Shtetl Montreal » Shtetl: Recent Episodes
Tamara Kramer
Shtetl on the Shortwave is Jewish radio out of Montreal. Usually quirky, sometimes irreverent, never nasty in tone. Tune in for great music and interviews with rock stars, rabbis, circus performers, politicians, filmmakers, cantors, and just your average Jo with an intriguing story to tell. There are few places on the airwaves where you can hang out with a drag king named Shabbosdic’ and moments later hear a live rendition of the Kol Nidre prayer. Jewish or not, Shtetl is your home for yiddishkeit with an edge. www.shtetlmontreal.com
Do you hate nationalism? You'll be even more disgusted by it after you watch artist Natali Cohen Vaxberg's "Shit Instead of Blood" video. It's political satire but the Israeli government is not laughing.
A TelAviv - Istanbul Music fest, a Jerusalem basement for klezmer & revolution, South Tel Aviv, the spiritual miracle of hemorrhoid cream, a dance Marathon and great music on Shtetl Middle East.
Who are the Hebrew Israelites? Etai Darway left the community and works as a DJ in Tel Aviv. The Israelites followed their leader from the U.S. to Africa, then to the "Promised Land". Lotsa funky tunes on the show!
Celebrate Hanuka with a radio roadtrip to the hamam in Ramallah. Plus an interview with Persian Israeli director Yuval Delshad about his award-winning Farsi drama Baba Joon.
In the Holy Land even pop covers are political. Tune in to Shtetl to find out about The Lorde Diaries; a musical pop journey in Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, Yiddish and French.
Gershon Baskin has been at the forefront of Arab/Jewish relations in Israel for over 30 years. On this episode we hear his take on the current wave of violence in Jerusalem and his perspective on peace in the region.
Listen to the sounds of Yom Kippur with singer Victoria Hanna in Jerusalem. Sit with Sudanese refugee Anwar Suleiman in Tel Aviv & enjoy some tunes to get you into the New Year-atonement mood.
ShazamFest! Music, burlesque, wrestling and camping in the Quebec countryside. Meet Ziv the founder of this quirky 10 yr-old event. And Corey Silverberg talks about talking sex with kids.
Mazel Tov, Mis Amigos! It’s the Shtetl summer music show. Tune in for Yiddish mambo, Yemenite funk, African American-Yiddish crossover music, Ethiopian reggae, Emily Dickinson music poetry, Davendra Bandhart‘s Shabop Shalom love song to Natalie Portman, a Jewish wife’s trip …
Arab-Israeli author Sayed Kashua is on today's episode of Shtetl on the Shortwave. Kashua writes the story of being Arab and Palestinian and trying to get by in a Jewish state.
Cannabis cookies and pot Shabbat, plus, an art pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine...a Paris.
Meet A-WA, the 3 sisters of a hot Yemeni electro-hip hop band and free yo mind with a selection of alternative tunes from the Shtetl bondage and slavery Passover playlist. The rest...will follow.
In a field beyond where the politicians are...meet Lucy and Amr. An Israeli and Palestinian share their take on living in this little spot of earth together.
Meet Ronny Edry, creator of the Israel Loves Iran campaign. Celebrate Purim with Shtetl in the Middle East at the tent city protest and in a local Iranian restaurant. Lots of music and pre-election reflections.
Jews singing Arabic. Arabs singing Hebrew. Right wing religious man joining Arab-Jewish party. Moroccan music royalty. Avrum Burg, Sami Elmaghribi and lots of music on this episode of Shtetl.
Walls. Walls. Walls. Karam Dadu is gay and Arab in Tel Aviv. Mark Thomas walked the entire separation wall. Transgender author Yiscah Smith now prays on the woman's side of the Western Wall. Shtetl Middle East.
Fellow audio travelers, scroll down and click on the play button to hear the 1st episode of Shtetl from the Middle East. Whether it’s a state of mind, or Ethiopian Jews coming en masse to Jerusalem, or Netanyahu inviting all …
Shtetl Special: Justin Trudeau on Chanukah and the oil sands. Manishtana on being Black &Jewish and on Ferguson. Plus, a cross-Canada road tripped fueled entirely by veggie oil. Happy Chanukah!! Let there be (environmentally friendly sources of) light.
Who knows what will happen when Quebec Jews start asking themselves questions about being Jewish. A Yidlife Crisis most likely.
The Wandering Muse explores what it means to be Jewish through the lens of some of the most eclectic and talented Jewish musicians today.
