In this episode, Yarden Crane, Aviva Feder, and Nolan Valdivia sit down with longtime Better Together participants and lifelong learners Sheldon Schwartz and Thelma Bronet for an intimate, multi-generational conversation about Jewish values, identity, and growing up. Together they explore what they wish they’d known as teenagers, how to navigate a “winding road” of careers and life choices, the balance of risk versus utility, the importance of choosing friends wisely, and why you don’t need your life figured out at 17 or even at 70. 

The group also wrestles honestly with antisemitism in schools today, sharing painful personal stories, the emotional toll of hateful symbols and “jokes,” and the urgent need for better Holocaust education and true allyship. 

Thank you to our funders: Sinai & Synapses, Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, an anonymous prominent national foundation, and the wider Midrasha community for making this show possible.

If you want to donate so we can make more episodes or have questions for our team, email shalom@binapod.com or visit binapod.com.