Episode 534: God Bless the Pill - Samira Mehta

Episode 534: God Bless the Pill - Samira Mehta

From Judaism Unbound by Institute for the Next Jewish Future

May 8, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Samira Mehta discusses her book on the history of contraception and sexuality in American religion, focusing on its implications for Jewish history.

Samira Mehta is the author of a new book entitled God Bless the Pill: The Surprising History of Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion. She joins Lex and Rena Yehuda for a conversation exploring her book, along with what it can teach us about the history of American religion -- and about Jewish history in particular. This episode is the 1st in an ongoing unit of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring reproductive justice, bodily autonomy, and their intersections with the Jewish past, present, and future. For 30%-off on God Bless the Pill, just head to this link and enter the code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout! ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound's BIGGEST event of the year, is coming up! This 24-hour extravaganza of Jewish learning and unlearning will take place on Friday, May 22nd through Saturday, May 23rd. Head to bit.ly/shavuot2026 to register!

People in this episode

Hosts: Lex, Rena Yehuda

Guest: Samira Mehta

Topics covered

  • reproductive justice
  • bodily autonomy
  • Jewish history
  • American religion
  • sexuality

Keywords

  • contraception
  • sexuality
  • American religion
  • Jewish history
  • reproductive justice

Sponsors

God Bless the Pill

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute for the Next Jewish Future

Books & works: God Bless the Pill: The Surprising History of Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion

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