The Barbarians

By Tablet Studios

The Barbarians is a new weekly news podcast from Tablet Magazine, featuring columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, Scroll writer Park MacDougald, and editor at large Liel Leibovitz, as well as ... more

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FAQs about The Barbarians:

How many episodes does The Barbarians have?

The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.

The Barbarians episodes:

July 28, 2026 When Donald Met Bibi
On Tuesday, July 28 at 10 a.m. Eastern, we held a live recording of Tablet’s Barbarians podcast, an exclusive event for Tablet subscribers. This week, Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz was joined by columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald to preview Bibi Netanyahu’s meeting in Washington, D.C., with Donald Trump.
Would the dynamic duo deliver a banger of a sequel in Iran? What’s up with the Saudis and the Bomb? And how should we make sense of another bloody week of confrontations between Jews and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria?
Listen and find out.

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1h 2min
July 16, 2026 The Barbarians on Israel's Elections: A Guide for the Perplexed
On Thursday, July 16 at 10 a.m. Eastern we hosted a live recording of Tablet’s Barbarians podcast, an exclusive event for Tablet subscribers. This week, Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz were joined by columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald, as well as special guest Gadi Taub, host of the Israel Update podcast, in a preview of Israel’s upcoming, chaotic, and crucial elections.

Should the Haredim serve in the army, and, if so, could the state actually make them? Who are the newcomers vying to replace Bibi Netanyahu, and which of them actually has a chance? And what’s going on with Israel’s judicial reform and the massive protest movement it helped spark?
If you would like to subscribe so you can see this and future live events, just click here, or go to: https://www.tabletmag.com/subscribe

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1h 1min
July 09, 2026 The Barbarians Did Nazi This One Coming
This week, Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz was be joined by columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll writer Adam Lehrer in making sense of the thrill ride that is American politics these days.
Did yet another accusation of sexual violence torpedo Graham Platner’s Senate campaign, and why are so many Democrats turning on him after sticking by him through so many terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things he has said and done before? What to make of President Trump’s trip to Turkey? And why are we still so unrelentingly, absolutely, and cheerfully hopeful about America’s future?
As always, the Barbarians riffed on these and other topics, spoke inconvenient truths to smug power, and took questions from our subscribers.
If you would like to subscribe so you can watch this and future live events, just go to: https://www.tabletmag.com/subscribe

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1h 2min
June 25, 2026 Welcome to Mamdanistan
On Thursday, June 25th we hosted a live recording of Tablet’s Barbarians podcast, an exclusive event for Tablet subscribers. This week, Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz was joined by columnist Lee Smith, correspondent-at-large Armin Rosen, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald to make sense of New York’s ongoing, spiraling descent into a Jew-hating hellscape.
How did a pro-Hamas Socialist and recent convert to Islam who said she liked to use the American flag as a napkin romp to victory in the primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District? And what about Brad Lander, who ran on a hardline anti-Israel ticket—saying most people view the Jewish state with “revulsion”—and just upset the incumbent, Dan Goldman, in the 10th District? And what to make of the fact that both candidates are protégés of New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who this weekend referred to AIPAC—but not, you know, to Hamas—as “monsters”? In short, is there any hope for New York, or, for that matter, for the Democrat Party?
As always, the Barbarians riffed on these and other topics, speak inconvenient truths to smug power, and took questions from our subscribers.
If you would like to subscribe so you can see this and future live events, just click here, or go to: https://www.tabletmag.com/subscribe

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1h 1min
June 18, 2026 Revenge of the MOUlahs
On Thursday, June 18th Tablet hosted a live recording of the Barbarians podcast, as an exclusive event for Tablet subscribers. This week, Tablet Liel Leibovitz was joined by columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald in making sense of the MOU, or the memorandum of understanding, Trump just signed with Iran.
Why is Trump lashing out at Israel for fighting Hezbollah? And why does Vice President J.D. Vance sound a lot like Barack Obama these days, applauding a deal that rewards the mullahs in Tehran with far more resources and regional influence than anything even the Democrats were ever willing to concede?
As always, the Barbarians riffed on these and other topics and took questions from our subscribers.
If you would like to subscribe so you can see this and future live events, just click here, or go to: https://www.tabletmag.com/subscribe

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1h
June 11, 2026 Which is More Hopelessly Broken: Trump’s Iran Policy or LA’s Election Laws?
On Thursday June 11th, we hosted a subscriber-only live recording of Tablet’s Barbarians podcast. This week, Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz was again joined by columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald in an attempt to figure out which is more maddening and impossible to understand—Trump’s Iran policy or Los Angeles’s election laws.
Why is the Commander in Chief still rhapsodizing about a deal when the Iranians are brazenly shooting at everything that moves? What will Israel do now that Washington is demanding it halt its operations against Hezbollah? And can anyone at all make sense of California’s hopelessly broken election scam? How insane was the Knicks' comeback in game 4?
As always, the Barbarians riffed on these and other topics, spoke inconvenient truths to smug power, and took questions from our subscribers.
This event was for subscribers only; if you’d like to become one, sign up here.

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59min
June 04, 2026 Did Trump $%&# up in Iran?
On Thursday June 4th at 10am we hosted a live recording of The Barbarians, an exclusive event for subscribers. Tablet editor-at-large Liel Leibovitz sat down with columnist Lee Smith, news editor Tony Badran, and Scroll senior writer Park MacDougald for a conversation focused on the biggest foreign policy question of the moment: Did Trump $%&# up in Iran?
The conversation covered everything from the alleged rift between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon to what, precisely, might happen in the aftermath of Operation Epic Fury. Is Trump playing five-dimensional chess or did he just squander a historical opportunity to change the dynamics in the region and protect America’s interests?
And, as always, the Barbarians also riffed on the other top headlines of the week and take questions from our subscribers.
This episode was recorded live on video for Tablet subscribers only; if you’d like to become one, so you can watch and ask questions live, sign up here or go to https://tabletmag.com/subscribe.

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59min

FAQs about The Barbarians:

How many episodes does The Barbarians have?

The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.