Talking feminism on Shtetl. Women and video games, Gamergate and a new student-run Muslim-Jewish Feminist Alliance at Concordia University.
You won't see Miss Me's face but you can see her art all over the city walls. Check out street artist Miss Me on Shtetl and hear her rendition of the kol nidre.
Orthodox Jew Zrey Li was inspired by other-worldy signs (including a license plate) to bring his art to the streets. And, artist Adida Fallen Angel creates an epic library in the sea at Fresh Paint Gallery Montreal.
Mostly tons of unexpected Jewish music, and a little talk with former president of Green Party of Canada re.: Gaza/Israel. But mostly music!
Jewish restaurant owner Zane Caplansky sponsors Toronto Palestine Film Festival. 31 year-old Palestinian initiates the "Palestine Loves Israel" Facebook campaign. Hear from both of them on Shtetl.
Jaffa-based hip-hop band System Ali rap in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English. They sing about their lives and what it means to build the home and they'd like to live in.
On this episode of Shtetl we take a close up look at the story of African asylum seekers in Israel.
A Palestinian and Israeli settler in the West Bank talk about finding solutions in an area steeped in conflict. Plus, Canadian performance artist and witch doctor Michael Dudeck.
What was Serge Gainsbourg's big "Jewish" hit song? Why did Jazz legend Willie "The Lion" Smith speak so much Yiddish? In the mood for some North African trash-pop? Check out this episode of Shtetl on the Shortwave. It's a music special juste pour toi!
Check out this latest installment in our Shtetl Berlin series. Next Year In Berlin focuses on Israelis living in the German capital. Click on the play button below to hear our guests hash out the eternal debates: Is Berlin the …
Tamara Filyavich was born in the currently contested Crimea of Ukraine. Tune in to hear her story & how she navigates the tricky territory of identity. Is she Ukrainian? Jewish? Canadian?
Enough Already! Us sun-starved Montrealers aren't taking this winter crap anymore. Tune in for ho Jewish tunes to melt the snow off all the sidewalks of the universe.
Ian Sternthal is fighting the good fight when it comes to the battle of the book. Young independent publisher, Ian Sternthal has tales to tell on Shtetl on the Shortwave.
How fashionable are sexual ethics and workers rights? On today’s episode we talk with Oren Safdie: son of architecht Moshe Safdie, cousin of Dov Charney, and the Montrealer who wrote Unseamly a disturbing play about the politics of sexual harassment …
WTF is going on?! Talkin' current events: SodaStream, the quenelle, Woody Allen & Quebec's secular charter. At the table: Fred Bohbot, Mireille Silcoff, Jess Salomon & Joseph Rosen. Live @11am 90.3fm in Mtl or podcast it later!
A Muslims and Jewish music collab: Epichorus band members Alsarah & Rabbi Zach Fredman talk Xmas lights, Fairuz, dialogue and Hebreo-Arabic love songs. Plus the kids from Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays!
What do rabbis have to teach us about relationships and about sex? Find out how the spiritually enlightened (and ordained) "do love".
Scroll down to play this week’s episode of Shtetl on the Shortwave. Disturbed by the new Gay Propoganda law in Russia? So was Montrealer Anna Goodson, so she put a call out to illustrators to design images in solidarity with LGBT rights …
Radio road trip to Berlin! Ukrainian DJs, Israeli sex workers, "degenerate" satirists, Roma art, queer bars, drag Passover seders, philosemitism, Jewish breathing lessons, memorial culture....currywurst!
Check out all that's happening at LeMood, Montreal festival on Jewish arts and culture. Find out what all the controversy is about. Meet everyone involved. Voices, music, CKUT Funding Drive. Oy vey! Chaos, good vibes, community radio!
Making friends with your Hasidic/non-Hasidic neighbour - How does it work? Is it fun? Is it possible? Leila Marshy and Mindy Pollak (1st Hasidic woman to run for office) co-founded Friends of Hutchison to help.
Shake yer tuches Soviet style! Berliner & DJ Yuriy Gurzhy gives you a taste of his personal music collection. Get ready for a little Soviet-Yiddish-German fun!
Friday on Shtetl find out where Yiddishland is and why all these young coolsters live in this funky, artsy, political & diverse world. Apparently no passport required.
A choir at a bar worshipping pop music in downtown Toronto with Nobu and Daveed as fearless leaders & KlezKanada finally turns 18. Party!!
