Podcast appearances and mentions of Ronen Bergman

On Friday, June 13th, just days before the sixth scheduled round of US–Iran talks over the country's nuclear energy program, Israel carried out a series of punishing airstrikes in many different parts of Iran. The bombings were unprecedented in targeting Iran's nuclear energy infrastructure, and have since expanded to target Iranian state television, the energy industry, and high-rise apartment buildings. Israel's bombing campaign has so far killed over 240 people, and has scuttled US–Iran nuclear diplomacy—at least for now. In response, Iran has launched drones and missiles at Israel, killing over 20 Israelis. Now, the escalating conflict, which has prompted thousands of Iranians to flee their homes and brought Israelis into bomb shelters, threatens to grow even deadlier as news outlets report that the Trump administration is weighing a US strike on Iran.In this episode of On the Nose, senior reporter Alex Kane assesses Israel's war with Daniel Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, and Ellie Geranmayeh, the Deputy Director for the European Council on Foreign Relation's Middle East and North Africa program. They discuss the Trump administration's position on the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war goals, and where the region might be heading in the wake of this bombing campaign.Articles Mentioned and Further Reading“Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn't Buy It,” Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Dustin Volz, The Wall Street Journal“How Trump Shifted on Iran Under Pressure From Israel,” Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, Mark Mazzetti, and Ronen Bergman, The New York Times“America First or Israel First? Will Trump Join Netanyahu's War on Iran?” Daniel Levy, Zeteo“Europe must act now to prevent a major war between Israel and Iran,” Ellie Geranmayeh, European Council on Foreign Relations“Unpacking the Rift Between Trump and Netanyahu,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“

In this special episode of Unpacking Israeli History, host Noam Weissman shares a conversation with producer Rivky Stern, who unexpectedly finds herself in Israel with her young family as war with Iran breaks out. Rivky reflects on the emotional and psychological toll of daily life under rocket threat, offering a raw and deeply personal perspective from inside a conflict zone. Then, Noam revisits the legendary 1981 Israeli strike on Iraq's nuclear reactor—Operation Osirak—and explores the moral dilemmas, strategic brilliance, and long-lasting impact of what became known as the Begin Doctrine. Together, these two stories—one unfolding in real time, the other historic—highlight the enduring challenges and guiding principles behind Israel's defense of its people. Ronen Bergman's Rise and Kill First Israel's 2007 submission to the Eurovision competition: Push the Button Please get in touch at noam@unpacked.media. This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a division of OpenDor Media. ------------------- For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jewish History Nerds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soulful Jewish Living⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stars of David with Elon Gold ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wondering Jews⁠⁠⁠⁠

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastSubscribe to Ark Media's new podcast ‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/DZulpYFor sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.orgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorToday's episode:Around 3AM in Israel, a nation-wide siren awoke Israelis to the news that the Israeli Air Force was conducting extensive strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran. As far as we know so far, the strikes have targeted nuclear enrichment sites, military sites, the IRGC leadership, including Hussein Salammi, the head of the IRGC, the Army Chief of Staff, and leading nuclear scientists. Shortly after the blitz began, the IDF Home Front Command announced immediate changes to its guidelines, prohibiting all gatherings for educational, social, and workplace purposes. Israelis have been instructed to remain near bomb shelters as they await the Iranian response. It is an extremely tense moment for Israelis and Jews around the world. For years we've discussed the danger of Iran inching closer and closer to a nuclear weapon. The IDF said in a statement that in recent months it had accumulated evidence that Iran's nuclear program was “approaching the point of no return.” Joining us to unpack the ongoing events that are reshaping the Middle East in real time is Ronen Bergman. Ronen is a staff writer for The New York Times and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs at Yedhiot Ahronot. Ronen is the recipient of a Pulitzer price for his reporting on the Israel-Hamas war. CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorMARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional EditingMAYA RACKOFF - Operations DirectorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Around 3 AM in Israel, a nationwide siren awoke Israelis to the news that the Israeli Air Force was conducting extensive strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran. As far as we know so far, the strikes have targeted nuclear enrichment sites, military sites, the IRGC leadership, including Hussein Salammi, the head of the IRGC, […]

At this very moment, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who have managed to survive Israel's scorched-earth siege and bombing are being deliberately starved to death as a result of Israel's 11-week blockade preventing food and aid from entering Gaza. As Jem Bartholemew writes at The Guardian, “The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC [Tuesday] morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time. Five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday but Fletcher described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population's needs.” In response to this dire humanitarian crisis, students at multiple university campuses in the US have launched hunger strikes in solidarity with the starving people of Gaza. In this urgent episode, we speak with four hunger strikers at the University of Oregon (UO), including: Cole, Sadie, and Efron, three undergraduate students who are all members of Jewish Voice for Peace - UO and who just completed a 60-hour solidarity hunger strike; and Phia, a Palestinian-American undergraduate student who has organized with JVP-UO on the hunger strike and who currently remains on hunger strike herself.Additional links/info:UO Gaza Hunger Strike Instagram and TikTokUO Gaza Hunger Strike: Community Calls to Action!Press Release: University of Oregon Students, Faculty, and Staff Launch “UO Gaza Hunger Strike” Campaign Protesting Mass Starvation and GenocideJewish Voice for Peace - UO InstagramNathan Wilk, KLCC, “University of Oregon protesters begin hunger strike for Gaza”Michael Arria, Mondoweiss, “Students across the U.S. are going on hunger strike as Israeli-engineered famine takes hold in Gaza”Syma Mohammed, Middle East Eye, “US: UCLA student hospitalised during hunger strike for Gaza”Jem Bartholemew, The Guardian, “First Thing: UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade”Ronen Bergman & Natan Odenheimer, The New York Times, “In private, some Israeli officers admit that Gaza is on the brink of starvation”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “‘The raids happened Wednesday, finals started Thursday': FBI agents raid homes of pro-Palestine students at University of Michigan”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “‘A tremendous chilling effect': Columbia students describe dystopian reality on campus amid Trump attacks”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “‘People are hiding in their apartments': Inside Trump's assault on universities” Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “‘Worse' than McCarthyism: Trump's war on higher education, free speech, and political dissent”Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Sign up for our newsletterLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDonate to support this podcast

Brent Billings and Reed Dent team up with Elle Grover Fricks to excavate some ancient ideas about enemies.BEMA 96: But I Say Unto YouJesus and Nonviolence by Walter WinkThe Peaceable Kingdom by Stanley HauerwasRise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman1QS 1 (Community Rule) with Matthew 5:43 — Intertextual BibleBEMA 358: Sabbath Practice — PrayerGreek Priest Recreates Excitement of Resurrection Announcement — InstagramGreek Priest Recreates Excitement of Resurrection Announcement — TikTok“‘Flying Priest' Marks Holy Saturday's Liturgy in Greece” by Nick Kampouris — Greek Reporter

