Spies like Us: Ep. 181

Tablet Studios

Tablet Magazine

Judaism, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2019

⏱️ 103 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Spies, sex, and comedy! Our Jewish guest is journalist Matti Friedman, whose newest book, 'Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel', explores the little-known story of four Mizrahi Jews who went undercover as Arabs during the time of the country's founding. He tells us how the story of these young Jewish men from Arab countries, who risked their lives as part of a ragtag intelligence unit, adds texture to the overwhelmingly Ashkenazi narrative of Israel's founding. Our gentile of the week is Pete Holmes, who talks to us about his new book, 'Comedy Sex God', his HBO show Crashing, and his journey from being raised Evangelical Christian to becoming a follower of spiritual teacher Ram Dass. Join us Wednesday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at the Hollis Hills Bayside Jewish Center for a live taping with Leon Neyfakh, host of the podcasts Slow Burn and the forthcoming FIASCO, and FiveThirtyEight writer and podcaster Clare Malone. Get your tickets here. We’re heading to Chicago! See us live Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Logan Square Auditorium with special guest Blair Braverman, who recently became the second Jewish woman to complete the Iditarod. Presented with Hadassah Chicago-North Shore. Get your tickets here. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group. This episode is sponsored by Unpacked, a new series of Jewish educational videos from Jerusalem U that offer a complete history of modern day Israel, 10 minutes at a time. Check it out at unpacked.media/unorthodox. We're also sponsored by FindYourSummer.org, with nearly 400 summer programs for Jewish teens to choose from, ranging from domestic and international travel to internships and more. New York-area teens are eligible for scholarships to select programs. Find your program at FindYourSummer.org. Additional support comes from Harry's. Get your free trial shave set at Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

Transcript

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0:00.0	What better way to be proudly Jewish right now than with our book, the newest Jewish
0:06.2	Encyclopedia?
0:07.2	It's the perfect coffee table book for your proud Jewish home, and it covers everything
0:11.3	from Jewish history, pop culture, holidays, and of course food,
0:14.9	all with our trademark, irreverence, and love.
0:17.5	Our publisher is offering a special 20% discount on newest Jewish and their entire Hanukkah shop.
0:22.4	So head to Artisan Books.com
0:24.0	and use the code unorthodox at check out.
0:26.5	That's Artisan Books.com, discount code,
0:29.0	unorthodox, all caps. ever by my fellow host. I don't think you're really co-host. I think the three of us are
0:43.5	tri-hosts. The trifacta. Stephanie Butnik, deputy. The father, the daughter, and
0:48.9	whatever I am. And the holy ghost.
0:50.7	tablet senior writer Leah Leibovitz.
0:53.8	Shalol.
0:54.8	And deputy editor of tablet magazine Stephanie Butnick.
0:57.6	Oh, hi.
0:58.6	Today we bring you an interview with Monte Friedman, author of the new book,
1:02.0	Spies of No Country's Secret Lives
1:03.6	at the Birth of Israel, which is about
1:05.3	these Jewish men from Arab countries
1:08.1	who went behind enemy lines as Arabs during the War of Independence.
1:11.2	It's unbelievable. And our Gentile of the week coming from a similar
	...

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