Funny Jews gonna take all the blues away. Ronna & Beverly reveal the secret smell behind Don Draper's mad success and Moshe Kasher tells us what it's like to grow up with a Hassidic, hearing-impaired ba'aal tshevua dad.
100 youth came together in Sarajevo to learn and hash out the tough questions at The Muslim Jewish Conference & Matthew Wiviott performs live on Chinese harp from Guzheng Goes POP. And tales of Chassidic rebellion from the author of The Psychosexual Development of the Jewish Heretic.
Who is your favourite Viennese poet? Josef Weinheber perhaps? Find out why a collective of artist-activists dressed up as art restorers and dug up a monument in his honour causing a stir in their Austrian hometown.
We're celebrating St-Jean Baptiste and Yiddish theatre all in one show! Socalled talks Russian gangsters, Odessa and flossing. Separatist Guy Bouthillier share his thoughts on Judaism and Quebec Nationalism. Oy tabernak!
Transcarpathian-born Anita Doron is the director of a feature film about teen love set in a Native community in Canada. Riff Cohen is an Israeli, French-speaking, North-African pop star. Leah R.Vineberg performs The Marathon of Accommodation.
Writer & activist Jay Michaelson talks about the erotic economy of religious life, about LBGT activism, and B.D.S: yay or nay? And, rediscover a very old and very juicy Yiddish novel by Joseph Opatoshu.
Short story magician Etgar Keret talks politics, dog shit & more. And Eloge Butera talks about witnessing the Truth & Reconciliation Commission in Montreal.
Jewrhythmics, Araora, Basya Schechter, Ben Caplan & the Casual Smokers, Rotfront, Sway Machinery, OPA!, Watcha Clan, Regina Spektor, Leo Fuld, Gypsophilia. If it's Jewish and it's music, it might be on this show.
CowJews and Indians; How Hitler Scared My Parents and I Woke Up in an Iroquois Longhouse- Owing the Mohawks Rent. Plus, Corinna Rose is live in studio with banjos, autoharps and a whole new album!
Amal Elsana Alh'jooj is a Bedouin/Palestinian Israeli and Nobel Prize nominee. She is an activist for women's rights, Bedouin rights and peace. She will be live in the CKUT studio tomorrow on Shtetl.
Goldwater is as powerful as she is controversial. Her Yiddish is kick-ass! Plus she's French Quebec television's Jewish anglo answer to Judge Judy. Her connection to her Jewish-ness and to Quebec are complex. Tune in to Shtetl on CKUT today at 11AM to meet the lawyer behind Lola vs Eric.
You heard her on late-night radio giving frank sex and relationship advice. This week you can hear legendary Dr. Ruth Westheimer live on Shtetl. And, sex-educator Cory Silverberg talks about sex and disability. Nu? Let's talk about sex!
This epsiode of Shtetl is all about great music with Yemen Blues singer Ravid Kahalani, and also a closer look at Idle No More with poet-activist Sandy Sjollema.
You may be asking yourself, "What is kosher gospel?" Tune in to hear Shtetl's live interview with the man who originated this form of Jewish musical expression, African-American cantor Joshua Nelson.
Like Queen Esther of ancient Persia, Chief Spence is putting her life at risk to meet "the king" in order to speak up for her people. Native American activist and VP running mate to Ralph Nader: Winona LaDuke speaks about Idle No More tomorrow live on Shtetl. And Jewish actor Michael Rubenfeld shares why he fasted in solidarity with Chief Spence.
If the Mayans are right the messiah will be here tonight! Get an end-of-times 101 from Prof.Lorenzo DiTomasso. Robby Hoffman talks about the messiah as a little Lubavitch girl. Matt Goldberg talks X-mas at the Goldberg home.
Palestinian & Jewish comedians Eman and Jess Salomon get us laughing at the Halal-adays live on Shtetl. Heartbeat: youth in the "Holy Land" make music together. And, Idan Raichel & Vieux Farka Touré mix sounds from Israel and Mali.
Shtetl and POP Montreal brunch it up with musicians doing covers of their favourite Leonard Cohen tunes. Live broadcast from Bagel Etc. Win tickets to Cohen's Mtl. show!
There is an exciting and complicated revival of Jewish culture happening in Poland today. This summer, Evelyn Tauben traveled to the land of the shtetl and interviewed some of the people involved in this vibrant scene.
