MY NEW YORK STORY

Joel Waldman: Humor Is The Best Elixir

By Mindie Barnett

After leaving his award-winning broadcast news career, Joel Waldman—who reported for Fox 5 New York and later a national correspondent for Fox News—joined forces with his Holocaust survivor mom. The 80+ Karmela is the creator of a podcast, making her the country’s most “seasoned” one to date! Their podcast, Surviving the Survivor, highlights the two lovingly-yet-dysfunctional mother-son duo as they delve into what is now known as a true-crime hit. But the real story unfolds as they learn things about each other, so much so that Joel put his mother’s life story in book form: Surviving the Survivor, centers on struggles, sickness and survival!

We met with Joel Waldman to learn more about his new career as a successful podcaster, author, and son.

What inspired you to write a book with your mom?
As a broadcast journalist for 27 years, most recently as a Fox News national correspondent, I’ve always been curious about people and their stories. Ironically, I knew so little about the person closest to me: my mom. We rarely discussed surviving the Holocaust, mainly because my mother still refuses to dwell on the negative. She wanted me to be inspired by positive events and subconsciously felt sharing her story might be too difficult for me to grasp fully. But it wasn’t just the Holocaust. My mom also lost a son and, most recently, her husband of 63 years. I realized during this time she wouldn’t be here indefinitely. As we affectionately call her Karm, she is a walking, breathing piece of history. With minutes endlessly ticking away, I knew it was time to finally get to work.

As a broadcast journalist, you’ve interviewed nearly everyone in the news. Was it any different with your mom?
I began interviewing her about her life: her Holocaust story, the loss of her son (my brother), the illness that stole her husband, and her thoughts on being one of the oldest active podcasters in America. She and I co-host the true-crime podcast Surviving the Survivor, which has over 100K subscribers and has had over 2.5 million views on YouTube.

I recorded hours and hours of conversations between us on all these topics and life with the capital “L,” and the result was the book Surviving the Survivor. It’s not your mother’s Holocaust story: I joke because it’s mine ... and it’s amusing, more than slightly dysfunctional, and awe-inspiring. It’s a feel-good book that will make you laugh, cry, and think you’re normal.  

What are the top three lessons you hope every reader walks away with?
Even the darkest moments in life cannot keep one from remaining positive, strong, and powerful…We’re all a little bit crazy. There’s no such thing as normal, and that’s okay…Our quirks and foibles are our true strengths. Humor is an elixir, even when life is the most difficult.

What was it like growing up with a mother who is also a Holocaust survivor?
It was both a beautiful blessing and a heavy burden. That is why I named the book Surviving the Survivor. Karm is notoriously hard on me because of all the pain she experienced. Until I wrote this book, I never understood the term “generational trauma.” But my mom’s struggles penetrated me through some osmosis. She worried a lot—and that created a lot of anxiety within me.

She was also always afraid of being prevented from accomplishing her goals because the Nazis stopped her world in its tracks when they stole her father and grandfather from her. So, she’s impossible to stop. She pushes forward no matter the circumstances and has emblazoned this powerful lesson on me, too. We move forward no matter what obstacles stand in our way. We do it with a lot of humor to ease the pain sometimes associated with approaching life this way.

Tell us about the podcast the two of you created. Surviving the Survivor was created during the pandemic. My media business stood at a standstill, and my mom had nothing going on. Karm is a cross between Dr. Ruth and Howard Stern’s mother—she’s very funny, tough as nails and overly opinionated. With over 27 years in the media, I knew she had the so-called “it” factor. So, I put her to work as my co-host. Coincidentally, we don’t know of any older active podcasters in America. STS began with interviews with notable people like Tiger King’s Carole Baskin and Harvard Astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb, who wrote the NYT bestseller Extraterrestrial.

But, after coming across a true crime story about a murdered Jewish FSU Law Professor, Dan Markel, we switched to true crime all the time. This genre has always fascinated me, as has my mom, a licensed social worker and therapist. We found a niche within the niche interviewing the #BestGuests in #TrueCrime, and as a result, we’ve quickly become one of the most popular podcasts in this arena.  

You have a series of books that will be collectibles. Can you tell us about that?
Karm is unquestionably the star of Surviving the Survivor. She has a cult of fans—people from around the globe turn to her for advice because of her own life experience as a survivor of WW2. One of her well-known sayings is: “We’re all just trying to survive in a rough world.” As a result, people are constantly asking for Karm’s advice and literal blessings. So, we’ve teamed up with Premiere Collectibles. At SignedSurvivorBook.com, you can get a custom inscription from Karm (and Joel) for a limited hardcover edition of the STS book. 

For more information on Joel Waldman and Surviving the Survivor, visit survivingthesurvivor.com