I met Shelly (who asked that her last name not be shared) in a shelter in central Israel in March during Israel's war with the Iranian regime. Shelly was 21, confident, radiant  and articulate. I gravitated towards her immediately. When she mentioned she was an officer in the army training to be a combat physician, I knew she'd have important things to say. Once we were out of the shelter, we sat down and talked — and I learned more than I expected. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Editor: Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "לפני השינה" | Anat Malamud

Listen on ⁠Spotify⁠  or ⁠Apple Music⁠

This past November, I sat down with Amanda Borschel-Dan, Deputy Editor of The Times of Israel. Ever since the war began, it's been her voice on the Times of Israel Daily Briefing that has kept me — and so many of us in the English-speaking diaspora — feeling oriented and sane. She is one of my heroes of journalism: someone who has reported on October 7th and the subsequent wars with extraordinary rigor and clarity while being, as an Israeli, completely inside the story herself. In our conversation, Amanda spoke about what it means to do that work — how it can function as therapy, a kind of anchor in a crisis with no end.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Sound Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Editor: Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Yamim Shel Sheket" | Tandu

Listen on ⁠YouTube⁠

I learned about Channi Rabinovitz through her husband, Itzhik. Itzhik appeared in an earlier episode — ⁠"A Tsunami of PTSD Is Coming" ⁠— where he spoke about the mental health journey of one of his sons, who found healing through a hydrotherapy-based trauma treatment clinic in Israel called Ripples of Healing, also known as Einot Bar. 

It was Itzhik who told me about Channi. Channi has worked as a midwife — before October 7, and after. She has shown up to work with mothers whose husbands have been killed, or who return home from war in body but not in spirit. Despite the heaviness, Channi goes to work with enthusiasm and joy.  To Channi, the labor and delivery room is "the holy of holies." 

When I finally met her late last year, I understood immediately that Itzhik was right. Channi is a force. She has boundless energy and unshakeable devotion — to life, to her people, to the work that she does, and to the land of Israel. Just before we began the interview, I learned that Channi donated a kidney to a stranger when she was already in her early sixties. That's who she is. 

My relationship with Channi became very significant this past March, when I found myself stranded in Israel during its most recent war with the Iranian regime. Channi and Itzhik took me in. They fed me home-cooked meals daily. They kept me laughing through middle-of-the-night runs to the bomb shelter. They hosted me for Purim and Shabbat, at a time when celebrating felt really hard. And they worked hard to help me secure an airline ticket (not a small feat!) so that I could make it home safely to my family.

I don't use the word formidable lightly. But there is no other word for Channi. 

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Love Unfolding" | Elijah Aaron

Listen on ⁠Spotify⁠  or ⁠Apple Music

On March 11th, I sat down with Alyssa Annis, a native of Manchester, England, now living in Israel. Several years ago, while working closely with Holocaust survivors, Alyssa promised them that their stories would not be forgotten. This promise has become the defining mission of her life. Today she works with ⁠Sharaka⁠, bringing Holocaust education to Muslim leaders in the Arab nations that are signatories to the Abraham Accords, places where that history is either deeply misunderstood or deliberately obscured.

I met Alyssa on the last day of what was supposed to be a two-week trip to Israel — one that extended after I found myself stranded in the middle of the war with the Iranian regime. A mutual friend, Rabbi Joe Wolfson of Tel Aviv, put out a call asking if anyone in his community would speak on a podcast about life after October 7th. Alyssa raised her hand.

You can tell exactly where we are in history by listening. We were literally dodging missiles — pausing as we entered her building to wait out a siren. And yet Alyssa radiates optimism, including genuine hope that the war would bring about regime change in Iran. As of this writing on May 1st, 2026, there is a fragile ceasefire in place and the regime has not yet fallen. 

I'm posting this conversation two weeks after my episode with Danesh Malmir. Danesh, an Iranian man, spoke about his awakening upon discovering Holocaust history — forbidden and denied in his country. Alyssa speaks about the urgency of bringing that same truth to others. Together, Danesh and Alyssa make a convincing case for the power of Holocaust education in the Middle East.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Editor: Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "FAITH" | Nuriel

Listen on ⁠Spotify⁠  or ⁠Apple Music⁠

This episode features Danesh Malmir, who was born in Iran and later came to the United States as an asylum seeker.

