The founders of The Free Press, Bari Weiss and Nellie Bowles sit down with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch to discuss their new media company, their Jewish journey, and several of the central challenges facing the American Jewish community. This conversation was recorded live during the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue Spring Benefit on May 18, 2025.

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New York's former governor and the front runner in New York City's mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo speaks with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch about the state of the city, his decades-long support of Israel and the Jewish community, and surging antisemitism in America.

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The student body president of UC Santa Barbara and a proud Zionist, Tessa Veksler faced a barrage of hate and narrowly survived an attempt to oust her from office. Her experience is both a warning for young Jews heading to campus and an example of what real leadership looks like.

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Israeli politics have become increasingly complicated and divisive. The Times of Israel's founding editor and returning guest David Horovitz helps us understand Israel’s internal and external struggles — the unifying fabric of Israeli society and the major debates pulling at the seams.

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Rabbi Ammi Hirsch is the guest on this special episode hosted by David Harris, past CEO of the American Jewish Committee and Jewish Broadcasting Service TV's strategic analyst. Ammi discusses the state of American Reform Judaism and the new reality liberal Jews face in the wake of October 7th.

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There's something so Jewish about using laughter to cope. British comedian, public thinker and author David Baddiel finds the humor in the world, discussing everything from comedy to antisemitism to politics. And he makes plenty of jokes.

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The chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, retired U.S. Army Major John Spencer discusses the uniquely and unprecedentedly evil tactics that Hamas has employed in Gaza to maximize civilian casualties and collateral damage in pursuit of its political and military goals.

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s biographer felt like people were yearning to strip away the mythology surrounding the civil rights leader and reconnect with his humanity. Jonathan Eig brings King back into focus — as a religious leader and a social justice activist — and discusses the evolution of the Black-Jewish partnership in the years after King's assassination.

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An expert on foreign affairs, Prof. Walter Russel Mead thinks we're heading into uniquely unstable times. He offers a historical analysis of America's relationship with the Jews, the Jewish state, and how the U.S. approaches the rest of the world.

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An exceptionally talented novelist, journalist and activist, Lihi Lapid is also the wife of Israel's opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Her latest book, "On Her Own," bares the Sabra soul. And despite boycotts by the literary community, she hopes it will expose new readers to the grief, longing and love at the heart of the Israeli experience...

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