Lifting Up ’The Fall of the House of Usher’

The new miniseries on Netflix, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ is many things all at once: a love letter to Edgar Allen Poe, a gothic horror masterpiece, and a biting social commentary reminiscent of HBO’s ’Succession.’ Loosely based on a Poe story of the same name — and brimming with references to other Poe masterpieces — ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ follows the demise of a wealthy family that had built its fortune on human suffering. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky get right to the “tell-tale heart” of the matter, discussing the morality of wealth, the dangers of privilege, the persistence of guilt and grief, and the possibilities and limitations of repentance. “Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe” and enjoy this deliciously dark conversation.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!