S4E30 - The power of Yiddish children's stories to shape our world | Miriam Udel
Published: November 9, 2025
Duration: 1:07:34
Video link to this interview: https://youtu.be/1y8ejrX4Jos
In this episode, I talk with Miriam Udel, who teaches Yiddish language, literature, and culture at Emory University. Miriam has done something quite wonderful—she’s brought to life a wide range of Yiddish children’s stories, translating them into English and making them accessible again. These stories, written before and after the Holocaust, capture the worlds Jews once imagined for their children—worlds that were playful, moral, rebellious, sometimes heartbreakingly earnest.
We talk about how children’s literature works as a cultural time capsule: how it ref...
In this episode, I talk with Miriam Udel, who teaches Yiddish language, literature, and culture at Emory University. Miriam has done something quite wonderful—she’s brought to life a wide range of Yiddish children’s stories, translating them into English and making them accessible again. These stories, written before and after the Holocaust, capture the worlds Jews once imagined for their children—worlds that were playful, moral, rebellious, sometimes heartbreakingly earnest.
We talk about how children’s literature works as a cultural time capsule: how it ref...