Jonny Gould’s Jewish State

36: Unorthodox Netflix: Deborah Feldman, the Real Esty

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Episode notes

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Today’s guest is author and the creative power behind the Netflix smash hit Unorthodox, Deborah Feldman. This has become the runaway most-listened to episode of Jonny Gould's Jewish State so far.

Unorthodox on Netflix has become the must-watch drama everyone seems to relate to. It’s a highly moving portrayal in English, German - and Yiddish.

It’s about a pregnant teenager fleeing her ultra-orthodox Jewish community in New York for a new and uncharted life in Berlin. The series heroine, Esty Shapiro, played by Shira Haas is fictitious - but the story mostly isn't. It's a version of the life of Deborah Feldman, who now lives in the German capital having grown up in Brooklyn in a Satmar community.

Deborah's book chronicles her own exodus from Williamsburg and I tracked her down to her Berlin home, which was easier than normal during lockdown! It's an intense interview covering many topics, including the role of women in orthodox communities, how the current Jewish generation deal with the trauma of the Holocaust, the future of Zionism and just how many Chasidim(religious Jews) have taken Esty and Deborah's route out. It’s “thousands and now it’s become a movement”, says Deborah.

LISTEN to this powerful, thought-provoking interview with the real Esty Shapiro, Deborah Feldman. Let me inform, educate and entertain you! I’d appreciate your help.

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