In the beginning was the text. Jewish conversations start with a text. Ours begins with an oral text – a human story, as told by a podcast – which we bring it into conversation with a classic Jewish text. We then add to the mix a conversation between Leon and his guests.

Pod Drash works in two directions, adding richness to other podcasts by adding a Jewish perspective, while simultaneously prompting Jewish tradition to continue developing in response to today’s most pressing issues, as captured by the other podcasts.

Pod Drash harnesses the time-tested power of the spoken word in its newest venue, the podcast, to expand the reach of meaningful Jewish conversations to audiences who might otherwise not participate in them.

Pod Drash builds upon the age-old Jewish practice of unpacking, examining, and expanding the text. By weaving together the strands – the oral text, the written text, and the conversation between Leon and his guests that includes their own thoughts and experiences – into a sprawling, new text, Pod Drash advances an understanding of Torah as an ongoing, inconclusive conversation.