How I met your author: Josh Radnor to host new TV show on Jewish literatureJewish Life Foundation creates 'The People of the Book,' a 12-episode TV series and podcast featuring interviews

Jewish Life Foundation creates 'The People of the Book,' a 12-episode TV series and podcast featuring interviews with Jewish writers as the broader literary world is rocked by antisemitism

By Jay Deitcher

May 2, 2025 Original article: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/how-i-met-your-author-josh-radnor-to-host-new-tv-show-on-jewish-literature/

At this year’s AWP Conference & Bookfair, the U.S.’s largest annual gathering of creative writers, panel leaders were asked to read opening remarks: “The Palestinian people continue to be brutalized by the decades long, American-funded genocide and colonial violence of Israel apartheid,” the statement, written by the Radius of Arab American Writers and cosigned by literary gatekeepers Tin House and the Sewanee Writers Conference, said. 

The AWP conference is a microcosm of the larger literary world. Book stores and festivals have canceled Jewish authors’ appearances. Thousands of writers pledged to boycott Israeli publishers, festivals, and agencies. Journals removed essays that showed nuance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And according to one literary agent, in Britain, half of publishers “won’t take books by Jewish authors.”

These are times many of us never imagined we’d live through, Rabbi Mark Blazer, president of The Jewish Life Foundation, told eJewishPhilanthropy. His foundation is producing The People of the Book, a 12-episode TV series and podcast hosted by How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor, spotlighting Jewish writers at a time when others boycott them. It is set to premiere in late 2025 on Jewish Life Television (JLTV). By tapping a celebrity to host, producers hope the show attracts both Jews and non-Jews. 

“If Jewish stories don’t get told, then we are erased from the mainstream culture,” journalist and producer Amy Klein told eJP. She has watched peers change their characters to not be Jewish so they could sell books. If you mention Israel in your work, you receive backlash, she said, and popular writers of yesterday, such as Philip Roth, would have been boycotted and “Goodread bombed” today.  

Blazer recognizes that it takes a celebrity to get some people to pay attention to a show about Jewish literature. “It’s frustrating when you know that if I sat down and talked with Jewish authors, which I would love to do, nobody would watch,” Blazer said. “Once you attach a celebrity to something, all of a sudden people care about it.”

While Blazer worries that he’s feeding into this expertification of celebrities, he said, Radnor is serious about the work. Radnor is also a musician, Broadway actor and filmmaker; he attended Columbus Torah Academy, an Ohio Orthodox day school, and grew up attending a Conservative synagogue. He’s been involved with Jewish art nonprofit Reboot since before he became a star.

“That’s not something you have to do,” Blazer said. “That doesn’t help your career.”

As part of UJA-Federation of New York’s recent initiative promoting Jewish literature, People of the Book received a $50,000 grant. The cost to produce People of the Book is “cheaper than any TV show that’s on any TV network,” producer Jeremy Goldscheider told eJP.

Radnor isn’t doing it for the money, Klein said. “For Josh, this is a passion project. He’s not charging what a star of his caliber could charge.”

Available in over 100 million homes, JLTV is North America’s largest Jewish-themed television network, airing shows such as Fauda and Servant of the People, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s popular 2015 political satire. Even before antisemitism skyrocketed after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, the channel planned to air a show spotlighting Jewish books.

“When we first conceived of a show like this, it was really not because of Jewish authors not being able to find an audience,” Blazer said. “It just so happens that now this is happening at a time when Jewish authors are suffering discrimination, and, in some cases, outright Jew hatred.”

JLTV programming is dependent on commercial sales, but People of the Book is fully funded through philanthropy. Relying on sponsorship from publishers would influence which books and authors the show promoted, so the Jewish Life Foundation, the nonprofit arm of JLTV, exists so shows like this are possible, Blazer said.

While each episode will be 22 minutes long, the podcast version can run “for however long they feel like talking,” Goldscheider said. Antisemitism is only one topic Radnor and guests will discuss along with Jewish identity, spirituality, history, food and pop culture. 

Guests haven’t been set, but they are looking for “a mix of fiction and non-fiction,” Klein said, dropping potential names such as Sharon Brous, the senior rabbi of nondenominational congregation IKAR in Los Angeles and the writer of The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World, and Atlantic writer Sarah Hurwitz who is releasing As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us in September.

“It’s not a celebrity show,” Klein said, “but we do want a lot of people to know about this show and watch the show, and so we know that getting some celebrities in the mix will promote it.” She expects that “social media is going to be the biggest driver.” Radnor himself has 1.1 million Instagram followers, and a guest like Josh Gad can bring over a million more.

Everyone should care about the great work Jewish authors are creating, Blazer said, and JLTV is the platform to shine the spotlight. “Every single home has JLTV… So now the question is, if we have this platform, why are we not making sure that every home, not just Jewish, every home, has a chance to see what’s going on right now. I know we have more allies out there than we think.”