Shows
Little DeathThe Normalization of a Death Cult: Disentangling Zionism with Dvorah SilvermanIs Zionism a death cult? For this special mid-season episode, host of Little Death podcast, Dvorah Silverman, delves into the manipulative mechanics of Zionism across time, the resistance movements that have always existed in parallel and how modern Zionism has shaped our present-day (distorted) realities. Employing Michael Langone’s 3Ds of cult dynamics - Deception, Dependence and Dread - Dvorah breaks down Zionism's persuasive recruitment tactics, insidious control of information and the repercussions of leaving for those who dare to question. To illuminate the “exceptional” case of Israel, Dvorah shares their journey of unraveling the cultishness of Zionism...2025-05-291h 02Little DeathCommuning with Ghosts: Ancient Jewish Practices for Modern Times with Madison SlobinIn this episode, I am joined by local Queer Jewish ritualist, matchmaker and cultural connector: Madison Slobin. Divulging a once fearful relationship with ghosts and death, Madi vulnerably invites us into her subconscious to reveal ancestral encounters and the portals of connection that became possible once she was open to them. She offers her experiences with supernatural visitations from her Ashkenazi grandparents and the ancient Jewish divinatory practice of dream interpretation. During the pandemic, this led Madi along a hallowed path towards co-creating “the place/s” (hamakom) where she wanted to be. Elaborating on the concept of “spiritual technology”—ritual tha...2025-03-031h 07Little DeathTenderness as Liberatory Resistance: Immortalizing Ladino and Sephardic Heritage with Shaurie BidotIn this episode, I sit down with the tender and tenacious Shaurie Bidot as they invite us along a pilgrimage of ancestral wisdom, remembrance and blessings from their Latin heritage originating from the Indigenous Taíno tribe of Puerto Rico to their roots in the American South. From the context of growing up in the South as a queer Afro-Latinx Sephardi Jew, Shaurie offers their formative perspectives on death as a grounding practice and spiritual guide in how they approach personal relationships and liberatory politics. Informed by their multi-racial, multi-cultural and ethnically diverse landscapes, Shaurie explores grief practices as a...2025-02-171h 03Little DeathGrief, Humour and Chutzpah in Diaspora with Jess Goldman Part 2In Part 2, I continue my rich conversation with Jess on how identities are crafted in relationship to our histories. We share laughter over Yiddish comedic traditions where grief meets hilarity and absurdity. Jess makes insightful connections between death and body humour as possible pathways of Jewish diasporic resistance. They share an excerpt they wrote as a Writer in Residence that was inspired by the passing of their grandparents, or their Bubbe and Zayde. In confronting their own internalized Zionism, they reckon with the devastating material reality and urgency of Israel’s national project of land theft in Palestine....2024-12-2937 minLittle DeathJewish Authenticity and Yiddishkayt Yearning with Jess Goldman Part 1In Part 1 of the episode, I kibitz (chitchat) with Jess about what it means to be a queer diasporic Jew at this moment and in relation to Ashkenazi history and culture. They touch on the possibilities and limitations of what lies in the past, such as the influence of historical anti- and non-Zionist resistances on liberatory movements today. From this context, Jess troubles Jewish authenticity, or the idea of a single, valid Judaism and how modern Zionism has erased the diverseness and multiplicity of Jewish identities across the diaspora. They discuss the importance for them in embracing a longing...2024-12-2851 minLittle DeathThe Death of Our Spirits with Ry Sword AvolaFor Little Death's first guest interview, I sit down with my friend and fellow disruptor Ry Sword Avola to talk about the ways they are grappling with death and grief in this moment - from the context of their own familial history, as well as their queer and trans chosen community. They share about the evolution of their spirituality and the curious connections that are made possible across time and space with their loved ones as they transition. We discuss the grief that comes in witnessing gruesome and violent images on social media and how digital spaces can create...2024-12-0257 minLittle DeathThat's a Good Graveyard with Dvorah Silverman Part 2In Part 2 of the first Little Death interview with yours truly, I share about my experiences growing up with death, as well as the cultural practices and Jewish grieving rituals that surrounded me. I speak about conflating Jewish culture and faith with the racist ideology of Zionism, and the fear-mongering and gaslighting experienced by Palestinian peoples through a normalization of violence in Israeli society. I discuss the interconnectedness between ongoing struggles for Indigenous peoples on these lands and in Palestine. Ending with how liberation in the present can be found in small moments of joy and what dreams I...2024-11-1148 minLittle DeathA Wedding and a Funeral with Dvorah Silverman Part 1In the first Little Death interview, my dear friend, Emily Goldsmith, takes over as host. Em is a queer artist, actor, educator, fellow witch, yogi, writer, and comedian. Em asks me the same questions that I will ask others throughout this season: Who are your people? What role does grief and loss play in your life, work, activism and artistic endeavours? And how does this inform the ways you dream up liberatory worlds? Em and I reminisce on how we first met and why we resonate with the term, “queer platonic partner,” in the radic...2024-11-1151 minLittle DeathWelcome Little DeathiesIn this introductory episode, I want to bring each of you along in the odyssey of how this podcast came to be and the many metamorphoses that had to happen within me, through me and around me to be able to get to this particular moment. In this process, I will share a bit of who I am as a queer anti-Zionist Jewish settler and as a passionate researcher, organizer, and truth teller. As well as the lineages of thought that inform this podcast, from my philosophies, to my eco-based spiritualities and decolonial politics. I will do this in...2024-11-0439 min
Globetrotter Pod41 - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Anti-Colonialism & A Hope For A Better Future with Dvorah SilvermanHappy New Year! May 2024 bring you happiness, joy and success! In today’s episode, our guest Dvorah Silverman talks us through their perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Guest speaker’s profile:
Dvorah Silverman, M.A. (any/all)
Equity • Research • Education
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvorah-silverman-ma-130a7876/
Email: dvorahsilvermanconsulting@gmail.com
Website: https://dvorahsilverman.wixsite.com/my-site
“Not in our name” in Yiddish = nit in aundzer nomen
Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver Youth Bloc: @ijvyouthbloc
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Links shared by...2024-01-1333 min
Globetrotter Pod33 - Jewish-Canadian Identity and Indigenous Peoples' Rights with Dvorah SilvermanOn today’s episode, we are joined by Dvorah Silverman, who shares her experience of finding her Jewish-Canadian identity while trying to reconcile her country’s past with its relationship to the indigenous peoples of Canada. Dvorah discusses Kimberly Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality and how we can transform theory into practice.
Get in touch with Dvorah:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dvorah-silverman-130a7876
Instagram: @dvorahsilverman
Events and scholars mentioned in this episode:
● Oka Crisis (1990). Read more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis
● Kimberly Crenshaw is an Ameri...2023-01-3142 min