Jacques Berlinerblau

MS NOW Columnist

Jacques Berlinerblau is a professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University. He has written several books on secularism, including “Secularism: The Basics” (Routledge). He has also written about American higher education in “Campus Confidential: How College Works, and Doesn’t, For Professors, Parents and Students” (Melville House). With Professor Terrence Johnson, he is a co-author of “Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue” (Georgetown). His current research concentrates on the nexus between literature and comedy on the one side and cultural conflicts on the other.


Latest from

Jacques Berlinerblau

2mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

In Jimmy Kimmel’s return, the jokes were beside the point

Perhaps that’s because this entire situation is fundamentally unfunny.

2mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

Jon Stewart imagines comedy in a dark new era

“The Daily Show” host addressed the chilling fallout from ABC indefinitely suspending fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show.

4mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

Jon Stewart slammed corporate cowardice after Stephen Colbert’s show cancellation

In his latest “Daily Show” monologue, Stewart’s righteous anger at companies like Paramount spoke for liberal America’s frustration under Trump.

4mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

The cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ is a warning for comedy’s future

CBS’ decision threatens to push or shunt critical political comedy off the airwaves.

6mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

There’s a reason more professors might be tempted to use ChatGPT

For many professors, classes are crammed, wages are meager, and tenure is becoming a distant dream.

7mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

Jon Stewart apologized for misjudging Trump. Now his real work begins.

“I did not think,” the comedian sighed Monday, that President Donald Trump “would get this authoritarian this fast.”

7mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

Netflix’s ‘Kill Tony’ special proves the entertainment manosphere lives on

In Trump’s America, neither getting canceled nor refusing to say you’re sorry amounts to career suicide. It might even land you a three-show deal with Netflix.

8mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

Bill Burr’s new special is very funny, even if his politics are a confusing mess

The comedian is a therapeutic work in progress. The process, however, is not free of contradictions. Nor is it going very smoothly.

8mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

I don’t agree with Mahmoud Khalil. That doesn’t mean he should be deported.

My queasiness at the government’s response to Khalil’s activism and the vagueness of the accusations against him is shared by other liberal Jewish Americans.

9mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

‘Anora’ is a genre-toggling romp with a hidden political message

How the film puts one of the most uncomfortable realities of class structure on full display.