/ Future Tense

Future Tense

A new podcast that puts today’s biggest Jewish questions in the hands of the leaders of tomorrow.

On Future Tense, rising Jewish leaders drive conversations with scholars from the Shalom Hartman Institute on the most pressing issues facing their generation. Over six episodes, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow explore belonging, Zionism, and identity in this trailblazing new podcast series.

Subscribe to Future Tense wherever you get your podcasts. 

Episode 1:
Can We Get Along? – With Donniel Hartman

The Jewish community encompasses a wide spectrum of beliefs, identities, and practices—but what happens when we try to bring all of that under one roof? Is it possible—or even desirable—to create spaces for everyone to come together?

In the inaugural episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow sit down with Shalom Hartman Institute President Donniel Hartman to unpack the real meaning of pluralism. Together, they explore what it takes to create spaces that nurture Jewish togetherness across profound differences—and whether unity requires more than just inclusion. 🎧Listen Now

Episode 2:
Conflict on Campus – With Masua Sagiv

For the duration of the Israel-Hamas war, university campuses have served as an ideological battleground.

In this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow bring their experiences on different college campuses and explore the tensions of liberal Zionism with Masua Sagiv. Together, they carve out space for nuance and examine competing values amidst the loud and vitriolic discourse that often defines the campus climate. 🎧Listen Now

Episode 3:
Being Jewish in Public – with Elana Stein Hain 

Many young Jews are taught that they have a responsibility to publicly represent the Jewish people—an expectation that can feel especially heavy during the formative years of personal growth and identity development.

In this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow explore how to balance the challenges of representation with their own personal development as young Jewish leaders and their relationship with the world at large. Together with guest scholar Elana Stein Hain, they untangle the benefits and challenges of connecting beyond the Jewish community and explore what it means to be Jewish ambassadors to the non-Jewish world.  🎧Listen Now

Episode 4:
Jewish Enough – with Sara Labaton

What does it mean to be Jewish when there is no single way that all Jews look, act, or believe? Given the diversity of Jewish experience and practice, what unites us as a people?

In this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow sit down with guest scholar Sara Labaton to unpack the symbols, assumptions, and subtle signals that shape belonging in Jewish life today. 🎧Listen Now

Episode 5:
No Perfect Home – with Deb Barer

So much of Jewish life revolves around community—but no single space can perfectly reflect everyone’s values, needs, or identity. How do we decide which communities to join and when it’s time to leave?

In this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna WeissSami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow are joined by Hartman Senior Faculty and Future Tense Advisor, Deb Barer, to explore how we make thoughtful choices about where to invest our time and energy—and how to balance the desire for belonging with the reality that no community will meet all of our needs. 🎧Listen Now

Episode 6:
What Comes Next? – with Yehuda Kurtzer

What kind of Jewish future do we want to build – and how do we build something that will last?

On this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow reflect on their upbringings and share their visions for Jewish life. Together with Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute, they explore how values are transmitted and imagine different versions of the Jewish future that they want to create.  🎧Listen Now

Meet the Hosts

Yadid Orlow is a recent graduate of Binghamton University from White Plains, New York, and a former madrich in the Hartman Teen Fellowship

Anna Weiss is a rising senior at Muhlenberg College from Los Angeles, California, and an alum of Hartman’s Hevruta Gap-Year Program.

Sami Jinich is a recent graduate of Duke University from Chevy Chase, Maryland, and an alum of Hartman’s Hevruta Gap-Year Program

Meet the Guests

President, Shalom Hartman Institute

President, Shalom Hartman Institute

Rosh Beit Midrash and Senior Research Fellow

Senior Faculty

Director of Teaching and Learning

Senior Faculty

Our Team

Vice President of Communications and Creative

Producer

Production Assistant

Senior Faculty

Digital Media Manager

Questions?

For questions about the Future Tense podcast, please contact Tessa Zitter, Producer.

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