76West: The Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas Podcast

Welcome to 76West, the podcast of the Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas. 76West meets at the intersection of arts and ideas. Revamped and reimagined, this new series hosted by arts producer Jason Blitman will feature conversations with today’s leading authors, artists, culture makers, and thinkers. Previous guests include Alan Cumming, Roxane Gay, Colson Whitehead, and more.

You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. 76West is produced by Jason Blitman and Udi Urman and audio engineered by Matt Temkin.

Current Season

60. J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot

Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about their experience as the first nonbinary performer to win Best Actor in a Musical, living life as your most authentic self, and performing in a hit musical on Broadway.

J. Harrison Ghee Broadway/International Tour: Some Like it Hot, Kinky Boots, Mrs. Doubtfire. Regional: The Color Purple, The Sting. Television: "High Maintenance" (Charles), "Raising Dion" (Kwame). Industrial: Tokyo Disney Sea’s Big Band Beat, Norwegian Cruise Line.

59. Brian Selznick, Big Tree

Caldecott winner Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) talks to the Lambert Center's Jason Blitman about how his latest book, Big Tree, started as a Steven Spielberg film, and about the legacy of gay and Jewish children’s book authors.

Brian Selznick is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including The Invention of Hugo Cabret, winner of the Caldecott medal and the basis for the Oscar-winning movie Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese. Kaleidoscope, a novel in short stories, was called a "lockdown masterpiece" by the New York Times, and his newest book Big Tree, inspired by an idea from Steven Spielberg.

58. Camille Kellogg, Just As You Are

First-time author Camille Kellogg talks to The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman about her novel, Just As You Are, a queer rom-com inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Camille Kellogg is a queer writer based in New York City, where she works as an editor for children’s and young adult books. She studied English and creative writing at Middlebury College and attended the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference on a fiction scholarship. She’s passionate about queer stories, cute dogs, and bad puns.

57. Steven Rowley, The Celebrants

Bestselling author of The Guncle Steven Rowley talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about all sorts of things, including working as a gay author and, of course, his newest book, this month’s TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna pick, The Celebrants.

Steven Rowley is the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016; The Editor, named by NPR as one of the Best Books of 2019; The Guncle, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for 2021 Novel of the Year and winner of The 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor; and The Celebrants, a TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna pick. His fiction has been published in twenty languages, and all of his books are in development for feature film or television adaptation. Originally from Portland, Maine, he is a graduate of Emerson College and currently resides in Palm Springs with his husband, writer Byron Lane.

Spring 2023 Sustainability Season

56. Emily St. John Mandel, Sea Of Tranquility

Bestselling author of Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, talks to The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman as her final event for the paperback release of her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility. They also talk about why we’re drawn to post-apocalyptic fiction, what it’s like imagining the future of our world, and what she’s working on next.

Emily St. John Mandel's five previous novels include The Glass Hotel, which has been translated into 25 languages, and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, was the basis of a limited series on HBO Max, and has been translated into 37 languages. She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

More Spring 2023 Sustainability Season

55. Textiles + Sustainability with Preeti Gopinath, Parsons School of Design

From the clothes we wear to the sheets we sleep in, textiles are part of daily life, but have you ever really thought about how they’re made? In this episode, The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman talks to Preeti Gopinath, the head of the textiles program at Parsons School of Design at The New School. Jason and Preeti talk about what textiles are, how they’re made, and the impact they have on the world around us.

54. The Earth Transformed: A History of Climate Change with Peter Frankopan

Climate change has impacted the world since the beginning of time, which Peter Frankopan (The Silk Roads) details in his newest book, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History. A professor of global history at Oxford University, Peter shares his unique perspective on climate change with The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman, including how our society suffers from a soundbite version of history and how small lifestyle changes can have mighty impacts.

53. Electronic Waste + Composting with Christine Datz-Romero, LES Ecology Center

Ahead of a Community Recycling Day at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on April 23, The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman talks to Christine Datz-Romero, co-founder and executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Christine talks about the history of the center, how e-waste works, and what it takes to compost at home.

Winter 2022 Season

52. What is the Value of a Story?—Jenny Jackson, editor and author

Jenny Jackson, executive editor at Knopf, talks The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman through the book publishing process, from acquiring a title to hitting the shelf. Jenny also talks about her experience on the other side as an author—her upcoming debut novel, Pineapple Street, will be released in March.

