May 21, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 81 - 3rd Anniversary Special - Dungeons & Dreidels A year has passed since the goblins were driven from the village and the light of Hanukkah was saved by the hero called Hershel… or so everyone thought. Now, on the final night of the town’s Hanukkah celebration, the wind howls and dark c…

May 7, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 80 - Putting the Pieces Together Samson apparently loved Delilah and word puzzles. In today’s world, before he attacked the philistines, he probably would have finished that morning’s Wordle. With so many types of puzzles in the world today, we try to piece together an episode with the clu…

April 23, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 79 - Let’s Get Together: Live In Austin! Barak, Ethan, and RDY were finally in the same zip code together, for the first time ever! So they decided to record an episode with the locals! When these nerds get together they play board games, watch superhero movies, visit comic book shops, …

April 9, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 78 - New Games, Old Wisdom In this episode, we dice into the world of reboots, remastering, and retelling, both in the sacred and the pixelated. Ethan begins by sharing his love for the remastered version of one of his favorite games, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and what changed in its recen…

March 26, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 77 - God Plans, Man Laughs There’s a new episode of Torah Smash! Yes, and… the Jewish tie in is a story from Genesis! Yes, and… the hosts find more ways to comment about muppets. With a topic like improv, anything can happen! Let’s talk about laughter and where it can be found in the wo…

March 12, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 76 - Separating the Nerdy from the Mundane After last episode’s connection to Shabbat, there was only one logical topic for the next conversation: havdalah! We learn about the ritual objects of havdalah and the meaning behind this short, weekly celebration. We discuss when we keep our n…

February 26, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 75 - Shabbat: There’s A Nap For That Shabbat is a way for us to reflect on the week and reset ourselves. We power ourselves down and find ways of interacting with our loved ones and our community in ways that can really nourish our soul. So, this is a reminder to download that specia…

February 12, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 74 - JudAIsm Artificial intelligence is everywhere—even in the clergy world! In this episode, we welcome Rabbi Josh Fixler, who was recently featured in The New York Times for his insights on how religious leaders are using AI. Join us as we explore the intersection of faith and tech…

January 29, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 73 - Kosher or Not Kosher? It’s time for everyone’s favorite game show when it comes to Jewish food… Kosher! Or! Not! Kosher?! Join us as we explore some fantasy foods, science fiction foods, and some soon-to-not-be so science fiction food based questions when it comes to keeping kosh…

January 15, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 72 – Leviticus All Along …With Special Guest Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner We are thrilled to welcome the first character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to join us on Torah Smash, Rabbi Levin, played by real life clergy, Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner. She shares about her journe…

January 1, 2025 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 71 - The Wheel of New Years The Wheel of Time turns, and we return with another episode for you. Did you know that Judaism celebrates four different new years? So, that means that American Jews celebrate 5 different New Years! And if you’re stuck in a time loop, the number is much high…

December 18, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 70 - Torah Smash Jr. There are some stories in Jewish tradition and history that put the children at the center of it all. Jacob and Esau as well as Joseph teach us some valuable lessons as adults. But aren’t children just meant to be sidekicks? And how old are the children of the To…

December 4, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 69 - Die Hard is a Chanukah Movie …With Special Guest Arnon Shorr Chanukah falls on Christmas Day this year, so what better way to celebrate this overlap than debating if the classic action film, Die Hard, is a Christmas movie or a Chanukkah movie? We review what makes a movie holiday…

November 20, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 68 - Super Mitzvot Bros. …with Special Guest Sparkle Peters The Nintendo video game company has been filling our homes with fun and excitement for many years. Some even say that the best video game of all time was Super Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Twitch streamer and podcaster, Spar…

November 6, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 67 - Grief, Loss, and Lifesabers Ethan opens his heart to all of us once again as we look back on a year of grief together with returning guest, Dr. Betsy Stone. We learn about the difference between the words grief and loss, share some of the meaningful practices during the mourning …

October 23, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 66 - Good Ideas Gone Wrong We recorded this episode in September of 2024, which means that we had to visit the future historical event of the time: the Bell Riots from Deep Space 9. Ethan walks us through this time travel Star Trek episode and we discuss what went wrong. They seemed l…

October 9, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 62 - Sabra: The Hero not the Hummus …with Special Guest Sasha Kaplan The upcoming Captain America movie will include the first live action portrayal of the Israeli superhero Sabra. In this episode, we take a deep dive into Sabra’s first introduction into the Marvel Comics world, the po…

