Editor's Picks: Hanukkah
Our Favorite Pieces about the Festival of Lights
Table of Contents
- Editor's whats? See how we choose the pieces that go on this list.
- Click here to browse our entire collection of Chanukah-related audio. (Try searching "Hanukkah" and "Hannukah" too!)
Hour Specials
- Illuminations: Jewish Culture in the Light of the World
Claire Schoen, 3 hour-long pieces - A series of 3 hour-long radio documentaries about Jewish culture in relation to the larger society.
- Compact Discoveries 22: Music for Hanukkah?
Fred Flaxman, 58:00 - There's lots of music for Christmas, but what music goes with Hanukkah? Host Fred Flaxman has some answers. Part of the Compact Discoveries series.
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Hanukkah: A Great Miracle Happened There
Larry Josephson, 59:00 - A conversation between Rabbi Ismar Schorsch and Host Larry Josephson about the history, rituals and meaning of Hanukkah--and its importance in our time.
- "With the loud, simplified, all pervasive Christian clamor I'm hearing on all levels and from all corners coming from my native country I found this program a welcome, soothing and important listen." -
Van Halteren | full review
- The Kabbalah of Chanukah
Russ Jennings, 55:54 - Mystical tales and teachings & Jewish sacred music from around the world.
- "A breath of fresh air--not at all like the standard fare holiday program you typically hear this time of year." - Perez - full review
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Portraits of Faith
Aaron Henkin, 49:30 - Nine people of nine different faiths and philosophies attempt to answer a deceptively simple question: What does it mean to you to believe?
- "A thoughtful program on religion, the kind I can listen to without cringing from post-traumatic Christianity... this show is highly recommended during the holiday season." - Roberts | full review
- Brooklyn According to Kalish
Jon Kalish, 60:00 - Veteran public radio reporter Jon Kalish's 16-year journey into the Orthodox Jewish community of Brooklyn.
- "Intriguing, fascinating stuff... The intimacy of the piece is almost palatable." - Nuzum | full review
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Dave Isay, 58:59
Merz | full reviewDave Isay, 59:00
Half-hour
- A Chanukah Musical Celebration
WGUC, 29:48 - The spirit of Chanukah is richly reflected in the folk melodies and songs from countries across the globe where Jews have lived and worshipped for centuries.
Segment-Length
- La Nona Kanta ("The Grandmother Sings")
Nextbook / Julie Subrin, 15:00 - Flory Jagoda grew up in a family of singers. Her childhood, in a mountain village outside of Sarajevo, was filled with songs, sung in Ladino - the language passed down by Jews expelled from Spain during the Inquisition - that told of the loves, lives and rituals of her community. Jagoda is perhaps best known for what has now become something of a Hanukkah standard, her original composition, "Ocho Kandelikas."
- My Favorite Things
Rebecca Sheir, 06:49 - A closet Christmas music junkie discovers the real meaning of the holiday season -- and it's all about bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Is the Festival of Lights any less guilty of succumbing to materialism?
- "Any holiday piece that includes the word schlep is a-ok in my book, and in this one, you get to hear snippets of the animal version of 'My Favorite Things.'" - Lewis | full review
- The Picture in the Flame
WFUV, 11:13 - A renowned storyteller and a singer-guitarist combine their talents to share a Hanukkah tale.
- "This is tale that would probably work best on the first night of Hannukah.... A classic feeling, "feel-good" kind of holiday story." - Hanford | full review
- Chanukah with Byron
Terin Mayer, 08:55 - Celebrating Chanukah in a dingy dorm lounge with an unlikely companion.
- "A glancing look at the glancing relationships we sometimes try to invent for ourselves during the holidays." - Dougherty | full review
- Schnartzenholler
Outfront, 13:19 - It's not Christmas. It's not Hannukah. It's Schnartzenholler! When Emily Pearlman was a child her Jewish father and Christian mother created their own unique holiday celebration.
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