76West: A Podcast from the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

Author Elissa Sussman and The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman talk about Sussman's new book, Funny You Should Ask, the importance of Jewish representation in fiction, rules of romance novels, and more. Elissa Sussman is the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask and three young adult novels. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA from Pacific University. She lives in her hometown of Los Angeles with her husband.

Erika L. Sánchez (I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter) talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about her new memoir in essays, Crying in the Bathroom, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a rewarding debut memoir in which a sensitive soul finds salvation in poetry and a life in literature.” Erika L. Sánchez is a Mexican-American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her debut poetry collection, Lessons on Expulsion, was a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her debut young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, was a New York Times bestseller and a National Book Awards finalist. It is now being made into a film directed by America Ferrera. Sanchez was a 2017 to 2019 Princeton Arts Fellow, a 2018 recipient of the 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and a 2019 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

Gabrielle Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) joins The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman to talk about her latest book, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which Publishers Weekly calls “a one-of-a-kind achievement.” Gabrielle and Jason talk about their shared experience of growing up in heavily Jewish populated areas, how we all play video games whether we know it or not, and how failure can be a creative place. Gabrielle Zevin is The New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which won the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award and the Japan Booksellers' Award and was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Award, and Young Jane Young, which won the Southern Book Prize. Her novels have been translated into 39 languages. She has also written books for young readers, including the award-winning Elsewhere, which is on Time magazine's 100 Best YA Novels of All-Time list. She lives in Los Angeles.

Sloane Crosley (I Was Told There'd Be Cake, How Did You Get This Number, The Clasp) talks to The Lambert Center's Jason Blitman about her latest novel, Cult Classic. Sloane and Jason chat about the book's themes, beautiful cover art, the word "supposably," and whether or not mezuzahs are found on interior doors of synagogues. Sloane Crosley is the author of the novel The Clasp and three essay collections: Look Alive Out There and the New York Times bestsellers I Was Told There'd Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number. A two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, she lives in New York City To learn more about the JCC's arts programming, visit mmjccm.org/lambert

It wasn’t just a perceived need. It was a moral imperative. In looking at the JCC’s burgeoning population of older adults, it became apparent that cards, trips, and discussion groups weren’t just fun, enriching ways to spend time. They were a way station, a way of conquering one of the most insidious epidemics of our time: loneliness. Under the direction of Susan Lechter and thanks to the care and largesse of board member Dana Linden, the Wechsler Center for modern aging would come to represent something more than a place for excellent programs. It would be a lifeline, a chance to build connections and community among a group that is too often overlooked in society. In today’s episode, joined by Susan and Dana, Rabbi Joy Levitt will discuss the impetus for launching the center — during a pandemic, no less — and how its many facets could change the way we think about getting older. To learn more about The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging, visit mmjccm.org/60plus.

It took a professionally upsetting and embarrassing incident for Rabbi Joy Levitt to realize how far the JCC, and indeed all Jewish communal agencies, had to go when it came to treating those in its neurodiverse community. But evolve the JCC did, thanks to the largesse and personal knowledge of people like Jack and Shirley Silver, whose Center for Special Needs at the JCC became the home of numerous groundbreaking programs. Among them was Adaptations, a supportive social community for adults in their 20s and 30s that offered individuals with a high level of independence a place to socialize, learn, grow, and deepen their connections to one another through structured social/recreational and employment programs. Thanks to an extraordinary lay-professional partnership, the seeds planted by the Silvers came to provide multiple pathways to fostering independence, finding passion, and experiencing the richness of community. To learn more about Adaptations at the JCC, visit https://mmjccm.org/adaptations.

Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project was founded by the JCC in 1993 to serve as a catalyst and a resource for women working for change within the Jewish community. During its existence, Ma’yan promoted Jewish ritual from a new perspective through programs such as its feminist Passover Seder and innovative women’s Haggadah, while continuing to focus on advancing the status of womenstatus within the Jewish communal world. In today’s episode of 76West, Ma’yan Director Eve Landau and Cofounder Barbara Dobkin join Rabbi Joy Levitt to discuss the origins of the first women’s seder, and how the haggadah they developed is still influencing the way we think about the seder today. Note: this episode contains an excerpt from Debbie Friedman’s “Miriam’s Song” from her January 1996 performance at Carnegie Hall. To learn more about the Joseph Stern Center for Social Responsibility at the JCC, visit https://mmjccm.org/adults/social-responsibility-volunteering. To order the Ma’yan Passover Haggadah, visit https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Continues-Passover-Haggadah-English/dp/0966710711

One of the JCC’s original volunteer initiatives, the literacy and math tutoring program has only grown in size, scope, and value in the years since its founding. Under Program Director Judy Gross, it has expanded into more schools, added facets such as having students practice their skills by reading to therapy dogs, and even survived a pandemic. On today’s episode of 76West, Gross and Rabbi Joy Levitt discuss the origins of this groundbreaking program and learn about some of the incredible volunteers whose generosity has given the program its heart and soul. To learn more about the Literacy and Math Tutoring Program at the JCC, visit https://mmjccm.org/adults/social-responsibility-volunteering/literacy-math-tutoring.

Few families have had as profound an impact on the life of the JCC as the Meyerson-Hooper family. From their earliest days as board members to participants in a full range of family programs and activities to their 2018 decision to name the organization after Marti’s mother Marlene, the Meyerson family bestowed an incredible personal and financial gift that will inspire donors and lay leaders for years to come. In today’s episode, we learn about how Marti’s personal journey brought her to the JCC, and how her family’s deep love of the institution led to one of the most consequential moments in the history of the organization.

Today’s episode of 76West begins with Rabbi Joy Levitt’s life changing trip to teach Judaism to the Dalai Lama, followed by a silent meditation retreat six years later. As soon as Joy and colleagues had a chance to bring meditation to the Upper West Side, they did so in the form of Makom, a space within the JCC that has become a daily refuge for hundreds since the building opened in 2002. To learn more about Makom at the JCC, visit https://mmjccm.org/makom