The Schmuckgirls are back with their first duo episode! Before getting into it with their guests, the girls give updates on their lives from wedding planning and dating. This week they bring on Michael Valdes aka Hot Jewish Energy and Danielle Brody aka Jews in Doodles, host of Mitzvah or Shanda and together the two of them co-wrote "Hot Jewish Hanukkah." In their updates, Danielle reveals a new serious relationship and their meet-cute and Michael explains the dynamic of paying on dates within the gay community. The duo explains how they connected through the internet and immediately hit it off in their comedy creator minds. They collaborated on "Hot Jewish Hanukkah" - a funny modern version of the Hanukkah story made for adults. Michael and Danielle both share about their Jewish journeys. Michael grew up in a more religious world, but never felt he fully fit being part Cuban and part Persian. Building his online presence though, he started to reconnect to his Jewish identity. And it's been his goal for everyone to feel welcome in the Jewish community no matter who they are. Danielle grew up less religious but got more connected to her Judaism after going on birthright. They then take turns sharing some of their wildest Jewish geography stories. Danielle and Michael go on to share about some of the issues within the Jewish dating world. Connecting to the current state of the world, they then discuss how they balance their fun/comedic content with also addressing antisemitism. Michael then shares about his hope and dreams of peace and how he just wants to help shed light. They also share things they wish non-Jews understood about Jews. They end with a game of Hot or Not.

You can find Michael on Instagram @hotjewishenergy. Danielle Brody @jewsindoodles and Schmuckboys @schmuckboysofficial

Marla and Libby have been beyond busy but they're back with another great episode of Schmukboys. Libby shares about how her wedding planning has been going so far, busy but exciting as they're planning a wedding in just 5 months. From engagement party to wedding dress shopping, there's been lots to do. Libby also shares about her fun experience celebrating her bithday and attending Camp Nai Nai Nai, a weekend of Jewish summer camp for adults. She also talks about the scary experience of visiting the Nova Festival memorial exhibit in NYC on the same day that there were people protesting violently outside. Marla and Libby talk about the importance of being proudly Jewish during this time and how it adds another layer of meaningfulness during this time. Marla then shares about her updates on she's been focusing on work and putting dating a bit on the back burner. She then shares a crazy Jewish geography story about her and her friends meeting a a random Jewish guy in Vegas, going to his wedding at 4AM and then seeing him at Shavuot dinner weeks later. The girls then welcome their guest, Sean Hurwitz, a guitarist for Smash Mouth, Enrique Iglesias, and Nick Carter just to name a few. Sean talks about feeling a lot of support for the Jewish people while on tour with Nick Carter in South America and how he was pleasantly surprised. He then shares about growing up in Israel in a somewhat religious family and how religious or not, the culture in Israel is just being Jewish. They then discuss how he met his wife through OkCupid and about what's okay or not okay when it comes to complimenting other people when you're in a relationship. Sean talks about finding his love for music through his parents but also through the movie Back to the Future. He talks about how to be successful and how he built up his career through networking, helping, and connecting to others. Sean dives deeper into his experiences playing with different bands and shares some of his most memorable moments, like playing with Smash Mouth in New Zealand and with Enrique igleases in Israel. He also talks about playing for the troops in Iraq, and how that was a crazy experience for him because as a child in Israel, he would have to go into bomb shelters when Iraq was attacking Israel and then 20 years later seeing Saddam Hussein's palace. They talk about the silence from music industry after October 7th. The group ends with a game of cute or cringe and a short discussion on what is Schmuckboy.

The Schmuckgirls have BIG news this week. MAZEL MAZEL because Libby and Jack are engaged! A full debrief episode to come, but in the meantime Libby gives a little preview of how the engagement went down. Marla shares dating updates from the past month. The girls discuss dating app profiles and common mistakes that men make. Marla also shares her comparison between dating in NY vs. LA.

This week they welcome Mikey Greenblatt, aka jewishvibes on Instagram. Mike starts by sharing the meet cute of meeting his girlfriend on a line not to be confused with online. He shares his strong options against gold Jewish star chains and suggested men wear kippers because that’s what made his girlfriend like him. He talks about his Jewish journey and how going to yeshiva in Israel guided him down a more religious path. He discusses about how he got to be involved with the popular jewishvibes instagram page and how him and his co-creator realized there was a market for modern-orthodox Jewish comedy. He talks about he doesn't love the typical bagel and lox comedy and thinks it's overdone. He talks about his stand up journey, starting, ending it, and ultimately choosing to get back into it. He talks about how Eli Lebowicz inspired him and showed him you can bring Orthodox Judaism into comedy and how the two of them and Ami Kozak started JSketch. He talks about how he enjoys performing Jewish comedy for non jews because he gets to educate them and humanize judaism. He talks about the importance of being funny about Judaism without bashing judaism. He shares about his connection to torah and how it also helps make him a better comedian. He shares that the likes content but that it also hurts society. When it comes to social media, he feels that people will find anything to get angry about and he usually ignores the comments. He talks about dating in the Jewish community, specifically on the UES and in the modern-orthodox world. They end with a game of mensch or schmuck.

