Shay Khatiri grew up in an Iranian Communist household where his dad handed him Das Kapital at age 12 — and somehow ended up a neoconservative Persian researcher at CAMERA, fighting media bias against Israel. Shay knows more about Jewish life than most Jews, and will absolutely turn off your lights before leaving Shabbat dinner.

Shay breaks down why Iranians were cheering on Israeli fighter jets from their rooftops, the 2,500-year friendship between Persians and Jews that started with Cyrus the Great, and what the future for Iran may entail.

Follow Shay on X @ShayKhatiri

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

03:15 Growing up in a Communist household in Iran

08:20 How the West misunderstands a society at war

12:40 Why Iranians cheered for Israeli fighter jets

18:30 What it will actually take to topple the regime

22:15 The 2,500-year friendship between Persians and Jews

30:00 Iranians today: the most pro-Israel nation after Israel itself

34:20 How Americans can actually help the Iranian people

38:45 The "as a Jew" problem and rebellion against immigrant parents

44:10 Closing Remarks

Andy Buckley is David Wallace. You know him. You love him. But before he was Steve Carell's perfectly straight-faced boss at Dunder Mifflin, he spent years as a Merrill Lynch wealth manager — which explains why his corporate deadpan hits so painfully right. He's also one of the most thoughtful and openly supportive non-Jewish allies the community has had since October 7th.

Andy talks about the moment that gave him permission to speak up, the dinner-table education that came with marrying into a Jewish family, and why he thinks the loudest voices in Hollywood are often the least informed. Plus: the lost art of being a straight man, his audition origin story, and the surprising flight he took next to Ana Kasparian's husband.

Follow Andy Buckley on Instagram @AndyBuckley2020

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

03:00 From Stanford to Wall Street to David Wallace

09:30 The Underrated Power of the Straight Man

14:00 Trusting Your Voice as an Artist

18:30 Visiting Auschwitz, Marrying Into a Jewish Family, and Learning Slowly

22:00 What Amar'e Stoudemire's Post Unlocked

27:00 Why Hollywood Stays Quiet

32:00 Sitting Next to Ana Kasparian's Husband on a Plane

37:00 What Andy Wants from Hollywood (and What Margarita Doesn't)

39:00 Closing Remarks

Margarita returns for a solo episode to catch you up on the comeback of the “Goy You Will Enjoy” season — dedicated to the allies showing up for the Jewish community — and the current state of Jinsta.

She also reads a powerful letter from a listener about intermarriage that sparked one of the most thoughtful conversations we’ve had in a long time. Truly an incredible note.

Follow People Jew Wanna Know on Instagram @peoplejewwannaknow

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

Dr. Monasebian is a board-certified plastic surgeon, and the man Margarita personally trusts with her own face.

A Forest Hills native, Brandeis graduate, and proud half-Sephardic, half-Ashkenazi Jew, Dr. Monasebian has built a reputation not just for exceptional results, but for telling patients the truth.

In an industry full of hype, he’s refreshingly candid about what procedures are worth considering, which ones are overhyped, and why credentials matter more than ever.

In this conversation, we discuss everything from the evolution of rhinoplasty among Jewish patients to the rise of non-surgical treatments, body dysmorphia, aging gracefully, and the biggest misconceptions about plastic surgery. We also explore how he approaches these conversations with his own children—and the procedures he'd never recommend.Follow Dr. Monasebian on Instagram: @parkaveplasticsurgeryListeners get a complimentary consultation — just mention People Jew Wanna Know.

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

03:00 Dr. Monasebian's Jewish upbringing

09:30 Why credentials matter (and what can go wrong)

14:00 How rhinoplasty culture has shifted for Jewish patients

17:30 Surgical vs. non-surgical: how to choose

24:00 Aging well after a procedure

29:00 Talking to his own kids about cosmetic work

33:00 Saying no: unrealistic requests and body dysmorphia

38:00 Lightning round — most underrated, most overrated, biggest pet peeves

46:30 CoolSculpting, Kybella, etc.

50:00 A message to Jewish New Yorkers

53:00 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Rebecca Brooks is the dark horse behind some of the biggest food and lifestyle personalities you know — Rachael Ray, Andrew Zimmern, Guy Fieri, Jacques Torres, Robert Irvine. She founded the Brooks Group at 25 out of her husband's family office in New York, and basically helped invent the "lifestyle of food" category before Food Network was a household name.

