History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast

Rabbi Aubrey Hersh is a historian, lecturer, and tour guide based at the JLE (Jewish Learning Exchange) in London, and his podcast brings that tour-guide energy to Jewish history. Hosted by Mena Reisner, each episode features Hersh walking through a specific historical topic in rich, narrative detail. With 191 episodes and a 4.9-star rating from 236 reviews, the show has built one of the strongest track records in Jewish history podcasting since launching in 2021. Episodes run 50 to 70 minutes and cover 2,000 years of Jewish heritage, from the destruction of the Temple through medieval Europe, the Spanish Inquisition, and into the modern era. A recent Passover episode explored the story of matzah baking in the Soviet Union, which tells you something about the kind of angles Hersh finds. He is not retreading the obvious stories -- he is finding the overlooked ones and telling them with the skill of someone who has spent years guiding people through historical sites in person. Reisner keeps the conversation moving with sharp questions that prevent the episodes from becoming monologues. The pacing is deliberate but never slow. Hersh has a gift for making you feel the weight of a historical moment -- when he describes a community under threat, you understand what was at stake because he has built the context brick by brick. The British perspective also sets this apart from the mostly American and Israeli Jewish history podcasts. For listeners who want their history told with narrative craft and genuine passion, this show delivers consistently.