Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
Books to his credit, available on Amazon, include:
Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema
The Modern Jewish Experience in World Cinema
The eclectic anarchism of Erich Muhsam (Men & movements in the history & philosophy of anarchism)
His most recent articles are:
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
By Laurie Baron I started writing my Humoring the Headlines columns back in 2013. Today is the 600th one I’ve posted. Here’s some of my favorite observations from 2013: Anthony Wiener is reportedly considering withdrawing from the New York’s mayoral race. He has been negotiating with Oskar Mayer to become the chauffeur of their trademark vehicle. He’s […]
The 600th Column: A Retrospective Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron (Melody: God Bless America) They dissed America, land where I dwell. They defeat us for a fetus, To make unwanted pregnancies hell. For the rapists, right-wing Papists For incesters who prey on their kin. Now in America, conception is when life begins. Justice deceivers, lying when they were confirmed. Thus declaring, bible
Satire: They Dissed America Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — I spared a fly from being swatted and commissioned it to go to Mar-a-Lago, stick on a wall, and monitor Donald Trump’s reactions to the Select Committee Hearings. Here’s some of Trump’s comments that he reported back to me. “Unlike me, Bill Barr’s a loser. A loyal AG would
Satire: Trump Watching the Select Committee Hearings Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireHelene Meyer’s book Movie-Made Jews explores how films mirror and shape the diverse identities embraced by contemporary American Jewry. Readers of the Jewish feminist magazine Lilith and the Jewish Women’s Archive Blog will be familiar with Meyers’ insightful movie reviews. Here on a bigger canvas, she analyzes documentaries and feature films that venture beyond common cinematic stereotypes of American Jews to dramatize their attitudes towards antisemitism, assimilation, feminism, gender orientation, the Holocaust, Jewish assertiveness, and race relations. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Screening American Jewish Diversity Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & BroadcastWe marched to mount an insurrection.
Well, you know,
We just couldn’t let Trump lose.
We tried to stop a rigged election.
Well, you know,
That’s what we heard on Fox News. … (Laurie Baron)
Satire: Insurrection Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — I suspect Vladimir Putin of planning the mass shooting in Uvalde to overshadow news coverage of the war in Ukraine. The Texas legislature is considering a bill to arm fetuses with tiny Derringers. It plans to drum up popular support for the measure with the slogan, “The only thing
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — There’s a national gun crisis when: The NRA has more influence than the PTA. Russia’s bombing of markets and schools generates bipartisan cooperation on aiding Ukraine, whereas domestic massacres result in partisan polarization over common sense gun regulation. You can purchase a rifle privately without a background check when
Guns and Poses: Reflections on the Uvalde Shooting Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Opinion, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — We used to go to the movies to escape reality, but our current political polarization has crept into feature films. Beware this summer, there are a lot of movies either with the same titles or slight variations that are more ideological than cinematic. Nope: Pretending to be Jordan Peele’s
Satire: Political Polarization in Summer Blockbusters Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Congress is holding its first hearing on Unidentified Flying Objects in over fifty years, but the UFO (Uncompromising Fascistic Oath-Breakers) Caucus is intent on exposing the radical agenda pursued by extraterrestrials. Here’ s a preview of their questions and comments: Marjorie Taylor Greene: Am I mistaken, or did I
Satire: The Threat From Without (and Within) Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire(Tune: Row, Row, Row, Your Boat) By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Roe, Roe, Roe, your vote. Pack the Supreme Court. Scarily, scarily, scarily, scarily. No crime to abort! Roe, Roe, Roe, your vote. Inflation is a curse. Warily, warily, warily, warily. The GOP is worse. Roe, Roe, Roe, your vote. We can’t afford to
Satire: Roe, Roe, Roe, Your Vote Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Now that the low hanging fruit of blatantly perverted and racist books have been banned by school boards in many states, it’s time to start evaluating the deleterious impact that the most frequently assigned books by schools have on the impressionable minds of tweens and teenagers. The Bible: Contains
Satire: Banned Books Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire(To the tune of “Lady Madonna”) By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Stare Decisis, its time has expired. With the three judges Donald Trump hired. Who needs Roe when you are with child? Carry it to term if you’ve been defiled. Six weeks is too much time to tarry. Informers can charge you with
Satire: Stare Decision Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Preface: Russian Jews revere me, but I worry that their traditional Seder might evoke analogies between the unjustly vilified Pharaoh and my benign leadership. To avert this, I have supplied them with a Haggadah from his perspective to guide their Seders. Seder means order, and they are ordered to
Pharoah’s Seder by Vladimir Putin Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Vladimir Putin miscalculated when he expected Russia to rapidly defeat and occupy Ukraine. His mistake stems from the misinformation he received from advisors and intelligence agencies who feared disputing his decisions. My mole in the Kremlin, a waiter named Pinkus Pinsky, has sent me copies of the briefing materials
Satire: Russian Un-Intelligence Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire