Piece Comment

Review of Chanukah with Byron


With an editorial ear tuned to the Ira Glass approach to radio, "Chanukah with Byron" takes a glancing look at the glancing relationships we sometimes try to invent for ourselves during the holidays. It's a secular world, but there's always that faint gravitational tug of religious community. There's that almost nostalgic appeal of the structure we get from a shared history, independent of any real understanding of what that history means and demands. "Chanukah with Byron" speaks to the general hunger for connection, and about achieving what appears to be a bond based on mutual values, but turns out to be little more than indulging in the shell of ritual. But that's enough these days. Right? Sure it is. Isn't it? Produced with a highly polished casualness, the piece would fit in any programming looking at religion in America during the holiday season and shouldn't be restricted to Chanukah.