Dennis Prager facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dennis Prager
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Prager in 2021
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| Born | August 2, 1948 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Brooklyn College (BA) Columbia University |
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Dennis Prager, born on August 2, 1948, is an American radio host and writer. He shares his conservative ideas on his show. He hosts a popular radio show called The Dennis Prager Show that is heard across the country. In 2009, he helped start PragerU. This organization makes short, five-minute videos that share conservative viewpoints.
Early in his career, starting in 1969, Dennis Prager worked to help Soviet Jews, called Refuseniks. These were people who were not allowed to leave their country. Over time, he began to share more of his thoughts on politics and society.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Dennis Prager was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Hilda and Max Prager. His father's parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Dennis and his brother, Kenneth Prager, grew up in a Jewish home that followed Modern Orthodox traditions. He went to the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn, where he became friends with Joseph Telushkin.
Prager attended Brooklyn College. He studied anthropology and history, earning his bachelor's degree in 1970. From 1970 to 1972, he was a fellow at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. During this time, he also took classes at the University of Leeds in England. After leaving graduate school, Prager continued to follow many traditional Jewish practices. He still considers himself a religious person. He has also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine University.
Career Highlights
Starting His Career
In 1969, while studying in England, a Jewish group asked Prager to visit the Soviet Union. His task was to interview Jewish people about their lives there. When he returned the next year, many people wanted him to speak about the problems faced by Soviet Jews. He earned enough money from these talks to travel to about sixty different countries. He became the national spokesperson for the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry.
Around this time, many American Jews, who had often supported liberal ideas, began to consider more central or conservative views. This shift was partly influenced by Jewish people arriving from the Soviet Union. In 1975, Prager and Telushkin wrote a book for Jews who were not very religious. It was called The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism and became a bestseller. The book answered questions like how Judaism is different from Christianity. It also discussed if someone could doubt God's existence and still be a good Jew.
From 1976 to 1983, Prager led the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. This was his first paid job. He became known for speaking out against ideas he believed were harming society. Some people even compared him to a Jewish Billy Graham.
Radio and Writing in the 1980s
In 1982, a radio station in Los Angeles, KABC (AM), hired Prager. He hosted a Sunday night religious talk show called Religion on the Line. This show became very popular. Its success led to him getting a weekday talk show. In 1983, he and Telushkin published another book, Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism.
This book suggested that hatred of Jews, called antisemitism, comes from people being upset that Jews believe they are God's chosen people. The authors wrote that Jews are both a nation and followers of a religion. They said this identity is very important to Judaism. The book also said that calls for Jews to fit in with other cultures, or opposing Zionism, are forms of antisemitism.
Prager also wrote a column for newspapers across the country. In 1985, he started his own quarterly magazine, Ultimate Issues. It was later renamed The Prager Perspective in 1996.
The 1990s and Beyond
By 1992, Dennis Prager was a well-known voice on local radio in Los Angeles. He was seen as someone who fought for "goodness" against ideas he disagreed with. He had a weekday night talk show on KABC. In 1994, he also hosted an hour-long show each weekday for WABC (AM) in New York.
During the 1994–1995 TV season, a company called Multimedia Entertainment created a television show featuring Prager. He felt that TV might not be the best place for deep discussions. However, he saw it as a great chance to share his beliefs with a large audience.
PragerU
In 2009, Prager and his producer Allen Estrin launched a website called PragerU. This organization creates five-minute videos on many different topics. These videos share a conservative point of view. As of 2018, PragerU spent a lot of its money on advertising. Each video is made in a similar style.
The videos cover subjects like racism, sexism, income differences, gun ownership, and immigration. They also discuss Israel and free speech on college campuses. BuzzFeed News noted that PragerU often avoids talking about daily political news. In 2017, some of its videos had their access limited by YouTube.
Personal Life
Dennis Prager can speak English, French, Russian, and Hebrew. His brother, Kenneth Prager, is a doctor and professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Kenneth Prager supports vaccines. Dennis Prager's nephew, Joshua Prager, used to write for The Wall Street Journal. Dennis Prager also has a son named David Prager.
In November 2024, Prager had a serious back injury after a fall.
Films
- For Goodness Sake, 1993
- For Goodness Sake II, 1996
- Baseball, Dennis, & the French, 2011
- No Safe Spaces, 2019
See also
In Spanish: Dennis Prager para niños
- Judaism and politics
- Jewish conservatism
