The Bagel Report

24/06/2025

So proud of our little podcast, and our 2nd Place episode with IKAR Rabbi Sharon Brous at LosAngeles PressClub SoCal Journalism Awards, in the category PERSONALITY PROFILE/INTERVIEW, Non-Entertainment Personalities (Over 10 Minutes)
Listen to the episode here: “Bagels and Brous: Mending Broken Hearts with Rabbi Sharon Brous”
https://thebagelreport.libsyn.com/bagels-brous-mending-broken-hearts-w-rabbi-sharon-brous
Check out all the winners here:https://lapressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SoCal-2025-Winners-06212025.pdf

This week, the Bagels were joined by Rabbi Sharon Brous, the founder of IKAR in Los Angeles. Esther and Erin asked questions about Brous' new book, "The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World." The bagels and Brous touched on the value of community in the darkest of times wh...

23/06/2025

Did Erin Cooper & Esther Kustanowitz record an episode in person at a Culver City coffee shop? We certainly did. :) Check it out here on Apple Podcasts or search for it on your favorite podcast platform!

Podcast Episode · The Bagel Report · 06/20/2025 · 40m

12/05/2025

Who's watching 'Reformed' on Max? The first episode impressed with its accurate-seeming depiction of a woman in Strasbourg who becomes a Reform rabbi, and subsequent episodes have shown great heart and love for Judaic practice. (And it's interesting to see Jewish ritual rendered in Hebrew and French.) However...there are little things creeping in that don't seem accurate. For instance, there's a conversation about the tallit being connected to the story of Noah's sons covering up their father to preserve his dignity, which Esther never heard before and neither did the internet. EDIT — THERE'S A SOURCE FOR THIS! EXCITING. The writers apparently really did their homework. Extra impressed right now.

Have you seen it? Any thoughts?

01/05/2025

Friends and fans, tune in to TBRthepod on Instagram tonight for a casual convo with Esther Kustanowitz & Erin Cooper about what we're watching, what we're waiting for, and whatever you want to know! Leave a topic request here or send to us privately, or logon at 7:45 pm (Pacific) to join us live!

04/04/2025

Welcome to The Prince of Egypt season! It's crazy how sometimes a delayed episode (which we recorded a few weeks ago) ends up becoming more relevant because of the delay. This week, Erin Cooper and Esther Kustanowitz sat down with friend and colleague Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, who was a consultant for DreamWorks' iconic animated film The Prince of Egypt. With its star-studded cast — including the late Val Kilmer, who died this week after years of health challenges — stunning visuals, and unforgettable soundtrack, The Prince of Egypt was a landmark in animated storytelling, and now Tzivia takes us all (you too!) behind the scenes of the epic retelling of the Exodus story, and shared memories of her role in shaping the film’s extensive outreach to faith communities. (Link in comments)

24/03/2025

While you wait for our new Passover episode, why not check out this new collection of mostly original commentary and song parodies inspired by everyone’s favorite “green girl” and her pink counterpart (and written by our very own Esther Kustanowitz!) - link in comments and guiding audio clips (to help you learn these songs if you need it) available on request!
This and other readings and full Haggadot available at Recustom (now including Haggadot.com)…

02/03/2025

Oscars tonight! If you're feeling behind and like you don't have time to see everything before tonight (and trust us, you don't), it's time to visit Jodi Berman's Oscars Blog. Jodi's been doing this a long time, providing lists of awards for each of the nominated films and proviidng mini-reviews and recommendations. Check it all out at:

Sharing my love of all things Oscar. I see all the movies with nominations so you don't have to - and I do my best to research and help pick the winners. Subscribe, share your comments, and feel free to share with others. Follow me on Twitter .

27/02/2025

Incredibly important hyper-local actual bagel (not to be confused with Bagel) news: H&H, a formerly Upper West Side bagelry that was name dropped on Seinfeld back in the day, is opening in Santa Monica on Montana Ave. We know some of you want more reports about bagels here on The Bagel Report, so here ya go.

An already well-known Manhattan bagel shop that became even more popular after it made appearances on both “Seinfeld” and “Sex

26/01/2025

With the holidays, the fires, and various other travel/work engagements, we know we've been away a while. (While Esther Kustanowitz & Erin Cooper were safe, both know people who have lost everything — that's just the way it is in L.A. right now.)
If you're someone who's experienced loss and needs things, reach out and we'll try to connect you with orgs or people who have resources to share.
If you're seeking gofundme links where you can support one of our friends, reach out and we'll point you toward a few.
If you're looking for a list of resources to support as L.A. begins the long recovery from these devastating wildfires, visit the Federation's list here:
www.jewishla.org/wildfire-crisis-relief

In the interim, the Oscar nominations are out and some of the films we've been talking about have been nominated. Watch them where you can — A Real Pain is now available on Hulu, while Wicked, September 5 and The Brutalist are in theaters — and go back to our episodes from November and December to hear our thoughts. Find us wherever you usually find us, or at: https://thebagelreport.libsyn.com/

The Bagel Report is a pop-culture entertainment podcast featuring award-winning culture and entertainment writers Esther D. Kustanowitz and Erin Ben-Moche. Each episode, these entertainment junkies discuss all things Jewish in the arts & entertainment world while exploring how Jewish identity is por...

31/10/2024

New episode coming tomorrow! Teaser photos...

09/10/2024

New ep: Erin Cooper & Esther Kustanowitz start w/some serious reflection on the anniversary of , then hear from Reboot Studios' Noam Dromi, Alysia Reiner and Shaina Feinberg talking about their new short film, , coming to a festival near you soon, we hope.

Wishing you all a shana tova and a meaningful Yom Kippur, as well as happy Sukkot. We'll catch you later in the month. :)

Podcast Episode · The Bagel Report · 10/09/2024 · 53m

27/09/2024

It's our deep dive, with minimal spoilers and lots of dissection of characters, actions and how Jewish life and a rabbi's responsibility to the community is represented in the new Netflix rom-com. Erin Cooper & Esther Kustanowitz had a great time with this one; hear our conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts!

Nobody Wants This? More like somebody wants this! Rabbinic representation gets the Hollywood treatment in the new Netflix romantic comedy series "Nobody Wants This," about atheist podcaster Kristen Bell falling for rabbi Adam Brody. The show's trailer and title set up negative expectations, but how....