The 2022.11.20 Bookworm Video Podcast — Kanye and Dave Chappelle

This is a valiant attempt on my part to look at Kanye’s and Dave Chappelle’s recent run-ins with claims that they are antisemitic. My conclusions may surprise you.

I’ve been mulling this podcast since Kanye first got in trouble for his openly antisemitic tweets. What I wanted to say, and I might have managed to do so, is that, while his antisemitism is not excusable (it never is), it’s nevertheless understandable given who he is and the Hollywood milieu in which he lives. As for Dave Chappelle…well, you’ll have to watch or listen to get my point.

Unlike all my other podcasts, this podcast gets a content warning because I quote material that contains obscenities.

You’ll also notice some stylistic changes in the video itself. I’m trying a more organized approach and I’m slowly (ever so slowly) mastering the Mac technology. It’s great stuff but, at my age, learning is a challenge, although one I enjoy.

You can find the Podcast here. Or you can listen to it by pushing the “play” button immediately below:

Or you can watch the video:

You can also find the podcast on my Apple page and, quite possibly, on Spotify too.

Links to content cited in the video podcast:

• Bookworm Room: Hollywood Jews and Antisemitism
• The Hollywood Reporter: The 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 2016
• The Hollywood Reporter: The 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 2017
• The Hollywood Reporter: The 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 2019
• The Hollywood Reporter: Executives donate to Democrats
• Pew Research: Size of the U.S. Jewish Population
• Israelly Cool: Why I don’t think Dave Chappelle’s monologue about Kanye West was antisemitic
• DW.com: The Hollywood pioneers