Jenny Jackson is a vice president and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. Pineapple Street is her first novel.

More Winter 2022 Season

51. From Falling in Love with Comics to Writing Graphic Novels—Dan Santat, Author + Illustrator

Prolific author, illustrator, and graphic novelist Dan Santat chats with The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about his process of writing and illustrating picture books, how writing graphic novels is his way of creating his own movies, and the catharsis of writing his memoir, A First Time for Everything.

Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and the road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet? His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets.

50. Michael Crouch, Audiobook Narrator

Audiobook narrator Michael Crouch talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about his shift from musical theatre to voiceover acting, the process of preparing to record an audiobook, and some unique techniques and insights on working in audio.

Michael Crouch is a New York City-based actor specializing in voiceover. His audiobook narration has earned numerous industry accolades, including Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and AudioFile Magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. He can also be heard on national commercials, video games, industrial film, and the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon.

49. It’s Okay to Judge a Book by Its Cover—Elizabeth Yaffe, cover designer

To kick off our season of 76West in celebration of our Books That Changed My Life Festival, The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman talks to designer Elizabeth Yaffe about the process of creating that thing you judge most about a book—its cover.

Elizabeth Yaffe is a book cover designer and animator. She currently works in the Viking/Penguin Art Department at Penguin Random House. She has designed covers for authors including Amy Tan, Rebecca Makkai, Jami Attenberg, Kevin Wilson, Timothy Egan, and Sarah Thankam Mathews. She has animated covers for authors including Stephen King, Carola Lovering, Jesse Ball, and Chelsea Bieker. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Pomona College with degrees in anthropology and media studies.

Fall 2022 Season

48. Will Chef Einat Admony Redefine “Balaboosta”?

Chef Einat Admony, founder of the beloved falafel chain Taïm, as well as the acclaimed Israeli restaurant Balaboosta, talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about where her love of cooking comes from, tricks to feed picky eaters, and her newfound passion for performing stand-up.

Einat Admony is author of the cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk and chef/owner of New York City’s popular Balaboosta and Taïm restaurants, which have been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and New York Magazine, among many other outlets. When Einat is not at her restaurants, she can be found at her home in Brooklyn, cooking for the crowd of family and friends who regularly gather around her dining table.

More Fall 2022 Season

47. Will Musician David Krauss’s Trumpet Disappear?

David Krauss, principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about what the title “principal trumpet” means, childhood as an “indoor kid,” and the little things he learns about music icons while talking to them on his podcast, Speaking Soundly.

David Krauss is the prodigious host of Speaking Soundly, co-founder of Artful Narratives Media, and principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with the All-Star Orchestra on their Emmy Award-winning PBS broadcast and was praised by the American Record Guide for his "singing tone, which is luxurious and inviting." He has performed as guest principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic, as well as recorded for film and television, and played on several Broadway shows. David is a highly sought-after instructor at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, Aspen Music Festival and School, and other top conservatories and music festivals throughout the United States.

46. Will Actor David Krumholtz Commit to Hair Acting?

David Krumholtz, most known for his roles in Num3ers, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Santa Clause, and dozens of other films and TV shows, is currently starring on Broadway in Leopoldstadt. David talks with The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about impostor syndrome, bar mitzvahs, reconnecting to Judaism, and working with Tom Stoppard on this critically acclaimed new play.

David Krumholtz’s film credits include Life With Mikey, The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, Hail, Caesar!, Slums of Beverly Hills, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Santa Clause, The Ice Storm, and Ray, among others. Television credits include Numb3rs, ER, The Deuce, The Newsroom, Freaks & Geeks, and Gigi Does It. Krumholtz made his theatrical debut in Herb Gardner’s Conversations With My Father. He will next appear in Oppenheimer, The Santa Clauses on Disney+, and HBO’s The White House Plumbers.

45. Will Filmmaker Yair Qedar Generate More Ideas?

Yair Qedar, whose film The Last Chapter of A.B. Yehoshua is featured in the JCC’s 2022 Other Israel Film Festival, talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about the creation of this rare and striking look into the life of one of Israel’s most beloved writers. Qedar also shares his journey to becoming a filmmaker and influences on his work.