You can follow Mikey and his comedic journey at @jewishvibes and @jsketch on instagram.

After a brief break due to Marla's last minute trip to Israel, the girls are back and didn't want to make you wait until a Thursday release. Libby shares about Maxine's wedding, Purim festivities and fun restaurant experiences. Marla shares about her trip to Israel and updates in her dating life. This week the girls are thrilled to welcome Carly Weinstein!

She talks about Jewish geography and her typical NYC dating life. She shares about how she went from competing in gymnastics to starting her first blog in high school and kept it going through college even when other people looked down upon her for it. She also talks about the importance of being honest and vulnerable on social media especially with how difficult the internet can be. The Schmuckgirls dive into Carly's Jewish background and she shares about what her Jewish identity looked like as a kid versus now as well as the importance of her Jewish culture and how she made friends with Israelis through a penpal program. She also shares insight into how Jewish creators have fought back against antisemitism on TikTok. They end with a game of Cute or Cringe.

You can find Carly on Instagram @carly_weinstein and Schmuckboys @schmuckboysofficial.

This week, the Schmuckgirls are happy to have on Philly influencer and content creator - Brandon Edelman aka Bran_flakezz. (Please note - this episode was recorded prior to Oct 7th.) With 605K followers on TikTok, we discussed how he got into content creation, getting over those initial nerves of people you know seeing your videos, and making the jump from a full-time job to full-time creation. He spoke about his experience filming on the Barstool reality TV show, Project Verified, where he ended up making it to the top 2. The trio discuss how reality TV has changed over the years as well as how to deal with burnout as a creator and how to set up certain boundaries when sharing about your personal life online. Brandon then shares about his funny meet-cute with his boyfriend, Josue. They also discuss recognizing when you might have to seek out new spaces and friends to meet the type of people you're interested in. Brandon shares about dating and finding support within the LGBTQ+ space. He also shares about how Birthright helped him to reconnect to his Judaism and remind him of the importance of the community it gives you. They end with a game of Cute or Cringe.

You can find Schmuckboys on instagram @schmuckboysofficial or email them at schmuckboys@jewishjournal.com and you can find Brandon on Instagram and TikTok @bran_flakezz

This week the Schmuckgirls bring you into the group chat with a no-guest episode. They give you a deeper look into their social and work lives as well as diving deep into dating updates. They chat about life after October 7th, issues dating in LA and NYC, how dating rules should be canceled and more!

To submit questions, stories, advice, you can email schmuckboys@jewishjournal.com or DM us on instagram @schmuckboysofficial. 

This week, we are thrilled to have on our friend, comedian, and rabbi Menachem Silverstein. He starts off with a beautiful story of how his neighbors came together after a Jewish home was broken into on his street. Menachem shares about what it was like growing up in a religious family and how he started his career in the entertainment industry. He shares the meet-cute story about meeting his wife on the subway and gives insight into issues that come about in dating in the religious world. The girls inquire about how Menachem has dealt being in the comedy world with the rise of antisemitism and how he handles comedians with opposing views. He also shares about what it's like to raise Jewish kids during a time when being visibly Jewish can feel scary. He also talks about his journey within screenwriting from avoiding writing Jewish stories to realizing that it's important to write what you know. The girls end with a game of 'Kosher or Treif."

You can follow Schmuckboys on Instagram @schmuckboysofficial - Menachem @menachemsilverstein and to send in suggestions, questions, dating stories you can email schmuckboys@jewishjournal.com 

This week the Schmuckgirls bring you a special episode with the one and only Lizzy Savetsky. She shares about her Jewish identity and growing up as on one of the only Jews in her town in Texas. Lizzy also discusses her family's recent trip to Israel which took place over October 7th and how she handles parenting young Jewish children during these difficult times. She shares how she turned her social media from a fashion influencer page to Jewish activism and how it became clear that that was her priority. She also tells the girls about how she met her husband and how they ended up on the same religious level even though they started in different places. The three discuss the fight over social media and how it's been to deal with the silence from friends and organizations, especially from women's groups.

You can follow Schmuckboys on Instagram @schmuckboysofficial and Lizzy Savetsky @lizzysavetsky.