August 9, 2023

CNN: Rage in America, A Brawl in Montgomery, AL

Videos of a fight between a group of white pontoon boat owners, a Black boat co-captain, and several bystanders have gone viral, pointing to what Jay Michaelson calls "a paroxysm of rage in America."

July 25, 2023

CNN: Are Anti-Israel Comments Equivalent to RFK Jr.’s Antisemitism?

Jay Michaelson and Scott Jennings discuss RFK Jr.'s antisemitic comments and Rep. Pramila Jayapal's controversial comment about Israel and debate whether there is a double-standard.

July 7, 2023

White Flag Podcast: Supreme Court on Discrimination vs. Free Speech

Jay joins Joe Walsh to parse the Supreme Court's decision 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which ruled that a web designer could not be forced to design a website for a same sex wedding.

July 6, 2023

CNN: “Deprogramming” the Trump Cult

Jay Michaelson discusses how people (on right and left) develop conspiratorial and group-think beliefs... and how they can be coaxed out of them.

July 3, 2023

CNN: SCOTUS Anti-Gay Web Designer Case

June 15, 2023

CNN: Trans Activist Banned from White House

June 5, 2023

CNN: On Schools Removing Bibles from Libraries

June 3, 2023

State of Belief Podcast: The Convergence of Gun Idolatry & White Christian Identity

Jay joins host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to discuss the convergence of gun idolatry and white Christian identity, and the recent political religious efforts to influence judicial nominations.

June 2, 2023

CNN: The Moral Case for Defending Trans People

June 1, 2023

CNN: The GOP vs. Big Business?

May 19, 2023

CNN: Did the Framers intend for Gun Fetishism?

May 19, 2023

CNN: Debating GOP Position on Gun Control with Joe Pinion

December 6, 2022

New Books Network Podcast: The Heresy of Jacob Frank

Dr. Michaelson talks with Professor Schneur Zalman Newfield about "The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth."

November 23, 2022

Evolve Podcast: Why an 18th Century Opponent of Rabbinic Authority Matters Today

Jay Michaelson spent 20 years researching Jacob Frank for his new book, "The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth." Here he joins the Evolve Podcast from Reconstructing Judaism and explains why Frank’s radical philosophy may have been a precursor to how many non-Orthodox Jews relate to tradition today.

October 3, 2022

The Queernesses of Jewish Heresy

From the 17th to 19th centuries, European Judaism witnessed an eruption of ecstasy and eros in a series of heretical and quasi-heretical movements, beginning with the failed messiahs Sabbetai Zevi (1626-76) and Jacob Frank (1726-1791), and continuing through the ‘domestication’ of Sabbateanism by the Hasidism of the Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) and his followers.  These movements offered intensified spiritual experiences, complete with sublimated and non-sublimated erotic expression.  They were also, in various ways, queer, including the ambiguously gendered Sabbetai, the liberation of sexuality as harbinger of the messianic age, the leadership and power of women in Sabbatean and Frankist communities, the female messiah in Frank’s imaginaire, and sexualized worship and homoerotic/homosocial bonds among the Hasidim.

June 13, 2022

Identity / Crisis Podcast: Jews, Gun Violence, and the Second Amendment

On the Identity/Crisis podcast, Jay Michaelson joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss gun control, the Second Amendment, and what it means to be part of a political culture that cannot keep its citizens safe.

December 11, 2021

State of Belief Podcast: Jay and Rev. Welton Gaddy on partisanship in the Supreme Court

Jay joins Rev. Welton Gaddy to discuss two Supreme Court cases -- Carson v. Makin, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization -- and what their possible decisions hold for the future.

October 15, 2020

MSNBC: ‘Dark money’ and the high court

Jay Michaelson joins MSNBC's Katy Tur to discuss the influence of the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network on the judiciary.

July 1, 2020

The Forbidden Apple Podcast: God vs. Gay

Jay Michaelson joins Pelayo Alvarez and Melissa Weisz to discuss the future of spirituality and to provide actionable tools on being mindful and present during the pandemic.

June 20, 2020

State of Belief Podcast: Jay and Rev. Welton Gaddy on “Bostock v. Clayton County”

Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief, is joined once again by Dr. Jay Michaelson, a Rabbi, meditation teacher, attorney, activist, and author who covers the US Supreme Court for the Daily Beast. We dive into the Supreme Court case on workplace protections for LGBTQ people and what it means.

October 29, 2018

Does Donald Trump Bear Responsibility for Pittsburgh?

CNN's Out Front, with Jake Tapper, discusses the aftermath of the Pittsburgh massacre.

October 11, 2018

What will Brett Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS confirmation mean for the environment?

Jay Michaelson talks with WBAI's TrumpWatch program about Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the environment.

May 14, 2018

Understanding the Gaza-Israel Border Violence

Palestinian leaders called for a "day of rage" over Trump's new embassy in Jerusalem. Jay Michaelson reports on the violent protests happening at the Gaza border.

April 9, 2018

Fusion.net: Religious Freedom Legislation Is Really Anti LGBT

Jay Michaelson and Saeed Jones talk to Fusion.net about the real motivations behind "religious freedom" laws.

April 5, 2018

Is EPA Chief Scott Pruitt “Too Corrupt to Fire”? | MSNBC

Jay Michaelson joins MSNBC's Katy Tur to discuss the scandals plaguing the EPA administrator.

March 17, 2018

Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Hidden Driver of Mass Incarceration

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:34 — 5.9MB)

October 18, 2017

Xenophobia and Antisemitism in the Age of Donald Trump | SUNY New Paltz

Dr. Michaelson reviews the data on increased xenophobia in the Trump era, and calls for a richer understanding of antisemitism and its relationship to nationalist populism.  [Click here to watch]

June 26, 2017

SCOTUS Puts Travel Ban on Life Support | MSNBC

Jay Michaelson discusses the Trump travel ban on the Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell [Click here to watch]

May 12, 2017

Retreat or Resist? Dharma Practice in the Age of Trump

This talk was given by Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson on May 2, 2017, at the Mindful Reflection Community of Unity Temple in Oak Park, Chicago.

May 7, 2017

Religious Liberty and LGBT Equality at the Supreme Court | NPR

Jay is interviewed on public radio's State of Belief show.

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