Orkestar Kriminal plays live in studio. Catch their "ganovim-loshn" tunes (thieves' language) from the Odessa, Warsaw and Istanbul underworld, plus, they also play Rebetika Mortika hash den anthems of 1930s Greek underground. Celebrating 25 year of community radio on CKUT!
Shtetl gets in Le Mood for Montreal’s Festival of Jewish Learning, Arts and Culture. Liel Leibovitz, Leonard Cohen, satellites and celebrities, Jewish pirates, Punk Jews, Death Row Jews; and the “a-pork-alypse” today on Shtetl on the Shortwave.
In his last interview with Jewish media, Daniel Sieradski of Occupy Judaism talks about why the Jewish world needs rebranding and how Jewish ethics are relevant to Occupy Wallstreet & Snowblink sings a live rendition of the Yom Kippur prayer: Kol Nidre.
Circumcision bans in Germany and a new PQ government, lots of separation anxiety going on! We talk w/German Jew Martin Schubert, Dan Seligman of Parti POP + Foreskin Man! Plus 1st Jewish frosh ever in Montreal.
Live interview from Mexico with Dan Saks lead singer of Ladino (aka Judeo-Espagnol) indie rock band Deleon.They've toured with Balkan Beat Box, Ozomatli, Os Mutantes and Gogol Bordello. Plus tons more Jewtunes for you. And an interview with Qawwali singer Shy Ben Tzur.
Israeli artist Adida Fallen Angel is alive and well and living right here in Montreal. Shtetl hung out with this spiritual, tattooed dude at the Fresh Paint art space where graffiti and street artists rule.
On this episode of Shtetl we talk with actress/director Jennifer Podemski and filmmaker and writer Howard Adler. Both are First Nations (Ojibwe) and Jewish. This episode is part of Indigenous Shtetl: A Special Edition.
Today on Shtetl: Jess Dobkin talks about the Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar and why Montrealers should come out and quench their thirst the old fashioned way. Lotsa music: Leonard Cohen, Lakes of Canada, Gogol Bordello....
Poetry Jam on Shtetl. Israeli-born sign language poet Aneta Brodski meets Tahani a Palestinian-American slam poet in the doc Deaf Jam. Also, meet 2 wild Jewish poets:Jazz Talmudist Jake Marmer and professor, poet and media artist Adeena Karasick.
Self-hatred 101 today on Shtetl with Joseph Rosen, author of "In Defense of Self-Hatred", and the young woman who wrote "Nice Jewish Boys" and "A Jewish Education" under the pseudonym Lick My Knish. Deconstructing a fav. Jewish pass time.
This Friday on Shtetl's Passover Epsiode: Journalist Marlee Wasser spends time with the men at a Jewish halfway house in Montreal. And, we speak with director Rhonda Moskowitz about her incredible work documenting the lives of Jews in the prison system.
Every year at the Passover Seder Jews are commanded to drink four glasses of wine. But what did they do in the 20's when the sacred juice was forbidden? Bootleggers, kosher wine scandals and more on Shtetl.
Get a t-shirt drawn by Bon Iver and other indie rock stars and support great causes. Matt Stotland talks about the Yellow Bird Project. And, Biblical scholar A.J. Levine tells us why she thinks Jews should be reading the Big Book of Jesus.
Tune in for Shtetl's tribute to music that's BLACK & JEWISH. From old tunes you're sure to recognize to ones that will surely be new. Happy Black History Month people!!
Basya Schechter's album Songs of Wonder puts music to the Yiddish poetry of activist and mystic Rabbi A.J. Heschel. And, Tzeporah Berman is the legendary environmental activist behind the Victoria's DIRTY Secret campaign.
Which side of the proverbial mechitza do you sit in? This week on Shtetl we explore coming out as trans to your Jewish parents. Plus music from trans-identified bands like Schmekel, Antony and the Johnshons, Dana International....
In this song Jake Smith, musician, comedian and...choirboy at an Orthodox synagogue, sings about checking out attractive young Jewish women at shul while standing for hours on the bima during high holiday services. Caution: Contains some untoward language and imagery.
Latvian-born David Bezmozgis-on The New Yorker's list of best writers under 40- is the author of Natasha (a must read!!) and was shortlisted for the Giller prize for his 1st novel The Free World. His storytelling brings the Soviet immigrant experience to life with a wickedly sharp sense of humour and history.
