacation and eager to catch up on everything Jewish about our favorite pop culture offerings of the summer. Join us as we discuss the blockbuster film Thor: Love and Thunder, the provocative Netflix docuseries Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, the Apple TV+ gem For All Mankind, and the latest Disney+ MCU series Ms. […]
Heroes, Monsters, and ’Stranger Things’
July 14, 2022 14:00 - 43 minutes - 30.9 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky just finished binging the fourth […]
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, Considering the Past and Confronting Failure
June 30, 2022 14:00 - 54 minutes - 38.8 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most important characters […]
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s PopTorah
June 16, 2022 14:00 - 50 minutes - 35.6 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. The new FX/Hulu miniseries Pistol tells the true story of The […]
‘Severance,’ Working to Live, and Living to Work
June 02, 2022 14:00 - 48 minutes - 35 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. Do you seek better work-life balance? Tired of taking […]
Does ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Understand Its Subject?
May 19, 2022 14:00 - 49 minutes - 30.8 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. The new Hulu series ‘Under the Banner of Heaven,’ […]
The Price of ‘Winning Time’
May 05, 2022 14:00 - 39 minutes - 28.4 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. The new HBOMax series ‘Winning Time: The Rise of […]
‘Turning Red’ and Coming of Age
April 21, 2022 14:00 - 46 minutes - 31.6 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. What does it mean to grow up? How do […]
‘The Batman’: Justice, Vengeance, and the Darkness Within
April 07, 2022 14:00 - 47 minutes - 33.3 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. ‘The Batman’, starring Robert Pattinson, is a newer, darker […]
PopTorah 2022 Oscars Special!
March 25, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. The 94th Academy Awards are fast approaching, and Rabbis […]
‘Inventing Anna’ and the Cost of Fame
March 10, 2022 15:00 - 39 minutes - 36.8 MBRabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. The new Netflix limited series ‘Inventing Anna’ is a […]