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Every Sunday at 3:00amAbout the Show
Inspired
Inspired is the nation's leading public radio show about faith, ethics and spirituality. Each week we offer you analyses of the big headlines alongside lesser-told stories – those of Orthodox Jewish artists and African-American atheists, Muslim feminists and spiritual seekers. Through these stories, a rough sketch of our country’s religious landscape begins to emerge. It’s a marketplace of beliefs and ideas too complex for sound bites, and too important to ignore.
The Black Rabbi of Chicago
As a young man in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Capers C. Funnye Jr. was encouraged to become a pastor. Instead, he went to rabbinical school. Now one of the few black rabbis in the United States, he heads Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago. Rabbi Funnye joined us on Passover to share his struggle for acceptance and explain why blacks and Jews have so much in common.
In the Kitchen with the Jewish Martha Stewart
For Jews, every Passover begins with a sumptuous, ritualized meal called a seder. It celebrates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt with stories, songs, and most importantly, food. The dinner can last anywhere from half an hour to three hours, and needless to say there’s a lot of cooking to do. Laura Kwerel dropped by the home of Meredith Jacobs, also known as “the Jewish Martha Stewart,” to find out what it takes to make it all happen. Meredith Jacobs is vice president of marketing and communications for Jewish Women International (JWI) and you can click here to see her recipe for a special matzoh ball soup!
Holocaust Survivors and Food Memories
Producer Laura Kwerel spoke to the author behind a collection of more than 170 recipes passed down from survivors of the Holocaust. The book isn’t just about food. It’s about memory– how the aromas and flavors of a warm meal can unlock powerful feelings and transport us back in time. Our guest, June Feiss Hersh is the author of Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival.
Coca-Cola: Kosher?
Every spring before Passover, Coca-Cola plants in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and other cities whip up a tiny batch of soda that’s kosher for Passover. The run lasts about two weeks and has been known to sell out in less than 24 hours. But how is this Coke different from all other Cokes? Back in 2009, Laura Kwerel went down to West Rogers Park, in Chicago, to find out. Click here to learn more about kosher Coke and where to find it.
A Personal Passover Story
Bonnie Auslander hosted her first Passover seder more than a decade ago, when she was newly married to a non-Jew. It’s taken her a while to feel comfortable inviting other Jews to her seder table– to get what she calls her “seder legs.” Bonnie Auslander is a “pitch coach” for startup companies and lives in Lyons, Colorado.
A Taste of the Hip Hop Hagaddah
Here’s our interview with Canadian DJ Socalled. In 2005 he did a remix of all the songs associated with a Passover seder…and he called it A Hip Hop Hagaddah.
