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The WreckageAuthor: American Jewish Historical Society
The Wreckage is a narrative podcast from the American Jewish Historical Society, chronicling the unique stories of American Jews throughout the Cold War. Season 3, Open Up the Gates, out now! About Season 3: As totalitarianism descended across Eastern Europe, Soviet Jews struggled to leave the USSR. Cold War tensions continued to escalate, and by the 1970s, a grassroots movement among Jewish Americans to secure the release of their Soviet counterparts began to grow. This movement, which soon also found support outside Jewish communities, helped to create the political identity of the American Jewish community as we know it today. Join host Rebecca Naomi Jones and a slate of special guests for the final chapter of The Wreckage. Jones is best known for her performances in the Broadway rock musicals Passing Strange, American Idiot, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well as being the first woman of color to play Laurey in Oklahoma! on Broadway. Language: en-us Genres: History, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Dissolution: Bonus Episode
Episode 9
Tuesday, 16 December, 2025
Taped live in front of a limited studio audience at Sound Lounge in NYC, our series finale welcomes back author and critic Julie Salamon to host special guests Gal Beckerman, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of "When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry," Shaul Kelner, professor of of Jewish Studies and sociology at Vanderbilt University and author of "A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews," and Gemma R. Birnbaum, executive director of the American Jewish Historical Society and creator/producer of The Wreckage. Image: Scholars discuss cultural genocide in the USSR, from the collection of the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews at AJHS, I-505. The Wreckage is made possible by funding from the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided through the American Jewish Education Program, generously supported by Sid and Ruth Lapidus.









