In this episode of PopTorah, we dive into the acclaimed HBO series Hacks. Beneath the sharp jokes and show-business drama lies a surprisingly rich story about reinvention, aging, ambition, and the complicated relationships that shape us. Through the evolving partnership between Deborah and Ava, Hacks asks what we owe one another, whether people can truly change, and how we find purpose when the identities we’ve built for ourselves no longer fit. Join us for a spoiler-filled conversation about ego and growth, forgiveness and accountability, friendship and rivalry, and why some of life’s most meaningful transformations happen when we’re forced to start over.
Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.
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- Hacking It: Ambition, Reinvention, and the Friends We Make Along the Way - June 18, 2026
- Is The Mandalorian and Grogu the Way? - June 4, 2026
- Man in the Mirror: Fame, Myth, and the Making of Michael (Special Live Episode!) - May 14, 2026





