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PODCAST

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them

Tali Rosenblatt Cohen

The Five Books celebrates the role of books in our lives. Each week we’ll talk with a Jewish author about five books in five categories. We’ll hear about: two Jewish books that have impacted the author’s Jewish identity; one book (not necessarily Jewish) that they think everyone should read - a book that changed their worldview. We’ll get a peek into what book they"re reading now, and we’ll hear the inside scoop on the new book they’ve just published. The Five Books creates a space for all

arts books

All Episodes

45:04

Allegra Goodman on “This is Not About Us” (Or So We...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2026/02/17

Allegra Goodman tells us how This Is Not About Us grew like a family tree from her New Yorker short story “Apple Cake,” as she continued writing about the Rubinstein family for over a decade. We discuss how her perspective - and the world - has changed since she wrote The Family Markowitz in her 20s, and how Keats’ concept of negative capability has shaped her writing. We also hear about a book that she found very dull until a bad cold taught her patience.Allegra Goodman is a writer of

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56:43

Jason Diamond on being a (Jewish-)American Author

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2026/02/03

In this conversation, Jason Diamond unpacks what it means to be an American, Jewish, or Jewish-American author. We also discuss family secrets, Jewish gangsters, the humor and alienation of Franz Kafka, and how Art Spiegelman’s Maus taught Jason to accept his family’s silences.Jason’s debut novel, Kaplan’s Plot, follows Elijah Mendes, who returns to Chicago after his tech business collapses and discovers that his family owns a Jewish cemetery, where a man he’s never heard of — his great-uncle

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44:25

Sasha Vasilyuk on the Silences of the Soviet-Jewish Past

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2026/01/20

In this episode, Sasha reflects on her childhood in Russia and Ukraine, including the moment she discovered her family was Jewish at a Purim celebration. Cut off from much of the Soviet Jewish experience under communism, Sasha also shares what she is reading to bridge the gap and learn more about the hidden narratives of Soviet Jews. We discuss what Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing taught her about slavery’s impact on American history and life today, what it means to contribute a “missing puzzle piece” to WWII

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51:42

Samantha Ellis on Becoming a Keeper of Her Ancestral...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2026/01/06

In this episode, we’ll hear Samantha reflect on her journey to preserve her Iraqi-Jewish heritage even as the language is disappearing from use. She shares how the hand work of cooking traditional recipes became a tangible way to pass culture to her son, how Saidiya Hartman’s Lose Your Mother helped her process family histories, and how stories of imprisonment and fear in Iraq shaped her childhood imagination. The daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid,

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41:08

Judith Viorst on Happiness, Agency, and the Art of Aging

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/12/23

In this episode, celebrated children’s book author, poet and memoirist Judith Viorst brings her irrepressible wit, humor, and insight to every age and stage of life. We talk about growing up, raising children, and living well - including the story of how her family gave up Christmas. She reflects on her lifelong love of “messy” characters, from Max in Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are to her own Lulu. Her wisdom and advice is especially meaningful as we take stock of the year and set our

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55:55

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg on Re-envisioning the Jewish Future

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/12/09

“No Jewish thinker has had a greater impact on the American Jewish Community in the last two decades than Irving (Yitz) Greenberg.” - Professor Steven T. KatzRabbi Greenberg has had a long and notable career in the service of the Jewish people. He received his smicha, ordination, in 1953 and has a masters and PhD in American History from Harvard. He has served in numerous rabbinic and academic positions. Together with Elie Wiesel, he founded CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and

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58:43

BONUS: Introducing Jewish Insights with Justin Pines

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/12/03

Today we’re sharing a special episode from the show Jewish Insights with Rabbi Justin Pines on JBS, the Jewish Broadcasting Service. Rabbi Justin and I sat down in the JBS studio for a deep dive conversation about Jewish storytelling, and of course his five book selections. If truth is one of the foundational pillars of any stable society, how do we navigate a world which often feels post-truth? They begin by exploring Tali’s own mission for The Five Books Podcast: the profound power of Jewish

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34:56

Jake Cohen on the Magic of Gathering Around the Table

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/11/25

Ahead of Thanksgiving, we’re doing something a little different: we’re talking with Jake Cohen about the foods that impacted his identity. Jake Cohen is the New York Times bestselling author of the cookbooks Jew-ish and I Could Nosh, and star of A&E’s Jake Makes It Easy. Jake’s latest cookbook, Dinner Party Animal, is a “self help cookbook” all about throwing a great dinner party and finding community. In this episode, we’ll hear about how Jake reconnected with Judaism in his 20s and how learning

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51:45

Sam Sussman on Bob Dylan and Being his Mother’s Son

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/11/11

Sam Sussman’s autobiographical novel Boy From North Country begins with the quest to determine whether Bob Dylan is in fact his father, but gives way to the deeper story of his love for his mother in her final days. In many ways it’s a testament to her having accomplished in its truest form what I think mothers all hope for, which is that their love travels forward and in some way inoculates their children against future pain.In this episode, Sam reflects on his unconventional Jewish upbringing in

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54:25

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl on Finding Yourself in the Story

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/10/28

Angela Buchdahl was born in Seoul, the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father. One of America’s most prominent rabbis, Rabbi Angela discusses her memoir Heart of a Stranger and the importance of finding yourself in a story. She shares how she discovered belonging within the Jewish narrative itself - seeing in Abraham and Sarah’s journey of boundary crossing a reflection of her own. In Jewish folktales, she recognized her own longing to reach deeper truths, and in Isabel

