New Series G-dcast is Quite G- -d

Before you read this post, promise me that you won’t click away once I tell you what it’s about. Promise? Good. Because it’s about an ambitious web series that launched this week that wants to animate every story in the Old Testament. Nononononono, don’t scroll past or click away. If the first episode is any indication, it’s actually going to be pretty good.

G-dcast.com was founded by Sarah Lefton, whose goal is to tell the whole story of the Torah through 54 bite-sized, animated parshas (a parsha is a portion of the Torah). But it’s not just literal translation. She’s working with storytellers, hip-hop artists, country music singers and a variety of folks from around the globe to reinterpret and explain these parshas in a unique and entertaining way.

I spoke with Lefton at the recent The Conversation conference in Berkeley. She said the whole series will cost $200,000, which she raised through grants and support from nonprofits. Because of this nonprofit support, Lefton’s goal isn’t to make money on this series, but rather to raise Jewish literacy and use G-dcast as an educational tool. We talked about her process, what to expect from G-dcast and why she’s not using YouTube for distribution.