Identity/Crisis Podcast By Shalom Hartman Institute cover art

Identity/Crisis

Identity/Crisis

By: Shalom Hartman Institute
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In a frenzied media cycle, Identity/Crisis creates better conversations about the issues facing contemporary Jewish life. Host Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, talks with leading thinkers to unpack current events affecting Jewish communities in North America, Israel, and around the world, revealing the core Jewish values underlying the issues that matter most to you. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Judaism Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • What Do We Owe the Stranger? — with Seyla Benhabib

    What Do We Owe the Stranger? — with Seyla Benhabib
    Mar 24 2026
    What happens when liberal democracies stop seeing dignity as a universal right and begin treating it as something reserved for insiders? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with political philosopher Seyla Benhabib to explore the moral, political, and philosophical stakes of migration, borders, and belonging in America today. Against the backdrop of rising cruelty toward immigrants, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable people, they examine what happens when states retreat from their highest ideals and redraw the boundaries of who counts. Together, they discuss the fragility of human rights, the difference between borders and belonging, and why Jews—shaped by memories of statelessness, displacement, and exclusion—must take these questions seriously. This special live episode of Identity/Crisis was recorded as part of In the Face of Cruelty: Jewish Responsibilities to Neighbors and Strangers, a virtual day of learning on March 12, 2026. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: Register to hear Masua Sagiv on Get Your Phil
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    45 mins
  • The Zionist Paratroopers and the Meaning of Heroism — with Matti Friedman

    The Zionist Paratroopers and the Meaning of Heroism — with Matti Friedman
    Mar 17 2026
    What do our narratives of heroism do for the Jewish people—and what do they hide? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with journalist and author Matti Friedman to discuss his new book, Out of the Sky: a story about the Zionist paratroopers sent into Europe during World War II. Together they explore the uneasy relationship between myth and history: how failed missions become national legend, why Jewish heroism became so central to Zionist self-understanding, and what gets lost when real people are turned into symbols. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: Register for our summer programs for lay leaders, rabbis, and educators! Secure your spot at the Florida Leadership Conference this Sunday!
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    45 mins
  • Teaching Jewish History in America — with Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

    Teaching Jewish History in America — with Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
    Mar 10 2026
    What does it mean to tell Jewish stories in a moment of political polarization and distortion? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela to examine the role of the historian in public life: not to offer talking points or easy analogies, but to deepen public understanding in a time of simplification and certainty. Through a conversation about education, Jewish identity, and the place of Jews in American history, they consider why richer storytelling matters—and what it can offer to students, Jews, and the broader public. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FORMORE HARTMAN IDEAS Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: Register for our virtual day of learning, In the Face of Cruelty: Jewish Responsibilities to Neighbors and Strangers on March 12.
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    53 mins
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