After just a few short months, the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center celebrates its 100th episode of its podcast, hmTv, with listeners spanning 18 countries and 186 major cities. The podcast, which is housed in a state-of-the-art facility within the center, was launched in February and has garnered over 5,000 downloads so far.
Founder and executive producer Bernie Furshpan said the platform’s goal is “to create a dynamic space for education, remembrance, and dialogue.”
Furshpan, who is also the vice chair and marketing director of the center, said he personally funded, built and designed the studio.
“Through this medium, we aim to extend our mission beyond the museum’s walls, to inspire empathy, confront hate, and humanize history by giving voice to survivors, educators, historians, and upstanders,” Furshpan said.
The inception of the podcast was a timely one, he said. The world is “rapidly losing” Holocaust survivors and simultaneously seeing a rise in antisemitism, intolerance and violence, Furshpan said.
“The inspiration behind hmTv was born from urgency,” he said.
Furshpan said the center hopes to reach the next generation through its new platform, reaching new audiences through digital content.
Podcast episodes feature a diverse set of voices offering perspectives on a variety of topics, Furshpan said. The center said the podcast has featured perspectives of Holocaust survivors and descendants, local officials, religious leaders, and advocates.
Although there are literally a hundred to choose from, Furshpan said that two episodes stick out to him: the 100th episode, “The UN, Society, and Antisemitism,” featuring state Assembly Member Charles Lavine, and the 80th episode, “Habits of a Whole Heart,” with Rabbi Shalom Paltiel.
Furshpan said his conversation with Lavine is especially pertinent right now as global tensions rise, and his conversation with Paltiel explored how kindness can heal and bridge division.
“Reaching our 100th episode is more than a milestone, it’s a testament to the growing community of listeners, contributors, and advocates who believe in the power of education to change hearts and minds,” Furshpan said.
He said the center will be celebrating both in-person and virtually. He said this summer, the center is hosting an in-person “Day of Voices” celebration that will feature live podcast recordings, guest speakers and interviews. He said a “retrospective mini-series” called “100 Voices of Humanity” will be released online to feature highlights from past episodes as well.
The 100th episode doesn’t mark the end of the platform, though. Furshpan said the center hopes to expand and grow its content and audience. He said the center hopes to create curriculum-aligned content to reach more schools and hopes to expand its perspective to include the new generation.
“We hope to expand hmTv into a global platform for tolerance education, featuring more youth voices, international guests, and content in multiple languages,” he said.
HmTv is available on various platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Buzzsprout, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Listen Notes, and Player FM.
