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The Genesis: Conversations About Jewish Arts and CultureAuthor: Joshua Rose
We are right at the beginning of what some have called "The 21st Century Jewish Cultural Renaissance," and The Genesis is the podcast watching it unfold, in real time and up close. Each week Rabbi Josh Rose has a conversation with a different Jewish artist or cultural figure to explore questions of artistic creativity, individual Jewish identity, Jewish expression and how Jewish arts are reshaping what it means to be Jewish. Our main focus in on the artists from Art/Lab: Innovating Jewish Arts and Culture, and Jewish artists in the Pacific Northwest. Rabbi Josh also engages national leaders (Rabbi Shai Held of Hadar, Seth Pinksy of New York's 92nd Street Y) about the broader world of Jewish culture. So, if you're interested in 21st century Jewish life, Jewish ideas, Jewish arts or just good conversation, you're in the right place. *The Genesis was originally a podcast of Co/Lab, founded by Rabbi Josh. Today the Genesis is a production of Art/Lab where Rabbi Josh continues to shape its unfolding. Language: en-us Genres: Religion, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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S3E28 Can We Find Truth Amidst Competing Narratives? (w/ Rebecca Clarren)
Episode 28
Tuesday, 30 December, 2025
My guest today is journalist Rebecca Clarren. Her work has appeared in Mother Jones, High Country News, The Nation, and Indian Country Today. For her reporting, she's won a Hillman Prize, received an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship, and earned multiple grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. But as you'll hear in our conversation, she's much more than a journalist. Her debut novel, which we touch on, is Kickdown, which was shortlisted for the PEN Bellwether Prize. Clarren is also a published poet; her work has appeared in North American Review, Catamaran, CutBank, and Poetry Northwest. We spend most of our time talking about The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance, an extraordinary book in which she turns her journalistic eye on her own story—and her family's. It was named a Best Book of 2023 by several publications, won the Will Rogers Medallion Award, and was shortlisted for the High Plains Book Award and the Great Plains Book Award. Rebecca and I talk about Jewish identity and values, and how those shape her work. She has a passion for amplifying marginalized and silenced voices—and for uncovering the stories that get buried beneath the dominant narrative. We talk about storytelling, contested truth, and what it means to hold multiple perspectives at once. We also talk powerfully about grief and loss, and how they've informed her life and her work. Israel and Gaza come up because we're talking about competing narratives and moral urgency—and she offers a striking framework for balancing truth and compassion, rooted in learning with her rabbi. It's a rich conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. This is my conversation with Rebecca Clarren. The Genesis is created, produced and edited by Rabbi Joshua Rose and is supported by Art/Lab: Innovating Jewish Arts and Culture. Theme music composed by Rabbi Joshua Rose ---- Links & Show Notes Art/Lab: artlabpdx.org Rebecca's website: https://www.rebecca-clarren.com/ Indian Land Tenure Foundation: https://iltf.org/ Peter Beinart's Being Jewish Adrer the Destruction of Gaza: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775348/being-jewish-after-the-destruction-of-gaza-by-peter-beinart/





