Jewish Currents
Jewish Currents is a Brooklyn-based, reader-supported non-profit magazine covering progressive Jewish politics, culture, and ideas via quarterly print, daily online journalism, and the "On the Nose" podcast, serving engaged Jewish readers and activists.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1946
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Jewish Currents does
Jewish Currents is a non-profit magazine covering Jewish left politics, culture, and ideas, originally founded in 1946 and relaunched in 2018 in its current form. It publishes a quarterly print magazine alongside daily online journalism and the "On the Nose" podcast, serving progressive Jewish readers, activists, academics, and engaged community members seeking left-of-center perspectives on Jewish life and politics. The publication is based in Brooklyn, NY, and operates with a small staff (1-10 employees), relying on a roster of high-profile contributors and editors to produce award-winning editorial content.
The business model is reader-supported and diversified across recurring revenue streams. Individual supporters can subscribe through tiered memberships (Globalist at $9/month, Illuminati at $18/month, and Elders of Zion at $36/month), purchase print subscriptions, make one-time donations, and buy branded merchandise through an online storefront. An institutional subscriptions channel extends reach to libraries, universities, and Jewish communal organizations. The organization has also built ecosystem ties through partnerships such as its collaboration with the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, which co-produces educational programming and events with the magazine.
Jewish Currents operates in the niche intersection of progressive Jewish thought and independent journalism. Its competitive position rests on a distinctive editorial voice, decades of brand heritage, and a dedicated community of supporters rather than technology-driven differentiation. The current strategic focus is on deepening community engagement through membership tiers, audio content, and live programming, while managing a senior leadership transition with the announced Spring 2026 departure of editor-in-chief Arielle Angel.
Jewish Currents firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Jewish Currents
- Legal name
- Jewish Currents
- Website
- https://jewishcurrents.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1946
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Jewish Currents is a Brooklyn-based, reader-supported non-profit magazine covering progressive Jewish politics, culture, and ideas via quarterly print, daily online journalism, and the "On the Nose" podcast, serving engaged Jewish readers and activists.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Jewish Currents industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Independent Progressive Journalism and Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters) (MPAJAHAI)
Keywords
Where Jewish Currents is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Jewish Currents business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue: Jewish Currents generates revenue through quarterly print subscriptions and digital access subscriptions, with tiered membership options offering various benefits including event access, merchandise, and exclusive content.
- Membership Fees: Three-tier membership program (Globalist, Illuminati, Elders of Zion) with monthly and annual billing options, providing escalating benefits including event invitations, book club deliveries, merchandise, and recognition.
- Donations: The publication actively solicits tax-deductible donations from readers through its donate page, positioning independent journalism as a community-supported endeavor.
- Merchandise Sales: Jewish Currents sells merchandise including mugs through its Shopify store, with membership tiers providing merchandise perks as enrollment benefits.
- Print Issue Sales: Back issues and current print issues are available for purchase through the shop, with some issues sold out and others available for order.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Globalist membership includes digital and print subscription, members-only events, monthly calls with Peter Beinart, drink tickets at launch parties, and 25% off Brooklyn Institute for Social Research classes. |
| Subscription | Monthly | Illuminati membership includes members-only reading groups, seminars, book clubs, artist talks, conversations with contributors and editors, handpicked book-club titles delivered every 6 months, and The Black Panther Haggadah ($45 list price). |
| Subscription | Monthly | Elders of Zion membership includes all Illuminati benefits plus exclusive post-issue conversations with publisher and editor-in-chief, and recognition on website and in magazine. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Jewish Currents product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Jewish Currents is an independent, reader-supported magazine that publishes a quarterly print issue alongside daily online journalism covering politics, culture, and ideas from a Jewish left perspective. The publication sustains operations through tiered memberships, subscriptions, donations, and merchandise sales, offering members exclusive events, reading groups, seminars, and book clubs.
Product overview
Jewish Currents is a print and digital magazine offering a quarterly print publication alongside daily online content. The portfolio includes the core magazine (quarterly print issues and daily digital articles), a tiered membership program (Globalist, Illuminati, Elders of Zion) with exclusive events and merchandise, the 'On the Nose' podcast (biweekly editorial discussions), and an email newsletter. Content spans analysis, essays, fiction, poetry, comics, cultural criticism, and reporting across topics including antisemitism, Israel/Palestine politics, race, left movements, far right, labor, climate, and immigration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- On the Nose: A biweekly podcast where the editorial staff discusses the politics, culture, and questions that animate today's Jewish left.
Products and services
- Jewish Currents Magazine (Quarterly Print + Daily Online) An award-winning quarterly print magazine covering politics, culture, and ideas with a focus on the Jewish left, complemented by daily online articles. Published since 1946 and aimed at progressive readers, scholars, and activists.
