Mark Oppenheimer, author portrait
© 2025 Lu Arie

Mark Oppenheimer

MARK OPPENHEIMER has been covering American religion for 25 years. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale, and has taught at Stanford, Wesleyan, Wellesley, NYU, Boston College, and Yale, where he was the founding director of the Yale Journalism Initiative. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the "Beliefs" column, about religion, for The New York Times, and he has also written for publications including The New Yorker, The Nation, GQ, Slate, and many more. He created Unorthodox, the world's most popular podcast about Jewish life and culture, with over 7 million downloads to date. More recently, he hosted an eight-part podcast called Gatecrashers, about the history of Jews and antisemitism at Ivy League schools. He is the author of five books, including The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia and, most recently, Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, four daughters, one son, and two dogs.
Judy Blume
Squirrel Hill

Sun May 31 | 10:00 AM
Greenwich Reform Synagogue
92 Orchard Street
Cos Cob, CT 06807
Google Map

Wed Jul 29 | 07:00 PM
Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008-2024
Google Map

Sun Nov 01 | 09:00 AM
Temple Beth Rishon
585 Russell Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Google Map

Books

Judy Blume
Squirrel Hill

Events

Sun May 31 | 10:00 AM
Greenwich Reform Synagogue
92 Orchard Street
Cos Cob, CT 06807
Google Map

Wed Jul 29 | 07:00 PM
Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008-2024
Google Map

Sun Nov 01 | 09:00 AM
Temple Beth Rishon
585 Russell Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Google Map

Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

Read more

Books for Jewish American Heritage Month

For Jewish American Heritage Month in May, Penguin Random House Education is celebrating the generations of Jewish Americans who have made up the fabric of American society. We have provided a collection of titles by and about Jewish Americans that includes fiction, memoir, Jewish history, and key issues in current events. The authors share their

Read more