The Jews 5,000 Years and Counting

by Rob Kutner

Thursday, October 23
7 p.m.
Location TBA* (***UPDATE*** Sylvania-area location)
$18 per person, includes appetizers and soft drinks
$30 per person, includes book, appetizers and soft drinks

The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting is packed with Jew-facts, Jew-figures, and the original, never-before-seen documents from those who lived through Jewish history. Read the transcript of the Biblical Patriarchs’ and Matriarchs’ Group Therapy Session! Sneak a peek at Moses’ Secret Diary or check out the awkward “I’m dumping you” text chain from Spain to the Jews in 1492! Collect and trade Rabbi Action Cards!

Covering every major moment in Jewish history from the literal “Beginning” to Tuesday’s rerun of "Seinfeld," this book will make you laugh. It might inadvertently make you learn. If you’re Jewish, it will unquestionably give you something to kvetch about.

Rob Kutner is an Emmy-winning TV comedy writer who has written for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "Conan," and the author of the kids' graphic novel Snot Goblins & Other Tasteless Tales, and two books for Marvel.

RSVP by Wednesday, October 22.

3…2…1 We’re on the Air: A Network Producer’s Inside Look at Sports, Television, Journalism, and Gender Equity

by Robert Steinfeld

Sunday, November 2
6 p.m.
Location TBA* (Sylvania/Toledo-area)
$18 per person, includes dinner and soft drinks
$40 per person, includes book, dinner and soft drinks

Special interview by Justin Feldkamp

Join Emmy Award-winning producer Robert Steinfeld on his path from eager, ambitious Jewish teenage journalist to ultimately realizing his dream to produce sports’ biggest events on national network television. Along the way, he’s crossed paths with superstar athletes Cal Ripken, Alex Rodriguez, Nolan Ryan, Nancy Lieberman, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Bill Walton plus announcers Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, Robin Roberts, and more. Go inside the world of sports television with stories about the Dream Team I at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics; challenges at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; partnering with Hall of Fame pitchers Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson; five decades in the NBA, MLB, WNBA; and being a champion of gender equity. Robert takes you inside network sports television at ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox plus offers lessons for aspiring journalists.

Foreword by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman and introduction by fellow Hall of Famer Bill Walton who wrote, Let the countdown begin….

Robert Steinfeld has produced and directed sports television for five decades for the major networks. He's Executive Producer of the WNBA Dallas Wings. His innovated work has earned him 10 Sports Emmy Awards plus five more nominations, a national Cable Ace Award nomination, plus additional industry accolades. He spent many days participating in events and sports at the JCC in Dallas where he lives now with his wife, children and three grandchildren.

Justin Feldkamp (interviewer) joined Buckeye Broadband’s BCSN and BCAN in November 2020. He is the host of Inside Out with Justin Feldkamp, a 30-minute interview-style show seen monthly on BCSN. He also helps to select the high school games and the special programming that is aired on BCSN.

RSVP by Monday, October 27.

Full Circle

by Sam Bierstock

Thursday, November 13
12 p.m.
Location TBA* (Sylvania-area)
$10 per person, includes kosher lunch
$20 per person, includes book and kosher lunch

Mick, Rusty, Danny, and Jack were musically gifted in their youth but didn’t have a ​‘hook’ to take their band to the next level. Time marches on in individual directions — marriage, Vietnam, divorce, PTSD, drugs, and alcohol. In their golden years, Mick’s ​“ill-begotten [bleep]” drops him into a retirement home, and the revelry, music, romance, and hilarity begin — with laughter and tears for all.

Full Circle is a laugh-out-loud, ​“Borscht Belt humor” journey through the ups and downs of the lives of four septuagenarian musicians, while cutting a gut-wrenching depth and eye-opening look into PTSD, Holocaust and WWII heroism, and our ignored or forgotten aging citizens residing in nursing homes. Mick’s ingenuity (engineering a notable hook) and nostalgia for his band reunites the four aging friends as they brighten the depressive shadow looming over the nursing home while revealing how every life has a story and something to teach us if we pay attention. The story ends with a truly delightful acknowledgement of who the characters in the story are based upon in real life.

Sam Bierstock has never stopped pursuing new adventures. He is a physician and an eye surgeon who became a pioneer of technology in the early years of electronic health records. He is an electrical engineer. He is an award-winning songwriter, a professional musician, and has toured the U.S. since 1995 with his band, Dr. Sam & The Managed Care Blues Band." He wrote the award-winning hit song “Before You Go” in tribute to our aging veterans of WWII and Korea, reaching many millions of aging veterans and their families and for which Dr. Sam was awarded the George Washington Medal from the Freedom Foundation. He is a professional ski instructor, a pilot of powered and fixed-wing glider aircraft, a scuba diver, a motorcycle enthusiast, a horseman, is certified by the American Sailing Association, and is a builder of custom guitars.

"Dr. Sam" has appeared in innumerable national print and broadcast media performances and interviews, served as an editorial commentator for the Wall Street Journal, and published more than 100 articles in medical literature.

RSVP by Friday, November 7.

Tiny Pep Talks: Bite-Size Encouragement for Life’s Annoying, Stressful, and Flat-Out Lousy Moments

by Josh Linden and Paula Skaggs

Thursday, December 4
7 p.m.
Location TBA* (Sylvania-area)
$18 per person, includes appetizers and drinks
$30 per person, includes book, appetizers and drinks

Need a pep talk? How about Tiny Pep Talks from two comedians who offer hilarious encouragement for your most mundane struggles?

Anybody can tell you, ​“You can do it!” before the big job interview, or before you walk down the aisle, or before you head out onto the field to make the game-winning kick at the Super Bowl. But what about the other 99.99% of stuff you do? Who’s going to gas you up for all those low-stakes situations where you need an extra push?

Comedians Josh Linden and Paula Skaggs are rooting for you, and they’re here to cheerlead you through your everyday challenges. If you’re going through it, have ever gone through it, or will maybe go through it in the future, let Tiny Pep Talks give you the boost you need.

Josh Linden is a USA Today bestselling author and comedian. Josh is co-creator of the hit game, No Wrong Answers: Cards for Better Conversations, and cohost of Being Earnest (A Very Sincere Podcast). He has produced and written in shows across Chicago, including at iO Theater, The Second City, CIC Theater, and the Chicago Improv Den. He has a degree in Medieval History, which comes in handy surprisingly often. Josh lives in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and (very long) dog.

Paula Skaggs is a best-selling author, a card game creator and a pretty big fan of frozen food. She is the co-creator, with Josh Linden, of No Wrong Answers and the sodium-laden writer behind Paula Eats, a frozen meal review newsletter. When she’s not busy with self-promotion she can be found at the nearest thrift store or drinking a crisp Diet Coke (probably both at the same time).

RSVP by Monday, December 1.