Introduced to host Manya Marcus through a mutual connection, Danesh shares the story of his activism against the Iranian regime and the personal cost of that work. He was shot during an anti-government protest, witnessed the IRGC kill a close friend, and was ultimately forced to flee Iran, leaving his family behind.

Unlike most guests on the show, Danesh is not Jewish. He describes himself as both an anti-regime activist and a peace-seeker, committed to the vision of a freer Iran.

That same conviction informs his support for the recent military campaign against the regime—an operation that was ongoing at the time of the interview. As of this writing, a fragile ceasefire is in place.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Editor: Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Motorchi (Dayeh Dayeh)" | Reza Saghaei

Listen on Spotify  or Apple Music

When the What Came After team traveled to Israel this past February, we arrived with a plan: a slate of interviews, a full itinerary, and a clear sense of direction. But when war with the Iranian regime began on February 28th, everything changed.

In the days that followed, we continued searching for voices that could help make sense of the moment. One of them was Netta Hultqvist, whom host Manya Marcus met in the underground bomb shelter of Tel Aviv’s Ink Hotel.

Raised between Sweden and Israel, Netta describes a dramatic shift in her life after October 7th—moving from a career in finance and economics into the study of warfare, human nature, and defense technology. A veteran of the IDF, she reflects on the forces that drive violence, the possibilities for limiting harm to civilians, and why, as a secular person, she found herself turning to religious music in the aftermath of October 7th—and again now.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Eli Akselrod

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor: Keren Glicksman

Editor: Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "אמן" | Tandu

Listen on ⁠Spotify⁠  or ⁠Apple Music⁠

Recorded during the first days of Israel’s second war with the Iranian regime, this chapter explores the role of dark humor in moments of crisis. From bomb shelters to everyday interactions, laughter emerges as a powerful way to cope with fear, uncertainty, and life under fire.

Learn more about our podcast at https://www.whatcameafter.com/

Hi everyone, this is Manya Marcus. This episode is being released from Israel on March 11th, 2026, where l've been stranded since the war with the Iranian regime began.

Since the war started, we've been releasing short episodes we're calling chapters. The last one was called "Anna from the Tel Aviv Bomb Shelter,” a conversation with a woman I met

while we were both sheltering in the basement of my hotel.

While we were down there, I told Anna about the project I originally came to Israel to work on: a series about Israeli music, and how those songs reveal the connections - and sometimes the tensions - between Israeli Jews and Jews in the diaspora right now.

At the center of that series is a very unlikely friendship - mine with a man you'll hear in this episode named Oz Bar-Liss.

I met Oz at Einot Bar, a trauma treatment clinic in the Negev. In the conversation you're about to hear, he describes how he and his family narrowly escaped Hamas terrorists - only for him to return later that same day in uniform.

You'll also hear how quickly he reaches for music to make sense of what he's lived through.

This is a first introduction to Oz - someone you'll be hearing much more from when the new series comes out in a few months.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Eli Akselrod

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Editors: Keren Glicksman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "ליל חנה" | Hanan Yovel

Listen on ⁠Spotify⁠ or ⁠Apple Music⁠

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Eli Akselrod

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor: Keren Glicksman

Editors: Eli Akselrod and Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "כלים" | Anat Malamud

Listen on Spotify or Apple Music 

In this episode, Manya Marcus speaks with award-winning Israeli screenwriter Eden Gurion about his latest film, called Remnants in English The film follows a teenage girl whose older sister was killed at the Nova music festival during the massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, and offers several intimate portraits of grief. In their conversation, Eden reflects on the many faces of grief and on why much of his work focuses on stories about Israeli identity - particularly in moments of national trauma and upheaval.

Eden and Manya also discuss the unexpected international reception of Remnants, which has received awards and critical acclaim abroad even as many Israeli artists are navigating boycotts and growing cultural isolation.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Eli Akselrod

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor: Keren Glicksman

Editor 2: Eli Akselrod

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Music:

עד שהלילה נעלם

Composition & Lyrics: Ilai Chapman (composer, lyrics), Eylon Sasson (composer, lyrics), Lidor Sultan (arranger, composer, lyrics)

Listen here

Learn more about our podcast at https://www.whatcameafter.com/