Episode 284- SOLOMON J. BRAGER : Advice, ice cream, graphic history & memoir, academia, and MORE

Ep 284: Solomon J. Brager!   We are over the moon to welcome graphic novelist Solomon Brager to the podcast to discuss their new book, Heavyweight, AND complain about ice cream, talk graphic memoir, history, confronting zi**ism, and give advice on friends, leaving academia, tortoise food and MORE.   Solomon J.  Brager is a writer, teacher, and artist. They are currently a Jerome Hill Artists Fellow, a member of the Pinko magazine editorial collective and the director of community engagement at Jewish Currents magazine. Sol joined me from their home in New York to discuss their new book, Heavyweight- a family story of holocaust, empire, and memory.   Like the show? Become an Honorary Sagittarian at patreon.com/nicolejgeorges .  Need advice? Call 971-361-9998 and leave a message!    Time stamps: Beginning: The bummers of avocado food politics 3:40 Talking Heavyweight: getting fired for being anti-zionist 7:10 Less-effective political strategies 9:35 "You need to train your body out of being afraid of people who disagree with you. That's not a feeling you can trust."  9:50 The family history behind the book 13:05 Graphic Novel process: Hand-lettering, traditional vs. digital drawing & more 20 Choices between what parts of the story were visual vs text 28:24 The joy of filling in backgrounds with black paint 29- book cover talk ADVICE: 34:16 - How do I talk to my zi**ist friends about what’s going on? 38:25- Should I leave academia? Is there life after academia? Is it even possible? FOOD:  43:35 Bemoaning the changes at Van Leeuwen ice cream 47:55 Advice: How do I differentiate the tortoise’s food from my own?  Bonus cucumber recipe