Last week, two very different sex-related 1980s icons passed away: Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the 4'7" German-born Holocaust survivor, who was 96; and Richard Simmons, whose mother was Jewish, and who rose to fame as a sweat-focused TV fitness guru whose personal sexuality was famously ambiguous .

So, clearly, the hosts of Bonjour Chai had sex on the brain. What sexual-education lessons remain for Jews in different religious communities? What are the stigmas and secrets still hindering progress? What legacy does Dr. Ruth leave the world? To discuss these these themes and more, we're joined by Dr. Laurie Betito, a Montreal-based clinical psychologist with a specialty in sex therapy, who has also spent decades broadcasting on the radio and currently hosts the podcast Passion with Dr. Laurie Betito.

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast's Substack.

This month, two major elections have changed the European political landscape. In both France and the United Kingdom, progressive parties have overcome significant right-wing counterparts, overthrowing 14 years of British Conservative power and staving off Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party in a surprising result. Jews, as they often are, find themselves caught in the middle. Should they be celebrating the victory of left-wing parties more likely to harbour anti-Israel members, or would a more pro-Israel right-wing result have been better—despite, in France's case, the National Rally having roots in Holocaust denial and hate speech?

Some have argued that Jews should simply pack up and move to Israel. (Canadian-born Israeli politician Sharren Haskel made this exact point on The CJN Daily earlier this week.) But Avi and Phoebe disagree: people can, and should, live wherever they like, and Israel is not exactly safer. The hosts of Bonjour Chai break down the Canadian takeaways and Jewish lessons from a tumultuous week in overseas elections.

Then, they take a lashon hara lens to the shocking revelations about the late Alice Munro's neutral stance toward her husband's abuse of her own daughter, and cap things off with a breakdown of all the hate mail that Phoebe "Matzo Ball" Maltz Bovy got for writing a column in the Globe and Mail questioning the statistics of modern-day bisexuals.

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast's Substack.

It was true before Oct. 7, but especially afterwards: an increasing number of progressive-minded people are viewing Jews as settlers in Israel. "Go back to Europe," some especially antisemitic ones chant at rallies. But it begs the question: if Jews are settlers in Israel, where aren't we settlers?

Ben Wexler, a writer and academic who recently graduated from McGill University, has been thinking about this question a lot. He recently published an essay in the French Jewish magazine K. Les Juifs, l'Europe, le XXIe siècle, titled "The Eternal Settler". In it, Wexler discusses the troubling rise in antisemitic violence, often carried out under the guise of decolonization and conflated with criticism of the Israeli government.

To explore the topic more, Wexler joins to discuss colonization, settler identity and the perception of Jews as settlers. And after that, he joins hosts Avi and Phoebe in talking global political trends: the rightward shift of France, the United States and Canada may be good for Israel... but is it good for the Jews?

Credits

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast's Substack.