Live From New York! Ep. 76

This week’s episode was recorded live at JCC Manhattan. Our first Jewish guest is Canadian transplant and longtime "This American Life" contributor Jonathan Goldstein, who now hosts the podcast Heavyweight. He tells us about mining his personal life for stories to tell on his show and gives us a definitive (if very Canadian) answer on Montreal bagels vs. New York bagels. Our Gentile of the Week is Catholic New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who tells us about being a conservative voice writing for a largely liberal audience, why so many voters on the Christian right supported Trump despite mounting evidence of his moral failings, and why conservatives love fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings. Our second Jewish guest is Jen Spyra, comedian and writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She tells us about her Late Show audition, the challenges of writing jokes during a Trump administration, and when she first realized she was funny. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com—we'll share our favorite notes on air.  This episode is dedicated to the memory of J.J. the dog. Special thanks to our live band, the Jewbadourians: Jim Knable, Sunny Knable, and Claudia Mogel. Music Credits:  “Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem “Swing Gitane” by The Underscore Orkestra  “Jonathan Goldstein” by The Jewbadourians “If Your Dad Doesn’t Have A Beard, You’ve Got Two Mums” by The Beards “Ross Douthat” by The Jewbadourians “Bad Religion” by Frank Ocean “Jen Spyra” by The Jewbadourians “LA Jews” by The Jewbadourians