Jemima Khan Goldsmith: Why I'm using both my Muslim and Jewish names on my new podcast

Jemima Khan Goldsmith is trying out a new name. Famous as both Jemima Khan and Jemima Goldsmith, she feels neither the Muslim nor the Jewish one fits her new hit podcast. “I’m so confused and schizophrenic about it, I’ve actually put both in the credits… it’s the first time I’ve ever done that,” she explains.

Her name is important, because the podcast is A Muslim & A Jew Go There, presented by her friends Baroness Warsi (who is Muslim) and David Baddiel (who is Jewish). Their tough weekly conversations about the issues of the day for their respective communities attempts thoughtful debate, rather than argument. Khan Goldsmith came up with the idea in the fallout of the Israel-Gaza war, and it’s already “taken over her life”. She does the planning, recording and editing — and when the show began in February, it went to the top end of the charts and has stayed there.

Until recently, she used Goldsmith (the name of her businessman father James, and brothers Zac, now Lord Goldsmith, and Ben) for her personal) for work. “Both names really reflect my investment in this conversation, because there’s a Jewish name and a Muslim name” she says.