Georgia in Play: Celebrating Hanukkah, holiday jazz, girls lead gaming, helping homeless neighbors

Highlights from the show

This week on Georgia in Play, this past Thursday marked the start of Hanukkah, and host Leah Fleming decided to ask some of the holiday's youngest observants what the celebration means to them. Plus, American Jewish Committee Regional Director Dov Wilker weighs in on his relationship to the holiday.

Do you hear what I hear? Contemporary jazz artist Ragan Whiteside brings her latest track, a reimagining of "Little Drummer Boy," to the show. Known for her blend of flute-featured jazz, Whiteside won a Jazz Music Award in 2022 for her single "Off The Cuff." She speaks with Leah about her history with jazz and how her work is a family affair.

Four all-women teams are gearing up to compete in GIRLGAMER Atlanta, an international video game competition making its first stop in North America. Jihan Johnston, one of the panelists at the event, is a former educator who switched careers after her son wanted to get into streaming. She's now an advocate for making education into gaming resources, meeting kids where they want to be.

It's getting cold outside, which means that homeless shelters are working overtime to meet the community's needs. Bigger Vision of Athens Executive Director Ryan Hersh joins the show to discuss what you can do to support local shelters, and Columbus Continuum of Care's Pat Frey speaks on the larger pattern of what creates these circumstances.

This past World AIDS Day, GPB's Ellen Eldridge tracked the state of HIV in the U.S. Virus transmission is especially bad in the South, and an expert advocates for increased testing so people can detect the virus early and often. Ellen talks with Leah about it all.