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49:17

Kitty Zeldis On Passing and the Relief of Being “Kitty”

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/10/14

At Vassar College, Kitty Zeldis confronted what she calls a “WASP tsunami,” sparking lifelong questions about what it means to be Jewish in a wider, often unwelcoming world. In our conversation, she reflects on how that tension shaped her new novel One of Them, and shares the moments and stories that shaped her Jewish identity: from a German-Jewish poet who challenged her assumptions about culture and belonging, to her parents’ formative years in Israel, to the haunting family memory of a murdered

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48:38

Ilana Kurshan on Books as Blueprints for Life

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/09/30

As we approach Simchat Torah, when we roll the scroll back to the beginning and start reading again, Ilana Kurshan’s Children of the Book: A Memoir of Reading Together reminds us of another sacred cycle: the books we read to our children again and again. Just like the Torah, those familiar stories shape us through their repetition, imprinting meaning with every return.In this episode, Ilana Kurshan invites us into a life shaped by books – first as a child so immersed in All-of-a-Kind Family that

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52:28

Sarah Hurwitz on Reclaiming Our Jewish Story

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/09/16

As Rosh Hashanah approaches - a time of reflection, renewal, and returning to our deepest selves - I can’t think of a better moment to listen to (and read) Sarah Hurwitz. Best known as a White House speechwriter, Sarah has turned her extraordinary gift with words inward, asking essential questions about how we have constructed our Jewish identities in her new book, As A Jew. Together we explore everything from why Jewish law insists on the tiniest ethical details to why “I don’t know” can be a

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48:37

Toby Lloyd on Biblical Horror and being a Jewish Atheist

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/09/02

Toby Lloyd discusses Fervor, his haunting debut novel inspired by a rereading of the Bible. Struck by the richness, ambiguity, and moments of horror in Genesis and Exodus, Toby explores how these ancient stories can speak to modern readers. We talk about his aim to write for a broad audience, the place of British Jews in the heart of English literature, and why Marcel Proust’s portrayal of Jewish identity feels as urgent today as it did a century ago.In Fervor, Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are devout

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41:10

Sharon Kurtzman on the Danger that Lingered Post...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/08/19

Sharon Kurtzman shares how an interview with her mother became a defining moment of connection. She was haunted by her mother’s description of just how much danger still lingered after surviving the Holocaust and that revelation became central to her writing of The Lost Baker of Vienna, set in the years after WWII between liberation and immigration.She also shares how a childhood reading of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret planted the seed for her to define her own Jewish identity, and how

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45:47

Rachel Cockerell on The Zionist Dream That Sailed to...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/08/05

On June 7, 1907, a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem or New York, as many on board have dreamed, but to Texas. The man who persuades the passengers to go is David Jochelmann, Rachel Cockerell’s great-grandfather. The journey marks the beginning of the Galveston Movement, a forgotten moment in history when ten thousand Jews fled to Texas in the leadup to World War I.In a highly inventive style, Cockerell captures history as it unfolds, weaving together letters, diaries,

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34:31

BONUS: Introducing The Book of Life Podcast

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/08/01

In this bonus episode of The Book of Life Podcast: Jewish Kidlit (Mostly), host Heidi Rabinowitz talks to host of The Five Books, Tali Rosenblatt Cohen. Heidi and Tali trade recommendations for books new and old. If you’re keeping a list of great kids books with Jewish themes, this is a great episode for you! RECOMMENDED TITLES Book #1: Favorite Picture Books The House on the Roof by David Adler (Tali) The Rabbi and the 29 Witches by Marilyn Hirsh (Heidi) Savta Simcha series by

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52:52

Esther Levy Chehebar on Marriage, Sisterhood, and the...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/07/22

The Cohen sisters are at a crossroads. And not just because the obedient middle sister, Fortune, has secretly started to question her engagement and impending wedding. Nina, the rebellious eldest sister, is single at 26 (and growing cobwebs by her community's standards) when she runs into an old friend who offers her a chance to choose a different path. Meanwhile, Lucy, the youngest, a senior in high school, has started sneaking around with a charming older bachelor.As Fortune inches ever closer

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57:19

Elizabeth Graver On Lost Worlds and New Doorways

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/07/08

A kaleidoscopic portrait of one family’s displacement across four countries, Kantika―“song” in Ladino―follows the joys and losses of Rebecca Cohen, feisty daughter of the Sephardic elite of early 20th-century Istanbul. When the Cohens lose their wealth and are forced to move to Barcelona and start anew, Rebecca fashions a life and self from what comes her way―a failed marriage, the need to earn a living, but also passion, pleasure and motherhood. Moving from Spain to Cuba to New York for an arranged

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45:02

Jessica Berger Gross on on Cultural Judaism and...

The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That... ·

2025/06/24

When Hazel Blum’s father gets a tenured job at a prestigious college, she and her family relocate from Brooklyn to a middle-of-nowhere college town in Maine. With her mother, Claire, a clothing designer, and her father, Gus, an American Studies professor, Hazel and her eleven-year-old brother, Wolf, spend the summer at the town pool, where they acclimate to their new lives and connect with the town’s sprawling community. That is, until a dramatic fallout on the very first day of her senior year tips

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