➡️ Help to make the existence of Decoding Geopolitics possible by joining our community of geopolitics enthusiasts on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingGeopolitics➡️ Sign up to my geopolitics newsletter: https://stationzero.substack.com/Thank you Conducttr for sponsoring the podcast. Take a look at Conducttr's services and its crisis exercise software at: https://www.conducttr.comThis is a conversation with Ronen Bergman. Ronen is a journalist at the New York Times based in Israel and an author of a unique book called Rise and Kill First about the history of Israeli state-sponsored targeted assassinations. Ronen spent years working on his research, digging into stuff that's almost entirely classified and he spoke with dozens of former and current members of Israeli military, intelligence services and government - getting access that is completely unprecedented despite the fact that Israeli government and Mossad tried to do everything they could to stop him from doing that. In this conversation how do you research something like that, where does the practice or state-sponsored assassinations originate, why does Israel use it more than perhaps any other nation, how do its representatives think about it, when and how did these operations literally rewrite history and whether they actually make Israel safer or not. And we also talk about the ethics and morals of all of that - because I don't want to be glorifying it and one of the reasons I liked the book was because Ronen doesn't do that either and he is an Israeli citizen who is very critical to his own country. And he, in my view, manages to stay objective, and critically analyze and evaluate what his own country does.

Controversies in Church History is back! The first episode of 2025 is a review of the books I've been reading the past year, featuring some interesting works on theology and liturgy with a side dollop of nothing-to-do-with-Catholicism-in-particular. If you like hearing someone's else's opinions about books you've never read, this is the episode for you. Also, I preview upcoming episodes and lament how behind I am on book reviews. Cheers! Books Discussed: 1. Peter Kwasniewski, Treasuring the Goods of Marriage in a Throwaway Society 2. Abbé Claude Barthe, A Forest of Symbols: the Traditional Mass and its Meaning 3. Peter Kwasniewski, Ultramontanism and Tradition: the Role of Papal Authority in the Catholic Church 4. Erick Ybarra, The Papacy: Revisiting the Debate Between Catholic and Orthodox 5. Evelyn Waugh, Men at Arms (Sword of Honor Trilogy #1) 6. Tim Blanning, The Romantic Revolution 7. Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning 8. David Grann, The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder 9. Fawwaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon 10. Augustus Richard Norton, Hezbollah: a Short History 11. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy 12. Ilan Pappé, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine 13. Ilan Pappé, A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict 14. Ronen Bergman, Rise and Kill First: the Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassination Program

The string of Israeli successes against Hezbollah — culminating in the killing of Hassan Nasrallah — last September was partly the work of Israeli military and intelligence agencies infiltrating Hezbollah's networks, planting booby-trapped communication devices, and tracking the leaders' movements to dismantle the group’s military capabilities. This campaign crippled Hezbollah by also destroying thousands of […]

Today on the show, Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Iran. New York Times Magazine staff writer Ronen Bergman joins Fareed to discuss the fallout from these strikes and the likelihood of further escalation.    Next, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon Ryan Crocker speaks with Fareed about his concerns that Israel's wars with Hamas and Hezbollah will last for years.   Then, former U.S. State Department official Jung Pak speaks with Fareed about the implications of thousands of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia for training, and the significance of the growing alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang.    Finally, author of “Of Boys and Men” Richard Reeved joins to tell Fareed about the crisis facing American men, and why the Democratic party has lost so much support among the group.    GUESTS: Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman), Ryan Crocker, Jung Pak (@junghpak1), Richard Reeves (@RichardvReeves)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can history teach us about the conflict in the Middle East? Jonny Dymond brings together a carefully assembled panel of experts, academics and journalists to talk about the conflict in the region. This week, Jonny's joined by Nomi Bar Yaacov, Associate Fellow at Chatham House and Dr Aviva Guttman, a lecturer in Strategy and Intelligence. Plus, Ronen Bergman, an Israeli investigative journalist with the New York Times. They revisit the 1972 Munich Olympics when 11 Israeli athletes were kidnapped and killed. Israel's covert programme of targeted assassinations would last 20 years in response. Now, 52 years later, as Israel continues to attack Hamas, we look at the echoes and reflections of five decades ago. Please get in touch with Jonny and the team: theconflict@bbc.co.uk. The Conflict: Middle East was made by Keiligh Baker and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producers were Jonny Hall and Rod Farquhar. The assistant editor is Ben Mundy. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. This episode is part of a BBC Sounds series. It was recorded at 14:00 on Tuesday 22 October 2024.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, played a central role in planning the deadly assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that set off the war in Gaza. His killing was a major win for Israel, and prompted calls from Israeli leaders for Hamas to surrender.But what actually happens next is unclear.Ronen Bergman, who has been covering the conflict, explains how Israel got its No. 1 target, and what his death means for the future of the war.Guest: Ronen Bergman, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Tel Aviv.Background reading: Analysis: Mr. Sinwar is dead. Will the fighting stop?A chance encounter led to the Hamas leader's death.Obituary: Mr. Sinwar was a militant commander known for his brutality and cunning.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Hamas leader and mastermind of the October 7 attacks, Yahya Sinwar, is dead. Investigative journalist Ronen Bergman joins the show from Tel Aviv with the latest. Then, as the war rumbles on, where does this leave ceasefire negotiations? What about the hostages? We get the American perspective from former top diplomat Richard Haass. Plus, we get reaction from retired Israeli General Noam Tibon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (10/01/2024): 3:05pm- On Tuesday, Iran launched at least two waves of ballistic missiles at Israel—amounting to roughly 200 missiles in total. Initial reports indicate that the missiles were intercepted by Israeli defense systems—with one casualty, a Palestinian man who was killed by shrapnel. In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) noted that “10 million civilians” were ultimately targeted by the “Iranian projectiles.” 3:10pm- War in the Middle East Escalates. Patrick Kingsley, Aaron Boxerman, Eric Schmitt, Ronen Bergman, and Farnaz Fassihi of The New York Times write: “Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of Israel on Tuesday, the Pentagon said in a statement, adding that Austin ‘made it clear that the United States is well postured to defend U.S. personnel, allies and partners in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations.' The Pentagon announced on Monday that it was sending ‘several thousand' more U.S. troops to the region, adding to its force of some 40,000 already in the area.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/01/world/israel-lebanon-hezbollah/here-are-the-latest-developments?smid=url-share 3:20pm- Dockworkers Launch Massive Strike. Paul Berger of The Wall Street Journal writes: “Dockworkers at dozens of U.S. ports are digging in for a massive pay increase, seeking to flex their power in a strike that aims to strangle the flow of trade across much of the country…About 60% of containerized trade moves through the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports where ILA dockworkers last year unloaded about $588 billion of imports, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence…J.P. Morgan equity analysts estimate a ports strike would cost the U.S. economy between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion a day, some of which would be recovered once normal operations resume.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dockworkers-launch-strike-at-ports-from-maine-to-texas-dbbeec39?mod=hp_lead_pos8 3:30pm- Kash Patel— Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense & Author of “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss Iran's ballistic missile attack on Israel. Can we expect continued military escalation in the Middle East? Patel determines: “We are in a world war.” He continues: “Our adversaries want Donald Trump to be defeated”—noting that the Biden-Harris regime did nothing after determining that Iran interfered in the 2024 election via a hacking of the Trump campaign. 4:05pm- Dockworkers Launch Massive Strike. Paul Berger of The Wall Street Journal writes: White House officials believe the impact on consumers will be limited for now, and they have so far discounted forcing dockworkers back to work…But executives say a walkout lasting a week or longer would push up shipping costs and might trigger product shortages… A strike lasting even one week would tie up ships for much longer periods, which could exacerbate shipping delays, eat up capacity and drive up freight rates, some industry analysts warn.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dockworkers-launch-strike-at-ports-from-maine-to-texas-dbbeec39?mod=hp_lead_pos8 4:20pm- On Tuesday, Donald Trump spoke during a campaign event in Wisconsin—explaining that if he were president, “today's attack on Israel never would have happened.” He continued: “the threat of war is raging everywhere and the two incompetent people running our country…are leading us to the brink of World War III.” 4:30pm- Macy Petty—NCAA college volleyball player and a leader of Young Women for America, the collegiate program of Concerned Women for America—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss her recent editorial for Fox News, “As a female athlete, I do not consent to playing alongside men in collegiate sports.” You can read Petty's editorial here: ...

