Jewish-Americans

Not many bands mix post-punk with feminism, with Jewish heritage. At least, no one does it like the Brooklyn-based four piece the Shondes.

Alyx Vesey, who’s a Bitch contributor and runs the blog Feminist Music Geek spoke with the Shondes—Louisa, Temim, Eli, and Fureigh—at this year’s South By Southwest Festival. Feminism and activism is an important part of how the Shondes make their music, and in the following interview you can hear how it impacts not just their writing but their work in the studio and on tour. The band also talks about reclaiming the word shonde, Yiddish for "disgrace," what it's like to deal with heartache as an activist, and their affinity for Bruce Springsteen.

You can stream the podcast right here, or you can subscribe to Bitch Media on iTunes or RSS, or download it from archive.org. For a transcript of the full interview, click here (.doc). Read more from Alyx Vesey at Feminist Music Geek, and don't forget to see The Shondes when they come to your town!

UPDATE: The audio has been updated so that the interview is audible. It is still static, but now you can hear it. I'm so sorry for the mistake! The transcript has also been updated. -Kjerstin

Looking back on a literary icon.

Credited with inventing the family sitcom, a successful, decade-spanning career in television and radio, author of over 10,000 scripts, and a mother on-screen and off, Gertrude Berg is "the most famous woman in America you've never heard of."

How interesting is it that Jewish American female identity is packaged in a new doll and unpacked in a new book all in the same week?