- Membership Program (Globalist, Illuminati, Elders of Zion) A sustaining membership program with three tiers—Globalist ($9/mo or $90/yr), Illuminati ($18/mo or $180/yr), and Elders of Zion ($36/mo or $360/yr)—offering escalating benefits including digital and print access, exclusive events, reading groups, seminars, book clubs, monthly calls, and merchandise perks.
- On the Nose Podcast A biweekly podcast in which the editorial staff discusses the politics, culture, and questions animating today's Jewish left. Distributed via iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and RSS feed.
- Email Newsletter A weekly email newsletter featuring exclusive original content, Shabbat Reading Lists, and article recommendations delivered to subscribers.
- Online Article Archive A daily-updated archive of articles covering antisemitism, Israel/Palestine, race, left movements, far right, diasporic culture, labor, climate, incarceration, immigration, and feminism.
- Merchandise and Back-Issue Shop Shopify-based store selling branded mugs, back issues, and print copies of special issues of the magazine.
Companies that use Jewish Currents
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Jewish Currents technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Jewish Currents partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Brooklyn Institute for Social ResearchminorJewish Currents members receive 25% off classes with the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, a partner organization offering educational programs. This partnership provides added value to membership tiers.
- Drum and Spear Press (Historical Reference)minorIn a historical context from the 1970 anthology Enemy of the Sun, Drum and Spear Press (founded by SNCC organizers) published an earlier Palestinian poetry anthology. This is referenced in Jewish Currents' coverage of the genre but is not an active partnership.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Jewish Currents competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dissent Magazine: A progressive quarterly magazine of politics and ideas — comparable in print cadence, left-leaning editorial stance, and reader-supported nonprofit model, though broader than Jewish-specific coverage.
- Mondoweiss: An independent news website covering Israel/Palestine from a left/pro-Palestine perspective — comparable in its critical coverage of Israel and progressive political stance, and partially overlapping in audience.
- +972 Magazine: An online magazine covering Israel/Palestine and Jewish-Arab politics from a progressive perspective — directly comparable in its editorial positioning on Israel/Palestine and overlap in politically engaged readership.
- Tablet Magazine: A Jewish online and print magazine covering culture, ideas, and Jewish affairs — the closest direct competitor in the Jewish intellectual magazine space, though with a generally more centrist-to-right editorial orientation.
- The Forward: A longstanding American Jewish newspaper and digital publication covering news, culture, and politics — directly comparable as a Jewish-identified editorial outlet, with overlap in audience and subject matter.
- Jewish Review of Books: A Jewish literary and intellectual review magazine — comparable as a quarterly Jewish publication featuring long-form essays, reviews, and cultural criticism aimed at an engaged Jewish readership.
- Lilith Magazine: An independent Jewish feminist magazine — comparable as a Jewish-identified, independent, mission-driven magazine with similar subscription/donation funding mechanics.
Broad incumbents
- The Nation: One of America's oldest progressive magazines, covering politics, culture, and opinion — comparable as a long-running left-leaning opinion publication with a similar donor/subscription revenue model.
- The New Republic: A long-running American magazine of politics and ideas — comparable as a left-of-center opinion publication with a similar mix of long-form journalism, essays, and analysis.
- Jacobin: A much larger left-wing magazine and media organization covering politics, economics, and culture — comparable in ideological positioning and reader-supported model, with significant overlap in left-progressive readership.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Jewish Currents social profiles
Digital presenceJewish Currents financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Jewish Currents leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Jewish Currents funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Jewish Currents M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Jewish Currents
What does Jewish Currents do?
Jewish Currents is an independent, reader-supported magazine that publishes a quarterly print issue alongside daily online journalism covering politics, culture, and ideas from a Jewish left perspective. The publication sustains operations through tiered memberships, subscriptions, donations, and merchandise sales, offering members exclusive events, reading groups, seminars, and book clubs.
Is Jewish Currents a public or private company?
Jewish Currents is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Jewish Currents founded?
Jewish Currents was founded in 1946. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Jewish Currents based?
Jewish Currents is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Jewish Currents make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription Revenue is the primary driver. The others are membership Fees, donations, merchandise Sales and print Issue Sales.
Who are Jewish Currents's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dissent Magazine, Mondoweiss, +972 Magazine, Tablet Magazine, The Forward, Jewish Review of Books and Lilith Magazine. Broad incumbents are The Nation, The New Republic and Jacobin.
Does Jewish Currents have an API?
No public API is recorded for Jewish Currents.
What industry is Jewish Currents in?
Jewish Currents's product category is Independent Progressive Journalism and Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAHAI, Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters). Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.