Dr. Mollie Wallick didn't set out to be a gay rights activist; she stumbled into the role in 1983, when she was a guidance counselor at Louisiana State University’s medical school in New Orleans. In this episode of Can We Talk?, you’ll hear excerpts from Mollie’s 2005 interview for the “Women Who Dared” oral history project. As we kick off Pride Month, Mollie’s story reminds us how much has changed in just a few decades—language, attitudes, and policies. And it offers a glimpse of what it was like to be an advocate for gay students at a time when their school, and society in general, offered few resources and many obstacles.

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Segun el tiempo, se abolta la vela. That’s a Ladino saying that means, “According to the weather, shift your sail.” And it's an apt way of describing Ladino's recent comeback. Ladino—or Judeo-Spanish—the language spoken by Sephardic Jews in Turkey, Greece and North Africa, saw a major decline after the Holocaust destroyed communities of native speakers. But like a sailboat shifting course when the wind changes direction, Ladino has adapted to the times. In this episode of Can We Talk, you’ll hear how from Naomi Spector and Nesi Altaras, two Ladino enthusiasts, and from Hannah Pressman, one of the people spearheading Ladino’s resurgence.

Additional resources:

The American Ladino League

Ladinokomunita (online Ladino discussion group)

Documenting Judeo-Spanish (solitreo documents and reading guide)

Ladino Linguist (Bryan Kirschen)

Hannah S. Pressman (selected writing)

Enkontros de Alhad (weekly Ladino talk show)

You can find Can We Talk? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. We're also now on YouTube! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a new episode!

Love Can We Talk? Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. You can also drop us a line and let us know what you think or suggest ideas for future episodes. We just might read your email on the air!

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Lenora LaMarche, better known as Leni, was born in 1921 in the Sephardic Jewish community in Seattle, Washington, after her parents moved there from Rhodes, looking for better economic opportunities. She grew up speaking Ladino, and for over 30 years, she wrote a Ladino column in her synagogue newspaper called "Bavajadas de Ben Adam"—people’s foolish little words.

In this episode of Can We Talk?, you’ll hear excerpts from an interview she did in 2001 for the “Weaving Women’s Words '' oral history project, in which she reflects on her Sephardic heritage and peppers her stories with colorful Ladino words and sayings. Her testimony is one of hundreds in JWA’s Tanner Oral History Collection.

You can find Can We Talk? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We're also now on YouTube! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a new episode.

Love Can We Talk? Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also drop us a line at https://jwa.org/contact/Podcasts and let us know what you think or suggest ideas for future episodes. We just might read your email on the air!