In The Spotlight with Abigail Pogrebin

Abigail Pogrebin interviews New Yorker writer Nicholas Lemann about "Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries," his sweeping new family history exploring Jewish identity, legacy and the meaning of home. He paints a rich picture of his ancestors, plantation owners and occasional slaveowners in the antebellum South.

Abigail Pogrebin speaks with Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, educator, communal leader, and Executive Director of Atra, the Center for Rabbinic Innovation, whose work spans congregations and creative Jewish learning, and who led a landmark study illuminating the current state of the rabbinic profession.

Abigail Pogrebin sits with acclaimed stage and screen actress Tovah Feldshuh to discuss her role as the Jewish mother on the hit Netflix series "Nobody Wants This," her extraordinary career, and how her Jewish identity has deepened since October 7.

Abigail Pogrebin meets with Tomer Persico, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and scholar of contemporary spirituality, Jewish identity, secularism and the author of several books on religion, freedom and modern Jewish thought.

Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz, educator and facilitator of Jewish communal music, joins Abigail Pogrebin to discuss her work weaving song and Torah into communal life and her forthcoming album entitled "Songs from the Beit Midrash."

Abigail Pogrebin is joined by producers Daniel Finkelman and Chaya Amor of the acclaimed HBO Max series One Day in October, which recreates powerful stories of the nightmare that changed Jewish history, as they talk about how the real-life subjects helped make every moment as truthful as possible.

Abigail Pogrebin interviews Rabba Dr. Anat Sharbat, a Talmud scholar who founded a weekly prayer group in Tel Aviv's hostage square, turning it from a place of sorrow into one of healing.

Abigail Pogrebin meets author Laura Katzman to discuss her new book on Ben Shahn, the Lithuanian-born immigrant artist whose socially engaged work championed civil rights, confronted injustice, and shaped modern American political art.

Abigail Pogrebin meets with IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer to discuss the NGO’s global work and its role as Israel’s largest humanitarian organization, including its relief efforts in Gaza.

Sam Sussman joins Abigail Pogrebin to discuss his debut novel, "Boy from the North Country," inspired by the memoir "The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son," and his role as a featured author in the Jewish Book Council’s "Nu Reads" subscription series.

Abigail Pogrebin speaks with Tony Award–winning actor Ari’el Stachel about his Off-Broadway solo show Other, in which he explores identity, anxiety, and the complexities of being an Arab Jew

Abigail Pogrebin meets with author Miriam Udel, whose new book ("Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children's Literature") reveals how contemporary Yiddish stories give voice to new forms of Jewish identity.

Author Aron Hirt-Manheimer joins Abigail Pogrebin to discuss "Sons of Survivors: Making Peace with Inherited Trauma," his moving dual memoir tracing two friends’ journeys to confront their parents’ Holocaust past and transform a legacy of trauma into one of love and understanding.

Abigail Pogrebin is joined by bestselling author, podcast host ("Unholy") and British journalist Jonathan Freedland to discuss his real-life thriller- "The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret  Resistance Network in Nazi Germany- and the Spy Who Betrayed Them."

Abigail Pogrebin is joined by Zibby Owens - bestselling author, publisher, bookstore owner, and host of the hit podcast "Totally Booked with Zibby" - which is brought to life before a studio audience in a new series premiering on JBS this Thursday.

Abby Pogrebin welcomes Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author Gayle Kirschenbaum to discuss "Bullied to Besties," her raw and uplifting memoir about transforming lifelong pain into forgiveness and healing in her tumultuous relationship with her mother.

Abigail Pogrebin is joined by Ronald Leopold, longtime executive director of the Anne Frank House, one of Europe’s most visited museums, which he recreated and brought to New York City for the first time this year.

American-born Israeli journalist, author, and the former Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz, joins Abby to discuss his latest book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East."

Donniel Hartman and Yehuda Kurtzer, presidents of the Shalom Hartman Institute, join Abigail Pogrebin to unpack the emotions, implications, and future stakes of the historic ceasefire.