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.
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
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- 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
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Rolling to Jerusalem
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
11/27/23 • 96 min
This week Jack takes over the show to share his presentation "Rolling to Jerusalem" on Jewish customs and beliefs surrounding death.
You can catch the slides here.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Biblically Not-So-Accurate Angels
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
01/03/24 • 63 min
As much as we love when you stick a bunch of googly eyes to a kitten and say it's a biblically accurate cat (and we do love that), biblically accurate angels aren't all that... well biblically accurate. Jack and John discuss angels in folklore, writing, and liturgy.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- 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
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Ghosts!
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
09/11/23 • 56 min
This week Jack and John peer into the misty here-after to discuss the afterlife and those that want no part of it, ghosts! Hot topics include:
- Cool Ghosts
- Less Cool Ghosts
- Ghosts vs Dybbukim
- How to handle hauntings
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- 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
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Jewish Wise Women: Opshprekherkes
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
10/16/23 • 55 min
A special treat this week as Jack interviews the descendant of a Jewish wise woman and healer. We talk about the traditions of Jewish healing and more specifically, women's place in the rich tapestry of Jewish mysticism and sacred practice.
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
Jewish (Magical) Protective Services
Wayward Children: Jewish Monsters, Magic, and the Stories We Tell
12/11/23 • 74 min
This week John and Jack teach you how to protect yourself from the evils that infuse the world! From magical charms to keep demons away, burning incense, to actions you can take to put the kaibosh on evil spells from people, we got it all for you!
Don't forget to check out:
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- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- Intro and outro music ‘Skin and Bones’ composed by Yoshie Fruchter and performed by Pitom, on Tzadik records
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
-----------------------------------------------------
- Find Jack on Twitter or his Website
- Find John on Twitter or his Website
- GET OUR READING LIST!
- GET THE WAYWARD CHILDREN SHIRT!
- Shop Aggadah Try It Books
- 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 28 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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