York University Professor David Koffman knows the power of a good conversation.
As a historian and executive producer of the new podcast Tête-à-tête: Conversations in Canadian Jewish Studies, he’s betting that the best way to bring fresh scholarship to a wider audience isn’t another journal article – it’s a smart, human exchange you can listen to on a walk, a commute or over coffee.
Koffman, an associate professor in York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), is editor-in-chief of the journal Canadian Jewish Studies. He is also the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry.
The idea for Tête-à-tête grew out of the editorial team’s shared enthusiasm for podcasts – especially those that deliver sharp insights in a lively, accessible style. Recognizing that many people never open academic journals, they saw an opportunity: why not use the podcast format to bring new research to a broader, curious audience?
“The medium is great for people who may want to learn and be engaged in the subject matter but aren’t already dedicated readers [of] academic journals,” Koffman says.
Instead of expecting listeners to wade through dense research, each episode distills new scholarship into a lively, 20- or 25-minute conversation. The result is user-friendly, engaging and open to anyone, whether they’re a student, a scholar or just curious about Jewish life in Canada and beyond.
Much of that openness is possible because of York University’s deep involvement. The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, which sponsors both the podcast and the journal, is based at York’s Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies. The University also hosts the digital journal and features York faculty among the podcast’s guests, making York a hub for both new research and public conversation.
For Koffman, the most rewarding part is hearing the personalities and ideas come alive.
“What I find most engaging about it is listening to the actual voices of the scholars who are interviewed,” he says. “In a way you can actually hear them think aloud – which is much more intimate than reading.”
That sense of immediacy shapes the podcast’s content. The debut episode explores Jewish education in Canada with guest Dan Held, chief programming officer at United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto.
Laura Wiseman, a professor in York’s Faculty of Education, LA&PS and Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Koschitzky Family Chair in Jewish Teacher Education, co-edited a recent special issue of Canadian Jewish Studies devoted to the topic.
The second episode shines a light on Chava Rosenfarb, a Polish-born Canadian Yiddish writer whose work is being rediscovered in Poland. The forthcoming third episode digs into what children wrote in Yiddish textbooks in the 1950s and ’60s, offering a window into the everyday lives and dreams of mid-20th-century Canadian Jewish youth.
Future episodes promise to broaden the scope even further, with topics ranging from voting patterns and interfaith marriage to the evolving attitudes of Canadians toward Jews and Muslims.
One upcoming episode will feature research on religious intermarriage, co-authored by York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton and guest Robert Brym, a leading sociologist at the University of Toronto – an example of how the podcast draws on both the University’s leadership and the country’s top scholars.
The production itself adds another layer of character. Producer Michelle Chang weaves in original piano music by J.K. Bradley, giving each episode a subtle sense of movement and atmosphere without overshadowing the conversation.
With artistic touches such as these, Tête-à-tête isn’t just making Canadian Jewish Studies more accessible – it’s making the field more vibrant, more connected and, most importantly, more human.
“Podcasting about the new research,” Koffman says, “will make the research itself more accessible to a wider audience, including students, scholars and interested community members – Canadian Jews, non-Jewish Canadians and non-Canadian Jews from around the globe.”
Episodes of Tête-à-tête are available on the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies website and on major podcast platforms.