Yair Qedar is a filmmaker and a LGBTQIA+ activist. His academic training on 20th-century Hebrew literature propelled him into The Hebrews—a documentary project on the Hebrew and Jewish literary canon, centered on filmic portraits of Hebrew writers from the 17th century to recent days. Sixteen feature-length documentary films have been made in the project so far, premiering in film festivals, airing on Israeli TV, and screened in hundreds of cinemas around the world. From 2015 to 2017, he co-directed and produced, with the actor Ilan Peled, the documentary miniseries Vanished, about the disappearance of women artists in Israeli culture. The film Lilyanin won first prize in the Haifa film festival in 2016. Qedar is also the initiator of various media projects in Israel, in the fields of the LGBT community such as the first LGBT newspaper Hazman HaVarod.

Summer 2022 Season

44. Elissa Sussman, Funny You Should Ask

Author Elissa Sussman and The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman talk about Sussman's new book, Funny You Should Ask, the importance of Jewish representation in fiction, rules of romance novels, and more.

Elissa Sussman is the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask and three young adult novels. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA from Pacific University. She lives in her hometown of Los Angeles with her husband.

More Summer 2022 Season

43. Erika L. Sánchez, Crying in the Bathroom

Erika L. Sánchez (I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter) talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about her new memoir in essays, Crying in the Bathroom, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a rewarding debut memoir in which a sensitive soul finds salvation in poetry and a life in literature.”

Erika L. Sánchez is a Mexican-American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her debut poetry collection, Lessons on Expulsion, was a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her debut young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, was a New York Times bestseller and a National Book Awards finalist. It is now being made into a film directed by America Ferrera. Sanchez was a 2017 to 2019 Princeton Arts Fellow, a 2018 recipient of the 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and a 2019 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

42. Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Gabrielle Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) joins The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman to talk about her latest book, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which Publishers Weekly calls “a one-of-a-kind achievement.” Gabrielle and Jason talk about their shared experience of growing up in heavily Jewish populated areas, how we all play video games whether we know it or not, and how failure can be a creative place.

Gabrielle Zevin is The New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which won the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award and the Japan Booksellers' Award and was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Award, and Young Jane Young, which won the Southern Book Prize. Her novels have been translated into 39 languages. She has also written books for young readers, including the award-winning Elsewhere, which is on Time magazine's 100 Best YA Novels of All-Time list. She lives in Los Angeles.

41. Sloane Crosley, Cult Classic

Sloane Crosley (I Was Told There'd Be Cake, How Did You Get This Number, The Clasp) talks to The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman about her latest novel, Cult Classic. Sloane and Jason chat about the book's themes, beautiful cover art, the word "supposably," and whether or not mezuzahs are found on interior doors of synagogues.

Sloane Crosley is the author of the novel The Clasp and three essay collections: Look Alive Out There and the New York Times bestsellers I Was Told There'd Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number. A two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, she lives in New York City.

Season 5

The Save Darfur Rally, with Rabbi Joy Levitt, Ruth Messinger, and Sarah-Kay Lacks

On April 28, 2006, a rally in Washington, DC urged the Bush administration to take action against genocidal atrocities in the country of Darfur. Leading the charge were Ruth Messinger and American Jewish World Service. Rabbi Joy Levitt, then chief program officer, and one of Ruth Messinger's closest friends, had decided the JCC would take the lead in organizing participants from New York, and enlisted the help of Sarah-Kay Lacks to organize buses to travel to DC. In today's episode of 76West, you'll hear the story of how a single utterance in temple led to one the JCC's largest, and most successful advocacy efforts to date.

More Season 5

Combating an Epidemic, with Rabbi Joy Levitt, Susan Lechter, and Dana Wechsler Linden

It wasn't just a perceived need. It was a moral imperative. In looking at the JCC's burgeoning population of older adults, it became apparent that cards, trips, and discussion groups weren't just fun, enriching ways to spend time. They were a way station, a way of conquering one of the most insidious epidemics of our time: loneliness. Under the direction of Susan Lechter and thanks to the care and largesse of board member Dana Linden, The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging would come to represent something more than a place for excellent programs. It would be a lifeline, a chance to build connections and community among a group that is too often overlooked in society. In today's episode, joined by Susan and Dana, Rabbi Joy Levitt will discuss the impetus for launching the center — during a pandemic, no less — and how its many facets could change the way we think about getting older.

Click here to learn more about The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging.

