Comedian Olga Namer joins Yenta! host Raye Schiller and guest co-host Sarah Afkami for a very hamish episode of Yenta! featuring Olga's nephew Roger, an extra serving of Jewish guilt, and enough gossip to make you want to do teshuvah... again. Olga talks about growing up Orthodox in Midwood, Brooklyn, getting married at 18, becoming a hot divorcee (against her parents’ wishes), and discovering the forbidden delights of non-kosher salad. Plus: the truly horrifying story of the dead rat in her mikvah, the AI girl stealing her jokes and literally her entire face, why she wants to be the female Larry David, and the ex-husband gossip that proves some people really have no shame! We’re talking Syrian Jewish summer culture, and whether Hashem really cares if you turn on a light on Shabbat. You know, the usual.
Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Yenta! feat. Sarah Afkami, Olga Namer & ...Roger
03:30 – AI is stealing Olga’s jokes, face, and entire identity
09:00 – Growing up Orthodox in Midwood and getting married at 18
15:00 – The first taste of treyf: forbidden salad and the gateway drug to bacon
19:00 – Divorce, dating, and being put on house arrest by your parents
24:00 – The Syrian Jewish community, Deal, and Olga’s comedy origin story
29:00 – Olga’s iconic voice, internet haters, and dreams of becoming the female Larry David
35:00 – When your jokes become your entire personality
38:00 – Comedy, Shabbat, and figuring out your relationship with Hashem
43:00 – The dead rat in the mikvah: a Jewish horror story
51:00 – Mikvah money, Nobu, and other acts of religious creativity
54:00 – Jewish guilt, sexual shame, and being judged for literally everything
1:00:00 – The ex-husband gossip that should have stayed in the group chat
1:06:00 – A Hamptons date, a divorce sob story, and a man who hopes to get hit by a car
1:09:00 – Rosh Hashanah wishes, upcoming shows, and a happy ending