"Jon Entine was fantastic! I have never witnessed such a dialogue between a speaker and our student audience."
— Waynesburg State University VIP Forum

"In this age of ‘tabloid journalism,’ the integrity and thoroughness you bring to your work are much admired and respected. Your presentations were not only extremely informative, but inspiring and entertaining."
— National Association for Biomedical Research

Read more reactions to Jon’s speeches and lectures!

See a list of some of Jon’s recent lectures and public appearances.

See a list of some of Jon’s recent lectures and public appearances For lecture subjects, or background on Jon, contact Jon directly or contact the Speakers Bureaus that handle bookings for Jon (click on the logos below for further information):

• Media Bias and Journalism Ethics
  Do different networks and journals shape the news to fit liberal or conservative biases? Who can you trust?
  
  
• Debating "Race": How to Constructively Discuss Human Differences
  In recent years, many have urged that the concepts of race and ethnicity be abandoned, purged from public discourse. Indeed, there is something of a bandwagon of publicly expressed sentiment that we should get rid of the idea of "human differences" altogether, even in medicine where researchers have identified dozens of population-specific diseases. Based on my research, I am convinced this sentiment is misguided at best and racist at worst. This was the driving theme of my recent book Taboo and my future book on Jewish Genes? as well as the subject of numerous articles on the ‘politics of genetic research'.

  Press Reaction to Jon's Public Talks on Taboo

  • Wake Forest University, Old Gold and Black February 22, 2001
  • Old Dominion University, Daily Press February 18, 2001

• Business Ethics: Rainforest Chic or Social Responsibility?
  I have given dozen of talks at universities and organizations around the world on the "socially responsible" and "ethical business" movements, separating fad from fact. Just how progressive are self-proclaimed “progressive” organizations such as Greenpeace and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). You might want to check out my article "Rain-forest Chic" to read some of the exciting themes I've developed. My writings on this have appeared in everything from Utne Reader to the the Sunday Times of London and in many academic journals and books, including Case Histories in Business Ethics, published in December 2001, to which I was a contributing author.

• "Jewish Genes"
  How the Study of Jewish Ancestry Transforms Science and Jewish Identity Geneticists have already identified hundreds of diseases that affect one population more than another, such as cystic fibrosis that targets whites of Northern European ancestry and sickle cell, which impacts equatorial populations, particularly ancestral Africans. But the most fascinating research—and the most sensitive considering the shadow of Nazi race science that still shadows Jewish identity—is the study of so-called Jewish genes.
Recent studies at Jerusalem University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Center of Jewish Genes in Chicago, and elsewhere have identified genetic markers that show that Jews are subject to a variety of "racially specific" genetic disorders, among them: Bloom syndrome, Canavan disease, Riley-Day syndrome, Franconi anemia, Gaucher, Niemann-Pick, and Tay-Sachs as well as predisposition to certain types of breast and colon cancer. This raises a number of provocative questions that will become more prominent as this research continues, including:

Are Jews a race? Is it 'racist' to discuss this? Are Jews genetically "more intelligent" than other groups or more prone to diseases? How can you explain pockets of "black" Jews such as the Lemba in southern Africa, or centuries old Asian Jews, or families of South American Indian Jewish tribes in Peru? What is the socio-political impact of studies that show Jews and Palestinians share the same ancestry?

Research on “Jewish genes” will have huge implications for science and disease research but also for Jewish identity and the contentious debate over Israel's future.

Read Jon's Comments at the conference on "Science, Knowledge and Humanity" Sponsored by the British Institute of Ideas and the New School of New York, October 26, 2001

• Jewish Hoop Dreams

  It's part of basketball lore that many of the best players have had to fight their way out of the ghettoes to play the game they loved. It's not so well known that in the game's formative years, many of those ghetto players were short, white Jewish kids from gritty urban metropolises from Boston south to DC and west to Cleveland, Dayton, Chicago and Sheboygan.

  Incorporating video clips and historical photos of a lost era, Jon Entine recounts the fascinating story of how urban immigrants moved from Ellis Island to the basketball courts, transforming the game from a free-form scrum played in metal cages into the disciplined and even poetic sport that it has become.

  In the 1920s and 30s, sportswriters used to wax about the gaudy skills of "natural athletes." Sounds familiar, except stars had names like Dutch Garfinkel, Pretzel Banks and Doc Lou Sugerman, and the top basketball teams were the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association "SPHAs" ("spas", also called The Hebrews), the New York Celtics (led by Nat Holman and later Joe Lapchick), and the Cleveland Rosenblums, nicknamed the "Rosies". At one point in the early 30s, more than half of the game's top players were Jewish.

  Players paraded on and off the metal-ringed court with bandaged legs and bleeding heads. This offended Victorian sensibilities, leading to a temporary ban on the game at local YMCAs, which were fearful that their boys would be corrupted. Not so in the Jewish, Irish, Polish and Italian immigrant communities. Basketball offered a melting pot where first generation Americans and transplanted southern blacks played and in some cases even prospered.

  When they weren't discussing the innate smart aleckness of Jewish players, pundits opined that "the Hebrew" had an advantage in basketball because short men have better balance and more foot speed. They were also thought to have sharper eyes, which of course cut against the stereotype that Jewish men were myopic and had to wear glasses, but who said stereotypes had to be consistent?

  This is an inspiring talk about the era of the "Running Rabbis" as the Jewish players were sometimes nicknamed. It will also highlight the bond formed during epic court battles between America's outsiders, the "Yids" and the "Negroes". The great black teams of this era included the Harlem Renaissance and the Chicago Savoy Five, later renamed the Harlem Globetrotters. This vivid and affectionate tale of those who transformed the cultural landscape of a generation restores a fading snapshot of the American experience.

  Related Articles:

  "Philadelphia Story: Long before the Sixers, the city was known for basketball-but the players were Jews and the stereotypes were all about their 'trickiness.'"
  Salon, June 8, 2001
  

  "When Jews Had Game"
  Los Angeles Jewish Journal, June 15, 2001
  

  "Jewish Jump-Shots"
  The Jerusalem Post. June 28, 2001
  

  "Questions of Race"
  Philadelphia Magazine, January 2000
  

   

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