The Franchise is a new eight-part series exploring how contemporary American Jewish culture imprinted itself onto sports and how sports imprinted itself onto Jewish traditions. Hosted by Meredith Shiner and produced by the team behind Unorthodox, the No. 1 Jewish podcast, The Franchise highlights the moments and the people—athletes, fans, stat geeks, journalists, and team owners—who are writing this uniquely, American Jewish story.
The series begins in 1965 with Sandy Koufax, and traces the arc of American Jews and sports since then: from probing the so-called Koufax curse that befalls Jewish athletes who play on Yom Kippur to reevaluating the "Jewish Jordan" phenomenon and wondering why Jews love teams that always seem to lose, and much more.
The Franchise premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
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The Franchise is a new eight-part series exploring how contemporary American Jewish culture imprinted itself onto sports and how sports imprinted itself onto Jewish traditions. Hosted by Meredith Shiner and produced by the team behind Unorthodox, the No. 1 Jewish podcast, The Franchise highlights the moments and the people—athletes, fans, stat geeks, journalists, and team owners—who are writing this uniquely, American Jewish story.
The series begins in 1965 with Sandy Koufax, and traces the arc of American Jews and sports since then: from probing the so-called Koufax curse that befalls Jewish athletes who play on Yom Kippur to reevaluating the "Jewish Jordan" phenomenon and wondering why Jews love teams that always seem to lose, and much more.
The Franchise premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Over the course of this series, host Meredith Shiner has explored how Jewish culture, American culture, and sports culture intersect. She's talked to journalists, athletes, amateur and professional sports nerds, and fans who have spent as much time obsessing over these topics as she has. And in this final episode, she looks back on what she’s learned—and what surprised her—through the process of reporting and writing this series.
Previous episodes:
Ep. 7: Sports, Identity, and Justice
Ep. 6: The Sports Mitzvah
Ep. 5: Shondas and Stereotypes: Jewish Sports Team Owners
The Halftime Show
Ep. 4: Jewish Sports Nerds and Their Path to the Promised Land
Ep. 3: Forty Years in the Desert: Jews and the New York Mets
Ep. 2: Reevaluating ‘Jewish Jordan’ Tamir Goodman
Ep. 1: Genesis: Sandy Koufax as Model Minority
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at franchise@tabletmag.com. Check out the full series at tabletmag.com/thefranchise
The Franchise: Jews, Sports, and America
The Franchise is a new eight-part series exploring how contemporary American Jewish culture imprinted itself onto sports and how sports imprinted itself onto Jewish traditions. Hosted by Meredith Shiner and produced by the team behind Unorthodox, the No. 1 Jewish podcast, The Franchise highlights the moments and the people—athletes, fans, stat geeks, journalists, and team owners—who are writing this uniquely, American Jewish story.
The series begins in 1965 with Sandy Koufax, and traces the arc of American Jews and sports since then: from probing the so-called Koufax curse that befalls Jewish athletes who play on Yom Kippur to reevaluating the "Jewish Jordan" phenomenon and wondering why Jews love teams that always seem to lose, and much more.
The Franchise premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