September 25, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 64 - The Good, The Bad, and The Antisemitic …With Special Guest Dr. Linda Maizels It’s been almost a year since the attack on Israel on October 7. Since that time, it hasn’t just been the war that has taken over the news. It feels like there has been such a strong increase of antise…

September 11, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 63 - The Rav and The Acolyte In today’s episode, we learn from each other as we discuss the newest Star Wars show, The Acolyte. We discuss the best and worst teachers among the sith and the jedi in the show. Also, did Darth Maul’s mommy make an appearance? Speaking of teaching, Etha…

August 28, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 62 - Deadpool and Lamed Vavnikim There are so many people in our world who are making the world a better place. Judaism calls them lamed vavnikim, or the righteous 36. But what about the people in the void who are making our world a better place? Or those who are trying to find missing…

August 14, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 61 - Inside Mussar 2 Emotions can sometimes be difficult to handle and we find that they’re also often pretty Jewish. Join us as we explore the two joyfully sad movies by Pixar, Inside Out 1 and 2, and the connections to a very popular Jewish practice. We let the little voices inside o…

July 31, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 60 - All Nerds Think About Is Sects …with Special Guest Melissa Raub Judaism is divided into sects or branches, but they all share a few core beliefs. We agree that they don’t sit on a spectrum, but perhaps they live in some kind of venn diagram? But, reviewing the sects of Judaism isn’t…

July 17, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 59 - The Messiah Element Not the first element, hydrogen. Not the second, the third, or even the fourth element. No, this episode is about the Fifth Element, and it’s just… perfect. Grab a flying taxi and head to the (for some reason) garbage filled airport because you won two tickets ab…

July 3, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 58 - X-Men Again Again …with Guest Host Joel Swedlove In this episode, our guest host, Joel Swedlove, leads our team through a quote quote from a rabbi with a funny name name. We discuss the ever popular X-Men ‘97 animated series that recently completed and explore the similarities and di…

June 19, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 57 - To Everything There Is A Bluey…with Special Guest Cantor Emily Simkin This week’s episode of Bluey is called… Torah Smash! Sometimes special episodes come into our lives, this is one of those episodes. For real life! We talk about our feelings around the Heeler’s “moving” episode an…

June 5, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 56 - 2nd Anniversary Special - Paraders of the Blessed Ark - Part Two The second part of this year’s epic adventure to celebrate our podcast’s two years of being Jewish and nerdy. Can our heroes defeat this mysterious giant? Can they complete their mission? What happens to Tirza’s cat roc…

May 22, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 55 - 2nd Anniversary Special - Paraders of the Blessed Ark - Part 1 To celebrate two years of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited some of our previous guests from the past year back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to por…

May 8, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 54 - Very Special Episodes …with Guest Host Rabbi Alan Cook This week’s episode will talk about something very special. Since we want it to be extra memorable, we’ll bring in a special guest. That should help ensure that the purpose and topic stick out in your mind. Did that work for you g…

April 24, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 53 - Destiny Report You’re going to listen to this episode. How do I know? Because it’s destined to happen. The fact that you’re reading this now already tells me that this episode is in your feed. Just because you're reading this doesn’t change the fact that it’s going to happen. You s…

April 10, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 52 - Moses and the Justice League Passover is around the corner, so of course, we will look at the hero who, to avoid the destruction of his people, was sent by his parents to eventually grow up to be the hero we all look up to. I’ll give you a hint, they’re a member of the Justice Leag…

March 27, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 51 - You Are So Not Invited To My Borg Mitzvah Star Date: April 5, 2063. Earth has finally made contact with other intelligent life in the universe, so we better ask them all the important questions: Do lobster people keep kosher? How many people attend a Borg’s b’nai mitzvah service? A…

March 13, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 50 - Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish …with Special Guest Fabrice Sapolsky Purim is around the corner (some may say it’s around three corners) and throughout the holiday we disguise who we really are. Together with comic creator and publisher, Fabrice Sapolsky, we explore some comic heroes …

February 28, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 49 - Hogwarts School of Judaism and Wizardry…With Special Guest Rabbi Emma Gottlieb Filled with decades of knowledge, halls filled with history, and helping to teach the young ones the history, culture, and practices of their people. As we explore the starting point for the wizarding…

February 14, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 48 - What If Creation Wasn’t The Beginning?…With Special Guest Roy Schwartz Judaism encourages us to ask questions. In this episode, we try to answer Marvel’s biggest question of What If…? We discuss the most recent animated addition to the MCU and debate how the question could be us…

