"One day, when Sabrina Hakim was out for a walk with her father, he started speaking a language she could not understand. Sabrina figured he must be speaking Judeo-Kashi, a variety of Judeo-Iranian. Her father spoke this language as a child in the Iranian city of Kashan before he moved to Tehran."

This is wild: "Since dementia affects shorter-term memory more than longer-term memory, it’s not unusual for multilingual people with dementia to begin speaking the language they learned first."

Via @forward.com and @laurenhakimi.bsky.social.

I wrote about how dementia is helping some people preserve rare Judeo-Iranian languages. It's a story of intergenerational partnerships and how family bonds can get stronger even in the face of an awful disease. Check it out! @forward.com @jewishlanguageproj.bsky.social forward.com/culture/7739...

Do you go to a Halachic Egal or Trad Egal minyan? I'd love to hear from you for a story I'm working on. Chat me here or email: keene at forward dot com
-Louis

For @forward.com, I wrote about my newest favorite book, brought to me by the highbrow literary icons of.... you guessed it... TikTok

forward.com/culture/book...

For @forward.com, I wrote about a bougie Williamsburg barber shop where Bukharian barbers cut hipster and Hasidic hair alike. Check it out!!

forward.com/culture/7551...

Huge earrings, a vintage beehive coiffure, men in matching sparkly gold blazers. A new film full of bright colors and authentic throwback looks captures the rich history of Las Villas, the "Latino Borscht Belt." I wrote about "Villa Encanto" for @timesunion.com

www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Have you seen the Naomi flyers floating around Brooklyn? Though not a Naomi myself, I made it my business to infiltrate their flock and report back to the non-Naomi community for @jta.org New York Jewish Week. Check it out: www.jta.org/2025/06/05/n...

My newest for @forward.com: On its busy calendar of speed dating events, belly dancing performances and fundraisers for Palestinians, Brooklyn’s Barzakh Café has also hosted Jewish events, including interfaith Shabbat dinners and Mimouna celebrations

forward.com/culture/7207...

Ottessa Moshfegh's toothbrush, a signed box of laxatives, a fake Birkin bag, and more literary treasures will be up for auction on Tuesday in Manhattan. My story for @gothamist.com

gothamist.com/arts-enterta...

I wrote about how Trump is using a 1950s antisemitic law to target pro-Palestine student activists. For @forward.bsky.social

forward.com/news/702427/...

"We were instructed to dress in 'fetishwear,' but I’m a fuddy-duddy Long Island girl whose only fetish is being attracted to men. Thankfully, the greeter didn’t seem to mind, or notice, my decidedly un-kinky Kate Spade loafers."

My latest for @forward.bsky.social

forward.com/culture/7004...

A new Hasidic community grows in Brownsville:

Fleeing high housing costs in Crown Heights, some Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim are moving east to the formerly Jewish, now predominantly African American neighborhood.

My latest for the New York Jewish Week

www.jta.org/2025/03/06/n...

thank you for including me!!!

This is a great read about one of the many delightful things people invent to celebrate our city and its quirks.

Mr. Marathon Is a 26-Mile Tribute to Cheap Produce

For @hellgatenyc.com, I wrote about Mr. Marathon: a 26-mile run in honor of Mr. Fruit, a grocery store chain known for its cheap produce. "I will literally leave the USA if Mr. Kale closes," said one organizer as we trotted through Bed-Stuy at an 11-minute mile pace

hellgatenyc.com/mr-marathon-...

A new exhibition heaps praise on oft-criticized NYCHA, calling upon the authority’s proud origins to express a vision for what public housing might still be, despite challenges posed by climate change and chronic underfunding. @citylimitsnews.bsky.social

citylimits.org/2025/01/16/n...