A Jewish con sells himself out by getting a swastika tattoo.  A young woman finds a strangled guy on her first day of work at a synagogue.  A turn of the century Jewish bootlegger (the last man legally hanged in Illinois) asks for a black hood at his hanging -- as one final jab at the KKK. 

All this (not to mention Moses himself) is Jewish Noir, a collection of all-new short stories published in 2015 by PM Press.

In this episode, Nicky speaks with two St. Louis fiction writers published in the collection, Jedidiah Ayers & Tasha Kaminsky.  The two read excerpts from their stories & talk about the seedy side of fiction, the Jewishness of noir & the background behind their narratives.  Midway through, the group is joined by Kenneth Wishnia, editor of the collection. 

In 2016, what are the limits of what a magazine can do? Please Hold Magazine is a quarterly digital publication founded by Kristie Wickwire one year ago. Each issue collects multimedia pieces built around a different theme, the most recent issue's being "Home". Expanding the idea of literature beyond the written word, Please Hold compiles pieces poetry, video, audio, and even GIFs to accomplish what a print magazine cannot. Pictured: Mohsen Zare's contribution to the "Home" issue, a GIF titled "DVLottery to Home", which is discussed in the episode.

Also discussed in the episode: to hear the rest of Michael Ridge's Found Home Recordings, click here.