Jake Retzlaff has earned a spot as one of America's top college football quarterbacks, rising with the Brigham Young University Cougars as the first Jewish quarterback to ever play at the Mormon university. But it's precisely that religious juxtaposition that got Retzlaff in trouble with the BYU Cougars, after a brief legal action in May 2025 saw an anonymous accusation of sexual assault lobbied against the college athlete. Even though the case was dismissed with prejudice on June 30, Retzlaff conceded that he had sexual relations with the woman, which is against BYU's religious rules. Instead of facing a lengthy suspension, Retzlaff applied for a transfer.

BYU's loss turned into Tulane University's gain, as Retzlaff will now vie for the starting QB spot on the Tulane Green Wave, repping a university that proudly stands as one of the first in the American South to allow Jews—and now has, according to some estimates, a Jewish student population as high as 40 percent. How will Retlaff perform at "Jewlane" University? What are the expectations? We ask Isaac Popper, an insider with the Green Wave and sports reporter based in New Orleans, for answers.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
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From July 18-20, Torontonians everywhere in the city heard the thunderous roar of racing cars running circuits around the downtown Exhibition Place. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto brought drivers and racing fans from around the world—including at least one (but maybe two) Jewish athletes.

Robert Shwartzman, the Israeli rookie who stunned the world by taking pole position at the acclaimed Indy 500 in May, continued his fall back to Earth in Toronto, where he came in 16th place. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Nolan Siegel of Arrow McLaren is believed by most to be Jewish—including folks at the Jewish Federations of Toronto and Indianapolis, as well as Jewish racing fans—but we've yet to confirm this. He did, however, finish 18th. Interpret that how you will.

The Menschwarmers' own Gabe Pulver went down to the event to learn what he could and witness the noise firsthand. He reports back to guest host Michael Fraiman, who later explains how Jewish NBA rookies Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf performed for the Brooklyn Nets during the 2025 Summer League.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

On the first night of the NBA draft on June 25, the most surprising team was undoubtedly the Brooklyn Nets. They had five first-round picks—and, for the first time in NBA history, kept all of them. They picked Egor Demin earlier than anyone would have predicted. And they used two of their picks—back-to-back at numbers 26 and 27—on this year's only Jewish prospects, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf.

Saraf, an Israeli guard, is a skilled passer and playmaker who just took his German team to the finals of Germany's national league; Wolf, an American who has played for Israel's national team, brings a seven-foot frame, excellent court vision and smart footwork. Both will vie for permanent roster spots in Brooklyn's young core, making their Summer League debuts this week.

To learn more about who these players are and how they fit into Brooklyn's future plans, the Menschwarmers invited on Nick Agar-Johnson, the editor-in-chief of No Ceilings, a website, Substack and podcast that specialize in year-round NBA draft coverage.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

In March 2025, Josh Goldenberg had all but given up his dreams of playing professional golf. Using his finance degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he took a job at Goldman Sachs. But when he saw an opening to play in a qualifying tournament for the RBC Canadian Open, he signed up and flew up north on a Sunday—so he wouldn't have to take work off—and ended up earning a spot on his first PGA Tour. Goldenberg shares his remarkable story on this week's Menschwarmers, along with his thoughts on being a proudly Jewish player and how he carries that through his life.

Also in this episode: Gabe recounts how Robert Shwartzman fell as quickly as he rose in his recent F1 race, and the hosts pay homage to Zach Hyman, who won't play in the Stanley Cup Finals due to injuries—despite the Edmonton Oilers remaining both the most Canadian and most Jewish team to root for this year.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

Jewish racing fans were thrilled to see rookie Robert Shwartzman win what's called "pole position"—the starting spot, ahead of all other racers—at this week's forthcoming Indy 500 competition. The surprise victory vaults Shwartzman into rare company as one of the only rookies to earn the feat, and sets him up to possibly become the first Jewish winner of the famous race since the 1940s. It's major international news—and podcast host Gabe Pulver knows the sport well enough to explain it all to you on this week's Menschwarmers.

Also in this episode, we've got two other big stories out of Indiana. First, the hosts recap the legacy of former Indianapolis Colts owner and general manager Jim Irsay, whose father was Jewish and who passed away just hours before our recording. Later on, they discuss the competitor team to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals: the New York Knicks, the most Jewish-seeming team remaining in the NBA playoffs, and certainly the one with the loudest Jewish fanbase. (We're looking at you, Timothée Chalamet.)

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

Yeshiva University's men's basketball team rose to prominence during a Cinderella run in the 2021-22 season, earning the league's longest winning streak under star Ryan Turell and snatching the number-one seed in Division III basketball. Now, the team is back in the national spotlight for a different reason: a new documentary that follows the boys as they navigate their 2023-24 season in a post-Oct. 7 world.

Rebound: A Year of Triumph and Tragedy at Yeshiva University Basketball premiered in April 2025 on FOX Nation. The team, which had six Israeli players on the roster, deliberated whether to cancel their season outright or play on. They ended up taking a mid-season trip to Israel, where they visited family and bore witness to the recent tragedy, ultimately deciding to use their platform to support Israel publicly.

Director Pat Dimon joins Menschwarmers to discuss why he felt compelled to tell this story and what it was like following the team all the way to the Skyline Conference championships.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

If you're the type of sports fan who wants to root for the most Jewish team in any given postseason, the Edmonton Oilers deserve consideration for your pick this NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The Oilers may not be looking great against the Los Angeles Kings so far, having been blown out 6-2 on Wednesday night to fall 0-2 in the series, but they're still sporting not just one, but two Torontonian Jewish players in Zach Hyman and Jake Walman.

For a stronger Canadian showing, though, you might look to the Winnipeg Jets. Not a lot of Jewish on-ice representation there, but it's the hometown team of former sports radio host and new Jewish podcaster Matthew Leibl. Leibl is one of the three new voices of Not in Heaven, The CJN's podcast discussing the future of Jewish communal life, which launched this week.

He joins the Menschwarmers to chat about working as a sports journalist in Winnipeg during the Jets' return, what the team meant to his community, why he left the life of sports radio, and why he once embarked on a 77-day roadtrip across North America to visit every major league ballpark in a single season.

Hear Leibl's stories and what else is new in the world of Jewish sports on this latest episode of Menschwarmers, The CJN's Jewish sports podcast.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

For many Jews, spring means Passover is coming. For the Menschwarmers, it means baseball season has started—and we're here to take a look at the top athletes in the MLB right now, including some of the league's highest-paid stars and young guys being shuffled around like baseball cards. We'll catch up on Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Spencer Horwitz, Bubby Rossman and many more. After that, we share some listener excitement about baseball being back, and read a poem submitted to us by Henry Schipper, who wrote a book of Jewish baseball poetry called The Ball Dreams of the Sky.

But to kick things off, we celebrate the four top Jewish NCAA basketball coaches—Bruce Pearl, Todd Golden and Jon Scheyer—who all brought their teams to the NCAA Final Four. If you missed last week's episode diving deeper into their Jewish identities, catch up here.

Credits

• Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing")

Support The CJN

• Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)