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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| Alma mater | Brooklyn College (BA) |
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Dennis Mark Prager (born August 2, 1948) is an American radio talk show host and writer. He is known for his conservative views. He hosts a popular radio show called The Dennis Prager Show. In 2009, he also helped start PragerU. This organization makes short videos that share American conservative ideas and other content.
His first public work began in 1969. He focused on helping Soviet Jews who were not allowed to leave their country. Over time, he started sharing his thoughts on many different political topics.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Dennis Prager was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Hilda and Max Prager. Dennis and his brother, Kenneth Prager, grew up in a Modern Orthodox Jewish home. This means their family followed Jewish traditions and laws closely.
He went to the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn. There, he became friends with Joseph Telushkin. He then studied at Brooklyn College. He earned a degree in history and Middle Eastern Studies. After college, he took more courses but did not finish a higher degree. Even though he changed some of his religious practices, he remained a religious person. He also has an honorary law degree from Pepperdine University.
Career Beginnings
In 1969, Dennis Prager was studying in England. A Jewish group asked him to visit the Soviet Union. His task was to talk to Jewish people living there about their lives. When he came back in 1970, many people wanted to hear him speak. He talked about how Soviet Jews were treated unfairly. He earned enough money from these talks to travel to about sixty countries. He became the national spokesperson for the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry.
Around this time, many American Jews, who were usually liberal, started to become more moderate or conservative. This change was partly due to Jewish people moving to the U.S. from the Soviet Union. In 1975, Prager and Telushkin wrote a book together. It was called The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism. This book was for Jewish people who were not very religious. It became a bestseller. The book answered questions like how Judaism is different from Christianity. It also discussed if you could doubt God and still be a good Jew.
From 1976 to 1983, Prager led the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. This was his first paid job. He quickly became known for his strong opinions. He spoke out against ideas he believed were harming society. Some people even called him 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. Because of its success, he eventually got a weekday talk show.
In 1983, he and Telushkin published another book. It was titled Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism. This book suggested that hatred of Jews, called anti-Semitism, comes from jealousy. The authors wrote that Jews were resented for believing they were chosen by God to bring a moral message to the world. The book explained that Jewish identity is both about being a nation and following a religion. It also said that trying to make Jews give up their culture or opposing Zionism (support for a Jewish homeland) are forms of anti-Semitism.
Prager also wrote a column for newspapers across the country. In 1985, he started his own magazine, Ultimate Issues. It was later renamed The Prager Perspective in 1996.
Media Expansion in the 1990s
By 1992, Dennis Prager had a weekday night talk show on KABC. He also started giving talks at the Stephen S. Wise Temple.
In 1994, Prager began broadcasting an hour each weekday on WABC in New York. This was KABC's sister station. He would do this show before his local KABC show.
From 1994 to 1995, a company called Multimedia Entertainment created a television show with Prager. Prager felt that TV might not be the best place for deep, smart discussions. However, he saw it as a great chance to share his beliefs with many people. In 1995, he changed the show so that the audience could sit on stage and talk with him more directly.
PragerU
In 2009, Dennis Prager and his producer Allen Estrin launched a website called PragerU. This website creates five-minute videos on many different topics. These videos share a conservative point of view.
BuzzFeed News described PragerU as a very big and important online media group. As of 2018, PragerU spent about 40% of its yearly budget on marketing. Each video is made in a similar style. The videos cover subjects like racism, sexism, money differences, gun ownership, Islam, immigration, Israel, and free speech on college campuses. BuzzFeed News noted that PragerU mostly avoids talking about specific political news or Donald Trump. In 2017, some of its videos had their access limited by YouTube.
Personal Life
Dennis Prager can speak several languages. He speaks English, French, Russian, and Hebrew. His brother, Kenneth Prager, is a doctor and professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His brother supports vaccines. His nephew, Joshua Prager, used to write for The Wall Street Journal. Dennis Prager also has a son named David Prager.
Filmography
- 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
