Rich Tenorio

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his secretary Marguerite Lehand and ambassador to France William C. Bullitt ride from the railroad station to FDR's Hyde Park, New York, home on July, 22, 1940, after a trip to Washington. (AP Photo)

April 28, 2022, 11:28 pm

Why did the US ignore diplomats who boldly raised an alarm about Hitler before WWII?

In new book ‘Watching Darkness Fall,’ former US ambassador David McKean illustrates how antisemitism, apathy and internal politics set America back in the war against Germany

By Rich Tenorio

Adolf Hitler with his class as he attended high school at the age of 14, circa 1904. Hitler is at the extreme right in the upper row. (AP Photo)

April 26, 2022, 1:45 am

What were Hitler, Stalin, Mao, like as kids? Early years of 6 dictators…plus Putin

In ‘Before Evil,’ out on April 26, author and historian Brandon Gauthier paints a picture of typical, if somewhat misfit, youths who enjoyed reading and were shy around girls

By Rich Tenorio

Lina Zeldovich, author of 'The Other Dark Matter.' (Courtesy)

April 22, 2022, 3:14 am

Upcycling feces? Don’t pooh-pooh it. Dropping inhibitions can have heaps of benefits

In ‘The Other Dark Matter,’ journalist Lina Zeldovich argues that humanity is wasting a perfectly good resource that can be used for fertilizing crops, biofuel and even medicine

By Rich Tenorio

Brian Klaas, author of 'Corruptible.' (Photo by Sheng Peng)

April 1, 2022, 4:19 am

Putin ‘a great illustration of how power-hungry monsters’ overstay their welcome

For his new book ‘Corruptible,’ author Brian Klaas interviews presidents, philanthropists, cult leaders, terrorists and dictators to see if power truly changes people for the worse

By Rich Tenorio

Ernie Grunfeld hugs his children, Rebecca, 12, and Danny, 9, at a news conference in Harrison, New York, July 21, 1993. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

January 26, 2022, 6:04 am

The only known 2nd-generation Holocaust survivor in US sports leaves an NBA legacy

In his new book ‘By the Grace of the Game,’ former pro athlete Dan Grunfeld tells the story of his Jewish immigrant father who defied the odds to make basketball history

By Rich Tenorio

Many pet pig owners like Tom Fanning of Florida treat their pigs as they do their dogs or cats, as seen in 'Magnificent Beast.' (Courtesy Donkey Universe Films)

January 22, 2022, 5:58 am

What’s with Judaism’s pork taboo? Documentary film ‘Magnificent Beast’ bores into it

Mother-son duo Tess and Josh Gerritsen travel the world to find out why pigs are so controversial in the movie screening virtually at the Miami Jewish Film Festival through Jan. 26

By Rich Tenorio

A still from 'Adventures of a Mathematician' by filmmaker Thor Klein. (Courtesy Dragonfly Films)

December 24, 2021, 5:51 am

Helping the US get the bomb, this Jewish mathematician faced an ethical problem

New film ‘Adventures of a Mathematician’ follows Stan Ulam, who lost nearly his entire family in the Holocaust, as he helps his new homeland’s nuclear efforts during and after WWII

By Rich Tenorio

British Jews marching in protest of the 1918-1921 pogroms. (Courtesy of Jeffrey Veidlinger)

December 21, 2021, 3:58 am

20 years before the Holocaust, pogroms killed 100,000 Jews – then were forgotten

‘In the Midst of Civilized Europe’ by Jeffrey Veidlinger revisits the brutal violence in 1918-1921 that portended a genocide of Europe’s Jews, and was soon overshadowed by it

By Rich Tenorio

A still from the new Netflix animated documentary 'Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis.' (Courtesy of Netflix)

December 11, 2021, 9:02 am

How European Jewish refugees wined and dined Nazi prisoners for US Army intelligence

New short animated Netflix doc ‘Camp Confidential’ by Israeli directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan unearths a controversial top-secret program that helped America win the Cold War

By Rich Tenorio

Ethiopian Jews arrive in Israel waving Israeli flags in this still from the documentary 'With No Land.' (Courtesy of the Other Israel Film Festival)

November 27, 2021, 10:24 am

Before the airlifts, Ethiopian Jews did the heavy lifting to get out of Africa

Documentary ‘With No Land,’ featured at the Other Israel Film Festival earlier this month, puts long-overdue focus on the resilient immigrant community rather than its ‘saviors’

By Rich Tenorio

Engraved illustration of the 'chariot vision' of the biblical Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 1, made by Matthaeus Merian (1593-1650), for his 'Icones Biblicae.' (Public domain)

November 21, 2021, 5:37 am

Angels in antiquity: Judaism’s long relationship with heaven’s haloed helpers

While many Jews relegate the supernatural beings to the Christian realm, Prof. Mika Ahuvia reveals a deep cultural and religious connection in a new book

By Rich Tenorio

A still from 'Plan A.' (Courtesy Menemsha Films)

November 19, 2021, 5:58 am

‘Plan A’ dramatizes real plot to kill millions of Germans as payback for Holocaust

Streaming via the Boston Jewish Film Festival through Nov. 21, the historical thriller tells the story of Nakam, the Jewish ‘avengers’ who nearly poisoned Germany’s water supply

By Rich Tenorio

Members of the South African pro-German group the Ossewabrandwag perform their salute in this undated photo from circa WWII. (Courtesy OB Archive, North-West University, South Africa)

October 22, 2021, 4:27 am

How Nazi sympathizers in WWII Cape Town spied on the Allies and evaded justice

In ‘Hitler’s South African Spies,’ Evert Kleynhans uncovers ‘suppressed’ evidence that members of an ultimately ineffective effort to harm Allied ships escaped prosecution

By Rich Tenorio

'Sleeper Agent,' by Ann Hagadorn; George Koval as a professor at the Mendeleev Institute in Moscow in the 1950s. (Courtesy)

October 2, 2021, 6:44 am

How a Jewish Manhattan Project scientist quietly helped the Soviets get the bomb

New book ‘Sleeper Agent’ follows George Koval, a little-known US-born Russian spy posthumously honored by Putin – and possibly one of the 20th century’s most influential operatives

By Rich Tenorio

Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, is shown with his pets. This undated photo was on the wall of Ruby's office. (AP Photo)

September 26, 2021, 6:44 am

Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV, yet his trial was no slam dunk

In new book ‘Kennedy’s Avenger,’ Dan Abrams and David Fisher dig deep into the trial of the Jewish nightclub owner, who shot JFK’s assassin and sparked endless conspiracy theories

By Rich Tenorio