Jacques Berlinerblau

MSNBC Columnist


Jacques Berlinerblau is a professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University. He has written many scholarly articles and books on secularism, including, “Secularism: The Basics.” His humorous critique of American higher education appears in his recent, “As Professors Lay Dying.” With Professor Terrence Johnson, he is a co-author of “Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue.” His next book, coming out in 2026, is “Can We Laugh at That? Comedy in a Conflicted Age”


Latest from

Jacques Berlinerblau

1mos ago
MS NOW Opinion

University actions in Indiana and Texas should worry speech advocates everywhere

Statehouses are replacing faculty senates as the body that crafts policies about strictly academic concerns.

3mos 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.

3mos 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.

5mos 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.

5mos 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.

8mos 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.

9mos 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.”

9mos 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.

10mos 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.

10mos 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.