A powerful hero of the Bible, Jacob is also one of its most complex figures.Join us with Israel Prize winner... more

Episode 59: MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSONMenachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) was the seventh and last rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, one of... more

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was one of America’s most provocative writers of the 20th century. Her best-selling novels The Fountainhead and... more

The “German Socrates,” Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) was the most influential Jewish thinker of the 18th and 19th centuries. A Berlin... more

Léon Blum (1872–1950), France’s prime minister three times, socialist activist, and courageous opponent of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime, profoundly altered... more

Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a phenomenally energetic ruler who took advantage of the chaos of the Roman revolution... more

Get ready for Passover with Jewish Lives. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue and Professor Daniel Matt, author of... more

Henrietta Szold (1860–1945) is renowned as the founder of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, which quickly became one... more

On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus’s cries of innocence were drowned out by a mob shouting “Death to Judas!”As... more

Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza (1632–1677) was a radical free thinker who led a life guided by strong moral principles despite his... more

Born in the Land of Israel around the year 50 C.E., Rabbi Akiva was the greatest rabbi of his time... more

Amos Oz (1939–2018) was one of Israel’s most prolific and prominent writers, as well as a regular contender for the... more

Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho, was celebrated for his... more

The feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921–2006), pathbreaking author of The Feminine Mystique, was powerful and polarizing.Join us with... more

Gershom Scholem (1897–1982) was one of the most influential figures in the field of Jewish Studies.Join us with historian David... more

Both thoroughly German and unabashedly Jewish, Walther Rathenau (1867–1922) served in the exalted position of foreign minister in the early... more

Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but... more

Elie Wiesel is the author of the seminal Holocaust memoir Night and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.Join us with... more

Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1926, is one of the great comic voices of the twentieth centuryJoin... more

Born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz, Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) was a master choreographer, dancer, and stage director, most famous for his stage... more

The Warner Brothers—Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack—arrived in America as unschooled Jewish immigrants, yet they founded a movie studio that... more

Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in southern Ukraine, Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was a revolutionary figure who led an upheaval that helped... more

Most famous for All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, Arthur Miller (1915–2005) was a playwright who... more

Said to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s iconic James Bond character, Sidney Reilly (c. 1873–1925) is one of the... more

The Book of Ruth offers a vibrant portrait of a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynasty.Join... more

Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) was an enormously influential photographer and champion of other artists.Join us with Phyllis Rose, acclaimed critic, biographer,... more

Martin Buber (1878–1965) was a seminal modern Jewish thinker.Join us with Paul Mendes-Flohr, an authority on the 20th-century philosopher and... more

Join us with composer Allen Shawn, author of Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician, for an appreciation of the great musical... more

Join us with Adam Phillips, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sigmund Freud and author of Becoming Freud: The... more

Few figures in twentieth-century Jewish life were quite so admired and loathed as Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940). The founder of the branch... more

Join us and explore the story of the prophet Elijah’s evolution from fierce zealot to compassionate hero and cherished figure in... more

Join us for a riveting exploration of the brilliant, combative, and controversial “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” Hear from Marc Wortman,... more

Explore an insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and... more

Jaws. Jurassic Park. Schindler’s List. Join us as we listen to Molly Haskell, author Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films.... more

Civil Rights Leader. Anti-Vietnam War Activist. Rabbi. How did Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Hasidic rabbi from Warsaw, become a progressive Jewish... more

How could a man as gifted as Benjamin not see that he was complicit with evil? One of the first Jewish... more

One of the most radically original artists of the 20th century, Man Ray (1890–1976), was a founding father of Dada... more

Son of a tin peddler, art adviser to Gilded Age Millionaires. Join us as we learn more about Bernard Berenson’s... more

Julius Rosenwald was a humble retail magnate whose visionary ideas about charitable giving transformed the practice of philanthropy in America... more

How did a little boy from Latvia become one of the greatest and most original painters of the 20th century? Annie... more

Hank Greenberg was a baseball legend. Mark Kurlansky, author of the Jewish Lives biography Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want... more

David Ben-Gurion is a Zionist icon. Anita Shapira, author of the Jewish Lives biography Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, explores the... more

Bugsy Siegel was a notorious Jewish gangster who ascended from impoverished beginnings to the glittering Las Vegas strip. Michael Shnayerson, author... more

Marcel Proust was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Benjamin Taylor, author of the Jewish Lives biography... more

Ben Hecht was one of America’s greatest screenwriters. Adina Hoffman, author of the Jewish Lives biography, Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving... more

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was one of Germany’s most important, world-famous, and imaginative writers. George Prochnik, author of the new Jewish Lives... more

Peggy Guggenheim was one of 20th century America’s most influential patrons of the arts. Francine Prose, author of the Jewish Lives... more

Legendary warrior. Poet. Servant of God. Adulterer. King.   Rabbi David Wolpe, author of the Jewish Lives biography David: The Divided Heart,... more

Stanley Kubrick is one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. David Mikics, author of the new Jewish Lives... more

Einstein was the world’s first “scientific superstar.” Steven Gimbel, author of the Jewish Lives biography Einstein: His Space and Times,... more

Everything about Sarah Bernhardt is fascinating, from her obscure birth to her glorious career to her highly public romantic life... more

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. Lillian Faderman, author of the Jewish... more

Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as comic book revolutionary Stan Lee. Liel Leibovitz,... more

Harry Houdini was the world's greatest escape artist. Adam Begley, author of the Jewish Lives biography Houdini: The Elusive American,... more

How did an assimilated European Jew become the leader of the Zionist movement? Hear from eminent historian Derek Penslar, author of... more

Louis D. Brandeis was the most farseeing constitutional philosopher of the twentieth century. Jeffrey Rosen, author of the Jewish Lives... more

Barbra Streisand is a cultural icon who continues to challenge Hollywood’s standards of beauty and glamour. Neal Gabler, author of the... more

Irving Berlin has been called—by George Gershwin, among others—the greatest songwriter of the golden age of American popular song. James Kaplan,... more

Anarchist par excellence, Emma Goldman is one of the memorable political figures of our time. Vivian Gornick, author of the... more

No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, author of... more