Kara & Eli

In this episode, Kara and Eli explore how our inability to translate our language, and ourselves, undermines meaningful dialogue. How can we challenge complex norms and ideas if we remain more committed to binary frameworks than to understanding one another’s lived experiences? The antidote, they argue, is storytelling. By illuminating how our experiences shape our perspectives, storytelling has the power to depolarize conversation. It’s an approach at the heart of Project Shema’s work.

Chapter Breakdown:

• 0:00: The role of translating
• 2:51: The idea of “binary rage”
• 3:58: How we change complex social norms
• 4:58: How do we start to translate from a place of stories?
• 8:11: How Kara translates herself in her experiences as a Black Jewish woman
• 9:51: How Eli translates himself as a white member of a Black Jewish family
• 12:00: The impact of ideological insularity
• 13:00: Project Shema’s mission to translate and “wrestle”
• 19:34: The notion of harmful speech
• 21:50: Going beyond translating just antisemitism
• 24:01: Previewing future episodes

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Visit our website: www.projectshema.org.

Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Every six months, we dive into a different topic shaping our world and our work. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations