Podcast Episodes

Episode 23: Iran bows out

Episode 23

There's now a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Who won the war? And what happens now?

We offer some preliminary conclusions as the dust settles.

This episode is sponsored by the Peters family, Tom, S…

Published on 6 months ago

Episode 22: A new dawn in the Middle East?

Episode 22

The United States has struck the Iranian nuclear program, marking a watershed moment for the region.

It will take days to determine the scale of the damage and many years to understand the implication…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

Episode 21: Why won’t Haredim serve in the IDF? A deep dive with Shmuel Rosner

Episode 21

Haredi Israelis make up some 13% of the population but have extremely low rates of workforce participation and military service. The growing welfare subsidies that sustain their communities have incr…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

Episode 20: Regime change in Iran? What the 1979 revolution can teach us.

Episode 20

Twenty-four people have been killed in Israel since the outbreak of the direct Israel-Iran war. The Air Force is busy hunting launchers inside Iran to constrain Iran's ability to fire missiles at Isr…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

Episode 19: Iran faces a humbler, more dangerous Israel

Episode 19

The astonishing Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program was the inevitable result of October 7, a day that convinced Israelis they do not actually understand their Islamist foes, cannot deter these …

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Episode 18: Taking on the ayatollahs with Mark Dubowitz

Episode 18

The Trump administration has been trying to hammer out a deal to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. In the last 24 hours, the rhetoric has ratcheted up on both sides, as both Iranian and US officials …

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Episode 17: The Gaza war began 25 years ago, a conversation with Matti Friedman

Episode 17

Last month marked the 25th anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon after an 18-year guerrilla war that presaged everything we now think of as 21st-century warfare.

I spoke to Matti Friedman…

Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Episode 16: Hamas and the broken promise of 150 years of Islamic reform

Episode 16

Hamas's rule in Gaza is a theocratic dictatorship. But its roots lie in the 19th-century movement for Islamic reform that believes modernization, science and even political liberalization. How did th…

Published on 7 months ago

Episode 15: Jerusalem Day, a modern redemption story

Episode 15

Jerusalem Day falls on May 25th this year. It is the day of Jerusalem's unification in the 1967 Six Day War, and so a symbol of both Jewish rescue from the genocidal plans of its enemies, a palpable …

Published on 7 months ago

Episode 14: Should Israel give up on international law ? A conversation with a former IDF lawyer

Episode 14

If the requirements of international law mean that Israel is effectively prohibited from defeating its enemies or protecting its borders, should Israelis turn their backs on international law? Why do…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago