Gracia Mendes was the most powerful Jewish woman since Queen Esther. Defying princes and Popes she amassed a fortune, supporting the poor, patronizing culture, and building an underground railroad to aid conversos escaping the clutches of the Inquisition. Here is her story. Want to help tell the Jewish Story? Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer

Epistemology is not about what you know, but about how you know anything all. The word may seem unsettling, but that is nothing compared to the breakdown which Europeans suffered as the foundations of medieval thought dissolved in the 16th century. Copernicus started a revolution which removed the Earth from the center of the Universe…

The printing press helped spark a knowledge explosion which changed the world, and of course, less than fifty years after Gutenberg printed his Bible, Jewish presses were already transforming the face of the Hebrew book. As one good revolution deserves another – this episode also explores the role that text played in the dawn of…

One of the hallmarks of the early modern era is mobility, which means we will be jumping around a bit. This episode follows the story of the exiles upon their arrival in Italy. They take with them a messianic hope that the end is near, and they find their the spirit of Italian humanism. When…

As the Jews of Ashkenaz moved eastward, they brought their customs and language with them. What they found waiting in Poland was a refuge that would allow them to prosper for hundreds of years. Want to help tell the Jewish Story? Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer