Tevye and the Pogrom - audio podcast

A reflection on a classic movie, the history, today’s rise in hate, division, extremism, and antisemitism; and a perspective from psychology and neuroscience about Tevye’s and society’s challenges

This presentation is called “Tevye and the Pogrom.” It will reflect on this classic movie, a 1939 American Yiddish film based on Tevye the Dairyman from Sholem Aleichem’s famous stories and his struggles to survive the antisemitism and the pogroms of Western Ukraine. The movie was a forerunner of the popular musical and the movie “Fiddler on the Roof.” Initially, the “Tevye” 1939 film was lost, but it was rediscovered in 1978 and recognized for its cultural significance, becoming the first non-English language film preserved by the National Film Registry. Tevye, a masterwork within the little-known U.S. Yiddish-language cinema, re-created the nineteenth-century life and meager subsistence of Jews as a beleaguered minority in a rural Ukrainian village. The film and story are very relevant topics today with the surge in hate, division, extremism, and antisemitism; with my interest in psychology and neuroscience, we will delve into these aspects of Tevye’s and society’s challenges during his time and relevance for today. Also, we will present some tips and points to ponder, as well as potential solutions. For full transcript and references, go to: