Miriam Herschlag, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Going Local— They say that, in a democracy, even the most humble among us can be elected to public office. Now we know it’s true! —Mayor for Life— Few positions have more job security than mayor of a major city in Israel. —Jon Stewart Goes Viral on the Gaza War— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Jon Stewart goes viral on the Gaza war. All this and a memorial tribute to MK Charlie Biton, and more songs of our troubled times.

The “Local Yokels” Edition

138 days in, The Promised Podcast looks back.   —Premonition— —City of Slaughter— —Sally— —The Wheat Grows Again— —The Battalion’s WhatsApp—

The “138 Days” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Elections Now?— Billboards all over the country and full-page ads in the papers call for new elections now. Is this a good idea? —The Draft on the Draft: Getting the Shaft?— A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. —Wartime Hookups— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What is it about war that makes people want to pair off? All that and risking the lives of dozens of young men to save the lives of two old men, plus more moving songs of these troubled days.

The “Yesterday’s Politics, Today!” Edition

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Negotiating With Terrorists— Hamas finally sets out their demands in exchange for releasing the 136 living-and-dead Israeli hostages dragged to Gaza from their homes. Is there anywhere to go from here? —Bar-Raving Time!— Itamar Ben-Gvir is having a moment. —The New York Talk Times— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: The New York Times brings together five historians to explain how Israelis and Palestinians got to where we got. How’d they do? All that and more moving songs of these troubled days.

The “Negotiating With Terrorists” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —A Few Murderous Apples— A dozen United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) workers killed, raped and kidnapped on October 7, and one in four Gazan men who work for UNRWA have ties to Hamas. What can you say to that? —Soldiers of the Dream— Have the reserve soldiers in Gaza discovered the secret to making Israel a better, more decent place? —What Those Dog-Tags Are All About— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What’s up with those dog-tags millions of Israelis wear these days? All that and still more music of our time.

The “Gaza of Good & Evil” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —General Malaise— Former IDF Chief of Staff and member of Israel’s “War Cabinet” says the government is not telling us the truth or making the right decisions when it comes to the war. What now? —In the Shadow of the Shoah— Seventy-nine years after the Nazis surrendered, there’s more talk of the Holocaust than ever. How come? —Sending Your Kid off to the Army When the Country’s At War— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What is it like to drop your kid off at an army induction camp? All that and new, soulful music of our time.

The “Generals and Genocides” Edition

Linda Gradstein, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Why Did the Army Fail Us?— The first job of the army is to protect us at our borders. —Why Do We Still Believe In the IDF?— Even after everything went wrong, and so many people died, we still trust the IDF. Why? —A New “Normal”— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What’s it like for us to try to get back to some sort of “normal”? All that and a sad voice calling in the wilderness, plus new music for our times by some of the grand eminences of Israeli music.

The “IDF: Inspiring Despite Failing?” Edition

Miriam Herschlag, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Phase III— The last phase of the Israel-Hamas war is starting. Why don’t we feel relieved? —South Africa v. Israel— Eighty years after the Holocaust ended, Israel is on trial for genocide. —How Do You Podcast a War?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: How do you podcast this war? (With Jen Richler, genius producer “Can We Talk?”) All that and the music of Idan Amedi, who was injured badly this week as an IDF reservist in Gaza.

The “South Africa v. Israel” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Basic— Israel’s Supreme Court decides, by the thinnest of margins, to overturn an amendment to a “Basic Law” passed by the Knesset. Is that a good thing? —October 90th— Are we stuck reliving over and over the nightmare of October 7? —A New PTSD Treatment— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Will oxygen help wipe our trauma clean? All that and new music for coping with grief and worry.

The “Days of Future Past” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Back to the Basics of Bouncing Bibi?— Do you oust the man who is leading you in war? —“Under Renovation”— Does Israel have any Left left at all? —Watching the War in Cinematic 4K— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: The IDF, the government, and the public broadcast corporation Kan are making polished high-def videos about the war. Is it bizarre, maybe counter-productive, to make “cinematic” videos about what is, after all, a terrible business? All that and a heartfelt tribute to a heroin dealer and Eviatar Banai’s covers of classic songs for these days of violence and grief.

The “End of Consensus?” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —What They Think About Us— More than half college-age American kids think Israel should be “ended and given to Hamas”? Really? —What They Think About Them— 72% of Palestinians on the West Bank think Hamas’s decision to do what it did on October 7 “was the correct one”? Really? —What We Think about Us & Them— Four in five Israelis tell pollsters that the suffering of Gaza civilians shouldn’t change how Israel fights the war? Really? —Adam Unrehearsed!— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Don Futterman reads part of his new novel, Adam Unrehearsed! It’s like hearing Crime & Punishment read by Dostoyevsky, or the Bible read by God! All that and songs of these times, mostly sung together.

The “Opinions, Opinions, Opinions!” Edition

William Blake once counselled “to see a world in a grain of sand.” In this very special podcast episode, Noah tries to see our troubled world right now, in a Whatsapp thread or a TikTok “For You.” —The Battalion WhatsApp— —Dog of War— —Post Hoc, Ergo TikTok—

The “Dogs of War” Edition

Star journalist Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Kids Out— Every day for a week hostages got out of Gaza until, all of a sudden, they didn’t. —Kids In— When your kid calls to say he loves you. —The Jew-Hate on Other Campuses— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: We’ve heard all about how scary and contentious Ivy League schools have become. But what’s it like at all the other places? Prof. Noah Stoffman shares what it’s like on the campus of a world-class public campus: Indiana University. All that and wheat, oranges and Torah scrolls.

The “Kids Out, Kids In” Edition

Miriam Herschlag, Gilad Halpern and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Women & the War— Gender’s gotten weird (even weirder than usual) in this war. Miriam Schler, Executive Director of the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, joins us to make sense of it. —That Thing About the Muses— So many paintings, songs, poems, sculptures, site exhibits, and plays have been made since October 7. But why? —The Rape and Other Sexual Violence That Took Place on October 7— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: We talk about rape and other sexual violence on October 7 with Miriam Schler, Executive Director of the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center. All that and weddings, weddings, weddings. (Plus, if you can, maybe give something to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, which is struggling to meet the massive demand for its services)

The “Women & Other Living Things” Edition

Noah takes a break from scrolling and refreshing, to consider the songs of this war (which has produced more music than all of Israel’s past wars rolled into one), and what they say about the country and how it has changed over the years, and for the better.

The “Song of War” Edition

Miriam and Noah talk about the deal struck between Israel and Hamas, via the Qataris and the Americans, that would return 50 hostages, mostly kids and their mothers, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a four day cease fire, the execution of which deal was already delayed on its first day. Miriam talks about evil and Viktor Frankl while Noah, as far as we can tell, lay in a fetal position, moaning on the floor of the studio.

The “First Fifty” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Trolley Problems— If the two goals of the war – crushing Hamas and returning the captives home – turn out to be at odds, what should Israel do? —Ceasefire— What is the answer to the question, “Why not stop the war right now?” —What the Large Demonstration in DC Looked Like From Tel Aviv— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: 300,000 Americans, mostly Jews, demonstrate at the Mall in DC in support of Israel and against anti-Semitism. What was it like seeing that from Tel Aviv? All that and a temporary, new high-rise kibbutz in Tel Aviv, and a tribute in memoriam to Vivian Silver, z”l. Also, buy Don’s book, and if you already did, buy another two copies!

The “Moral and Immoral Dilemmas” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Our Tragedy & Theirs— Should our papers, shows and sites be showing and telling us more about the suffering of Gazans, when we have so much pain of our own to come to grips with? —Bearing Arms— More people have applied for a gun license in the past month than in the prior decade. Should we be worried? —Is Noah About to Get His First Tattoo?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Israelis go in droves to tattoo parlors to ink memento of the October 7 massacres. What’s that all about? All that and good coming from bad, and more new music written in the aftermath of the massacres. Also, last chance to pre-order Don’s book!

The “Our Tragedy & Theirs” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Lessons— What can Israelis learn from October 7 about the prospect of peace with Palestinians? —Netanyahu, Now— Can we still rally around our Prime Minister, even now? —We Try to Answer the Question, “How Are You?”— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: A few weeks in, our nerves are frayed. We each try to answer the vexed question, “How are you?” All that and a mother lobbying God with dough to get her girl out of Gaza and new music about our lives after October 7. Also, pre-order Don’s book!

The “Things Change” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Waiting— The span of time we have now waited for Israel to counter-attack Hamas is now longer than the entire Yom Kippur War. How much longer can we stay in this strange and terrible in-between period without going crazy? —Captives— Is our hostage crisis driving us towards our government (as such things often do), or away from it? —How the Government Deserted An 85 Year Old Hostage For A Second Time— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: An 85 year old hostage is releases, and she says in a press conference that after beating her when she was just captured, Hamas treated her well. What do you do with that? All that and an ultra-Orthodox wedding planned by a couple of married-to-each-other lesbians, plus music from the big telethon raising money for the victims of the Hamas attack.

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