The academic and podcast host joins us to talk about why the words of prayer don’t work for him, and why nonetheless he’s prayed daily for 30 years.

A rabbi and Bible scholar joins us to talk about his trips to biblical Egypt, and about the role of Egypt in the Jewish imagination.

The veteran Israel observer and foreign-policy expert joins the podcast to talk about why many American Jews are speaking so apocalyptically about Israel’s new governing coalition.

A Jewish democracy activist joins us to talk about the oppression of the Uighurs in western China, and whether the Jewish experience has any survival strategies to offer.

Here are excerpts from some of our favorite conversations last year, with subjects including Jewish life in Ukraine, Arabs and the Holocaust, China’s Haifa port, and more.

Israel’s past and future prime minister joins the podcast to discuss how he weighs consequential decisions, and three crucial choices he made in his career.

The director of an organization dedicated to the healthy depiction of women in the Jewish public square joins us to talk modesty, what it’s good for, and how it can be abused.

A professor of Russian and Jewish studies joins us to talk about the tenuous situation of Russian Jews and their leaders.

The new leader of an important Washington think tank feels that cultural renewal is just as important as policy reform. Why does he think that and how does he intend to accomplish it?

The member of Knesset and architect of the effort to reform Israel’s judiciary speaks about the issue.

The foreign-policy analyst joins us to talk about his recent essay “Overmatch.”

Until recently, campus BDS resolutions were being used to penalize companies doing business in or with Israel. This week’s podcast guest explains how he helped put a stop to it.

The Israeli political analyst joins us to talk about the upcoming election, and the tribal identities that play into it.

A conversation about how small magazines develop and publish big Jewish ideas.

Under heavy pressure from America, Israel has agreed to new maritime borders with Lebanon. Is that a good thing?

The author of To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II joins us on the 60th anniversary of the meeting that changed the Christian world’s attitude toward the Jews.

Protests are rocking Iran after the death of a young woman in police custody. An Iranian writer joins us to think about how they connect to past protests, and where they could lead.

With the Days of Awe just on the horizon, we rebroadcast a fascinating conversation about the nature of the Jewish Orthodox community and the human capacity for change.

Watch the recording or read the transcript of our columnist’s conversation last week about the hasidic yeshiva controversy.

The leading rabbi joins us to walk through the fascinating ways that Jews have related to Jerusalem, from the time of King David to today.

This week, in Basel, the World Zionist Organization convened to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress. What was the original meeting like?

Mahmoud Abbas says that the Israelis committed “50 Holocausts” against the Palestinians. Why does he believe that, and what does the rest of the Arab world think about the Shoah?

A Middle East expert joins us to explain how the conflict came about and why it was so different from Israel’s last operation against terrorists in Gaza.

A musical expert joins us to chat about one of the most important and unique figures in the world of Jewish music, and share some of his most captivating songs.

In a rebroadcast, the Israeli intellectual talks about his best-selling book on the revolutionary political ideas in the last speech of Moses.

The rabbi joins us to talk about Operation Benjamin, a project that helps to identify and place Star of David headstones on the graves of fallen Jewish soldiers.

Has Christian Zionism already peaked in the United States at the same time that it’s just beginning to pick up steam in Africa, Asia, and Latin America?

Two top Israeli observers examine the dominant Jewish personalities in Israel today, and how they compare to the ideas of pre-state Zionist writers.

The British writer joins us to think about the ideological battle over the Western tradition and the role Israel plays in that fight.

A rabbi and historian explores the history of the Temple Mount, its presence in the Jewish imagination, and why more and more Jews are now going there to pray.

In what way are human beings equal? A philosopher and rabbi joins this week’s podcast to trace the idea of equality through the ages.

A Yale political scientist joins us to talk about esoteric writing and how to understand its relation to politics.

This week’s podcast guest uncovers the many layers to the biblical book that Jews traditionally read on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot.

Lebanon’s recent elections make Hizballah seem weak. This week’s podcast explains why that’s misleading, and why it’s exactly what Hizballah wants the world to think.

The late Midge Decter was a penetrating critic and a powerful writer. Her son joins the podcast this week to reflect on her legacy.

Did the Israeli government kidnap Yemenite Jewish children in the state’s early days? A historian joins us to explain the story, why it’s a myth, and why it won’t go away.

Is consent, and consent alone, sufficient for modern sexual ethics? That’s the question the writer Christine Emba, this week’s podcast guest, takes up in her fascinating new book.

An Israeli analyst joins us to provide essential context for the recent wave of terror against the Jewish state.

The founding editor of the Jewish Review Books joins us to discuss his educational formation, his intellectual preoccupations, and the essays that make up his new book.

As the Jewish people begins to celebrate Passover, a political philosopher asks how Exodus can clear up the ways that the left and right misunderstand what it takes to be free.

A new book finds that religious children do better in school than their nonreligious counterparts. The author joins us to explain why.

The former U.S. ambassador to Israel joins the podcast to reflect on his tenure and to provide an inside look at some of the most consequential American policies toward Israel in decades.

There’s been a flurry of new ideas to help American families. This week’s podcast guest explores the problem they’re trying to solve, and whether any of them can actually work.

America’s adversaries are testing its boundaries more and more, a sign of its diminished deterrent power. A former Marine officer explains where it went and how to restore it.

A scholar of philosophy joins us to take a close look at the book of Esther, and the lessons it has to teach about human success and divine providence.

The Chabad writer joins us to discuss how the Jewish communities of Ukraine have adapted to the war.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has begun. To explain how it came about and what can be done, a top foreign-policy scholar joins the podcast this week.

The Mosaic columnist joins us to talk about her new podcast and the poetry and literature it will explore.

The author of a new book arguing that Israel is the lodestar of Jewish life even for Jews in the Diaspora joins us to talk about his argument.

Situated between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan could be a key partner in the struggle for Eurasia. And a stronger alliance between Washington and Baku could benefit Jerusalem, too.

The leader of a new security initiative joins us to explain what it takes to protect Jewish institutions from anti-Semitic violence.

A new study finds that the family—not the synagogue or the church or the school—is the best way of inculcating religious practice.

The Israeli journalist joins us to talk about how a Chinese propaganda mission led by a man known as “Chinese Itzik” has dazzled Israeli citizens.

The author of a new report scrutinized hundreds of public statements from those who work in diversity offices on campus. He joins us to explain what he found.

The podcast covered everything from Israeli political challenges to Yiddish education controversies this year. This week, we feature excerpts from some of our favorites.

Tamara Berens, Talia Katz, and Dovid Schwartz talk about their journeys to Jewish service, and how the Beren Summer Fellowship helped guide them.

A cyber security expert explains the major cyber threats facing the United States, and the role Israel could in play in securing both countries.

A former deputy national security adviser analyzes the mysterious recent explosion in Iran, and along the way, shares what it’s like to make decisions amidst uncertainty.

An upcoming Supreme Court case could have profound effects on American religious communities. Does the nature of Jewish law offer a unique perspective on the question at hand?

America’s birthrate is declining rapidly. A distinguished social scientist joins us to discuss why that’s happening, whether it can be reversed, and, if it can’t, how America can cope with it.

There’s a sterilization sensation in America: young women are choosing to make having children biologically impossible. What’s going on, and why?

The author and businessman joins us to talk about what can and can’t be learned about labor, wealth, trade, debt, and credit from the Hebrew Bible.

The son of the human-rights icon joins us to discuss his father’s legacy, including his views on Zionism, Judaism, and Holocaust memory.

The modern way of life works if you want to make money, but there are bigger questions that it just can’t answer. Judaism, the author of a new essay argues, can fill the gap.

With the election of a new chairman happening soon, a former spokesman for the Jewish world’s biggest nonprofit joins us to examine its past and future.

This year is one in which Jews are commanded to let the Land of Israel lie fallow. On this week’s podcast, an expert explains what this commandment means and how it’s applied there today.

The philosopher joins us to offer a look at a biblical book whose philosophical premises encompass the modern condition.

The author of an attention-grabbing new book explores the world’s fascination with dead Jews and its indifference to living ones.

Thirty years ago, Jews were violently attacked over three days in Brooklyn. This week’s podcast revisits what happened, and whether it could recur.

In 1897, the great Zionist writer Aḥad Ha’am argued that Jewish culture, not politics, was the best avenue to bring about a new Jewish state. This week’s podcast revisits his important ideas.

The eminent writer joins us to reveal the Jewish dimensions of her latest book.

Two college professors were intrigued by the restlessness of their students. In a new book, they trace where it comes from and what it means for young Americans today.

Jerusalem’s former mayor joins us to discuss the lessons he learned during his ten years in office.

Daniel Gordis argued in this 2019 conversation that Israeli and American Jews are fundamentally divided. With a new government now in place, has he been proven correct?

Why do Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews so adamantly decline to serve in the military—and could that change? A communal leader walks us through the deliberations taking place.

In wake of the tragedy in Surfside, a distinguished theologian joins us to explain what Jewish tradition teaches about human suffering.

A new book argues that the Hebrew Bible has a distinct and consistent intellectual tradition. The author joins us to explain.

The Jewish leader recalls his upbringing in Soviet Russia and explains what inspired him to return to the land from which his family fled.

The Israeli journalist joins us to talk about his recent Atlantic essay on how when Americans look at Israelis they see a reflection of themselves.

After harshly criticizing the Jewish state for decades, Europe seems to be tilting towards Israel and away from the Palestinians. Why?

The expert joins us to talk about the history and future of Israeli water technology.

The analyst joins us to talk about his essay explaining why President Biden seeks to downgrade allies and elevate adversaries in the Middle East.

The journalist joins us to talk about his new book and to explain how keeping the Sabbath can benefit Americans of all faiths.

The rabbi joins us to enumerate the principles of Jewish social justice, and to explain how you can differentiate between your own views and those of the Hebrew Bible.

Crime is rising across major American cities, where most Jews live. The author of a new essay about law enforcement and urban disorder joins us to explain what’s happening.

The author of Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine joins us to talk about the upcoming Palestinian elections, and what went wrong the last time.

With its new Yiddish course, the language-learning app Duolingo sparked major disagreements over Jewish identity. One of the course developers joins us to discuss what happened.

The editor of Al Arabiya’s English edition joins us to talk about where the real rifts in the Middle East are, and to share what Saudis think about the Iran deal.

The noted scholar joins our podcast to analyze an important speech Soloveitchik gave on the eve of the Suez Crisis, deriving meaning for the circumstance from the Bible’s Song of Songs.

With pornography on the rise and sexting now commonplace, the Internet is a perilous place for children. Here’s how an Israeli technology company is trying to make it safer.

On Passover, Jews are commanded to retell the story of the Exodus, but the book they use to do it seems just as focused on food and drink as it is on the story itself. Why?

The Israeli intellectual joins us to explain his country’s newest conversion controversy, and the underlying tensions it illuminates within Israeli public life.

The historian brothers join us to talk about their Jewish upbringing, and the different paths they took away from the Conservative Judaism of their parents.

When it comes to the new administration’s relationship with Iran, the honeymoon is already long over. A foremost national-security expert joins us to explain what’s going on.

The Israeli researcher joins us to talk about his blockbuster essay in Mosaic.

The coronavirus has dramatized the tensions in Israeli society. This week, a ḥaredi communal leader joins us to chart a path forward.

Two Christian leaders join us to discuss how the Jewish idea of national covenant can help bring about race reconciliation in America.

The author of a new book about Israel’s diplomatic history joins us to discuss the enduring lessons he’s learned from surveying 3,000 years of Jewish history.

Historian, ambassador, public servant—Oren’s done it all. Now, after the publication of a new book of fiction, he joins us to talk about his multifaceted career.

The American social scientist joins us to assess what’s happening in American religious culture as the pandemic continues to take its toll.

Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations joins us to talk about the politics of water in the Middle East.

The editor of National Affairs joins us to talk about the changing majority culture in America, and what anxieties that culture provokes in the minority.

The rabbi joins us to talk about the deeper theological meaning of the holiday through the lens of a fascinating essay by the Modern Orthodox thinker Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

The outgoing Israeli ambassador to the U.S. joins us to talk about what he’s worked on over his tenure, what he’s proud of, and where he sees the alliance between the two countries going.

The foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about the odds of a deal between the two nations, and how the incoming American administration plays in their thinking.

The Israeli journalist and author of our November essay joins us to talk about the lives featured in his work.

The author of our October essay joins us to talk about the sources of Jewish resilience, and to share his memories of the Six-Day War.

The editor of the great Jewish magazine joins us to talk about its illustrious history.

The Israeli writer and thinker joins us to discuss Jabotinsky’s Zionism and why “The Iron Wall” still matters today.

A leading constitutional scholar joins Mosaic’s editor for a discussion on the history of religious liberty in the United States and the legal debate surrounding the free-exercise clause.

The master of Jewish letters on what to do if you’re sick of baking bread and reorganizing your closet.

The co-author of Start-Up Nation joins us to look at the damage the Israeli economy has taken this year and how it can be repaired.

This week, we dig through the archives to bring you excerpts from our best conversations on faith, mortality, tradition, obligation, and sin.

The Israeli journalist joins us to talk about the group of people in his country who are responsible, and the group of people who because of them don’t have to be responsible.

The two giants of Jewish literature come together for a wide-ranging discussion centered around his new book on the seminal Hebrew writers of modernity.

The Israeli historian joins us to talk about his partnership with Sharansky, what he calls the Sovietization of American culture, and much more.

The Israeli intellectual joins us to talk about the ideas in his best-selling book on the revolutionary political teachings in Moses’s last speech.

The foreign-policy expert joins us to explain how China seeks hard power and not just economic influence in the region.

There probably aren’t many interviews out there with State Department officials in which the topics of discussion include Genesis, Plato’s Republic, and the philosophy of John Locke.

The author of our July essay joins us to talk about his ideas.

The Israeli general and security expert joins us to talk about what’s going on, who might be responsible, and how Iran might retaliate.

The editor and writer joins us to talk about a figure whose watchwords were the very opposite of America’s present utopian fever.

The school-choice advocate joins us to talk about what the just-released ruling means for education in America generally, and for Jews specifically.

A look at the legacy of the man who revitalized Modern Orthodoxy and who was perhaps “the greatest composer of sermons in the English-speaking rabbinic world.”

The author of Strange Rites joins us to talk about the expansion of spiritual energy into nearly every domain of contemporary life, from shopping to health to politics.

The humanities professor joins us to talk about “cancel culture” and the many new varieties of online shaming.

The author of our May essay on the Zoom seder joins us to talk about his ideas and the debate surrounding them.

The leading Conservative rabbi joins us to a look at the task facing America’s liberal denominations.

The author of our April essay joins us to talk about how to read the book of Exodus, how the Israelites became a people, and plenty more.

The former Israeli Knesset member joins us to talk about her new book on the Western indulgence that fuels delusions about the right of return.

Israel’s Labor Party—the political organization that erected the governing structures of the country—has now been reduced to a mere three seats in the Knesset. What happened?

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have been one of the hardest-hit groups in Israel and elsewhere. Why?

The author of “Shibboleths and Sun Salutations: Should Religious Jews Practice Yoga?” joins us to defend his ideas.

The foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about how things there have got so bad, what the regime is thinking, and what it means for tensions with America.

The noted author and political thinker drops by our studio to talk about his other passion: Israeli music and the ways it has shaped the country.

The foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about how to slow down Iran’s march toward nuclear weapons—without getting entangled in a military confrontation.

The historian and author of The Jews Should Keep Quiet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust joins us to talk about his work.

The expert on international law joins us to explain why he thinks the new plan might work where others have failed.

The rabbi joins us to talk about the great theologian Eliezer Berkovits and his distinct vision of Jewish sexual ethics.

The expert on religious law joins us to talk about the importance of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.

On reading the Hebrew Bible in a spirit of intellectual honesty without losing your faith.

Our resident scholar joins us to talk about her recent essay on the novelist Saul Bellow and to expand on her sense of him as a full-fledged Jewish intellectual.

The co-author of a worrisome new report on the quickening secularization of American young people joins us to talk about his findings.

The author of A Time to Build joins us to talk about why institutions matter and what communities of faith can do to contribute to American renewal.

As the nation gears up for its third election in a year, the time may have come to consider a different way of voting.

The intellectual and editor of National Affairs joins us to discuss Himmelfarb and the moral and political virtues she deemed necessary for a healthy democratic society.

In 2019, some 40 different guests joined our podcast. Now it’s time to take stock in ten of the most interesting and provocative nuggets of conversation that we recorded last year.

The historian and foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about strains between friends and how to overcome them.

The veteran columnist and scholar of foreign affairs joins our podcast to talk about how he sees the state of the world.

The former U.S. senator stops by our studio to talk about, among other things, fraying bipartisan support for Israel.

Two Jewish journalists join us to talk about attacks that most others prefer to ignore.

The legal expert explains how an erroneous and hypocritical interpretation of international law became unquestioned dogma.

The co-author of a new book on Israel’s founding generation of leaders stops by to discuss their legacy.

A global presence that hovers above the world declaring that it desires nothing but to connect us with each other, Facebook now invites serious religious questions.

The storied intellectual wonders why so many 21st-century men and women find Jewish particularity such a scandal.

Jacob Howland drops by our studio to talk about the ways in which Greek thought can illuminate the Talmud—and vice-versa.

On the opening of a new academic institution devoted to study of the Hebrew Bible for its moral and political wisdom.

The national-security expert tells us how an Israeli interceptor ended up launching from Alaska.

The rabbi and author of Sin-a-gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought drops by our studio for a conversation about the nature and origins of sin.

The journalist and author joins us to talk about Israel as a Mizraḥi nation.

The Israeli public intellectual joins us to talk about the ideas in his bestselling Catch 67 and his recent essay in the Atlantic.

In the third and final episode of our podcast series, the eminent scholar of American Jewish life brings us into the typical synagogue to show how deeply it’s changing.

The rabbi and public intellectual comes by our studio to discuss the meaning of kashrut, with the help of some unusual examples.

The rabbi, activist, and author of this month’s Mosaic essay drops by our studio to talk about his time in Argentina laboring to comfort, and to seek justice for, the bereaved.

Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox look much different from the way they appeared fifty years ago. In part two of our conversation, we look at what’s changed.

The renowned expert on Yiddish literature stops by to talk everything Tevye, Fiddler, Sholem Aleichem, and more.

The eminent historian of American Jewish life stops by to talk about the findings in his latest book The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today.

The expert on constitutional and international law tells us why the specter of “legal” warfare against Israel may not be as grievous as some worry.

The leading ultra-Orthodox intellectual joins us to explain the key conflicts surrounding the place of his community within Israeli society.

The nationally syndicated columnist joins us for a discussion about contemporary sexual mores and family life.

The noted author swings by to talk about the perils and the promises of human mortality.

The author of the recent Mosaic essay drops by to draw a picture of a now-vanished world of flamethrowers, washed-up ideologues, and true believers.

The Middle East analyst stops by to talk about his recent blockbuster essay in Mosaic.

The son of the late columnist discusses his father’s thinking about Israel, faith, and Jewish ideas, and summons memories of shared Jewish life at home.

The inside story behind Israel’s bold 2007 decision to stop Syria from becoming a nuclear-armed state.

What this intrepid journalist learned from the pious Jews of Djerba, what it’s like to pray in a synagogue with Tehran’s remaining Jewish community, and more.

The author of “The Wreck of the Jewish Museum” joins us in the studio to expand on his ideas.

The author of Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel sits down to discuss, among other things, the impact America had on Meir.

The author of a book about the way progressive politics have come to define Judaism for many Jews drops by the studio to talk about the politics of the Jewish world.

The author of Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel joins us in the studio.

How something as simple as a brief moment of reflection for schoolchildren could influence hearts and minds for the better.

When he learned just how much power the likes of Richard Dawkins had amassed, the writer Scott Shay decided to fight back.

The eminent bible scholar and author of the essay “Was There an Exodus?” joins us in the studio.

The scholar and commentator drops by the studio to illuminate what the divide is about, what it’s not about, and what it all means.

The author of Mosaic’s March 2019 essay stops by the studio to discuss and debate his argument about immigration.

America’s newly-appointed envoy stops by to talk about his plans for his office.

A Lubavitcher adoptive mother, and a passionate advocate of adoption within the Orthodox community, explains the unique challenges she faced while pursuing her goal.

The noted legal expert explains why anti-BDS laws are not only permissible but also just.

A leading American rabbi speaks frankly about the future of his own movement and other matters of pressing Jewish concern.

Mosaic’s key foreign-policy analyst elaborates on his latest big essay.

“Money is the jealous god of Israel, in the face of which no other god may exist.”

The first episode of our new podcast, produced in conjunction with the Tikvah Fund, is here. Listen now!