Kyiv Diary 5/9/22: Ukrainian Families Torn Apart
I wonder how many enterprises will never recover. I also think about the businesses that will survive the war, and how they will be changed.
Antisemitism Project | What’s Changed Since the Poway Synagogue Shooting?
Moment’s Antisemitism Project provides carefully fact-checked tracking of global incidents, thoughtful articles and interviews, and resources for combating and understanding antisemitism.
The Story of Art Rupe and Specialty Records with Nadine Epstein and Billy Vera
Art Rupe, who died in April at the age of 104, was an independent record producer known for launching the musical careers of Lloyd Price, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and others, paving the way for Black music to crossover to White audiences and the new genre of rock n’ roll. Moment editor-in-chief and Billy Vera, a singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, Grammy Award winning music historian and author of Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story is in conversation about Rupe’s impoverished childhood in a Pennsylvania town, his early affinity for gospel music, and how he turned down a scholarship to become a rabbi and instead headed to Hollywood, his legendary career, life philosophy and more.
This program is in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.
Kyiv Diary 5/3/22: It’s Finally Spring, and Kyiv Is Rejuvenated
People don’t want to wait any longer to rebuild their towns, join their families, resume their old jobs or start new ones—and all this while mourning the innocent Ukrainian lives lost.
The Thrilling World of Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer is a New York Times bestselling author known for his legal thrillers, including the recently released The Lightning Rod. His non-fiction work includes a biography series for children with such titles as I am Anne Frank as well as the upcoming The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. He is also the host of the tv shows Lost History and Decoded. Meltzer is in conversation with former CBS News correspondent and Moment contributor Dan Raviv about how his law school experience has helped him develop his stories, the extensive research that goes into each book, his commitment to educating children through his “I Am” series and how his concern about antisemitism has influenced some of his work.
This Moment in Art: Murals in Odessa, The Art of Tobi Kahn and More
When the world is in turmoil, art becomes more important than ever. New art is produced at a faster pace, art from other eras is imbued with new meanings. With new virus variants spreading and war raging between Ukraine and Russia, polarizing the world, this is one of those moments.
Kyiv Diary 4/28/22: Ukrainians Waited in Line for Hours to Buy a Commemorative Wartime Stamp
I learned that people were waiting to enter the Central Post Office, which is a block away from my place, to buy a special postage stamp.
Letters from the Lingerie Drawer: A Daughter’s Journey with Eleanor Reissa and Yehuda Hyman
What if you could suddenly see your parents’ lives before you were born? And they were Holocaust survivors, who had suffered greatly but still somehow found each other. This is what happened to Tony-nominated director and Broadway/television actor Eleanor Reissa when her mother passed away, leaving behind 56 letters she’d received from Reissa’s father in the years after he survived a death march. It took Reissa 30 years to have them translated from German and discover her parents’ story. She discusses what she learned and her recently released memoir, The Letters Project: A Daughter’s Journey, in conversation with playwright and artistic director Yehuda Hyman. Reissa also reads several selections from her book.
This program is in commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Kyiv Diary 4/21/22: The Animals of Ukraine Are Also Suffering
The atrocities committed by the Russians, who attacked not only people but also animals, are beyond comprehension.
Blacks, Jews, Jazz & Blues with Loren Schoenberg, Eric K. Ward and Nadine Epstein
In the 19th century Black spirituals were inspired by biblical stories in the Old Testament, especially those we remember during Passover. In the early decades of the 20th century, Black and Jewish musicians, often living side by side in the same impoverished neighborhoods, connected through legacies of oppression. With the music industry one of the few fields open to them both, it’s no surprise that blues and jazz became rich, crossover genres. Join Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and Nadine Epstein, Moment editor-in-chief, for a conversation about these musical connections, the bonds and tensions, and a taste of the music itself including Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho and Go Down Moses to Bei Mir Bist Du Shein.
Kyiv Diary 4/19/22: A Wartime Passover Seder
This Passover, I attended a seder at Kyiv’s Central Brodsky Synagogue.
Kyiv Diary 4/18/22: Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky Stroll Past My Balcony
I wish more prominent world leaders would not only visit Ukraine but also become harsher and more decisive in their attempts to stop all the war monstrosities.