Adaptations, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Shirley Silver

It took a professionally upsetting and embarrassing incident for Rabbi Joy Levitt to realize how far the JCC, and indeed all Jewish communal agencies, had to go when it came to treating those in its neurodiverse community. But evolve the JCC did, thanks to the largesse and personal knowledge of people like Jack and Shirley Silver, whose Center for Special Needs at the JCC became the home of numerous groundbreaking programs. Among them was Adaptations, a supportive social community for adults in their 20s and 30s that offered individuals with a high level of independence a place to socialize, learn, grow, and deepen their connections to one another through structured social/recreational and employment programs. Thanks to an extraordinary lay-professional partnership, the seeds planted by the Silvers came to provide multiple pathways to fostering independence, finding passion, and experiencing the richness of community.

Click here to learn more about Adaptations at the JCC.

The Women's Seder, with Rabbi Joy Levitt, Eve Landau, and Barbara Dobkin

Ma'yan: The Jewish Women's Project was founded by the JCC in 1993 to serve as a catalyst and a resource for women working for change within the Jewish community. During its existence, Ma'yan promoted Jewish ritual from a new perspective through programs such as its feminist Passover Seder and innovative women's Haggadah, while continuing to focus on advancing the status of womenstatus within the Jewish communal world. In today's episode of 76West, Ma'yan Director Eve Landau and Cofounder Barbara Dobkin join Rabbi Joy Levitt to discuss the origins of the first women's seder, and how the haggadah they developed is still influencing the way we think about the seder today.

Note: this episode contains an excerpt from Debbie Friedman's “Miriam's Song” from her January 1996 performance at Carnegie Hall.

Click here to learn more about the Joseph Stern Center for Social Responsibility at the JCC.

Click here to order the Ma'yan Passover Haggadah.

The Literacy + Math Tutoring Program, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Judy Gross

One of the JCC's original volunteer initiatives, the literacy and math tutoring program has only grown in size, scope, and value in the years since its founding. Under Program Director Judy Gross, it has expanded into more schools, added facets such as having students practice their skills by reading to therapy dogs, and even survived a pandemic. On today's episode of 76West, Gross and Rabbi Joy Levitt discuss the origins of this groundbreaking program and learn about some of the incredible volunteers whose generosity has given the program its heart and soul.

Click here to learn more about the Literacy and Math Tutoring Program at the JCC.

The Magnificent Meyersons, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Marti Meyerson

Few families have had as profound an impact on the life of the JCC as the Meyerson-Hooper family. From their earliest days as board members to participants in a full range of family programs and activities to their 2018 decision to name the organization after Marti's mother Marlene, the Meyerson family bestowed an incredible personal and financial gift that will inspire donors and lay leaders for years to come. In today's episode, we learn about how Marti's personal journey brought her to the JCC, and how her family's deep love of the institution led to one of the most consequential moments in the history of the organization.

Makom is a Place, with Rabbi Joy Levitt

Today's episode of 76West begins with Rabbi Joy Levitt's life changing trip to teach Judaism to the Dalai Lama, followed by a silent meditation retreat six years later. As soon as Joy and colleagues had a chance to bring meditation to the Upper West Side, they did so in the form of Makom, a space within the JCC that has become a daily refuge for hundreds since the building opened in 2002.

Click here to learn more about Makom at the JCC.

Cordoba House and the JCC, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Daisy Khan

In 2009, plans were announced to convert a building in Lower Manhattan into a center for the Muslim community called Cordoba House. Among the leaders of the project were Daisy Khan and her husband Feisal Abdul Rauf, a sufi imam. Khan, a native of Jumma and Kashmir, was the leader of two non-profit organizations, Musilim Leaders of Tomorrow and the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality. In planning the center, Khan reached out to Rabbi Joy Levitt, then the Executive Director of the JCC in Manhattan, for advice both large and small. What resulted was a friendship that sheltered both through the cultural storm that erupted around the community center, which became known for a brief time as the Ground Zero mosque, due to its overstated proximity to the 9/11 site. In today's episode, we'll hear Joy and Daisy recall that turbulent time, and how one project designed to benefit an entire population blew up as a result of the country's increasing polarization.

Click here to watch Joy and Daisy on This Week with Chistiane Amanpour.

