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October 2018

Bram Presser Discusses Yidcore While Promoting Book in the U.S.

Australian author Bram Presser just wrapped up a weeks-long U.S. book tour for The Book of Dirt. (Check out my 2017 post and Matthue Roth‘s review.) In addition to speaking about his award-winning book, Presser discussed his past as the singer of Yidcore, the quintessential Jewish punk band, at events and in interviews. I attended two of Presser’s New York events. On October 12, he was the guest speaker at Chabad at Columbia University’s Shabbat dinner. We met up at a bookstore and walked over…

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Shabbat of Comfort and Renewal

Today Sen. Susan Collins announced that she’ll vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be on the Supreme Court, signaling that he has enough votes to get confirmed. For many of us who objected to Kavanaugh’s nomination, this was devastating. The news came on a Friday afternoon. In Facebook posts, two thought-provoking Jewish musicians referred to the forthcoming Shabbat as a coping mechanism. Alicia Jo Rabins (singer of Girls in Trouble and former fiddler of Golem and KOSHER) said: I try…

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