In this episode of PopTorah, we dive into the acclaimed HBO series Hacks. Beneath the sharp jokes and show-business drama lies a surprisingly rich story about reinvention, aging, ambition, and the complicated relationships that shape us. Through the evolving partnership between Deborah and Ava, Hacks asks what we owe one another, whether people can truly change, and how we find purpose when the identities we’ve built for ourselves no longer fit. Join us for a spoiler-filled conversation about ego and growth, forgiveness and accountability, friendship and rivalry, and why some of life’s most meaningful transformations happen when we’re forced to start over.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

This week, in a super very special Amen Corner, our guest is Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay. Stephanie is not only the wife of our producer Darone, but she’s running for New York State Assembly. She took time to speak with us about the issues that are important to her, her reasons for running, and why her candidacy is historic. We laughed, learned and got inspired — have a listen!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

Star Wars is back on the big screen, and in this episode of PopTorah, we discuss The Mandalorian and Grogu alongside a broader conversation about the state of Star Wars and franchise storytelling in the age of streaming. What is the difference between fan service and meaningful storytelling? What happens when institutions focus more on keeping insiders happy than inspiring newcomers? Along the way, we explore themes of found family, mentorship, and belonging, asking what fandoms and faith communities can learn from one another in their shared search for meaning, connection, and a way forward.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

After a couple of weeks off, Brad and Steven are back at it, talking about Brad’s trip to Israel, the renaming (and un-naming?) of the Kennedy Center, confederate flags, and of course, the ascendence of the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals. Have a listen and enjoy!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

In this very special episode of PopTorah, recorded LIVE at Temple Beth El in Stamford, CT in front of a packed sanctuary, we dive into Michael, the long-awaited and deeply complicated biopic about Michael Jackson — an artist whose music reshaped popular culture even as his life and legacy remain fiercely contested. Join us as we explore what the film chooses to reveal, what it avoids, and what it means to turn a figure this beloved, troubled, brilliant, and controversial into mythmaking cinema. Along the way, we wrestle with questions of celebrity, memory, innocence, power, and the uneasy relationship between artistic genius and moral accountability.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Brad and Steven are back this week, talking about David Lee Roth with and without Van Halen, Graham Platner and Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen and music that is the “soundtrack to your life. Have a listen and enjoy!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, we dive into Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi space adventure starring Ryan Gosling. What begins as a desperate mission to save humanity becomes something far more intimate — a story about unlikely friendship and courageous faith. Join us as we discuss what Project Hail Mary has to say about bridging difference, about choosing connection over fear, and about the quiet, radical bravery of not going it alone.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Bad and Steven are back at it this week, talking about tea, loyalty and fandom, Steven’s interaction with a guy wearing a shirt with the flag of Iran on it, the Hulk Hogan documentary and how to properly pronounce the name, “The Iron Sheik,” and Graham Platner’s senatoral candidacy. Have a listen!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

Brad and Steven are back at it this week, wondering if the Strait of Hormuz is opened or closed and thinking about how some people are making lots of money off of oil futures these days. they also talk about Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary, JD Vance taking on the Pope, how the midterms could be messed with, and Steven’s Big Jim doll, er, action figure. Have a listen and enjoy!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

In this episode of PopTorah, we break down Hulu’s Paradise — a gripping, twist-filled series about a so-called perfect society that quickly reveals its cracks. With full spoilers, we explore how Paradise wrestles with power, control, and the moral cost of creating order out of chaos. Drawing on Jewish tradition, we unpack the dangers of manufactured perfection and why utopia so often turns into dystopia. Because sometimes… “paradise” isn’t what it seems.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

This week, Brad and Steven are back at it, talking about chocolate bunnies and chocolate matzoh, Seders on the subway, the rapper Kosha Dillz, eating in Montreal, and our unhinged president. Have a listen and have a Joyous Easter, Happy Passover and  good whatever else you want to celebrate!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.