Who remembers blogs? Not long ago, perhaps a bit more or less than fifteen years ago, blogs were all the rage. It was a totally new concept. Anyone who had opinions, regardless of how good, how crazy, how krum, or how entertaining those opinions were, could just set up a website and espouse their opinions to whomever wanted to hear. There were comments sections too, so that people could comment, and all kinds of heated debates would ensue.
At that time, many rabbonim and astute Jews warned about this new churban that anyone with an opinion and an outsized ego could cause. The widespread amount of lashon hara, rechilus, motzi sheim ra, and dei’os kozvos that those operating the blogs contained is incalculable.
Well, blogs are child’s play in comparison with what is out there today. I am sure that there are still blogs out there, but in the fast-paced technology world in which we live, they are now considered dinosaurs. Why? Because there are much more effective methods of getting your opinions out there. In today’s world, anyone who wants a soapbox can now more readily turn to social media. Whether it is WhatsApp groups, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, X, Instagram, or who knows what else, these different platforms enable not only written rants to get out there, but all kinds of visuals to get out there as well.
In addition, these social media giants are, in many ways, replacing mainstream media. Numerous media figures who were either fired or left their gigs at NBC, Fox News, or other conventional media have created their own shows on these platforms and are garnering more viewers and advertisers than previously.
The world changes quickly in the technology area, and no doubt all the above-mentioned platforms will become dinosaurs, or maybe they are already dinosaurs, but this writer is simply not “with-it” enough to know.
A Storm Called “Podcasts”
Now, there is another format taking the world by storm, and it is called “podcasts.” In the non-Jewish world, podcasters such as Joe Rogan have become far more influential than conventional media, and indeed, many feel that a turning point in the Trump campaign for the presidency was when Donald Trump went on Rogan’s podcast for three hours and got his message out to many millions of listeners who had long tuned out conventional media.
In other words, podcasts have become a way to reach the masses without going through the checks and balances of conventional media.
It is a veritable free-for-all, and whoever puts on the best show gets the most views. That is why many of these podcasts have a lot of shock value. The podcaster wants to attract followers by doing outrageous things or simply discussing topics that the mainstream media is not discussing.
Much of the debate about the Biden immigration policies, the increasing totalitarian nature of DEI and woke policies, or the cover-up of the Biden administration related to Hunter Biden or Joe Biden’s cognitive state was talked about on social media and podcasts, and they played a huge role in shaping public opinion.
So, like every other technological innovation, no one can say that podcasts are good or bad per se. It all depends on what is in them.
One thing is certain, however. Podcasts enable anyone with an opinion, no matter who he or she is, to have a shofar that they can blow as hard and strong as they want.
The “Frum” Podcasts
That brings us to the topic of “frum podcasts.” We all know that whatever happens in the non-Jewish world has an impact on the Jewish world and the frum world as well. Podcasts are no different.
Over the past several years, an entire industry of frum podcasts has emerged. There are podcasts on all types of things—history, music, seforim, current events, politics, frum politics, chassidus… You name it, it exists.
There is one thing that is very troubling and even dangerous about these frum podcasts, and that is that there is no standard. Anyone who wants can just make a podcast and espouse whatever they want. There are those who say, “Great! Let the free market decide who is good and who isn’t.”
On some level, perhaps that sounds fair, but it is also like saying, “Let anyone decide what food is kosher or not.” We don’t do that, because a person needs expertise to know what is kosher and what is not. First and foremost, they must know what the Shulchan Aruch and all the poskim classify as kosher. In the modern era, in addition to basic Shulchan Aruch, one needs knowledge of how industrial kashrus works. How does one do kosher in a factory or a plant? How does one kasher the utensils there? On top of that, one needs to understand food chemistry to be able to determine what is kosher, what may be problematic, and what is outright treif. Only people who understand these things can determine what is kosher.
When we go to a doctor, we don’t just listen to anyone who says that they have medical knowledge. (At least we shouldn’t…) We would only submit ourselves to surgery by a board-licensed surgeon, no?
The Wild West: Podcasts
Well, then, when we listen to someone on a podcast, whether it is for entertainment purposes or informational purposes, we should really first determine if they are a person whose dei’os, whose opinions, can be deemed kosher on a hashkafic level.
Sadly, podcasting in the frum world is like the Wild West. There are harmless podcasts, harmful podcasts, and insidious podcasts that, under the mask of frumkeit, bring all kinds of opinions that are not, to say the least, in the mainstream of frum opinion. Others interview entertainers who are not at all role models for any frum Jew, but because some of these entertainers may have some redeeming values, they are suddenly considered fine role models and interviewed about their opinions on everything from politics to what is wrong with chinuch (!).
I have been told by numerous mechanchim, especially those involved in teen chinuch, that they are now dealing with many young people who are hashkafically very confused. These teens listen to podcasts on frum platforms or download them into their players and are unwittingly imbibing all kinds of alien values under the mask of a “frum podcast.”
In truth, podcasts should be treated no differently than newspapers. When one picks up this newspaper, they know more or less what they are getting hashkafically, and in the event that we, on occasion, err, we get grief from the best, most discerning readership in Klal Yisroel. So too, there must be some kind of standard when it comes to podcasts.
Be Aware!
If you are a parent and your child is listening to podcasts, frum ones that claim to be educational or harmless entertainment, beware. There are countless people with agendas out there, and a lot of people who are in love with their own opinions and are unwittingly way off base are influencing your children.
We have just concluded the Yom Tov of Chanukah, the Yom Tov celebrating the victory of the righteous over the wicked, of the Yidden over the Misyavnim. In the times of Chanukah, the influence of the Misyavnim, who wanted to emulate Yovon, was terribly insidious.
Not much has changed, right?
Then it was Misyavnim. Now it might just be podcasts.
Parents, teachers, and listeners, beware and be aware.