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- On Tuesday, Iran launched at least two waves of ballistic missiles at Israel—amounting to roughly 200 missiles in total. Initial reports indicate that the missiles were intercepted by Israeli defense systems—with one casualty, a Palestinian man who was killed by shrapnel. In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) noted that “10 million civilians” were ultimately targeted by the “Iranian projectiles.” 3:10pm- War in the Middle East Escalates. Patrick Kingsley, Aaron Boxerman, Eric Schmitt, Ronen Bergman, and Farnaz Fassihi of The New York Times write: “Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of Israel on Tuesday, the Pentagon said in a statement, adding that Austin ‘made it clear that the United States is well postured to defend U.S. personnel, allies and partners in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations.' The Pentagon announced on Monday that it was sending ‘several thousand' more U.S. troops to the region, adding to its force of some 40,000 already in the area.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/01/world/israel-lebanon-hezbollah/here-are-the-latest-developments?smid=url-share 3:20pm- Dockworkers Launch Massive Strike. Paul Berger of The Wall Street Journal writes: “Dockworkers at dozens of U.S. ports are digging in for a massive pay increase, seeking to flex their power in a strike that aims to strangle the flow of trade across much of the country…About 60% of containerized trade moves through the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports where ILA dockworkers last year unloaded about $588 billion of imports, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence…J.P. Morgan equity analysts estimate a ports strike would cost the U.S. economy between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion a day, some of which would be recovered once normal operations resume.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dockworkers-launch-strike-at-ports-from-maine-to-texas-dbbeec39?mod=hp_lead_pos8 3:30pm- Kash Patel— Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense & Author of “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss Iran's ballistic missile attack on Israel. Can we expect continued military escalation in the Middle East? Patel determines: “We are in a world war.” He continues: “Our adversaries want Donald Trump to be defeated”—noting that the Biden-Harris regime did nothing after determining that Iran interfered in the 2024 election via a hacking of the Trump campaign.

Today on the show, Fareed speaks with New York Times Magazine staff writer Ronen Bergman to discuss how Israel was able to carry out its assassination of Hezbollah's leader in Beirut, and what might come next as tensions continue to rise throughout the region.    Then, in his first interview with Western media, newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian joins Fareed to talk about Iran's support for Hezbollah, the dangers of a widening conflict in the Middle East, and women's rights in Iran.    Finally, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair tells Fareed about his new book, “On Leadership,” and what he believes democracies need to do to survive in the age of populism.    Guests: Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman), President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tony Blair  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.In the last year, the world's eyes have been on the war in Gaza, which still has no end in sight. But there is a conflict in another Palestinian territory that has gotten far less attention, where life has become increasingly untenable: the West Bank.Ronen Bergman, who has been covering the conflict, explains why things are likely to get worse, and the long history of extremist political forces inside Israel that he says are leading the country to an existential crisis.Guest: Ronen Bergman, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: How extremist settlers took over Israel.What is the West Bank and who controls it?For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Ukraine is reeling from yet another catastrophic Russian attack. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joined Christiane from Kyiv right after the news of the mass killing broke.  Also on today's show: Ronen Bergman, staff writer, The New York Times Magazine; David Daley, author, "Antidemocratic"  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/bdd5bvp8 *** Early this morning, after detecting preparations by Hezbollah to launch a large-scale attack, Israel launched a powerful preemptive strike on southern Lebanon. Hours after these events took place, I was joined by Nadav Eyal and Ronen Bergman to make sense of what has taken place, and to discuss possible scenarios moving forward. Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on this war and the pre-war intelligence failures. Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediot. He has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/bdd5bvp8 *** Early this morning, after detecting preparations by Hezbollah to launch a large-scale attack, Israel launched a powerful preemptive strike on southern Lebanon. Hours after these events took place, I was joined by Nadav Eyal and Ronen Bergman to make sense of what has taken place, and to discuss […]

Today on the show, Fareed is joined by a Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for an exclusive interview to discuss the fallout from her country's contested election, and why she is still hopeful for Venezuela's future despite the threats she says she and her allies are facing from Maduro's regime.    Then, the Middle East is on edge as the region braces for a possible retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah following the recent assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Staff writer for the New York Times Magazine Ronen Bergman tells Fareed about the mood within Israel, and the increasing desire for a ceasefire among the Israeli defense establishment.    Next, Maha Yahya, director at the Carnegie Middle East Center, speaks with Fareed about fears of a wider war in the Middle East. She discusses the view from Lebanon, and the hopes for a deal that she says could deescalate the entire region.    Then, the Atlantic's Derek Thompson joins the show to tell Fareed about the role that gender is likely to play in the US presidential election. He argues it will be a central factor, but not in the way that you might expect.    Finally, Charles Duhigg speaks with Fareed about his book “Supercommunicators,” and gives some practical tips for building relationships and having healthier conversations.    GUESTS: María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA), Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman), Maha Yahya (@mahamyahya), Derek Thompson (@DKThomp), Charles Duhigg (@cduhigg)    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since October 7th, a low-grade regional war has played out across the Middle East, pitting Israel and its Western allies against various Iran-backed forces. The Yemeni Houthi faction has targeted ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel's war on Gaza, prompting a wave of US and British airstrikes on Yemen. Meanwhile, Iraqi militias have repeatedly fired rockets at US forces in their country. Hezbollah and Israel have also traded deadly fire on the Lebanon–Israel border, leading to mass displacement on both sides.Now, with Israel's recent assassinations of a senior Hezbollah commander in a Beirut suburb, and of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, these relatively-limited conflicts threaten to turn into a far-bloodier conflagration. On this episode of On the Nose, senior reporter Alex Kane interviews regional expert Trita Parsi and scholar Karim Makdisi about these assassinations, the strategies and interests of Iran and Hezbollah, and the Biden administration's response to the prospect of a full-scale regional war.Thanks to guest producer Will Smith and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”ARTICLES MENTIONED AND FURTHER READING“Regional War: An Explainer,” Alex Kane and Jonathan Shamir, Jewish Currents“The Middle East Is Inching Toward Another War,” Trita Parsi, TIME“Biden Warns Netanyahu Against Escalation As Risk Of Regional War Grows,” Barak Ravid, Axios“Bomb Smuggled Into Tehran Guesthouse Months Ago Killed Hamas Leader,” Ronen Bergman, Mark Mazzetti, and Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times

