Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
Jack Zaientz & John Baltisberger
According to Jewish tradition, the world around us is filled with demons, ghosts, giants and angels, and creatures of all types. But Judaism today tends to downplay and rationalize them away, to the point where they’re just forgotten dusty metaphors. But for millenia, Jews have lived with these creatures and have had practical means for coping with them.
Join Jack Zaientz a scholar of all things Jewish folklore and mythology and John Baltisberger, the award-winning author of Jewish horror and fantasy as they explore the topics of mythic Judaism and discuss it's survival and use in modern day culture both pop and otherwise.
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Top 10 Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
They Put a Spell on You
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
03/25/24 • 84 min
This week John and Jack discuss witches, but with the added super cool bonus of a full-fledged interview with New York-based cultural critic, playwright, and teacher of Everyday Ashkenazi Magic, Rokhl.
- Aunt Taiblele Link https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/yiddish-translation/aunt-taibele
- You can also get artist Marti's shirt based on this episode here: https://t.co/60Vw6wC1zj
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Five Finger Clay Punch - Golems
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
04/08/24 • 65 min
We're doing it, okay. You can stop yelling at us. We are finally covering the legend of the Golem on Wayward Children. All this really means is that Jack and John are going to yell and rant at each other for roughly an hour. But it's all in good fun... I promise.
A couple of extra links this week:
- https://www.jmberlin.de/blog-en/2016/12/bread-and-golems/
- https://ezrarose.itch.io/
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Pesach Myths and Drunken Jewish Santa
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
04/23/24 • 66 min
Happy Passover everyone! This week we cover myths and folklore surrounding the seder plate and legends of the Exodus from kaiju to angels!
a few extra links:
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Monster Hunting Kits
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
07/10/23 • 81 min
Welcome to our first episode! Jack and John discuss monster hunting kits. Not just what they might contain but the sorts of people who might carry them about! We discuss Baal Shems, Ibburim, Dybbukim, Black Weddings, Sheydim and so, so much more!
This episode's book recommendations:
- Jewish Magic and Superstition -A Study in Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg
- Women's Divination in Biblical Literature by Esther J. Hamori
- Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism ny Gershon Winkler
- and the website, Pulling at Threads
We also mentioned two Jewish fiction book up for preorder:
- Charwood by Josh Schlossberg
- No Guilt of Bloodshed by John Baltisberger
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Sheydim Part 1
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
07/17/23 • 59 min
This week we discuss Sheydim! The first chapter in what will likely be a million-part saga. Jack and John discuss the legends surrounding the creation of Sheydim, some of the most popular creatures like Lillith and Na'ama, and of course stories as to why humans are afraid of them!
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Blood Sucking Vampires
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
07/31/23 • 65 min
This week the boys get into it over Vampires. Of course, the term vampire could mean a lot of different things, we delve into what sort of blood drinking fun we can get into in a religion that is very strictly anti-drinking blood.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Leviathan: God's Kaiju
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
08/14/23 • 61 min
This week we dive into our the giant beasts that make up the Torah Cinematic Kaiju Universe. We argue about what is and isn't a kaiju, we wax romantic about what we would like to see, and most importantly, we discuss how we would eat these big lovable beasts!
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Jewish Letter Magic and the Sefer Yetzirah
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
08/28/23 • 53 min
This week Jack and John dive into actual Jewish ritual magic and touch on meditation, golems, spells and commanding angels to do supernatural tasks.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Ashmandai - King of Demons
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
09/25/23 • 53 min
This week John and Jack discuss the king of Sheydim, Ashmandai. John has written books about this figure and the two basicly nerd-boy/fangirl out for the handsome (literal) devil.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Wayward Unicorns
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
02/05/24 • 66 min
Did you know there were Jewish unicorns? Like several different types and styles of Jewish unicorns? And they aren't Jewish just because they like Challah and klezmer music! Join John as he gets educated by Jack on the vast lore of Jewish unicorns including how they are STILL represented today in Jewish culture and decor!
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- Back the Trading Cards of Jewish Magic and Monsters Kickstarter
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Buy Marti's Shirts!
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
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FAQ
How many episodes does Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell have?
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell currently has 25 episodes available.
What topics does Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell cover?
The podcast is about Mythology, Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Jewish, Podcasts, Monsters, Judaism, Folklore and Horror.
What is the most popular episode on Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell?
The episode title 'Sheydim Part 1' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell?
The average episode length on Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell is 68 minutes.
How often are episodes of Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell released?
Episodes of Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell?
The first episode of Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell was released on Jul 10, 2023.
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