PinnedJeff Toobin and the Power of NowJoel B. Levine MD — Was I, almost literally, a fly on the wall? In the august company of ambidextrous writers-cum-political actors, Toobin, as was said delicately, “ lowered the camera”. Like a genuflection to his colleagues, he had been morphing into Biden, waxing Conservative, learning to loathe. …Humor1 min readHumor1 min read
PinnedThe Secret Language of Fathers and SonsJoel B. Levine MD The memories of fathers are nestled in quiet moments for every man. Sometimes they come upon us, fresh and vibrant in detail, triggered by an event in which the father’s presence would have been expected. …Family4 min readFamily4 min read
PinnedFriendship Is A RiverJoel B. Levine MD — Life flows in all of us but in some it is a river. My friend Jerzy is such a source. He is fact and fiction, wise man and dreamer. He is what we feel when we are embraced. Jerzy is a man of many times. His mother, Sara Nomberg-Przytyk, an…Friendship3 min readFriendship3 min read
Pinned“White Privilege” and the Risk of Anti-SemitismJoel B. Levine MD — An elite school in New York City has a Diversity program that teaches children, as young as six, about inherent racism based on inordinate “privilege”. They are told that it derives from their European heritage and is a corruption of their moral worth. …White Privilege3 min readWhite Privilege3 min read
PinnedNEW ORLEANS IS A BROKEN HALLELUJAHJoel B. Levine MD I have never lived in the South but it knows me. I came to New Orleans imaging that it was only of the moment. But, here, hope and failure contend for the same space and past and present wrap around each other across a stave of…Travel2 min readTravel2 min read
Apr 1The Baba Yaga Has a Florida TanJoel B. Levine MD — Donald Trump’s lawyer, himself a character bred from a cross of Bronx Tale and My Cousin Vinny, said it all. “He is the toughest guy I know”. For those not raised in New York City, these words need a translation. On the street they are high praise. They convey the…3 min read3 min read
Feb 12Mean Streets, Mean LabJoel B. Levine MD Two terrible stories, two terrible outcomes. But as with all truth, there is appearance and reality. What happened is often easy to say. In the one, a cluster of street cops, aka, Scorpion Unit, beat a young Black man who subsequently died. …Society7 min readSociety7 min read
Dec 12, 2022Getting Past Death-Com 1: Day Old Bagels Do Their MagicJoel B.Levine MD I wonder what would happen if there were a whole lot of 7-foot-tall Jews. Maybe a carload or two of football lineman types that could do the 40 yard in a few seconds. It would beg the question about the appeal of antisemitism if it kept your NBA or NFL…Anti Semitism4 min readAnti Semitism4 min read
Dec 30, 2021Really Hot PastramiJoel B. Levine MD — Jolted awake. Few things do that and when they do the moment is terrible. Terrible in its suddenness and even more fearful for its underlying reason. Waking is graceful, a soft landing on the firmness of living. Jolted is a cannonade, being blown back through the veil of comfortable assumptions. …Jewish3 min readJewish3 min read
Dec 13, 2021If I Write Before I WakeJoel B. Levine MD — I know a poet. I watched her interact with the world and draw words from thoughts so deep that they came only in dreams. Words then become evocations and reading them becomes visceral. Unlike prose, the poet is not telling a story. The poem is its own mystery, an unexpected…Culture2 min readCulture2 min read