Comedian Jake Freakin Smith of indie band Lakes of Canada is also a choir boy at Shaar Hashomayim synagogue in Montreal. And what does he think about while singing from the bima? Also, find out about a unique Judeo-Quebecois delicacy called poutka. Chanukah will never taste the same!
Eddy Portnoy shares tales of bizarre and tragic suicides in the Yiddish Press. Montrealer and atheist Tevya Heller talks about seeking the divine on TV, and Palestinian comedian Eman finds what's funny about Jews and Muslims.
Shtetl, Frid. Nov, 18th: They don't draw inside the community lines. They're musical, creative, from Orthodox families, political, pissed off...they're Punk Jews! Also, are you OBSESSED. Tally Abecassis tells us about her awesome storytelling night: This Really Happened. The theme? Obsessions.
In American Passages, Viennese documentary filmmaker, Ruth Beckermann, focuses her camera on the United States. This "epic panorama" takes us on a nuanced tour of the American Dream. Plus music by Enrico Macias, Corrina Rose, Stereo Total and Arcade Fire.
Alicia Jo Rabins, poet, classical violinist, Bible enthusiast and lead singer of the "post-Biblical pop rock" band "Girls in Trouble" is back on Shtetl. We'll talk about her music, why the Bible?, Occupy Wall Street, and, Rabins' experimental hybrid opera "A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff".
This week on Shtetl, beloved Montreal rabbi Ronnie Cahana, the preachings of Dr. Bronner and his Magic Soap, and a live rendition of the Kol Nidre by Shtetl's favourite indie-pop cantor Daniela Gesundheit of Snowblink.
Meet musician Little Birdie, aka Orit Shimoni. Her latest album, Sadder Music, was recorded in Berlin. Hear what she has to say about Germany, walls, old synagogues, and catch her tunes before she plays live at l'Escogriffe on September 29 in Montreal.
What happens when two Jewish worlds - Hasidic and secular - live side by side in a trendy, mutli-cultural neighbourhood of Montreal? Shtetl's guest: Mark Slutsky, Mile Ender and director of the comedic short film: Sorry, Rabbi.
Last days of summer camp and Shtetl is hanging out at the canteen with legendary klezmer musician Frank London, this year’s artistic director of KlezKanada, Quebec's definitive festival of Jewish music, arts and culture.
Ari Cohen talks about the Uluit, an all-women Inuit hockey team in Ujuak, Quebec...do they win the Great Whale Cup in the end? Also on the show, Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshales, directors of the first-ever Israeli slasher film "Rabies". It's Hockey and Horror on Shtetl this week.
Le Mood...Mais, qu-est ce que c'est? Shtetl gets the scoop by talking to festival participants and organizers Zev Moses, Stuart Myiow Jr. of the Mohawk Traditional Council, Emily Litvack and Felber, the bassist from uRockaoke.
This week the sultry Corinna Rose band performs live on Shtetl. Also on the show is Avia Moore, director of "The Dybbuk" at Sala Rossa this month, and, we'll chat with Stephen about... what it's like to be a Bronfman.
French-Israeli pop star Yael Naim LIVE on Shtetl on the Shortwave this Friday at 11AM. Best known for her song New Soul, Yael Naim sings in Hebrew, French and English and does an amazing cover of Toxic by Brittany Spears. Shtetl is in love! Yael is in Montreal at L'Astral this Saturday.
Egyptian Montrealer, Ehab Lotayef speaks about the uprising in Egypt today and the paralells with the ancient Passover story. And, Avi Grenadier, host of Radio 613, talks about Jewish radio in Kingston, anarchism and the contradiction between freedom and the Passover seder.
Artist Melissa Shiff gives an audio tour of the Medium is the Matzo, an installation she's putting up in Montreal made of 5000+ pieces of matzo. And, legendary Passover activist pioneer, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, talks about the Freedom Seder of 1969 on the one year anniversary of the assassination of MLK Jr.
Karen Sherman, (choreographer of Slippery: a dance performance piece on ice), talks roller derby vs hockey. Daniel Seligman, Creative Director of POP Montreal, talks smoked meat, poutine and indie music. Plus, Zak Rosentzveig of “Hamantashen for Haiti” talks…hamantashen.
Montreal comedian Robby Hoffman is 7th in a family of 10 children. Rabbi David Ingber, is the spiritual leader of Romemu, one of the most popular synagogues in America. Meet them both on S.O.S.
What happens when the world of Jewish music and arts encounters the religious Jewish world? Most often beautiful music is made and sometimes controversy is born.