GOLDA Girls

·E6

Good Hair, Good Books with Zibby Owens

May 29
50 mins

Episode Description

GOLDA founder Stephanie Butnick and her co-hosts—journalist Gabby Deutch, novelist Esther Chehebar, and Rabbi Diana Fersko—untangle our Jewish relationship with our hair: from the flat-ironing to the chemical straightening and the embrace of natural curls. “Totally Booked” podcaster and publisher Zibby Owens joins the GOLDA Girls to share her summer reading picks and help answer a listener question.   


Zibby’s Summer Reading Picks: 

Forty Love, by Jane Costello https://go.shopmy.us/p-61258518 

The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker, by Annabelle Gurwitch https://go.shopmy.us/p-61258621 

Enormous Wings, by Laurie Frankel https://go.shopmy.us/p-61258692 

The Lost Mozart, by David K. Israel https://go.shopmy.us/p-61258845 

With Friends Like You, by Amy Chozick https://go.shopmy.us/p-61258983 

The Half Life, by Rachel Beanland https://go.shopmy.us/p-61259683 

Breathing Under Water, by Jacqueline Friedland https://go.shopmy.us/p-61259804 

(Zibby’s new book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot, will be out in September. You can preorder it here.)


GOLDA Girls’ Summer Reading Picks:

Stephanie: Like Wafers and Honey, by Leah Eskin https://go.shopmy.us/p-61259961 

Esther’s pick: Long Island Girls, by Gabrielle Korn https://go.shopmy.us/p-61260781 

Gabby: I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron https://go.shopmy.us/p-61260758 

Diana: The Book of Psalms (Check out the Jewish Publication Society’s 2002 translation or scholar Robert Alter’s 2009 translation with commentary) 

Jewish Book Council’s Pick: The World Between, by Zeeva Bukai (Kate Schmier, Director of Publishing Relations, Jewish Book Council)


Recommended by Esther: T Shirt Shoppe https://shoptshirtshoppe.com/

This week’s Good for the Jews picks: 

Stephanie: 90210 star Ian Ziering’s daughter’s bat mitzvah.

Gabby: The giant green pickle announcing the arrival of the U.K’s first Jewish culture month.

Esther: Tsion Cafe in Harlem, run by chef Beejhy Barhany.

Diana: New York City’s Israel Day Parade this weekend.


Sponsors:

GOLDA Girls is presented by Nu Reads, a new Jewish book subscription series curated by the Jewish Book Council that brings remarkable literature straight to your door. Use code NuGolda at checkout for 15% off your subscription. Visit NuReads.org to get started today.

This episode is also sponsored by: 

  • The Mindich Fellowship for Jewish Fiction, part of Miami Book Fair’s Emerging Writer Fellowship. If your novel or fiction project centers Jewish life, culture, or themes, this is an incredible year-long opportunity to develop that work in community. Apply by May 31, 2026 at miamibookfair.com/program/emerging-fellows/.
  • Joyva, a fourth generation family business that crafts tahini, halvah and confections in Brooklyn, NY. Get your deliciousness today.


GOLDA is a Jewish lifestyle destination built around one idea: making Jewish life bright, beautiful, and full of meaning. Subscribe to our newsletter at www.goldaguide.com and follow GOLDA on Instagram at @goldaguide.

GOLDA Girls is a production of GOLDA Media. Our executive producer is Ariel Shapiro. We’re edited by POLDHU. 


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