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In this Purim episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin talks about what Saturday Night Live has taught him about life, creativity, and running an organization.

Prompted by the show’s 50th anniversary, we’re reflecting on lessons from five decades of laughter. In this episode we discuss:

How did Lorne Michaels’s unique vision and insights help him “invent” SNL?
What are the top five lessons about Jewish life that David has learned from the life of the SNL creator, born as Lorne David Lipowitz?
What are David’s three favorite Jewish sketches from SNL?

Tune in to hear a serious analysis of a comedic show.

David Bashevkin is the founder of 18Forty. He is also the director of education for NCSY, the youth movement of the Orthodox Union, and the Clinical Assistant Professor of Jewish Values at the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University. He completed rabbinic ordination at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, as well as a master’s degree at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies focusing on the thought of Rabbi Zadok of Lublin under the guidance of Dr. Yaakov Elman. He completed his doctorate in Public Policy and Management at The New School’s Milano School of International Affairs, focusing on crisis management. He has published four books, Sin·a·gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought, a Hebrew work B’Rogez Rachem Tizkor (trans. In Anger, Remember Mercy), Top 5: Lists of Jewish Character and Character, and Just One: The NCSY Haggadah. David has been rejected from several prestigious fellowships and awards.

References:

Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison

Live From New York by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show (2017)

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: “Lorne Michaels: Everybody Likes to See the Monkeys”

Tikkunei Zohar 57b

“Weekend Update: Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy on the Story of Hanukkah”

“Weekend Update: Adam Sandler on Hanukkah”

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David Bashevkin: 5 Things SNL Teaches Us About Life (Purim Special)

18Forty Podcast