Not So Kosher Podcast

Not So Kosher Podcast is a comedy interview show filed under Jewish humor. It earns the label less through set pieces than through talk that won't stay tidy. Episodes come from a back room the hosts call the Stewdios, a spelling they make a point of reading out letter by letter. The hosts, introduced in one episode as Bexie and Bobby, sound like two people used to riffing together, and they joke that they have been around each other too long. Nothing starts cleanly. One episode opens by defending a double stepladder, a twenty-dollar find from a neighbor's sale, and the word 'cheap' gets said and then taken back before anyone moves on. Another warms up with clap jokes before the guest is formally welcomed. That looseness is the appeal. Corrections become bits, and small domestic details, like whether teeth get brushed before leaving the house, get followed further than most interviewers would bother. The guests give the show its range. Christopher Noxon, an author appearing at the JCC as part of the Twin Cities Jewish Humor Fest, explains the requirements of conversion: the mikvah, approval from a bet din of rabbis and, for men, circumcision. The hosts never had to go through any of it themselves, and they answer with disbelief and a double-jeopardy joke. Ned Specktor, the Happy Monday founder introduced as a local boy gone to Hollywood, arrives with his parents, who came only for support and end up in the spotlight. His talk turns to meditation, goals and gratitude, and he gladly takes the host's Tony Robbins comparison as a compliment. Ali Sultan, pitched as the funniest guy an internet search could find, wonders along with the host whether Acme will move as condos go up, describes a gig deep in Wisconsin and mentions an upcoming move to New York. The live episode, 68-LIVE with @crazyjewishmom, features Kim Friedman and Kate Siegel. One stretch tries to get to college stories while a bed-wetting ex-boyfriend keeps getting dragged back in, and the night ends at a book-signing table. Local places come up by name, including Acme, the JCC and the Humor Fest, and one speaker won't say which lake a morning walk went around, joking about paparazzi. The humor is adult. A parody sponsor spot in one episode is crude on purpose, and sexual and bodily jokes turn up without warning. The closing plugs are shameless, asking people to like, share and even donate. What a listener gets is less a polished interview than the feeling of sitting in on one that keeps going off the rails, with the sign-off 'be well my Juniverse' at the end.