The Promised Podcast

Miriam and Noah discuss: 1) Gadi Eisenkot's Sisyphean efforts to piece together a governing coalition out of parties that refuse to sit one with the other, and 2) What America's elections augur for Israel: Is columnist Tom Friedman right when he warns Israel that "the America you knew is gone"?

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What's up with WhatsApp?

Linda, Judah and Noah discuss three highly improbable scenarios for what happens next after last week's elections, one highly-improbable scenario of which will probably happen.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Noah worries about war with Iran, like this week; Linda and Judah say, lighten up.

Miriam Herschlag, Tehila Wenger and Noah Efron talk about the whos, whats, whens and whys of this week's elections, and what they say about us today and augur for the future.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: A case for optimism?

Linda Gradstein, Judah Ari Gross and Noah Efron ask, for each of the 13 parties that are most likely going to be in the next Knesset, why for their voters, they are just the party they want.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: In elections that matter so much, should we be gaming out my vote, or just voting our hearts?

Plus: Beagles and other breeds, the National Library, dancing for peace, and how, now, there are mohalot in Jerusalem!

Miriam and Noah talk about (1) Whether or not it's true, like so many people are saying, that the upcoming elections are maybe the most consequential in the country's history, and (2) How a small, new right-wing party might dash the hope that lots of us have for a better future after the elections.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: For people who maybe care about Israel but don't live here, what are the most important things for them to understand about the upcoming elections and why?

Plus: Rats, the new year, and a tribute to the great Bible scholar, Uriel Simon, of blessed memory.

Allison, Judah and Noah talk about (1) Why, despite all the hardships and miseries of the past three years, Benjamin Netanyahu is still a viable candidate for prime minister, and (2) What the hell are these elections about again?, as we seem to have lost the plot.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What, if anything, does flydubai tell us about the souls of Israelis?

Plus: Providence & flydubai, Shul dinners in the shadow of the war, staying at the Tel Aviv hotel where Eichman stayed, and crying on a plane with a charismatic Pentecostal named "Mama Moses."

Tehila Wenger, Rotem Ur Soco and Noah Efron talk about (1) The so-called "Statement of Principles" signed this week by the leaders of the so-called "Parties of Repair & Hope", and why it left us so-called "unimpressed", and (2) How schools ought to mark the third anniversary of October 7.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Third anniversary of October 7, and things make only less sense now than they did before.

Plus: Remembering a poet who really listened to kids, looking into the eyes of a Palestinian activist across the table and seeing something familiar, and the first cleansing rain of the new year.

In a very special episode in celebration of the holiday of Sukkot, Noah goes on about the etrog, its complicated past, and the hope it holds for the futures of all of us.

(With two versions of Naomi Shemer's canonical Sukkot song, "Shlomit Bonah Sukkat Shalom", the one by Mashina, and the other by Ash&Buzi.)

Tehila Wenger, deputy director of the Israeli branch of the Geneva Initiative, and Noah talk about why so many Jewish-Israeli politicians and parties rule out joining a coalition with Palestinian-Israeli politicians and parties. Then Hannah Brown, film critic for the Jerusalem Post, joins to talk about the eventful week in Israeli cinema, starting with the Ophir Award Best-Picture winner Tell Me Everything, and continuing with the controversial new documentary about the IDF's policy on civilian casualties, NAZA, which won a Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and got the longest standing ovation in the history of film.

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What we wouldn't give for some superego: Have AI videos made elections all id?

Plus: Back when blowing shofar at the Wall was illegal, gearing up with friends for the elections in 40 days, life with a kid on the spectrum and awesome new music with a Days-of-Awe vibe.

Linda, Judah and Noah talk about (1) the weird party mergers and odd-couples running together for Knesset in the upcoming elections, and what these strange bedfellows say about the state of Israeli politics, and (2) the "Nili force" which, we recently learned, was started just after October 7, dedicated to capturing or killing every last one of the 5,000-odd Gazans who poured over the border on that day, to pillage, plunder, rape and murder. Is this sort of vengeance-to-the-last-man,-no-matter-how-long-it-takes what we want from our army and security forces?

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What do we expect from 5787?

Plus: Yossi Sarid as we never knew him when he was alive, Selichot in Zikhron Yaakov, and big slabs of meat in Jerusalem. Plus, new music with a New Year's vibe.