In today's special episode, Phillip Smyth, a leading expert on Iranian-backed militias, returns to dissect the latest wave of conflict in the Middle East. Recent escalations have claimed the lives of a dozen Israeli civilians and two senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. Retaliation from Iran and its allies is expected at any moment, leaving the region once again on the brink of a potentially more widespread and unrestrained war. Phillip sheds light on who these two men were and what their deaths mean for their organizations, parses the delicate messaging and maneuvering behind the scenes, and offers his insights on what Iran and Hezbollah's imminent response might entail. Phillip's work for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/phillip-smyth Phillip's work for West Point's Combatting Terrorism Center: https://ctc.westpoint.edu/authors/phillip-smyth Follow Phillip on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhillipSmyth Reporting discussed in the episode "Who Is Fuad Shukr, Target of the Israeli Strike on Beirut?" by Aaron Boxerman, Ronen Bergman & Euan Ward: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/world/middleeast/fuad-shukr-hezbollah-israel-strike.html "Bomb Smuggled Intro Tehran Guesthouse Months Ago Killed Hamas Leader" by Ronen Bergman, Mark Mazzetti & Farnaz Fassihi: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/01/world/middleeast/how-hamas-leader-haniyeh-killed-iran-bomb.html "Iran Arrests Dozens in Search for Suspects in Killing of Hamas Leader" by Farnaz Fassihi: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/03/world/middleeast/iran-security-response-hamas-assassination.html "Houthis Launch Deadly Drone Strike on Tel Aviv, Evading Israel's Defenses" by Gabby Sobelman, Aaron Boxerman, Ronen Bergman, Lara Jakes & Erin Mendel: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/world/middleeast/houthis-drone-strike-tel-aviv.html Support Secrets and Spies Become a “Friend of the Podcast” on Patreon for £3: www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies Buy merchandise from our shop: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996 Subscribe to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg For more information about the podcast, check out our website: https://secretsandspiespodcast.com Connect with us on social media Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/SecretsAndSpies Instagram: https://instagram.com/secretsandspies Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social Facebook: https://facebook.com/secretsandspies Spoutible: https://spoutible.com/SecretsAndSpies

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/3x9wjkv9 *** Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the political wing of Hamas, is dead. He was killed in Tehran yesterday, during a visit for the inauguration of Iran's new president. To help us understand this major development, I am joined by Ronen Bergman and Nadav Eyal for a special emergency episode. Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on this war and the pre-war intelligence failures. Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediot. He has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the political wing of Hamas, is dead. He was killed in Tehran yesterday, during a visit for the inauguration of Iran's new president. To help us understand this major development, I am joined by Ronen Bergman and Nadav Eyal for a special emergency episode. Ronen Bergman is a staff writer […]

Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an early morning strike Wednesday in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Iran and Hamas claim Haniyeh was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike. Iran's Supreme Leader is vowing revenge. Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins the show to discuss the enraged rhetoric coming out of Iran, alongside correspondent Ivan Watson who joins from Beirut to discuss the latest on the ground in Lebanon.  Also on today's show: Ronen Bergman, staff writer, The New York Times; Colin Clarke, Director of Research, The Soufan Group; Nabih Bulos, Middle East Bureau Chief, the Los Angeles Times; Clarissa Ward, CNN Chief International Correspondent; Tamir Hayman, former IDF Intelligence Chief  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot has happened over this past weekend, again. President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been systematically locking up endorsements from most of her possible opponents. The ascendancy of V.P. Harris occurs at the exact time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington in advance of his address before Congress on Wednesday. We will discuss all of these issues in our next episode later this week. Also this weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to bring Israel back to the negotiating table this week for a hostages-for-ceasefire deal in Gaza, ahead of his departure to the U.S. This comes despite a letter from eight Likud MKs objecting to the possible deal. Finally, and the topic of our conversation today - on Saturday at 3:30 AM Israel time, a drone packed with explosives flew into a building in Tel Aviv, a few blocks away from the American consulate, and caused a large explosion that claimed the life of an Israeli citizen. This drone flew more than 2000 km (about 1200 miles) all the way from Yemen, and was one of four drones sent by the Houthis. The other three were shot down by U.S. forces in the Red Sea. Later on Saturday, Israel retaliated by attacking the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, in Yemen. The targets of the attack were oil installations and refineries, the Ras Katib power plant, the HQ of the Yemen Economic Corporation, as well as the national security and military police buildings in the north of Hodeidah. The attack caused a complete power outage in all the neighborhoods in Hodeida district and disruptions in the communication network. This port was the main import access point for weapons into Yemen for the Houthis. While this low intensity war with the Houthis has been ongoing since October 7th, we have not focused much of our attention to this third Iranian tentacle. Who are the Houthis? How did Iran turn this rebel group into its proxy? And what could we expect from this third front? To make sense of all of this, we have Ronen Bergman of Yediot Ahranot and the New York Times Magazine. Ronen is a pulitzer-prize winning journalist. Also, one housekeeping note: Since October 7th, we are frequently asked for ways to ask questions, send comments and episode ideas. Listeners are also often asking for transcripts of our podcasts episodes. And many of you also want to know if there's a way to subscribe for podcast updates. We are in the process of building a website, Ark Media. To visit the website, go to ArkMedia.Org, By visiting the website, you can: - Get in touch with the Call me Back team and share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions. - Access full transcripts to each episode, including links to external resources that will expand your understanding of the topics covered in each conversation. - And sign up for our regular updates on new episodes and live events.

A lot has happened over this past weekend, again. President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been systematically locking up endorsements from most of her possible opponents. The ascendancy of V.P. Harris occurs at the exact time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington in advance […]

Who is Mohammed Deif? Why does he matter (or why did he matter?). Is he dead? We have often said on this podcast that Hamas long ago transformed from a ragtag militia to the equivalent of a light infantry army of a sovereign state. The architect of that transformation was Mohammed Deif. If Hamas was a terror army, its commanding general or army chief of staff was Mohammed Deif. The second intifada? Deif was central to its planning and execution. Its tunnel system and rocket arsenal? All that, too, was Deif. And October 7th? Mohammed Deif. Israel had been on the hunt for Deif long before October 7th. In fact, he had escaped at least seven asasination attempts going back to 2001. Today he is most likely dead, based on an extraordinary intelligence and military operation that took place on Saturday morning. To help us understand what Hamas is, today, without Mohammed Deif, and what it means for Israel's war against Hamas – and for the hostage and ceasefire negotiations – we are joined by Ronen Bergman, who is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on this war and the pre-war intelligence failures. He has published numerous books —including “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations,” and also “The Secret War with Iran. Ronen is also member of the Israeli bar (he clerked in the Attorney General's Office), and has a master's degree in international relations and a Ph.D. in history Cambridge University.