Towels, with Rabbi Joy Levitt

This week, a story that perfectly encapsulates Rabbi Joy Levitt's tenure. In the first half, she recalls the opening of the JCC's building in January 2002, and a crucial element that was missing at the time. In the second part, she talks about how the young JCC positioned its health club to succeed in a market filled with top-notch competitors.

Click here to learn more about the JCC Health Club.

Embarking on Jewish Journeys, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Rabbi Lori Forman-Jacobi

Jewish Journeys (which began as the Jewish Journey Project) was designed to revolutionize Jewish education. The initiative has grown and morphed over the years, but its basic premise has remained the same: to ignite each child's spirit, engaging them in activities they love while connecting them with Jewish life and learning. Over the years, Jewish Journeys has brought children together to absorb the concepts, ideas, and traditions that are the building blocks of Jewish life. Under the leadership of Rabbi Lori Forman-Jacobi, it has added a revolutionary online Hebrew learning program and an off-the-bimah B'nai Mitzvah experience. In this episode of 76West, we'll hear Rabbi Joy Levitt discuss the beginnings of Jewish Journeys, and how a simple walk in the woods led to a whole new way of thinking about Jewish education.

Click here to learn more about Jewish Journeys.

The Other Israel Film Festival, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Carole Zabar

In this episode, Rabbi Joy Levitt discusses the birth of the JCC's Other Israel Film Festival with board member Carole Zabar, the namesake of The Carole Zabar Center for Film at the JCC. Founded in 2007, the Other Israel Film Festival presents cinema that inspires conversation, taking an in-depth look into Israeli and Palestinian societies and some of Israel's underrepresented populations. Creating such a festival is a powerful statement for any Jewish organization, but for this JCC, it made perfect sense.

Click here to learn more about the festival.

The Parkinson's Wellness Program, with Rabbi Joy Levitt, Caroline Kohles, and Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco

The groundbreaking Edmond J. Safra Parkinson's Wellness Program was founded in 2007 to help improve the lives of those impacted by Parkinson's Disease. Through education, exercise, support groups, and other programs, and in collaboration with the medical and local communities, people impacted by Parkinson's remain active, connected, and empowered. Through a collaboration between the JCC and the Parkinson's Foundation, supported by Northwell Health, the program has grown into a hub for the New York Parkinson's community, and has been adapted nationally. In this episode, we'll hear Rabbi Joy Levitt discuss the founding of the program with two of the driving forces behind it: Caroline Kohles, the JCC's Senior Director of Health and Wellness, and Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco, neurologist and director of Northwell's Movement Disorders Program.

Click here to learn more about the Parkinson's Wellness Program.

Shabbat Reimagined, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Alice Gottesman

As Rabbi Joy Levitt looked out on the Upper West Side one weekend afternoon, she saw a familiar sight: people going about their lives, trying to fill their time by… spending money. Not everyone was Shabbat observant, but for those who were, or who wanted to be, the JCC devised R&R, a weekly opportunity to be together as a family and a community: an inclusive alternative to the typical New York Saturday. For Friday evenings, there was Shabbat Shabbang, an event designed to welcome the community into the building for a meal, new friends, and fascinating programs. Leading the charge alongside Rabbi Joy Levitt was board member Alice Gottesman, who drew on her own fond childhood memories in supporting both programs. In this conversation, you'll hear Joy and Alice discuss the founding of two programs that came to embody the Jewish values of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.

Click here to learn more about Shabbat programming at the JCC.

Leaving the Congregation, with Rabbi Joy Levitt

In this episode, we'll go back to the beginning, when Rabbi Joy Levitt was a congregational rabbi in Plandome, New York, searching for something more. We'll hear about the forces that acted to bring her to the Upper West Side, before there was a building at 76th and Amsterdam. We'll hear about a restless spirit ready for a second act, ready to take the show on the road. To apply concepts she'd mastered to a hub for a community that was starved for new ideas, new programs, and Jewish life. The JCC of the Upper West Side, as it was known then, wasn't just going to be, in Joy's words, “a gym and a pool.” Joy, alongside the JCC's founders, had a much more expansive vision in mind.

Saturday Morning Community Partners, with Rabbi Joy Levitt and Todd Elkins

In this episode, Rabbi Joy Levitt speaks with Todd Elkins, the JCC's longtime Chief Health + Wellness Officer, about a program near and dear to their hearts—Saturday Morning Community Partners. The program has served as a lifeline for disadvantaged children around the city, and as a cornerstone of the JCC's values-driven programming for the community.

