Touching on everything from North African influences in popular music to the recent elections and the Abraham Accords, as well as his own experiences, Matti Friedman revisits the themes of his 2014 essay “Mizraḥi Nation,” about the ways non-Ashkenazi Jews have shaped the Jewish state. Friedman, in conversation with Robert Nicholson, also expresses his hope that Israel will become both a “more liberal state and a more traditional society.” (Audio, 55 minutes.)

Mary Margaret Olohan has spent much of her career in journalism covering demonstrations of various kinds. Since October 7, she has attended numerous anti-Israel gatherings, an experience she discusses with Robert Nicholson and Dominique Hoffman. Olohan explains the ways protestors intimidate outsiders, the online instruction booklet for protests distributed by Students for Justice in Palestine, the systematic avoidance of any condemnation of Hamas, and much else. To this, she contrasts her experience at the joyous yet serious November 14 rally for Israel. Olohan also talks about how her own Christian faith has influenced her journalism. (Audio, 61 minutes.)