January 31, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 47 - Echo of Resilience Our Jewish history has been passed down through the generations and some experts may say that has made us more resilient. Superheroes learn about their ancestors’ ups and downs, but one in particular has shown the impact those stories can have when you fully em…

January 17, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 46 - The Incredible Samson You may have grown up hearing the story of Samson, whose strength was connected to his hair. Did you know that it was also tied to one of his emotions? RDY gently guides us on a comparative look of how Samson’s love of Delilah and his destructive anger ties …

January 3, 2024 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 45 - Our Heroes and Transformative Grief Ethan returns and shares about his brief hiatus from the show due to the loss of a loved one. In this episode, we celebrate the life of Kiya, we each discuss how our grief has shaped us, and the difficult personal experiences and choices that ca…

December 20, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 44 - Loki and the Whale…With Special Guest Joshua Edelglass In this episode, we timeslip between Loki, the TVA, and Nineveh with our guest, Josh Edelglass. We go back in time to talk about Loki season 2 and his learned compassion for others, just like Jonah who gained compassion for …

December 6, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 43 - Love, Jews + Robots …With Guest Host Joshua Sky Our guest host this week, Joshua Sky, is not only a writer for popular properties like He-Man , Heavy Metal Illustrated, and Ben10, but he is also a massive Sci-Fi fan. He gives us an in depth look at how the era of Science Fiction …

November 22, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 42 - Treehouse of Talmud …With Guest Host Rabbi Benjamin Sharff This week, guest host Rabbi Benjamin Sharff crashes into our living room couch and teaches us about the Jewish connections from the longest running sitcom in television history, The Simpsons. The incredible discoveries m…

November 8, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 41 - Ahsoka Tano, RJE In this episode, Ethan teaches us what makes Ahsoka and her Star Wars Rebels teammates different from those who came before them. Is it how they were taught? Or how they were teaching others? And which of the series’ characters are the most Jewish? Jump on a inte…

October 25, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 40 - Top 5 Jewish Characters ...With Special Guest Isaac Brynjegard Bialik We welcome back Isaac to the show in this exploratory look at Jews in pop culture. We count down each of our top five favorite Jewish characters in pop-culture. We may have had some overlap in our choices, but …

October 11, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 39 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Beshert Jock! Start the podcast! This episode we explore the most recent installment to the Indiana Jones franchise and the titular character’s entanglement with destiny. We also ask why everything belongs in a museum? And why did it have to be snake…

September 27, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 38 - The Latest Last of Us …With Guest Host Rabbi Eric Linder This episode’s guest host, Rabbi Eric Linder, reintroduces us to the recent HBO drama The Last of Us and its artful history. We’re not playing games when we explore the connections between this retelling of the Playstatio…

September 13, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 37 - Jews in Space? …With Special Guest Dr. Miriam Mora The Co-Creator of JewCE (the Jewish Comics Experience), Dr. Miriam Mora, joins us as we explore strange Jew worlds, seek out Jew life and Jew civilizations, and boldly discuss which of the numerous Star Trek species are Jewish.…

August 30, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 36 - Cobra Chai …With Special Guest Dr. Betsy Stone Torah Smash has special guest Dr. Betsy Stone to help us as we prepare ourselves for the High Holy Days. We always tend to take a look inward and think of all the people to which we may have done wrong, because every year even though …

August 16, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 35 - Genesis of the Spider-Verse …With Special Guest Danny Fingeroth In this episode, we explore the converging and diverging realities of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse with one of the writers and editors of the Spider-Man comics, Danny Fingeroth. We explore the origins of The Sp…

August 2, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 34 - Mishpacha of the Galaxy Think back to the families that came before us: Abraham and Sarah; Rebecca and Isaac; Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah; and of course Rocket, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. Join as we review the many different family structures within the Guardians of the Ga…

July 19, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 33 - Cancel Lashon Hara …With Special Guest Rachel Frish In this episode, we are joined by Rachel Frish as we look at the complexities of the Hebrew phrase “lashon hara.” What happens when cultural icons speak poorly of others and how does it impact us as their nerdy fans? 00:03:28 Defin…

July 5, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 32 - The Mikvahlorian …With Special Guest Ellery Weil Join us and special guest, Ellery Weil, as we learn the way of the Mandalorian and the uncanny connection to one of Judaism’s ritual practices. While they don’t make their tallit out of beskar the history, culture, and customs we learn…