To learn more about this program, click here.

The Photography Exhibit, with Rabbi Joy Levitt

If you're listening to this in the fall of 2021, and you're not aware, the JCC's Chief Executive Officer, Rabbi Joy Levitt, is retiring at the end of the year. This podcast is for you. If it's sometime past the fall, maybe the spring of 2022, or the winter of 2026, this podcast is for you, too. There's something about stories, and this particular storyteller, that's crucial to understanding what makes—and made—the country's premier JCC tick. What allowed it to go as fast as it did, to build success upon success upon success. Rabbi Joy Levitt isn't—wasn't—just a boss to some of us. She is, was, a spiritual adviser. A relentless “idea person.” A source of endless motivation. And whether you're listening to this before she leaves, or after, there are lessons you can take from it. You can listen to her voice and know there was a strong hand steering the ship at the JCC. There was joy, in Joy.

Welcome to season 5 of 76West, recorded, appropriately, in an office at the corner of West 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. In past years you've heard conversations with some of the great thinkers of our time. This season you're going to hear the voice of one: Rabbi Joy Levitt. Sometimes she'll be by herself, sometimes accompanied by the amazing people who helped make the programs she shepherded a reality. That's by design. Joy works—worked— best in collaboration with others, people who pushed her, prodded, who inspired her as much as she inspired them. That's going to be—is—her legacy to the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan: a spirit of positivity, of moving onward and upward. Taking a simple idea, a Jewish Community Center, and elevating it beyond what anyone would use as their definition.

In this episode, Rabbi Joy Levitt discusses an eye-opening moment in the JCC's Laurie M. Tisch Gallery, in which an exhibit of the work of photographer Caryl Englander brings about an epiphany for one young family and for Joy.

Season 4

Colson Whitehead and Ruth Messinger

On the season finale of 76West, we're listening to two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead in conversation with Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan borough president, global ambassador for American Jewish World Service, and current activist in residence at the JCC’s Joseph Stern Center for Social Responsibility. In this podcast, Whitehead discusses his New York Times best seller, The Nickel Boys, in which a strand of American history is dramatized through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Recorded live on February 5, 2020, this event was presented in partnership with The Stern Center for Social Responsibility. Production note: the introductory and concluding audio was recorded in a home living room in April 2020 following the building closure due to COVID-19; we apologize that it is not up to our usual high standards.

More Season 4

Malcolm Gladwell and Abigail Pogrebin

We opened season 4 with a discussion from January 2013 between one of America’s most admired authors, Malcolm Gladwell, and Abigail Pogrebin. Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. He has been included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers. In this episode, Gladwell discusses David and Goliath, and how he created such a singular journalistic niche.

Bob Roth, Sharon Isbin, and Dr. Norman Rosenthal

Listen to "Exploring the Science of Creativity, Meditation, and the Brain," a conversation between renowned psychiatrist Dr. Norman Rosenthal, classical guitar virtuoso Sharon Isbin, and esteemed Transcendental Meditation teacher and CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, Bob Roth. In their conversation on the science and art of meditation and creativity, they discuss how stress impacts the creativity centers of the brain, and how meditation can help heal and awaken our senses. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience on May 10, 2017.

Nathan Englander and Abigail Pogrebin

Abigail Pogrebin interviews author Nathan Englander, as part of Abby's ongoing series at the JCC, What Everyone's Talking About. Nathan Englander is author of the novels Dinner at the Center of the Earth, The Ministry of Special Cases, and kaddish.com. He's responsible for the story collections For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank. Englander's short fiction has been widely anthologized, including in 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience on April 17, 2019.

Bill T. Jones and Rabbi Ayelet Cohen

Listen to “Idealism and Activism: A Conversation” featuring Choreographer Bill T. Jones with Rabbi Ayelet Cohen. Jones is a multi-talented artist, choreographer, dancer, artistic director, and writer who has, over a 40-plus-year career, received distinguished honors including the National Medal of Arts, a MacArthur "Genius" Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, and two Tony Awards. Rabbi Cohen, a former center head at the JCC, is currently Senior Director of the New Israel Fund for New York and the tri-state region. Recorded before a live audience on January 18, 2016.

