Podcast Summary: The JTrain Podcast

Episode: What's Your Katz’s Deli Order?! ft Raanan Hershberg — CHIT CHAT WEDNESDAY
Host: Jared Freid
Guest: Raanan Hershberg
Release date: February 4, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The JTrain Podcast features comedian Raanan Hershberg for a laid-back “Chit Chat Wednesday” conversation. The duo moves seamlessly from discussing the nuances of Jewish deli orders, especially at the iconic Katz’s Deli in NYC, to riffing on the challenges of contemporary comedy, online outrage, and the oddities of American dining culture. Amid warm banter, they also plug Raanan’s YouTube special, “Morbidly Jewish,” noting its thoughtful approach to hot-button issues.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Comedy, Identity, and The Current Climate

• Raanan’s Special and Contemporary Jewishness
  • Plug for Raanan’s new special, "Morbidly Jewish," which candidly addresses current issues with a unique comedic lens ([02:12], [03:41]).
  • Jared: "It's a tough time to be a Jew...and then you say, tough time to be a liberal Jew, which is weird to say that the audience must go, what's going to happen? Who's going to freak out?" ([02:37])
  • Both comedians reflect on the delicate balance in today’s climate—particularly how humor is received, policed, or misinterpreted ([02:49]-[05:39]).
  • Raanan: “Anyone who says they have a great sense of humor does not have a great sense of humor… you are a mom who gets offended and writes letters.” ([04:44])
  • They discuss the labeling culture and how comedy is a tool for dissecting current madness instead of shying away ([03:16], [03:59]).

2. Dangers and Responsibility in Comedy

• Audience Cancel Culture & Sensitivities
  • Amusingly riff on the notion that sometimes audiences should be the ones to get canceled for overreacting or misunderstanding a set ([05:43]).
  • References to contentious figures (e.g., Michael Jackson, Cosby, Epstein) and the public’s reaction to related jokes ([05:54]-[07:26]).
  • Raanan: "I'm making a joke because of course he fucked kids. Like, I didn't even know that was..." ([07:23])
• Social Media Dynamics
  • Discussion about engagement on social media and why thoughtful audience members often remain silent while the loudest, most reactionary voices dominate ([07:26]-[07:58]).

3. Chit Chat: The Ultimate Katz’s Deli Order

• Ordering Strategies & Rituals
  • Jared and Raanan humorously strategize the perfect Katz's Deli outing—the pastrami on rye with mustard, corned beef, steak fries, matzo ball soup, and split pea soup ([10:35]-[13:33]).
  • Raanan: “The traditional sandwich is, of course, the pastrami on rye with mustard. None of this goyish...man is shit. I will say that sandwich is disgustingly gluttonous... It’s like two cows in the bread. I mean, it’s insane.” ([10:53]-[11:22])
  • Teamwork is necessary for conquering the lines at Katz’s: one gets fries, the other sandwiches ([14:18]).
  • The mitzvah of splitting sandwiches and soups—part joke, part sacred wisdom ([12:15]–[13:37]).
  • Sides detour: Matzo ball vs. split pea soup, mushroom barley, knishes, and the underrated quality of Katz’s steak fries ([13:37]–[14:32]).

4. American Food Excess: The Social Contract of Gluttony

• Deli Sandwiches and Club Sandwich Logic
  • Riffing on how outlandish deli servings become socially “acceptable” in restaurants—mountainous pastrami at Katz’s would look unhinged if homemade ([14:32]–[15:38]).
  • Discussion of the middle slice of bread in club sandwiches: necessary tradition, or absurd custom? Analogies to BLTs, burgers, and fast food culture ([15:38]-[17:47]).
  • Jared: “Have you ever asked for not the third piece of bread on a club sandwich? It’s almost like an unreasonable thing to ask. They’re like...you change the language of the conversation.” ([16:47])

5. Late-Stage Capitalism and Fast Food Experiments

• Marketing Excesses and Empty Gestures
  • The absurdity of “have it your way” at Burger King—does the promise extend to asking for no middle bread? ([17:54]–[18:37])
  • The normalization of strange innovations, like stuffed crust pizza, and the marketing mythos that builds around them ([19:31]–[20:45]).
  • Raanan: “But it is...the cheese and the crust is what the young people call late-stage capitalism.” ([20:56])

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Raanan Hershberg on topical comedy (04:44):
  "Anyone who says they have a great sense of humor does not have a great sense of humor. If you say that sentence right, you are a mom who gets offended and writes letters."

• Jared Freid on comedy and controversy (03:59):
  "That's where comedy comes in—'Well, the house is burning. Let me give you a view on how it's burning and why it's burning.'"

• On Katz’s Deli sandwich (11:22):
  Raanan: "That sandwich is disgustingly gluttonous. It's like two cows in the bread."

• On social contracts with food (14:32):
  Raanan: "It's this complicitness where we let them give us something gluttonous... If I were to make at my home that size pastrami sandwich, you would think I was psychotic."

• On fast food slogans (18:37):
  Jared: "I think you should go test it. If they didn't do it, you would have a case. You could actually sue Burger King if they didn't do it."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Comedic climate & labeling culture: [02:12]–[05:39]
• Reacting to audience sensitivities: [05:43]–[07:26]
• Social media vs. live audience engagement: [07:26]–[07:58]
• Katz's Deli order deep-dive: [10:35]–[14:32]
• Deli gluttony and sandwich traditions: [14:32]–[15:38]
• Debate on club sandwich middle bread: [15:38]–[18:37]
• Late-stage capitalism and Pizza Hut’s stuffed crust: [19:31]–[20:56]

Tone and Style

• The episode is breezy, irreverent, and peppered with classic Jewish humor and self-awareness.
• The banter is playful, observational, and often meta—riffing on the absurdity of everyday life and the comedy world alike.

Closing

The episode wraps up by plugging Raanan's special, available on YouTube, and inviting listeners to reflect on the joy of comedy, shared meals, and questioning traditions—whether in deli lines or everyday life.