{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Jewish Studies","slug":"new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327","podcast_index_feed_id":313327,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT1748646590","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/religion-faith/jewish-studies/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/39a56132-ef86-11e8-b21b-1b19c77002c7/image/60cca3664f8db6504a688566b559fc80.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":1494,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T16:20:23.309680+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327"},"episode":{"title":"\"My Heart is in the East\": How Yiddish Speakers Moved to the East","slug":"my-heart-is-in-the-east-how-yiddish-speakers-moved-to-the-east","published_at":"2026-05-19T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327/my-heart-is-in-the-east-how-yiddish-speakers-moved-to-the-east","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK7959486365.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK7959486365.mp3","summary":"The question of origins is often difficult to study because originators do not always leave a paper trail. Therefore, uncovering origins can be challenging – and the story of the background of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Eastern Europe is no exception. It is complicated by the fact that in the recent past the Jewish population of the area was in the millions and it is not obvious where they came from. It is tempting for some to see them as having come from the Rhineland in search of safety and security but there are many reasons to be dubious about this. What is much more likely, as we shall see, is that the basis for the Yiddish-speaking Jewish population of Eastern Europe was the Jewish population of what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. They came in dribs and drabs because of economic pressures. We will examine various pieces of evidence that support this picture. While not dramatic, it was pragmatic and successful. Economic changes in the Polish-Lithuanian lands offered new opportunities to Jews and this in turn, led to conditions of rapid population growth – rapid enough to create a massive population within several centuries. This lecture was originally held on July 22, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies","meta_description":"The question of origins is often difficult to study because originators do not always leave a paper trail. Therefore, uncovering origins can be challengin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":0,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327/episodes/my-heart-is-in-the-east-how-yiddish-speakers-moved-to-the-east/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-jewish-studies-313327/my-heart-is-in-the-east-how-yiddish-speakers-moved-to-the-east.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}