Your Personality Is Not a Disorder: Social Media, Girls and Gen Z, with Freya India

A Nice Jewish Love Story with Jean Meltzer

Are you in or around New York City?? Mark your calendars for Monday, June 1st at 6pm!! Come have a drink with ChayaLeah and Yael! Spring Lounge 48 Spring St, New York, NY 10012 Comment if you plan to attend! Special guests may make an appearance… Good for the Jews is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you so much to everyone who has already filled out the Ask a Jew survey [https://forms.gle/sb3fYyUvz8ZkupYq8]! We are genuinely so grateful for the feedback and reading your comments, suggestions, and extremely passionate opinions has been the highlight of our week. If you haven’t filled it out yet, PLEASE DO SO ASAP. The survey [https://forms.gle/sb3fYyUvz8ZkupYq8] is super short, hugely helpful for us as we grow the podcast, and makes us feel important and data-driven. Also: homemade baked goods from ChayaLeah are still on the line. This week on Ask a Jew, we were thrilled to welcome bestselling author and Jewish rom-com queen Jean Meltzer to the podcast. Jean is the author of The Matzah Ball, Mr. Perfect on Paper, and Kissing Kosher. We enjoyed a funny, heartfelt, and surprisingly deep conversation about Jewish identity, chronic illness, love stories, and the very specific chaos of writing unapologetically Jewish characters in modern publishing. We talked about: * How Jean accidentally became one of the biggest names in Jewish romance fiction * Why Jewish representation in books matters (especially when the Jewish character isn’t just someone’s anxious accountant uncle) * The rise of the Jewish rom-com industrial complex * Chronic illness, vulnerability, and writing from real life * What makes a “Jewish love story” feel distinctly Jewish Jena is the Founder and CEO of Jewish Joy LLC [https://www.jewish-joy.com/] and of the Jewish Joy Book Club [https://www.jewish-joy.com/book-club]. Find more info at JeanMeltzer.com [https://jeanmeltzer.com/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe [https://askajew.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Jew-Washing

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE! [https://www.youtube.com/@AskAJew/] Hello - SURVEY [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei4LslW9RTsbGNSPu6_UDKQmPQADytdzWAw6QCeRrbG7sddw/viewform]. Fill out the SURVEY [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei4LslW9RTsbGNSPu6_UDKQmPQADytdzWAw6QCeRrbG7sddw/viewform]. Last one to fill out the SURVEY [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei4LslW9RTsbGNSPu6_UDKQmPQADytdzWAw6QCeRrbG7sddw/viewform] is an antisemite. Plus you have a chance to win Chaya Leah’s baked goods, made especially for you! If you already filled it out, you are our favorite! If you are the listeners from Japan, Barbados, Scotland or Pakistan - email us! We want to get to know you (you can all email us actually. It is called Ask A Jew you know….). askajewpod@gmail.com Also, this just in - Mark your calendars for Monday, June 1st at 6pm!! Come have a drink with some other AJJers (Jew-pies?) and meet your two favorite Jewish podcasters (not Ezra Klein and Dan Senor) at: Spring Lounge 48 Spring St, New York, NY 10012 Comment if you plan to attend! Special guests may make an appearance… Now that logistics are out of the way - we gathered around the microphone last night to discuss Chaya Leah’s favorite holiday, Shavuout, and her two least favorite things in the world: antizionist Jews and Eurovision. We also have some TV and book recommendations for you, discuss Mayor Mamdani’s stupid party, and send some special love to Albania. Turns out I was partially right about our Albanian brethren, I said they didn’t lose a single Jew during the holocaust, turns out they actually GAINED Jews. [https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/general/jews-in-albania.html]You should use this super fun fact to impress your Albanian doormen in New York, they are very proud of it (rightfully so), as well as their impeccable Eurovision voting history (doormen may not care about that). Shout out to my dad Ronnie for this information! Some links: * JVP barfy tweet [https://x.com/jvpliveNY/status/2056732741975044271?s=20] * J-Street mamdani Substack [https://jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/a-progressive-pro-israel-take-on], what do you think? * Great book recommendation [https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Water-Hijacking-Maritime-Conspiracy/dp/0593329236] following our shipping recommendation - thank you to whoever suggested it! * ICYMI - my Eurovision recap [https://askajew.substack.com/p/good-evening-europe](you don’t need to enjoy or like or even know what Eurovision is to read) * Some listeners suggested a book club, but we all know books are for nerds. How about we all pick a season of 90 Day Fiance and watch together?? Meisha and Nicola — a gorgeous American and painfully average Israeli united by their love of Jesus — agree! (Season 6) See you in NYC June 1st!! (Did we mention there is a survey? [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei4LslW9RTsbGNSPu6_UDKQmPQADytdzWAw6QCeRrbG7sddw/viewform]) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe [https://askajew.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Undocumented Love Making - With Gad Saad

