The Headlines program
Rabbi Dovid Lichtenstein is best known as the host of "Headlines," and nearly every recording in the collection carries that name. The program takes the halachic questions thrown up by modern life — the ones that don't have a ready answer in an old sefer — and works them through seriously, often bringing in leading poskim and subject-matter experts. Rather than a lecture, each episode is closer to an investigation, examining a live issue from the sources outward.
This format fills a genuine need. Observant Jews constantly meet situations the earlier authorities never faced directly, and "Headlines" exists to ask how halacha applies. By putting real poskim in conversation with doctors, scientists, and other specialists, the program shows halacha doing what it has always done — engaging new circumstances with old principles. For a listener, it is a window into how psak actually gets made on the hardest contemporary questions.
Where halacha meets the modern world
The topics are strikingly current. "Commerce on Shabbat - Businesses That Are Open 24/7" wrestles with running a business in a nonstop economy; "DNA and the Kohen Gene" asks what modern genetics means for Jewish status; other episodes take up going up on Har HaBayis, the kashrus of sherry casks, and vaccinations. These are not theoretical exercises — they are questions real families and communities face, treated with both halachic rigor and factual seriousness.
What makes the approach credible is that it refuses to shortcut either side. The program takes the science or the circumstances as seriously as the sources, understanding that a sound psak depends on getting the facts right first. That respect for the details — the actual technology, the actual medicine, the actual market — is why "Headlines" has earned an audience well beyond specialists. It models how a thinking, observant Jew can hold tradition and modernity together without flinching from either.
Difficult questions, taken seriously
Some episodes take on subjects most programs avoid. A discussion of metzitzah b'peh, or a guest host exploring techeiles in modern times, signals a willingness to engage sensitive and contested topics head-on rather than steering around them. The aim is not controversy for its own sake but clarity — laying out what the sources say, what the experts say, and where the genuine questions lie, so that listeners can understand an issue rather than merely react to it.
That seriousness extends to timeless subjects too, including teshuva and the meaning of the festivals, where the same investigative instinct applies. Across the library, Lichtenstein's project is consistent: to treat the listener as an intelligent adult capable of following a real halachic discussion. For anyone who wants to understand how Jewish law engages the world as it actually is, "Headlines" is a substantial and unusually candid resource.
Finding kosher Torah video for your family
FilteredTube is a kosher video service built for Jewish families — every single video is approved against one written standard before it can appear, with no open feed, no comments, and no surprises. It is a calm, safe place to look for the Torah and Jewish music you love.
If your family enjoys teachers like Rabbi Dovid Lichtenstein, search FilteredTube for the speakers and topics that matter most to you. With a daf yomi shelf, a weekly parsha shelf, topic shelves, audio-only listening for the car, and a kids mode with a PIN, kosher Jewish video is easy to reach — and the approved catalog keeps growing every day.
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Rabbi Dovid Lichtenstein hosts "Headlines," investigating contemporary halachic questions with leading poskim and experts.
- Episodes tackle live issues — Shabbos and 24/7 business, the Kohen gene, vaccinations, kashrus of sherry casks.
- The program takes the facts as seriously as the sources, a prerequisite for sound psak.
- It engages sensitive, contested topics directly rather than avoiding them.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.