In this very special podcast episode, Noah tries to see our troubled world right now, in a Whatsapp thread or a TikTok “For You”

We discuss: 1) the week of daily hostage releases and its abrupt end, and 2) what it’s like to have a kid fighting in this war

We discuss: 1) Some weird changes in gender politics against the background of the war 2) Why there has been so much art, made so manically, since October 7

You can learn something about a place from the songs they sing when things go wrong

The return of 50 hostages, including 30 kids, is great news. So why do we feel so bad?

We discuss: 1) Whether Israel’s two goals for the war are at odds, and what to do if they are 2) What is the answer to the question, “Why not stop the war right now?”

We discuss: 1) Whether or not our news outlets should show and tell us more about the suffering of Gazans 2) What to make of the massive increase in firearm license applications

We discuss: 1) What, if anything, can we learn from Oct. 7 about the prospect of peace with Palestinians 2) Whether or not it is time to take to the streets, calling for Benjamin Netanyahu to resign

We discuss: 1) The unsettling period between the Hamas attack and Israel’s ground response 2) Whether our hostage crisis is driving us towards our government, or away from it

We discuss: 1) The decision of Benny Gantz to join a “Unity Government” and Yair Lapid’s decision not to 2) A heartbroken open letter from leaders of Israel’s left over the support for Hamas on the part of some leaders of America’s and Europe’s left