*** Share on X: https://tinyurl.com/5dw43272 *** Who is Mohammed Deif? Why does he matter (or why did he matter?) Is he dead? We have often said on this podcast that Hamas long ago transformed from a ragtag militia to the equivalent of a light infantry army of a sovereign state. The architect of that transformation […]

Who is Mohammed Deif? Why does he matter (or why did he matter?). Is he dead? We have often said on this podcast that Hamas long ago transformed from a ragtag militia to the equivalent of a light infantry army of a sovereign state. The architect of that transformation was Mohammed Deif. If Hamas was […]

One of the questions we repeatedly get from you, our listeners, is - "Where was the IDF on October 7th?" It's a topic that we have strenuously avoided. After the war, there will be a formal commission of inquiry that attempts to understand all that went wrong and why. There will be a time and a place for that. And yet, as the war in Gaza winds down, and as Israel prepares for another possible war, this question re-emerges. What lessons can be learned? More and more journalists in Israel are exploring the topic. So, we are going to dedicate an episode from time to time in the weeks ahead to try to understand what these journalists are learning. Our only caveat is that this is a difficult topic to explore - for all the obvious reasons. The information is uneven... there is still an element of fog of war. When I was in Israel last week, I visited Ronen Bergman in his home in Ramat HaSharon, to have a long conversation about what he has pieced together. Ronen is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on this war and the pre-war intelligence failures. He has published numerous books, including: “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations” - https://tinyurl.com/mwbmchaj And also, “The Secret War with Iran" - https://tinyurl.com/2p8sh9u Ronen is also a member of the Israeli bar (he clerked in the Attorney General's Office), and has a master's degree in international relations, as well as a Ph.D. in history from Cambridge University. Read Ronen's piece in The New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html

One of the questions we repeatedly get from you, our listeners, is – “Where was the IDF on October 7th?” It’s a topic that we have strenuously avoided. After the war, there will be a formal commission of inquiry that attempts to understand all that went wrong and why. There will be a time and […]