Dr. Gad Saad [https://www.gadsaad.com/] is a scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi, and all-around Mensch. As a Lebanese-Canadian-Jewish academic, let’s just say he knows a thing or two about the culture wars, and the war wars. We talk about his latest book “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind”, [https://www.amazon.com/Suicidal-Empathy-Dying-Be-Kind/dp/0063446537] how our minds have been infected by parisites, what happened when he made fun of Quebec French (linguistic genocide), and how exactly the IDF trains magical dogs to r*pe terrorists. Follow Dr. Saad on X [https://x.com/GadSaad], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/Dr.Gad.Saad/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLH7qUqM0PLieCVaHA7RegA] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/doctorgadsaad/] (where he has a combined 2 million+ followers), you’re in for a fun ride! Also this episode will soon be available on our Youtube! [https://www.youtube.com/@AskAJew] Check out our channel and subscribe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe [https://askajew.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Your Personality Is Not a Disorder: Social Media, Girls and Gen Z, with Freya India

Today on Ask a Jew, we’re joined by writer Freya India [https://substack.com/profile/20148231-freya-india], author of Girls: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything [https://www.amazon.com/GIRLS%C2%AE-Generation-Z-Commodification-Everything/dp/1250442222], to talk about what growing up as a girl looks like in the age of Instagram, how we are all carrying generational trauma from Eve, and why not everything in your life is a problem to be fixed. Turns out we’re all just 13-year-old girls! Now go buy the book. [https://www.amazon.com/GIRLS%C2%AE-Generation-Z-Commodification-Everything/dp/1250442222] Do you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Well, you can! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCoLGwPdwjA] We also get into why social media can feel like a “rumination machine” for anxious girls, how beauty culture and Facetune turn teenagers into products, and why every normal feeling is suddenly language‑ified into a “disorder,” a “trauma,” or a “healing journey.” We also talk about what boys are seeing online, the rise of “looksmaxxing,” and whether anyone knows how to have a normal relationship anymore. If you’re a parent, a millennial/Gen X woman looking at Gen Z with horror, or a Gen Z girl trying to make sense of your own feed, this one is for you. Also: * Will the allure beauty box change your life? * We are all just 13 year old girls * Social media escalaes every trend o the extreme * Not everything needs to be solved * Is therapy a scam? * We’re all trying to gain control * social media is a rumination machine * Beware of therapy talk * Feeling anxious? you’re probably normal * The stories we tell ourselves * We all have generational trauma from Eve * You think you need therapy? Go live in Somalia! * Freya is so pretty * Is every personality trait is a problem? * We don’t care about your healing journeys This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe [https://askajew.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Uncomfortably Numb

Two episodes in one week? You lucky ducks! Maybe there’s even a third one coming…Only Hashem (and maybe producer Gabi) knows. BUT FIRST - are you following us on YouTube? Listen, I get if you’re an antisemite and don’t want to show your cards. We won’t judge you. But if you care about the Jewish people, really the only thing left to do is subscribe, like and leave a comment! We had some beginner’s luck with the delightful Sal Mercogliano [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZipB9rKh6w&t=795s] (34,000 views?? Maybe we do control the media), and also uploaded some older ones, like fan favorite Michael C. Moynihan [https://substack.com/profile/4340052-michael-c-moynihan] of The Fifth Column [https://substack.com/profile/85762546-the-fifth-column]! BTW if you are a YouTube expert email us at askajewpod@gmail.com for all your tips, because our team (aka Yael) does not know what it’s doing. You can also email any questions, comments and concerns there. Today’s episode is a blast from the past, aka last week. Not to make this a history lesson, but do you remember the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner? How about the King Charles White House visit? Those were the days! We also cover the terrible attack in London (sadly this could be true of any week), the etiquette of leaving voice notes, and how fun it is to colonize people’s minds. Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe [https://askajew.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]