Episode Details

It's the soundtrack of Sephardic history—romantic, resilient, and rich with tradition. In Ladino in 10 Minutes, we'll explore the story of Judeo-Spanish, the language born when Jews lived in medieval Spain and carried with them after the 1492 expulsion. Mixing Old Spanish with Hebrew, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, and more, Ladino became the heartbeat of Sephardic communities across the Ottoman Empire and beyond. We'll look at its golden age of poetry and song, the proverbs and humor that flavored everyday life, and why it was once heard in markets from Salonika to Istanbul. Though its speakers dwindled after the Holocaust and assimilation, Ladino is now finding a revival in music, scholarship, and digital culture. Ten minutes, one soulful language, and a journey that proves Jewish history isn't just written in books—it's sung, spoken, and lovingly passed down.