Lisa Brennan-Jobs and Abigail Pogrebin

It's writer Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the daughter of Steve Jobs, talking with Abigail Pogrebin about Brennan-Jobs's intimate, heartbreaking coming-of-age memoir, SMALL FRY, which made it onto The New York Times and The New Yorker's Top 10 Books of the Year lists. This talk was recorded in front of a live audience on January 15, 2020.

Season 3

Secretary Madeleine Albright and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy this discussion between one of America's most admired public servants, Madeleine Albright, and author and former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin. Aside from being the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state, Albright is also a former Ambassador to the United Nations. In this discussion, Secretary Albright and Abby discuss the Secretary’s book Fascism: A Warning, a personal, urgent examination of Fascism in the twentieth century and how its legacy shapes today's world. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience on February 1st, 2019.

More Season 3

Nora Ephron and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy a conversation from 2011 between the late Nora Ephron and Abigail Pogrebin. Ephron was, as the NY Times put it in its 2012 obituary, "a journalist, a blogger, an essayist, a novelist, a playwright, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a movie director — a rarity in a film industry whose directorial ranks were and continue to be dominated by men." Her screenplays include Silkwood, Heartburn, and When Harry Met Sally. Her directorial successes include Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Julie & Julia. The conversation was recorded before a live audience on February 16, 2011.

Kathy Griffin and Yetta Kurland

Enjoy this discussion between two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin with civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland. Griffin has performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe, giving legendary standup performances in a class of their own. In 2014, Griffin made history with her 6th consecutive Grammy nomination and first win, joining Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin as the only other female comedians to ever win Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience on August 14th, 2019, and produced by Out at the J, the JCC's program for the LGBTQIA+ community. This podcast contains profanity.

Judy Collins and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy our discussion between famed singer-songwriter Judy Collins and Abigail Pogrebin. Collins is a six-time Grammy nominee and winner of one, for her cover of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” in 1969. Back then, she evoked the idealism and determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, new generations take inspiration from her 55-album body of work and discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century. The talk was recorded on May 24th, 2012.

Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly with Abigail Pogrebin

Take a listen to this talk with New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, whose book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh investigates the formative years and confirmation of the Supreme Court justice. Asking the questions is Robin's sister Abigail Pogrebin. This conversation was recorded before a live audience on November 3, 2019.

Ariel Levy, Daphne Merkin, and Dani Shapiro with Abigail Pogrebin

Listen to "The Craft of Confession," a discussion between three leading authors of memoirs and Abigail Pogrebin. New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy talks about her book The Rules Do Not Apply; Daphne Merkin about This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression; and Dani Shapiro about her memoir Hourglass. This talk was recorded in front of a live audience on November 29th, 2017.

Season 2

Ellie Kemper and Abigail Pogrebin

Laugh along with this discussion between Ellie Kemper and author and former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin. In this pod, Kemper, the star of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Office, and Bridesmaids, joins Pogrebin for a conversation about Kemper’s collection of essays, My Squirrel Days, which hilariously chronicles her adventures, from her childhood in suburban St. Louis to her move to Hollywood and start in show business. This talk was recorded on January 30, 2019, in front of a live audience.

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Candice Bergen and Abigail Pogrebin

Episode 12 of 76West features a discussion between American icon Candice Bergen and Abigail Pogrebin. Bergen, acclaimed for her decade-long lead role in the recently revived Murphy Brown, has anacting career that spans television, film and Broadway, from Carnal Knowledge to Boston Legal. Her memoir, A Fine Romance, was an instant best-seller. This talk was recorded before a live audience on November 18, 2015.

Dr. Lucy Kalinithi and Rabbi Mychal Springer

Hear a discussion about the New York Times best-selling memoir When Breath Becomes Air, an intimate look at how Dr Paul Kalanithi, a 36-year-old neurosurgeon, dealt with his stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. This powerful book has impacted millions of readers who, through Dr Kalanithi's insightful writing, follow the journey of a doctor-turned-patient as he evaluates what it means to live. In this talk, Paul's widow, and author of the book's epilogue, Dr Lucy Kalanithi, shares Paul's story and the journey her life has taken since the book's publication. Dr. Lucy Kalanithi is interviewed by Rabbi Mychal Springer, director of the Center for Pastoral Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. This talk was recorded in front of a live audience on April 5, 2017, and was presented in conjunction with the JCC's end of life initiative, What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life.

