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PODCAST

The Frieda Vizel Podcast

Welcome to in-depth conversations on Hasidism, Judaism, NYC, culture, education, religion and more!This podcast is hosted by popular Youtuber Frieda Vizel, who has been studying the Hasidic community for more than ten years.This is the podcast version of the video conversations which are also published on Youtube. Please reach out with feedback. Here"s the youtube channel if you prefer to see the host and guests! :)Become a supporter of this podcast:

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

48:01

Being a lefty lesbian Jewish comic in 2026 is crazy |...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/04/12

Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/bk6Q2RIN_mE"You're not shutting me up." - Jewish comedy icon Judy Gold, 2026Judy Gold is a lot of things. She's an icon, she's a comic, a writer, a gay woman who was at the forefront of fighting for LGBT rights. But one of the things that is her foremost descriptor is: Jewish. She was never a comic who was also Jewish. But always a Jewish comic. Her comedy is deeply Jewish. Yet since October 7, this has made her work surprisingly difficult. She gets

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57:07

Hasidic Jews once thrived in Poland | Historian Glenn...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/04/05

Link to video version of this episode:In this episode, I’m joined by historian Glenn Dynner, who was my professor years ago and played a pivotal role in getting me started as a tour guide. Our conversation focuses on Polish Jewish history, Hasidism, and how Jewish life in Poland developed under pressure, change, and violence.Before we begin, here are Glenn’s books, which come up throughout the interview:The Light of Learning: Hasidism in Poland on the Eve of the Holocaust /

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60:00

From the oldest Hagaddahs to a Hasidic sedar that...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/29

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/QuMAGZuI5J0Frieda and @_yiddishkeit discuss the seder with a mix of amazing haggadah illustrations and childhood memories. CHAPTERS 0:00 intro2:51 illustrated haggadah 5:49 the opening rituals of the seder 10:33 the steps of the seder14:14 the symbolism of the matzah, maror, wine 16:37 instructions in Yiddish 21:04 the story of the Exodus 23:41 David's childhood Haggadahs 25:12 the literal-ness of the Sarajevo Haggadah 30:36 Bird's Head Haggadah 34:04

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39:30

My Hasidic Passover Memories

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/25

video link to this trip down memory lane: https://youtu.be/S3c7Px2jMRoHasidic Jews go hard for Passover. The goal is not to come into any contact with bread. But this has turned into a full half-year operation for some, like my family. Here I talk about my childhood memories in Kiryas Joel, preparing for Passover. The methodical cleaning, then opening the Passover kitchen, then cooking everything from scratch for the holiday. It was a lot! My favorite part was definitely the cooking, the moment

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45:30

Baily prepares for Passover [comedian Leah Forster]

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/22

video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/XLDwhIRumwUThis is comedy.Baily is the character of the famous Jewish comedian Leah Forster.I love Baily. She is very kind to me and will help me find a husband soon. She also very willingly shares about her Hasidic life. She's now extremely busy preparing for passover. Hasidic Jews go all out cleaning, cooking, shopping for Passover. To make things easier, Baily went glutton free for a whole year. She has a lot of ideas of how to cut corners and make

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75:45

"My experience as a Pediatric Pulminologist with the...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/15

Link to video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/kP_NgV7y_CsWhat happens when modern medicine meets a tight-knit Hasidic world?In this long-form conversation, Frieda Vizel speaks with Dr. Lynne Quittell, a pediatric pulmonologist with more than 40 years of experience and decades of close work with Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish families. Dr. Quittell has practiced at world-renowned institutions, including Children’s Hospital of New York and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and brings

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34:14

From the hospital bedside

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/08

Video link to this episode:https://youtu.be/Biqnh3CZIFoI have so many thoughts and feelings about illness and being ex-Hasidic. About losing community support, about how my mother is fighting for her health, about returning to be at her bedside and wanting to be there but also fearing the ptsd of some rituals. This video cropped out of my high holiday season time spent with my mother. Many thanks to my editor Steve Milligan for the beautiful edit.https://www.instagram.com/shootitsteve/ Many thanks

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30:06

Just a messenger? A Jewish interpreter at...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/04

Video link to this conversation: https://youtu.be/n8g9RwmGwF8Dan is a Jewish interpreter who immigrated from the Soviet Union. He believes his Soviet past taught him important lessons about recognizing when society takes a wrong turn. He reached out to me to share his story, and I invited him for an in-depth interview. We discussed his Soviet upbringing, his life journey, and his experiences as a Jewish interpreter. Dan has thoughtful criticisms of contemporary human rights organizations (alongside