Margarita talks to Rebecca about what actually happens behind the curtain — how to fix a PR crisis, how to say no without burning the bridge, and why the best clients lead with story, not product. Plus a tangent on what Judaism actually says about psychics, mediums, and the woo-woo of it all.

Follow Rebecca on Instagram @Rebecca_BrooksPR and ⁨@BrooksGroupPR⁩ and check out her website brookspr.com

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

06:11 Growing up Jewish on Long Island

10:30 Starting the Brooks Group at 25

14:00 Pioneering storytelling in beauty PR

17:45 Advising Jewish clients on speaking out

20:30 Owning mistakes and the art of the apology

23:15 How to say no without burning bridges

25:40 Joe Dispenza, Reiki, and reading energy

28:30 Message to the Jewish people & Guest Nomination

Ariel Stachel—Tony winner for The Band's Visit—gets brutally honest about learning to “act” by hiding parts of himself, and what it took to finally stop. We get into his solo show Other, the identity whiplash growing up post 9/11, and why he’s willing to say the uncomfortable things—about activism, platforming, and how Jews should be portrayed in media right now. Margarita and Ariel compare notes and bond over being children of immigrants.

Connect with Ariel on Instagram @ArielStachel Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

1:42 "My acting training was pretending to be other people"

8:38 How has the show Other been received?

11:27 On the experience of having immigrant parents

19:30 Ariel's activism & message to Mamdani

23:46 How should we tell stories about Jews today?

29:50 On "platforming" people you disagree with

33:44 What's next for Ariel?

36:12 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Neil Friedman is the quiet powerhouse behind some of the most important Jewish cinema of the last two decades. As founder of Menemsha Films and ChaiFlicks — the world's largest Jewish streaming platform — he's racked up five consecutive Oscar-nominated films, championed hidden gems from six continents, and turned Bad Shabbos into a $1.5 million theatrical juggernaut at a moment when nobody goes to the movies anymore.

Neil's story is one of Jewish ingenuity, resilience, and work ethic. **Special Promo to get an annual subscription to ChaiFlicks for only $36 for People Jew Wanna Know listeners!**Redemption link: http://www.chaiflicks.com/checkout/subscribe/purchase?code=people36&plan=yearly

Redemption code: PEOPLE36Follow Menemsha Films on IG @Menemshafilms and learn more at menemshafilms.com Follow ChaiFlicks on IG @chaiflicks and learn more at chaiflicks.com Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

03:15 From Park Avenue lawyer to Hollywood independent

08:40 Why Jewish art house — and trusting his parents' taste

12:20 Launching ChaiFlicks the first week of the pandemic

17:10 Why *Bad Shabbos* worked when *Nobody Wants This* didn't

24:30 The Florida-to-New York release strategy

29:15 Films every young Jew should see

34:50 Israeli TV is the best in the world, pound for pound

38:20 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination

Moshe Davis was Mayor Eric Adams' Jewish liaison and architect of NYC's first-ever Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism — until he found out via tweet that the Mamdani administration was replacing him. He's the guy who handled everything from synagogue security to the "Israel Bombs Way" street sign vandalism. Moshe has dealt with the good, the bad, and the ugly of Jewish life in NYC post October 7th.

Margarita and Moshe sit down to discuss Moshe's experience and where he thinks Jewish life in NYC is headed. Plus: why antisemitism is less a prejudice and more the world's oldest conspiracy theory — and what that means for how we fight it.

Follow Moshe Davis on X @_moshedavis

Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda

03:13 From MJE to City Hall

07:00 What a Jewish Liaison Actually Does

12:30 Building MOCA and the Final Report

18:45 Getting Replaced by a Tweet

24:00 Israel Bombs Way and the Whack-a-Mole Job

29:30 Should Jewish New Yorkers Be Worried

33:00 Why the Orthodox World Isn't Phased

37:30 Antisemitism as a Conspiracy Theory, Not Just Racism

42:00 What's Next & Get Off Social Media, Get Into Politics

44:26 Closing Remarks & Guest Nomination