President Biden has signed three new laws containing policy changes that will have long lasting effects on the people of Palestine. In this episode, seven months into the ongoing destruction of Gaza, see what Congress and the President have enacted in your name. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Sources for Gaza News Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Who Pays for Corporate Media 2024. iSpot.tv. 2024. iSpot.tv. Hamas Dan De Luce et al. April 18, 2024. NBC News. December 29, 2023. International Court of Justice. Abdelali Ragad et al. November 27, 2023. BBC. Destruction of Khan Yunis Bisan Owda. May 21, 2024. AJ+ (@ajplus) and Al Jazeera English (@aljazeeraenglish) on Instagram. Israel's Buffer Zone Around Gaza Ruwaida Kamal Amer. May 21, 2024. +972 Magazine. Camille Bressange et al. March 16, 2024. The Wall Street Journal. February 2, 2024. Jon Gambrell. AP News. Dov Liber et al. January 25, 2024. The Wall Street Journal. Loveday Morris et al. January 24, 2024. The Washington Post. Israeli Settlements March 20, 2024. CNN on YouTube. Amira Hass. March 12, 2024. Haaretz. Julia Frankel. February 23, 2024. AP News. Nir Hasson and Rachel Fink. January 28, 2024. Haaretz. Itai Weiss. December 27, 2023. Haaretz. Hagar Shezaf. December 11, 2020. Haaretz. Updated February 2, 2024. Encyclopedia Britannica. AI Kill List Isaac Chotiner. April 12, 2024. The New Yorker. April 5, 2024. Amy Goodman and Yuval Abraham. Democracy Now! Avi Scharf. April 5, 2024. Haaretz. Ishaan Tharoor. April 5, 2024. The Washington Post. April 3, 2024. The Guardian. Yuval Abraham. April 3, 2024. +972 Magazine. Yuval Abraham. November 30, 2023. +972 Magazine. Patrick Kingsley and Ronen Bergman. Updated Oct. 18, 2023. The New York Times. Ami Rokhax Domba. February 14, 2023. Israel Defense. Tamir Eshel. June 13, 2021. Defense Update. Israelis Who Died in October October 19, 2023. Haaretz. Massacre at al-Shifa Hospital Tareq S. Hajjaj. April 11, 2024. Mondoweiss. Abeer Salman et al. April 1, 2024. CNN. Supplemental Funding April 24, 2024. The Washington Post. April 21, 2024. PBS NewsHour. UNRWA Ayesha Rascoe and Jackie Northam. April 28, 2024. NPR. Emanuel Fabian. February 16, 2024. The Times of Israel. Who Governs Palestine Noa Rone. March 8, 2024. Unpacked. UN Human Rights Council Updated April 5, 2024. United Nations Human Rights Council. April 18, 2023. United Nations General Assembly. ‘Detainee' treatment February 19, 2024. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. United Nations Information Service. July 10, 2023. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Suppression of Journalism March 20, 2023. Jewish News Syndicate. January 24, 2002. BBC. Why It's Not a War Ajit Singh (@ajitxsingh). November 14, 2023. X. Francesca Albanese. November 14, 2023. National Press Club of Australia on Youtube. Torture in Israeli Detention Facilities May 11, 2024. Middle East Eye on YouTube. CNN's International Investigations and Visuals teams. May 11, 2024. CNN. Netta Ahituv. May 4, 2024. Haaretz. Leahy Amendment Ben Samuels. April 27, 2024. Haaretz. International Criminal Court Michel Martin and John Bellinger III on All Things Considered. April 16, 2022. NPR. Laws Audio Sources May 5, 2024 Al Jazeera English on Instagram (@aljazeeraenglish) Imran Khan: If you are watching this prerecorded report, then Al Jazeera has been banned in the territory of Israel. On April the first, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, passed a law that allowed the Prime Minister to ban Al Jazeera. He's now enacted that law. Let me just take you through some of the definitions. Within the law, they've banned our website, including anything that has the option of entering or accessing the website, even passwords that are needed whether they're paid or not, and whether it's stored on Israeli servers or outside of Israel. The website is now inaccessible. They're also banning any device used for providing content. That includes my mobile phone. If I use that to do any kind of news gathering, then the Israelis can simply confiscate it. Our internet access provider, the guy that simply hosts aljazeera.net, is also in danger of being fined if they host the website. The Al Jazeera TV channel [is] completely banned. Transmission by any kind of content provider is also banned and holding offices or operating them in the territory of Israel by the channel. Also, once again, any devices used to provide content for the channel can be taken away by the Israelis. It's a wide ranging ban. We don't know how long it'll be in place for, but it does cover this territory of the state of Israel. May 5, 2024 Al Jazeera English on YouTube Cyril Vanier: So what does the war look like, as presented by Israeli media to Israelis? Gideon Levy: Very, very simple picture. We are the victims. We are the only victims, as usual. There was the 7th of October, and we will stick to the 7th of October, which was almost the Holocaust in the eyes of most of the Israelis and this 7th of October enables us and legitimizes us to do whatever we want in Gaza. Gaza doesn't interest us. Gaza is Hamas and Hamas, Gaza. And therefore, we should punish them all, and if possible, even kill them al, destroy them all, and we will. We have no interest to see what's the suffer[ing] of Gaza, what's the punishment of Gaza, what the innocent people of Gaza are going through. We are only interested in the brave soldiers, the hostages and the victims of the 7th of October. That's our world, and that's the world that the Israeli media as a whole is describing to its viewers for seven months now, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Only this, you don't see Gaza. April 10, 2024 House Foreign Affairs Committee Witnesses: Samantha Power, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development Clips 47:15 Samantha Power: Again, you had very little, almost no child malnutrition before October 7, and you now have a massive spike. And particularly in the north, one in three kids are suffering from malnutrition. And again, the reports of famine also spreading to the south. It makes sense because so little assistance has gotten in commensurate to the needs of more than 2 million people. 1:13:55 Samantha Power: My understanding - this is something that Secretary Blinken is managing and you'll have a chance I'm sure to engage him on - but the national security memorandum 20 that was issued not long ago is taking 620 I and those elements into consideration. I think that report is due out in early May. 1:41:40 Samantha Power: You know well, because you've been in so many of these countries, we don't have an NGO out there -- This is not your traditional UN agency, where you can have like schools in a box, teachers in a box, health workers in a box. Hamas was the state and Hamas won the election back in the day. And Hamas had far too much influence on certain individuals, or even certain individuals were, it seems, potentially part of Hamas. But the fact is, the administration of schools and health systems was UNRWA. There's not an NGO or another UN agency that could perform the function of a State like that, or at least I haven't encountered one in my years of humanitarian service. 2:02:20 Samantha Power: One little parenthetical is, Israel, about a month ago, in light of the horrific allegations, made a decision that UNRWA could not participate in convoys to the north - humanitarian convoys. But what that meant was, fundamentally there could be no convoys to the north because you can't, as bombs are falling and kinetic operations are underway and terrorists are being pursued, suddenly invent an entire humanitarian infrastructure. 2:17:20 Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): I want to ask you obviously about the very urgent situation humanitarian situation in Gaza. In your testimony, you said that the entire population of Gaza is living under the threat of famine. News reports came out recently that certain USAID officials sent a cable to the National Security Council warning that famine is already likely occurring in parts of the Gaza Strip. According to the report "famine conditions are most severe and widespread in northern Gaza, which is under Israeli control." Do you think that it's plausible or likely that parts of Gaza and particularly northern Gaza, are already experiencing famine? Samantha Power: Well, the methodology that the IPC used is one that we had our experts scrub, it's one that's relied upon in other settings, and that is their assessments and we believe that assessment is credible. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): So there's a famine is already occurring there. Samantha Power: That is… Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): Yes, okay. 2:18:14 Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): More than half of the population of Gaza is under the age of 18, as you know, and are seriously affected by the lack of access to food and nutrition. Various organizations, including the United Nations, have warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children may die if they don't get necessary food and nutrition assistance in just the next two to three weeks. Has USAID made such an assessment itself? And do you have a sense of how many such children might be at risk of dying if they don't get access to food and nutrition that's currently unavailable? Samantha Power: I do not have those assessments on hand. But I will say that in northern Gaza, the rate of malnutrition, prior to October 7, was almost zero. And it is now one in three, one in three kids. But extrapolating out is hard. And I will say just with some humility, because it is so hard to move around in Gaza, because the access challenges that give rise in part to the malnutrition are so severe, it is also hard to do the kind of scaled assessments that we would wish to do. But in terms of actual severe acute malnutrition for under fives, that rate was 16% in January, and became 30% in February, and we're awaiting the the March numbers, but we expect it to -- Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): So it got markedly worse. Samantha Power: Markedly worse. But extrapolating and giving you the overall numbers… Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): And just to be clear, I realize you're not part of the DoD or the State Department even, working on these issues diplomatically. But is it your understanding that humanitarian assistance and food assistance is not supposed to be denied even when countries are at war with each other? Because there is this argument that if Hamas would release the hostages, if they would surrender, that this would stop, but there's certain laws of war and certain conduct that nations are supposed to follow, and that includes allowing for humanitarian assistance. Samantha Power: Correct. I mean, I will say, of course, we all agree the hostages should be released, absolutely. An absolute outrage that they had been kept this long and the horror and terror for their families, the families of those individuals I can't even contemplate but yes, food must flow. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX): Kids can't be starved because you have two groups that are at war with each other. Samantha Power: Food must flow and food has not flowed in sufficient quantities to avoid this imminent famine in the south and these conditions that are giving rise already to child deaths in the north. 2:29:20 Samantha Power: Again, trusted partners like World Food Programme and UNICEF and others have not reported that Hamas is getting in the way of distributing humanitarian assistance. And I will say, nor are we getting those reports from the IDF who are present on the ground in Gaza. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC): I have been getting reports, in fact, that Hamas is targeting, punishing or hindering Palestinians who are working with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance. You have not seen any evidence of that? Samantha Power: I would be very interested in those reports, but that is not what our partners are reporting back to us. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC): Do you believe that Hamas is benefiting from the aid that we are providing to Gaza? Samantha Power: I mean, I don't even know how to think about that question in this moment when Hamas is on the run and being pursued across Gaza. So, you know, I don't think they are in a position, because of what the IDF is doing, to benefit per se. Would family members of Hamas potentially begin getting access at a food distribution? You know, that's possible. It's going to civilians. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC): Do you have any idea how Hamas fighters are getting their food? Samantha Power: I don't. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC): So it is a difficult balance to strike when we desperately want to make sure that innocent Palestinians don't suffer and don't starve, but we don't want to do anything to embolden Hamas. 2:46:10 Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): There was already serious concern with the operations of UNRWA prior to the administration's decision to cut funding. Further this past November, I led floor debate to pass the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act, which discussed the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel curricula taught to children in Gaza and the West Bank, a curriculum taught by UNRWA employees. So while yes, we appreciate the prohibition on new funding in January, this is long overdue, as there were clear and present issues that UNRWA that look like were ignored by the administration. 2:48:45 Samantha Power: Putting people who want to eliminate another people in power is not anything that anybody would have wished. But the effect is that the governing institution had significant leverage over the UN agency that was carrying out -- Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): A terrorist state that has had control over this agency, which is in part why we have pushed to defund it. Would you support future year Appropriations defunding UNRWA? Samantha Power: I don't know if you've had a chance to talk to the King of Jordan, for example. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): I've had dinner with him, in Jordan. Samantha Power: And about what it is going to mean for the Jordanian people to have 2 million young people basically looking for where their schools are going to get support. Now, it may be that the Europeans and others come in and address this issue and it doesn't -- Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): Defunding UNWRA does not mean that we don't deal with humanitarian issues. It doesn't mean that we don't -- Samantha Power: No, no but it just is the school system. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): It doesn't mean that we don't deal with it, it means we find a different vehicle by which to do this, but UNRWA itself has proven to be corrupt. Samantha Power: You've been here for much of the exchange. There's no NGO, there's no UN agency that creates school systems. There's no, like, U haul where there's a school system that you just deploy in Jordan, to educate 2.6 million Jordanian kids, it just doesn't work that way. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): Respectfully, being snide about it is not actually solving the issue here. The reality is UNRWA is not the vehicle by which we should be sending American taxpayer dollars at this point. It's just not. Samantha Power: We will follow the law. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): Right, my question to you was, do you support moving forward? Samantha Power: I'm describing the benefits of educating young people across the region and providing health services, and I'm not seeing a viable alternative. So I would suggest -- Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): So you believe we should continue? Samantha Power: I think, first of all, we don't know what Gaza is going to look like after this war ends. Hopefully, Hamas will be dismantled and new institutions will be in place whereby they will take care of educating their own young people, and you won't need a UN agency to do it. But it is extremely important that we look out for young people in Gaza, it is going to do nobody any favors for them not to have access to an education Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY): No, the fact is, on October 7, part of the reason that you had that type of terrorist attack is because of the level of hatred and anti-semitism that is taught in schools in Gaza. That is part of the problem here. And UNRWA helped in terms of allowing for that to occur under the guise of a UN agency. It is disgusting. It is shameful, and the fact that we as the United States have helped support that organization helped fund it is an embarrassment. And that's why we fought to defund it. 3:00:00 Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA): I am hypercritical of the alleged 12 or 15, who may have been infiltrating as Hamas, who may have participated in the October 7, horrendous barbaric attack. But you don't throw everybody and all the good work out. Because I want to ask you, if we continue this pause, if the world said we will not help you UNRWA, your however many thousands of workers who are on the ground, who keep coming to work even when their whole families are killed, what will happen with famine in Gaza, if we just shut it down? No more UNRWA. By the way, they're not educating. We know that they can't even do that now. They have incredibly important vaccines and medical aid to to be a part of, but the essentialness of food and water. What happens if we continue this disinformation campaign of 'Defund UNRWA'? Samantha Power: Well, first, thank you for bringing some facts into the conversation that I probably should have raised before, including just the horrific loss of life for those who work for UNRWA. And in general, you know, more than 228 workers killed by IDF or in my IDF military operations to this point, including, most recently of course, the World Central Kitchen colleagues, devastatingly. And thank you also for reminding us all. UNRWA is an organization in Gaza alone of 13,000 people. The vast majority of those people have not been propagating hate but have been actually trying to educate young people. The literacy rate in Gaza-West Bank, I think, is something like 99%. It's one of the most effective literacy efforts in any of the places that USAID works. In terms of what would happen if the whole thing shut down....Right now, it looks like other countries are stepping up to avert that scenario. But, you know, I just cannot overstate how chaotic and how horrific the conditions in Gaza are. You've spoken to them. The visuals speak to the level of destruction. There's no work-around for the infrastructure that they provide. After the war, when there's a new administration of Gaza, if that comes about, obviously, that's itself extremely complicated. You know, the question of who is providing education as they try to rebuild virtually everything from scratch and the education and the health sector? You know, some of these questions will be will be addressed. But right now, there is no way to avert large scale famine without relying on the humanitarian backbone that has been enriched for decades, and that remains UNRWA today. We are going to follow the law, we are going to work through other partners. But, I started to say this earlier: even the government of Israel, which had banned UNRWA's participation in convoys, because of the food crisis - and US engagement, I hope - has now decided that UNRWA can in fact be part of convoys going to the North because they recognize there's just no other way. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA): Right. And I want to commend to anybody to please meet with the director of UNRWA who is stationed in Rafah: a 20-plus-year US military veteran. I don't know how people stay at this kind of work with the risks that they are taking, but they are there. Music by Editing Production Assistance

