You can support this unique education project! A complete history of the Jewish People in podcast form, one episode at a time.

Donate to Jew Oughta Know!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider making a donation of any amount! This podcast is entirely handcrafted by Jason Harris, from the research to the writing to the production and the website. The goal of this ambitious project is for listeners to get the full sweep of Jewish history, from creation to current events, across episodes less than 25 minutes in length.

Thank you so much for your meaningful support of Jew Oughta Know!

Please note that donations to Jew Oughta Know are not tax deductible.

thank you, generous donors!

"18" is a lucky number in Judaism: the 1 and the 8 together form the word "life" in Hebrew, chai (pronounced "hi"). That's why donations to Jewish causes are often done in multiples of 18. But ANY amount is deeply appreciated! As you check out, you will have the option to write your name to be displayed on this page. Just write “Anonymous” if you prefer not to be listed.

Chaim Weizmann Level ($360 and above)

Anonymous

Laurel Brenner

Jim Condit

Sandy Edwards

Shirley Ehrlich

Joe Florence

Aaron Forkash

Lorraine & Steve Harris

Karen Hirsch

Rob Horlick

Robin Meisel

Jill & Tom Sampson

King David Level ($180 and above)

Anonymous

Miles Berger

Stephen Brooks

Audrey & Michael Zavell Bloom

John Cobb

Olga Eber

Ben Farkas

Simson Garfinkel

Deby Aguero Grinfeld

Gary Levin

Ron Lezell

Jim Rosenberg

hannah senesh Level ($72 and above)

Michael Allen

Ayal Amzel

Anonymous

Sandra Bardas

Sav Benru

Deborah Boyar

Adam Buchanan

Hanna Dodge

Louis Dombro

João Ejarque

Michael F

Joe Fahndrich

Dan Falk

Alan & Joanne Feldman

Kim Floyd

Ted G.

Larry Gast

Isaac Gavi

Lisa Geisse

David Goldstein

Rebecca Hartman

Cathryn Hilliard

Andrew Joskow

Sarah Katz

Leah Keleman

Edouard Kujawski

Stanley and Marion Leff

Steven Lewis

Art Liberman

Dina Lunken

Carole Meyers

Douglas Patinkin

Deborah Plaza

Mark Rosenberg

Helen Schwartz

Jake Sciaudone

Dave Shapiro

Todd and Sarah Silbert

Lisa Sockett

Steve Sockolov

Dan Spiers

Jamin Spitzer

Simone Straus

Jeff and Susan Tarran

Shane Viccinelli

Howard Wahlberg

Michael Wenig

Israelites Level ($36 and above)

Dick Aarons

Em Adams

Anonymous

Elizabeth Bernstein

Celso Bitdinger

Theresa Brady

Joel Broder

Gregory C.

Aaron Forkash

David Freedman

Jeff Gingold

B. Gotz

David Graber

Nicole Gross

Gary Hauss

Jay Hollander

Ted Kamins

Brian Kaplan

Daniel Kessler

William Landes

Lynn Latta

Laura Lawrence

Diana Lieb

Connor McCauley

Karen and Ken Olshansky

Jake Onrot

Juanito Pacheco

Robert Pozdol, Sr.

Jeff Priest

Jerri Pumroy

Jacqueline Regev

Steve Rutman

Lauren Sapira

Chava Seiden-Kark

Lindsay Silverman

Bob Silverstein

Scott Alan Tagliarino

Lion VT

Leonie Wagner

Peretz Wolf-Prusan

the jew oughta know story

Jerusalem’s Old City. Photo: Jason Harris

Who was in Israel before it was Israel? What’s the Babylonian Exile? Why do Hasidic Jews all dress in black? Did Jews really eat this much hummus?

Jason Harris spent 6 years leading 545 young Jews (ages 18-26) on fourteen Brithright Israel trips. By the end of each trip, there were more questions than there was time to answer them. He kept track of the questions, determined to find a way to stay connected with his participants and fill in those gaps. So many more people told Jason they wanted to learn about Jewish history but didn’t know where to start.

The Jew Oughta Know podcast was born.

Every episode is Jason’s attempt to tell a story that he thinks people really ought to know.

But there is also a deeper purpose to Jew Oughta Know. Too many of Jason’s Israel trip participants admitted that they didn’t feel they could fully participate in Jewish life without grasping the basic knowledge around Jewish history, narrative, and especially modern Israel. Jews and non-Jews alike tell him they want to understand why history speaks so loudly to the Jewish people, why Israel is so important to the Jews, and how the past informs what we read in the news today.

A lack of knowledge shouldn't be a barrier to developing a meaningful connection to Judaism. Jew Oughta Know is here to help you begin or continue the lifelong journey that is Jewish learning. This isn’t THE history, and as many topics as are covered in a given episode, there are others not fully addressed. The perspective shared here is Jason’s — there are innumerable other valuable voices out there, too. But to the extent that this podcast and its accompanying website help you find the knowledge you’re looking for in a way that strikes you as impactful, meaningful, fascinating, and fun, then it has served its purpose. Enjoy!