Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Veteran New Yorker correspondent Nicholas Lemann join us for a conversation about growing up Jewish in the South, the unknown corners of New Orleans, and his searingly honest new memoir, Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries in conversation with New York Times investigative reporter Jodi Kantor.
Growing up in New Orleans, the son of German Jews in a world of gilded privilege, Nicholas Lemann had an unconventional Jewish upbringing. Keenly aware of the contradictions of being Jewish in the South, Lemann chafed both at its strict racial hierarchy and at his relatives’ eagerness to be accepted in a subtle but distinctly antisemitic environment. Returning follows Lehmann as he rejects assimilated society, embraces religion, and chooses, along with his wife, to raise his children in a Jewish world.
In a conversation about the hidden roots of antisemitism, hear Lemann and Kantor discuss his family saga — a springboard to address some of the most urgent questions of our time, and an utterly indelible look at Jewish life in the 21st century.
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Veteran New Yorker correspondent Nicholas Lemann join us for a conversation about growing up Jewish in the South, the unknown corners of New Orleans, and his searingly honest new memoir, Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries in conversation with New York Times investigative reporter Jodi Kantor.
Growing up in New Orleans, the son of German Jews in a world of gilded privilege, Nicholas Lemann had an unconventional Jewish upbringing. Keenly aware of the contradictions of being Jewish in the South, Lemann chafed both at its strict racial hierarchy and at his relatives’ eagerness to be accepted in a subtle but distinctly antisemitic environment. Returning follows Lehmann as he rejects assimilated society, embraces religion, and chooses, along with his wife, to raise his children in a Jewish world.
In a conversation about the hidden roots of antisemitism, hear Lemann and Kantor discuss his family saga — a springboard to address some of the most urgent questions of our time, and an utterly indelible look at Jewish life in the 21st century.
Your support helps us continue creating online content for our community. Donate now: 92NY.org/Donate
Facebook: facebook.com/92ndStreetY
Instagram: Instagram.com/92ndStreetY
TikTok: tiktok.com/@92ndstreety
Archives: 92ny.org/archives
