The “Presidential Importunity” Edition
We discuss: 1) President Herzog’s worried speech to the nation, calling on politicians “to extinguish the explosive fire of division, before it destroys us” 2) Why we don’t hear much of the voices of Palestinian citizens of Israel at the big demonstrations
Your Israeli Soundtrack for February
Just back from his live Tokyo club gig, DJ Antithesis is in the studio playing the latest Israeli hits, including new releases by Maor Edri, Eden Ben Zaken, Tuna and many more
Exposing the Truth
The Hebrew word לחשוף is commonly used by archaeologists, journalists, dermatologists and... strippers. What does it mean? Guy explains
Our Republic: Ben Gurion’s Constitutional Vision
Prof. Nir Keidar discusses his book “David Ben Gurion and the Foundation of Israeli Democracy.” How did Israel's founding father conceptualize the Republican idea and adapt it to the unique reality of the State of Israel, and in what ways is the Netanyahu Government's judicial overhaul a contradiction of the original vision?
The “Reform School” Edition
We discuss: 1) A proposed reform that would give school principals the power to fire bad teachers and give extra pay to the good ones, bringing free-market principles to grade-school principals 2) Why Nazis are so much on the minds of so many who are fighting Netanyahu’s judicial reforms
You Don’t Want to Mess With Me
There are people you don’t want to mess with, and there are things you shouldn’t do because they're a hassle. How do you say all this in Hebrew? Well, you'd use the עסק root, of course!
Intifada 1.0
Oren Kessler, journalist and author, discusses his new book “Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict,” dedicated to one of the key moments in the history of Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine and Israel
The “Demonstrating Faith” Edition
We discuss: 1) The nearly daily, sometimes deadly Palestinian attacks on Jews, and their impact on the protests against Netanyahu’s reforms 2) The sudden rise of a (very small) religious left, and what it says about today and means for tomorrow
The Deal of a Lifetime
In Hebrew עסקים means business. Today, Guy talks about the root עסק and introduces other nouns we should know. Bonus: What do you do when you see an unfamiliar transaction in your credit card statement?
This Land Will Be Shared
Shuli Dichter, a veteran activist for a Jewish-Arab shared society in Israel, discusses his political memoir. The timing of its publication in English, when Israel seems to be moving in the opposite direction, is not a coincidence
The “All You Protest Kids” Edition
We discuss: 1) Whether the very different natures of the protests in Jerusalem, Haifa and Beer Sheva offer a corrective to the much bigger demonstrations in Tel Aviv 2) Whether it's right for ostensibly apolitical universities, professors and students to protest the government on campus
Hitler’s Willing Profiteers
David de Jong discusses his book, “Nazi Billionaires: The Dark Histories of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties,” a collective biography of Nazi Germany's top industrialists and their heirs, shedding light on the dark corners of Germany's postwar Denazification