Lend your ear to Pittsburghers’ podcasts
Across the globe, Pittsburghers are producing hours of content. Listen up
Seeking to expand your knowledge with help from local experts? These three Pittsburghers have podcasts about topics close to home — even if the subjects have little to do with Pittsburgh.
Whether covering Israeli culture, Orthodox Jewish dating or fictionalized stories bolstered by personal memory, podcasters Jake Gillis, Sarah Levine and Frank Schiffman have hours of content for Pittsburghers and beyond.
Gillis, a University of Pittsburgh graduate who moved to Israel five years ago, is the founder and host of “Sababoosh,” a media site and podcast about Israeli culture, food, music, literature and cinema.
Speaking by phone from Tel Aviv, Gillis described his work as offering listeners — primarily English speakers in the Diaspora — a “light approach” to Israel.
When seeking information about Israel, it’s easy to become saturated with stories that are “heavy and difficult to read or to listen to,” he said. The problem with wearying pieces is they often preclude one’s ability to see all the “lovable” aspects of Israel, like its music, movies, television or even “Israeli books in Hebrew.”
Before moving to Israel, Gillis was a longtime podcast listener.
The war, he said, prompted him to start his own media outlet months ago.
“I thought this is a heavy and scary time, but this could be the right time,” he said. “I’m living in Tel Aviv — it’s easier to access some of the people who I was thinking of having as guests — and I just got started.”
Along with weekly Substack articles on topics ranging from Israeli architecture to television shows, “Sababoosh” boasts interviews with cultural figures, including screenwriter Dorit Rabinyan, chef Adeena Sussman and author Etgar Keret.
The former Pittsburgh resident said he spends between 10-20 hours a week on the project. His biggest expenses are studio fees; and though podcasting doesn’t require one to utilize optimal equipment, Gillis believes the investment is worthwhile.
“Early on, if I was gonna have a guest that really had a lot of experience, or was established in their field, I didn’t want to necessarily bring them into my apartment with a microphone,” Gillis said.
Renting studio space ranges in price depending on location. For Gillis, the money is well spent. He values his product and hopes to make Sababoosh profitable someday.
Former Squirrel Hill resident Sarah Levine hosts “Good for Shidduchim.” The podcast covers humorous and painful topics within the world of Orthodox Jewish dating. Along with her brother-in-law, co-host Max Landesman, Levine addresses singles’ events, costs of dating, parent involvement, monogamy, eating disorders and messaging pangs. Interviewees include relationship coaches, matchmakers and therapists.
Speaking by phone from Jerusalem, Levine said the podcast — “like a lot of good ideas” — was prompted by a conversation around a Shabbat table.
Levine had just gotten married to Landesman’s brother and listened to her new relative bemoan the dating process. She, too, remembered the challenges experienced, as well as what it was like being considered an “older” bride — Levine was 32 at the time of her wedding — she said.
Talking — or “commiserating” — led to an idea. Landesman suggested the two relatives make a podcast. He was experienced with audio and editing. Levine was an open-minded neophyte.
They agreed to do one episode.
It went well, Levine said, so they tried another, and then another, and kept going.
After 32 episodes, “Good for Shidduchim” just wrapped its first season.
The podcast hasn’t eliminated ghosting, terrible matchmakers or disastrous first dates, but it has emboldened a community who “share the same feelings as we do,” Levine said.
There’s a mutual sense that Orthodox Jewish dating operates with difficulties, but giving voice to topics doesn’t mean there’s agreement between the podcasters. After selecting an episode subject, neither Levine nor Landesman know where the other will land once the mics turn on. Levine is occasionally surprised by her co-host’s take, but that adds to the educational experience, she said.
“I learn from my brother-in-law,” she continued. “He puts into perspective the day-to-day of what it’s like dating.” At the same time, Levine is trying not to “bring more jadedness toward it,” she said. “It was a big part of my life and I did grow from it.”
Levine hopes listeners, whether single or not, learn from the podcast and she pointed to next season as offering ample opportunities.
The co-hosts are upping their recording schedule to multiple times per week. With Levine recently moving to Israel, and her brother-in-law in the U.S., it will be a challenge but the commitment is there, she said.
Each episode of “Good for Shidduchim” lasts between 35-60 minutes. Preparing, recording and editing can take another five to seven hours. Levine credits Landesman with handling the podcast’s editing and technical aspects.
As the second season gets underway, listeners can expect new topics, new guests and a push for more statistics and science-backed data, Levine said.
The latter is in response to a phenomenon of sorts: Some of her husband’s single friends — many of whom are in their mid to upper 30s — have asked her to set them up with someone 10 to 15 years younger.
The request often has to do with people’s thoughts about fertility, said Levine, who before moving to Israel several months ago spent seven years working as a nurse in critical care settings, including NYU Langone Tisch Hospital’s neonatal intensive care.
“I really want to have a fertility specialist talk about women’s reproduction and women’s fertility in one episode, and then men’s reproduction and men’s fertility in another episode,” she said.
With the new season set to start, “Good for Shidduchim” hopes to attract more sponsors. In the meantime, the fact that a conversation that started around a Shabbat table continues growing is “humbling,” Levine said. “There’s a lot more to learn.”
Upper St. Clair resident Frank Schiffman calls himself a “closet podcaster.”
The self-designation makes sense — Schiffman records in a third-floor cupboard.
Before chronicling his memories and creating fictionalized tales under the Out-Of-Place banner, Schiffman spent decades as a public relations professional. He produced and acted in training films and live shows. The experiences introduced him to the importance of sound and studios, but Schiffman said he still knew nothing about software, posting or platforms.
For much of Schiffman’s life he wanted to “be an entertainer,” he said.
Out-Of-Place affords that opportunity. To date, he’s completed 14 episodes. Recordings vary in length. Some are as short as 12 minutes. Others span more than an hour. Each episode relies on a script and the drafting process can take months, he said.
Schiffman records with a Blue Yeti microphone and edits with Audacity software. He employs deliberate pacing and occasionally relies on actors to voice different parts. Collectively, Out-Of-Pace is reminiscent of old-time radio shows.
“It’s kind of modeled after that,” he said. “I want the audience to listen to it and feel like they’re right there.”
His target demographic is people “in their 50s, 60s and older,” he said.
Schiffman is proud of his product. Along with encouraging listeners to check out Out-Of-Pace, he hopes people give podcasting a try.
“The internet is your friend and so is YouTube,” he said. The key to beginning is simply beginning, he continued. “Go get the equipment — get minimal equipment — use your computer. You’d laugh if you came over and I showed you how little I need to get up and running.”
For those thinking about starting, there’s no need to buy top of the line tools, he said. “I started off with a microphone that was probably 30 bucks in my first podcast, and I just sat there and played with it.”
From hours of online reading and tutorial viewing he learned how to maximize microphone usage and make the most out of software.
Schiffman is proud to be a storyteller. Some of his recorded anecdotes are fictional, but his final message rings true: “If a guy that started this at 66 years old is out there doing this part-time, anybody else that has the gumption, that wants to do it, can do it.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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