Nicolle Wallace is joined by Andrew Weissmann, Tim Heaphy, Dahlia Lithwick, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Igor Novikov, Kristy Greenberg, Lachlan Cartwright, George Grasso, Ronen Bergman, and Mark Mazzetti.

Iranian media is reporting that the country's consulate in Syria has been destroyed in an airstrike, killing a senior commander in the revolutionary guard's Quds force. The Iranian ambassador to Syria is claiming that Israel was behind the attack that killed at least five people. It comes as thousands of protestors gathered in cities across Israel in the largest demonstrations since October 7th. New York Magazine staff writer Ronen Bergman, author of "Rise and Kill First," joins the show from Tel Aviv.  Also on today's show: Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha; CNN correspondent Scott McLean; author Jonathan Haidt (“The Anxious Generation”)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recent bombshell report in the New York Times reveals that Israel knew about Hamas's attack plan for October 7th, 2023, codenamed “Jericho Wall,” more than a year before it happened. On this episode of Next Question, the journalists who broke the story, Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman, detail how this intelligence failure came about, including the dismissal of a female Israeli intelligence analyst's urgent warnings that Hamas had devised a “plan to start a war” as “imaginary.”    We now know that Hamas's intentions as laid out in the Jericho Wall document were deadly serious, and Bergman and Goldman note that the attack followed the plan with “shocking precision.” They give insightful analysis of how a threat like Jericho Wall could be dismissed and what this grave misstep means for not only this conflict, but also for Israel's broader idea of itself in the world and for the trust in its powerful intelligence service at home and abroad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 In the weeks since Hamas carried out its devastating terrorist attack in southern Israel, Times journalists have been trying to work out why the Israeli security services failed to prevent such a huge and deadly assault.Ronen Bergman, a correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story of one of the warnings that Israel ignored.Guest: Ronen Bergman, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the Oct. 7 attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational.Here's the latest on the war.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Guests: Scott Bolden, Kristy Parker, Mark Chiusano, Rep. Dan Goldman, Ronen Bergman, David JollyThe Republican frontrunner's Nixon defense goes poof. Tonight: why two major rulings against Donald Trump could be Jack Smith's biggest victory to date. Then, the tragic culmination of the George Santos saga. And just when you thought Ron DeSantis couldn't get cringier…

