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.
The Haspel According to John (McCain) By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Gina Haspel’s evasive answers to questions about whether enhanced interrogation techniques are illegal or immoral tortured my memories. * Gina Haspel ran a Black Site in Thailand, what you might call a Scare B & B, Bondage and Boarding. Having stayed at the Hanoi Hilton, […]
Humoring the headlines: May 11, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−Many members of the press denounced Michelle Wolf for her scathing remarks about Press Secretary Sarah Sanders at the White House Correspondents Dinner. To avert future insults of members of the Trump Administration, the group announced it will not meet hold a dinner next year unless President Trump attends the event,
Humoring the headlines: May 4, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Donalogue by President Trump By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — In the prequel to Genesis, or as I call it Genesis Minus 1, which Pious Pence brought to my attention, the Ten Commandments that have guided my life can be found. 1“I am the boss, your President, who drained the swamp leaving only muck.
Humoring the headlines: April 27, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−To counteract bad publicity for calling the police to arrest two African American customers, Starbucks will close its stores for one day of racial sensitivity training for its staff and discontinue its Blond roast line of coffee. * For the first time in its history, the Senate allowed one of its
Humoring the headlines: April 20, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire‘Mission Accomplished’ Tweets By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — “A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Fake news is spending more time covering this story than on the Michael Cohen and
Humoring the Headlines: April 15, 2018 Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAScott Pruitt (To the Melody of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’) By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Why must you always fly in first class? Or need a booth with soundproof glass?
Humoring the headlines: April 9, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−President Trump plans to send the National Guard to patrol the Southern border. If that works out, he will deploy the Navy to blockade the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts. The ships will also be the first line of defense in the coming trade war. * In the wake of the
Humoring the headlines; April 4, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireSearch On Mueller (Melody: Go Down Moses) By Laurie Baron When the Donald ran for President. Putin helped him win. Junior was not hesitant. To commit this sin. Search on Mueller Go find the smoking gun. Tell the Donald That his term is done. One day he’ll drag Trump into Court And won’t let him go.
Humoring the headlines: April 1, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−I posted a selfie of me eating an enchilada at a Mexican restaurant. * About a half hour after I left the restaurant, I glanced at my smartphone and noticed a news article on Facebook about ICE agents raiding the cantina in search of undocumented workers. * Then I received a
Humoring the headlines: March 24, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen has been working on his taxes and asked his accountant whether money paid to silence a witness against one of his clients qualifies as a business deduction. * During her Sixty Minutes interview, Secretary of Education Betsy Devos admitted that she had never visited an
Humoring the headlines: March 16, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−President Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today and appointed Mike Pompeo to replace him. The transition should be easy since not much of the State Department remains after a year of Trump and Tillerson. * Trump announced that he will meet with Kim Jong Un. Diplomatic and security pundits
Humoring the headlines: March 13, 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
In Memory of Ozzie, Our Anatolian Shepherd, 2003-2018 By Laurie Baron Book 1 Genesis In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and carved out spaces for dog beaches and parks. God created Dog in his/her own temperament to make sure Adam and Eve and their descendants never felt alone and to bring
The Five Books of Wet Noses aka The Old Dog Testament Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Pol-cars (Political Oscars) for 2017 By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — Best Picture: Barack Obama’s Presidential Portrait Most Despicable Actor: Wayne LaPierre Worst Deporting Actor: Donald Trump Hewing to Oscar rules, “Fail to the Chief” will play to end his acceptance speech if it is too long. Best Actress: Melania Trump for her role
Humoring the headlines: March 4, 2018 Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — A reviewer too busy to write. Sounds crazy, no? But when this shtetl newspaper went back online March 1, I was caught by surprise, scratching out my annual Oscar predictions while balancing on the precipice of other deadlines. It isn’t easy. You may ask why do I make these
The Wandering Review: Oscar Predictions 2018 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast