New podcast Machloket explores what it means to be Jewish today
Published on Tue 27 Feb 2024In February, Jewish theatre makers Tash Hyman and Nick Cassenbaum, working with community storytelling company Take Stock Exchange, will launch the first two episodes of a brand new podcast series Machloket – a disagreement for a greater good. Initially announced in March 2023 the nationwide project has been created with Jewish community groups to offer both a broad and intricate picture of what it means to be Jewish in the UK today. The interview-led podcast, presented by Tash and Nick will launch at the end of February.
Formed out of conversations with 30 different Jewish community groups, and over 200 people from all over England – from London to Manchester, from Bradford to Truro and Liverpool to Norwich – each of the episodes in the series will feature fascinating human stories and engaging accounts of Jewish life from a wide range of perspectives.
The groups interviewed by the creative team for the first two episodes include a group of golfers, a revived rural community, a Queer Talmud study group, year 10 students from a Jewish School, a group of people who don’t think they’re Jewish enough, and a group of ‘ex-Egyptian’ refugees. The team delivered workshops between January and August 2023 with these groups, and others, to share stories, explore, and celebrate what life is like for all sorts of Jewish people in the UK today.
Each episode features a selection of groups and looks at themes like exclusion and community, memory and migration, ritual and legacy, and hope, belonging and joy.
Longer term, a theatrical performance will be developed from this process to tour to community spaces across the country. For each event a bespoke collection of stories will be told, with live music and a community meal in partnership with local arts/community organisations. A digital archive will also be created for audiences to delve deeper into specific stories and locations.