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112:22

From a Soviet upbringing to Jewish identity | Dan’s...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/03/01

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/Nmw9jZM2aYUThe story of a Jew who grew up in the Soviet Union and learned little about his Judaism but some other hard lessons that would shape his life.Dan is a high-level interpreter and a thoughtful, intelligent man. He reached out to me after noticing how different his experience as a Soviet Jew was from mine. I grew up deeply engaged with my Jewishness, while he grew up almost entirely disconnected from it. Our conversation convinced me that Dan's

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53:10

Mayor Mamdani and the Jews | Jacob Kornbluh

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/02/22

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/4MPf67ftXMEJacob Kornbluh is a Hasidic reporter covering the Mamdani beat at a moment when Zohran Mamdani has become a lightning rod in Jewish communities. For many, Mamdani represents fear, anger, political anxiety, and deep uncertainty about where New York is headed. And in the middle of that storm is Kornbluh.Recently featured in The New York Times, Kornbluh occupies a complicated position. He reports on power while belonging to a community that often

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74:45

The beloved bubby answers your questions | Pearl from...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/02/18

Video link to this full Pearl repost: https://youtu.be/Uo5mf0_1izYBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

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64:32

Living and leaving Jehova's Witness | Miriam Vidal

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/02/15

Link to video version of this conversation: https://youtu.be/2iPiYwftPygIn this interview, I speak with Miriam Vidal about her childhood growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and her eventual decision to leave the faith.As a Hasidic child growing up in Kiryas Joel, there was a strange building behind my house that we simply called “the church.” Every Saturday, rows of cars would pull up, and we kids would stand by the gate, watching and waving. Only years later, after I had left my own religious

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37:42

Reading your comments and more stories, kinderlech #3

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/02/11

Video version: https://youtu.be/MyGxlBywfAcBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

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56:14

Surviving the Bondi Beach terror attack | Rabbi Yosef...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/02/01

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/css7bPGITTEThis video is le’ilui nishmas (dedicated to the souls) of the dear people lost at Bondi Beach, and dedicated to their loving families in mourning. May the families find moments of light in these unbearably hard days. My heart is with them.In this conversation, I speak with Sydney resident Rabbi Yosef Eichenblatt, who shares his oral history of the Chanukah 2025 attack in Sydney, an event his family lived through and one in which his daughter’s

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17:35

"Jewish children don't fight!" | 1977 Yiddish reader...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/28

Video version here: https://youtu.be/F9xzvdkMXMILet me read to you some Yiddish from 1977 and unpack the values and worldview of the Hasidic young girls through the moral lessons presented in this book. See how they were introduced to social values of obedience, kindness, respect to the elders, safety, trust in each other, modesty, and more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

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44:24

The Wedding Night documentary | Rachel Elitzur

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/25

video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/RK7_--5f0TcWhat happens when intimacy is expected before it’s understood?The Wedding Night is a striking and deeply intimate documentary by Orthodox filmmaker Rachel Elitzur. It explores a rarely discussed reality inside ultra-Orthodox Jewish life: couples who marry after only a handful of supervised dates, then face the expectation of consummating their marriage on the wedding night.The film grows out of Elitzur’s own traumatic wedding-night

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44:04

A Jehova's Witness church INSIDE the Jewish village...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/21

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/naUJMITJ5sYThe article is here: https://friedavizel.com/2014/06/06/a-church-in-kiryas-joelBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

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14:11

The kinds of industries Hasidic Jews work in

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/18

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/ClAU6WJfj8UOne of my earliest video and, in my view, an important one to repost at this time. Forgive the repost. Lots of new content coming soon.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support.

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97:56

Watching and reacting to the Tyler Oliveria viral...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/16

Video version here: https://youtu.be/ZlWRN4jo-CA As someone who grew up in Kiryas Joel and left the fold, I have a lot to say on this Hasidic village. There's good and bad. There are issues, and yes there are valid criticisms on its relationship to the welfare system, although this doesn't take away from the facts: that this is a community where the vast majority of men are gainfully employed and work incredibly hard. The stereotypes of this community as "welfare queens" whose men study torah and

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34:52

An eye-opening 1977 Yiddish book of female...

The Frieda Vizel Podcast ·

2026/01/13

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/qUDGHnwTUPwFollow along with the pdf of the story here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JCIYkr489nAvNDZQapUJ9UzTdmeCpt-8/view?usp=sharing Let me read to you some Yiddish from 1977 and unpack the values and worldview of the Hasidic young girls through the moral lessons presented in this book. See how they were introduced to social values of obedience, kindness, respect to the elders, safety, trust in each other, modesty, and more. Please let me know

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