Brad and Steven are back at it this week, with Steven coming in live from Israel. The guys talk about Hummus, for obvious reasons, as well as Israeli transit, parking in Tel Aviv, the baseball playoffs and World Series preview as well as comings and goings (mostly goings) in the Trump administration. Spoiler alert: new WH press secretary — gone; Ambassador to Greece — gone. 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.

Being fearless sounds like a pretty good qualification for a superhero. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky dive into DC’s Lanterns, where cosmic powers collide with some very human problems. Along the way, we explore courage, the possibility of change, and what Jewish tradition has to say about the kind of strength that really matters. Turns out, even a magic ring can’t do all the work.

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 for episode two of the new season. They bemoan the fate of the 2026 New York Yankees, who once again failed to perform well in the postseason, talk about US behavior on the world stage (spoiler alert: it’s not good), and wonder why the Secretary of Defense/War wants to bring back public executions. 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.

Welcome back to all of our loyal listeners for the eleventh(!) season of the Amen Corner. After much delay, Brad and Steven are back at it, reflecting on their changes since the podcast began back in 2016. But as much as things change, there will always be some constants: this week, the guys talk about the Yankees, the Knicks, and the state of the world. Hope you enjoy!

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

What happens when your shot at redemption begins with a lie? In Hulu’s Chad Powers, disgraced quarterback Russ Holliday (Glenn Powell) disguises himself as an eccentric walk-on for the struggling South Georgia Catfish (get it?), hoping to play the game he loves again. It’s a ridiculous premise with a surprisingly serious question at its heart: Can Russ become a better person while pretending to be someone else? In this episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky talk about the masks we wear and the process of repentance — and ask what it takes to move beyond a mistake when you still haven’t told the truth about it.

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!

Five years ago, we declared that we believed in Ted Lasso, whose radical kindness and relentless optimism felt like just what the world needed. Now Ted is back — this time coaching AFC Richmond’s new women’s team — and so are we. In this episode of PopTorah, we return to the Torah of Ted Lasso and ask what Season 4 has to teach us about starting over, taking chances, building community, confronting inequality, and believing in people — including ourselves — even when we have no idea how things are going to turn out.

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!

In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky debate whether Spider-Man: Brand New Day succeeds as a Spider-Man story — or gets tangled in the MCU’s ever-expanding web. Along the way, we explore Peter Parker’s self-imposed isolation, the ways protecting others can become an excuse for keeping them at a distance, and the Torah’s insistence that “it is not good for a human being to be alone.” Does great responsibility sometimes mean great loneliness? Join us as we get into the swing of things!

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!

Christopher Nolan turns one of Western literature’s oldest homecoming stories into something darker: an epic about war, moral consequence, and the difficult work of return. In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, we discuss how Nolan transforms Odysseus from a triumphant hero into a man slowly awakening to the destruction he has caused—and what the film’s treatment of hospitality, violated peace, guilt, and accountability reveals through a Jewish lens. Is it possible to come home after war has changed you? Can time heal wounds without teshuvah? And do those who disregard the moral order ultimately pay for what they destroy?

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!

What happens when playtime gives way to screen time? In this  episode of PopTorah, we explore Toy Story 5’s encounter between beloved old-school toys and a new generation of smart devices. Along the way, we discuss parenting in the age of tablets and social media, the pressure children feel to fit in, what technology does to imagination and genuine connection, and why Judaism insists that our worth comes not from followers, rankings, or likes, but from being created in the image of God.

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!

What if humanity learned, once and for all, that we are not alone? In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, we dive into Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, a film about revelation, secrecy, fear, and the courage to face truths that powerful people would rather keep hidden. Along the way, we discuss what extraterrestrial life might mean for faith, whether discovering we are not alone would diminish or deepen our sense of awe, and how Judaism helps us think about truth, empathy, and the moral challenge of welcoming the radically other. Disclosure Day asks not only whether we can handle the truth, but whether learning the truth about extraterrestrial life might make us more human — and why authoritarian power is so threatened by anything that turns “them” into “us.”

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!

In this episode of PopTorah, we dive into Netflix’s new supernatural sci-fi series The Boroughs, about a group of unlikely heroes in a seemingly perfect retirement community who discover that their “golden years” may be more dangerous — and more meaningful — than anyone imagined. The series, produced by the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things fame, centers on a mysterious threat trying to steal the one thing its characters don’t have enough of: time. Join us for a spoiler-filled conversation about aging, mortality, friendship, courage, and what it means to choose life when the world assumes your best years are behind you.

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!