Alan Cumming and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy this discussion between actor, activist, and author Alan Cumming and Abigail Pogrebin. Aside from his Tony Award-winning run in the Broadway musical Cabaret, audiences know Cumming from the films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Goldeneye, and Eyes Wide Shut, and CBS's The Good Wife, for which he received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. In this conversation, recorded before a live audience on May 6, 2015, Cumming discusses his work and his revelatory New York Times best-selling memoir, Not My Father's Son.

Roz Chast and Rabbi David Ingber

Listen to a discussion between acclaimed cartoonist Roz Chast and Rabbi David Ingber, founder and spiritual leader of Romemu. Since joining the New Yorker in 1978, Chast has established herself as one of our greatest chroniclers of the anxieties, superstitions, furies, and insecurities of modern life. In this conversation, Chast references her best-selling book Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, which chronicles her relationship with her aging parents as they shift from independence to dependence. (While you don't need the book to follow what Chast is referencing, you can view some of her cartoons here.) The talk was recorded in front of a live audience on October 29, 2018, and was cosponsored by What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life, as part of Reimagine End of Life, a citywide exploration of death and celebration of life through creativity and conversation.

Alan Alda and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy this discussion between actor, director, and writer Alan Alda and Abigail Pogrebin. For over a decade as the host of PBS' Scientific American Frontiers, and in his role at Stony Brook University's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Alda has been helping people grasp complex ideas. In his lively book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?, the Tony and Oscar nominee, and seven-time Emmy Award winner uses his trademark humor to teach us how to better communicate and learn from each other. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience on September 13, 2017.

Season 1

Roxane Gay and Abigail Pogrebin

Roxane Gay, author of the New York Times best-selling books Bad Feminist and Hunger, and the nationally best-selling Difficult Women, talks with Abigail Pogrebin. Gay’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, McSweeney's, The Nation, and other publications. She is also the first African-American woman to write for Marvel; her comic series, World of Wakanda, is set in the Black Panther universe. This talk was recorded before a live audience on October 8, 2018.

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Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Joy Levitt

Enjoy this conversation between Abigail Pogrebin, journalist, author, and host of the JCC's What Everone's Talking About series, and JCC CEO Rabbi Joy Levitt. Why does there seem to be a Jewish holiday every minute? And what makes these holidays so powerful and urgent in this modern moment? Pogrebin asked these questions of over 60 rabbis and scholars, taking a deep, personal dive into the Jewish calendar for the first time -- researching and observing every ritual and fast. Her resulting entertaining, humorous, and honest book was My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew. On March 15, 2017, Pogrebin told us where the journey took her and how she was changed by it.

Dan Barber and Abigail Pogrebin

It's Dan Barber in conversation with Abigail Pogrebin! Barber has changed not only the way people eat, but the way we think about food. In this discussion, recorded March 25, 2015, the acclaimed chef and revolutionary farmer of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, discusses his book The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food.

Thomas L. Friedman, Dov Seidman, and Rabbi Joy Levitt

Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times writer Thomas L. Friedman and CEO and author Dov Seidman talks with JCC CEO Rabbi Joy Levitt. The divisive effects of this new political climate and the breakdowns in truth and trust seem beyond what we have previously experienced. When this country is so divided into "us" and "them," the fundamental American value of "We the People" seems to be at risk. How does this happen? What is the impact on our country? And, from their perspectives, what do we who seek "repair" do next in this climate? Presented with the JCC's Joseph Stern Center for Social Responsibility, this talk was recorded before a live audience on November 27, 2017.

Ruth Reichl and Abigail Pogrebin

Enjoy this discussion between Ruth Reichl and author and former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin. In this pod, legendary food critic, editor, and best-selling author Reichl describes her journey away from Gourmet magazine and back to her own kitchen, resulting in the book, My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life. A six-time James Beard Award honoree, Reichl captures not only her zeal for the great meal, but the joy to be found in small culinary encounters, and how what we eat can animate our lives. This talk was recorded on April 20, 2016, in front of a live audience.

Colson Whitehead and Rabbi Joy Levitt

The inaugural episode of 76West features a discussion between author Colson Whitehead and JCC Executive Director Rabbi Joy Levitt. In their conversation, Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad, which won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, as well as The Nickel Boys, John Henry Days, and Sag Harbor, discusses with Rabbi Levitt The Underground Railroad and the legacy of slavery in our country today. This talk was recorded at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on May 17, 2017, in front of a live audience.

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