Israel says it has resumed military operations inside Gaza after the 7-day truce expired. Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass discusses the latest developments in the war. New York Times staff writer Ronen Bergman and former CIA Director John Brennan breaks down reports about the intelligence failures leading up to the Hamas attack. Nicholas Wu, Sara Fagen and Faiz Shakir join the Meet the Press NOW roundtable to discuss the state of the 2024 presidential race.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (12/01/2023): 3:05pm- On Friday, George Santos became the sixth congressman in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. The House voted 311 to 114 in favor of removing him following numerous allegations of lying about his background and a 23-count indictment that includes allegations he “repeatedly, without authorization” charged donor credit cards—depositing funds into his own bank account. 3:10pm- According to a report from Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman of The New York Times, “Israeli officials obtained Hamas's battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened…But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html 3:20pm- On Friday, Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres spoke at the 28th U.N. Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai. During his speech, Guterres called for “ending fossil fuel subsidies, and adopting a windfall tax on profits.” But most importantly, who does Secretary-General sound like—the Count from Sesame Street or Bela Lugosi in Dracula? 3:40pm- Comedian Mark Riccadonna joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss preparing for the holiday season—including cutting down the family Christmas tree in front of his very judgmental children. Plus, what defines a Christmas movie? Does a movie merely need to contain a Christmas scene in order to qualify? If so, Mark's favorite Christmas movie is Goodfellas. You can find a list of Riccadonna's upcoming shows here: https://markriccadonna.com 4:05pm- On Thursday, Fox News hosted a debate between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. During the 90-minute debate hosted by Sean Hannity, the governors debated their philosophical differences towards effective public policy—with DeSantis noting that Newsom's in-laws fled California for Florida. 4:15pm- Listeners weigh-in on the debate between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Did DeSantis do enough to threaten Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination? 4:30pm- The Associated Press writes that there has been a concerning “surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization.” China's health ministry has claimed the uptick “is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus.” Several Republican Senators are now calling on President Joe Biden to adopt a travel ban on China until more concrete information about the repiratory illness outbreak can be established. You can read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/26/china-respiratory-illnesses-cause-flu-pathogens-00128637 4:45pm- On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the weaponization of the federal government. During the hearing, journalist Michael Shellenberger explained: “We discovered that the Aspen Institute had created a workshop attended…by all major media, including social media platforms, to…pre-bunk, in advance, the Hunter Biden laptop story even though there was no evidence that it existed outside of the fact that the FBI knew they had it because they got it in December 2019." Meanwhile, journalist Matt Taibbi insisted the claim that government officials worked to suppress speech “isn't a crazy conspiracy theory. We have already had four federal judges rule that they believe this activity violates the First Amendment." 5:00pm- Daniel Turner—Founder & Executive Director of Power the Future—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the hypocrisy unfolding at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) being held in Dubai. For example, attendees expel massive amounts of carbon flying on private jets while reprimanding the rest of society for not adopting more stringent “green” policies. You can learn more about Power the Future here: https://powerthefuture.com/about-us/ 5:20pm- Restaurant chain McDonald's has announced it will be making changes to its cheeseburgers—which they hope to roll out nationally in early 2024. Heather Haddon of The Wall Street Journal writes that the new Big Mac will have “two all-beef patties…cooked in smaller batches for a more uniform sear. There's more special sauce. The lettuce, cheese and pickles have been rethought to be fresher and meltier, and the bun is now a buttery brioche, with the sesame seeds more randomly scattered for a homemade look.” You can read more here: https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/mcdonalds-burger-new-menu-2400d22b?mod=hp_lead_pos9 5:25pm- A man in Florida has collected 2,467 copies of the 1997 film Titanic on VHS—he's hoping to eventually own 1 million copies. Why??? 5:30pm- On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the weaponization of the federal government. During the hearing, independent journalist Michael Shellenberger testified that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) violated the First Amendment in 2020 when it actively censored political content on Twitter and Facebook. Shellenberger concluded that the campaign of censorship amounted to election interference—encouraging Congress to dismantle government organizations whose actions were violative of the Constitution. 5:50pm- During Thursday's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Congressman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) bizarrely tried to equate murder and rape to freedom of political speech online. 6:05pm- Dr. Nicole Saphier—board-certified diagnostic and interventional radiologist, professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, & Fox News contributor—joins The Rich Zeoli Show. What can we expect when former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in January? You can find Dr. Saphier's latest book, “Panic Attack: Playing Politics with Science in the Fight Against COVID-19,” here: https://www.nicolesaphiermd.com/books 6:30pm- Andrew C. McCarthy—Senior Fellow at National Review Institute & Author of “Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his latest article, “Jockeying Over Hunter Biden House Testimony.” McCarthy writes: “Hunter [Biden]'s legal team has reacted to the [Congressional] subpoena by agreeing that he will show up but demanding that the testimony be held in public…A subpoena is not a suggestion. It is an order enforceable by legal penalties. By agreeing that he will attend, Hunter is putting a brave face on what's no more than an acknowledgement that he will do what he is legally compelled to do. He is demanding that the hearing be public because he knows Republicans will refuse.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/jockeying-over-hunter-biden-house-testimony/ 6:40pm- Senator Rand Paul—United States Senator from Kentucky & Author of “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show. Throughout the book Sen. Paul presents evidence that COVID-19 likely originated in a Wuhan, China laboratory and was a by-product of dangerous gain-of-function research. Was the research funded by U.S. taxpayers? And did Dr. Anthony Fauci attempt to cover-up the virus's origin? Sen. Paul says, “if I had it my way, Anthony Fauci would already be wearing pinstripes.” Plus, Sen. Paul reacts to Elon Musk's assessment that, prior to his ownership, Twitter suppressed Republican posts at 10x the rate of Democrats—accusing the social media platform of ostensibly being “a state publication.” Sen. Paul believes “without question Elon Musk is right.” You can order Sen. Paul's new book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684515134/deception/

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: On Friday, George Santos became the sixth congressman in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. The House voted 311 to 114 in favor of removing him following numerous allegations of lying about his background and a 23-count indictment that includes allegations he “repeatedly, without authorization” charged donor credit cards—depositing funds into his own bank account. According to a report from Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman of The New York Times, “Israeli officials obtained Hamas's battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened…But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html On Friday, Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres spoke at the 28th U.N. Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai. During his speech, Guterres called for “ending fossil fuel subsidies, and adopting a windfall tax on profits.” But most importantly, who does Secretary-General sound like—the Count from Sesame Street or Bela Lugosi in Dracula? Comedian Mark Riccadonna joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss preparing for the holiday season—including cutting down the family Christmas tree in front of his very judgmental children. Plus, what defines a Christmas movie? Does a movie merely need to contain a Christmas scene in order to qualify? If so, Mark's favorite Christmas movie is Goodfellas. You can find a list of Riccadonna's upcoming shows here: https://markriccadonna.com

Tonight on The Last Word: New details about Pres. Biden's role in the hostage deal.  Also, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argues to revoke a Trump co-defendant's bail. Plus, Defense Secretary Austin travels to Kyiv to announce a $100M military aid package for Ukraine. And former Trump White House and Trump administration officials say Donald Trump should not be president again. Ben Rhodes, Ronen Bergman, Gwen Keyes, Harry Litman and Timothy Snyder join Lawrence O'Donnell.

Tonight on The Last Word: Donald Trump embraces the fringe in his 2024 presidential campaign. Also, Trump's lawyers get a gag order in the New York fraud trial. Plus, the U.S. economy adds 150,000 jobs in October. Secretary Blinken raises concerns about civilians caught in Gaza fighting. And President Biden pays his respects to the victims of the Maine mass shooting. Ryan Reilly, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Adam Klasfeld, Gene Sperling, Ronen Bergman and Mayor Carl Sheline join Ali Velshi.

Tonight on The Last Word: A federal judge reinstates the gag order on Donald Trump in the Washington, D.C. election case. Also, Israeli ground forces push deeper into Gaza. Plus, an election denier becomes the new GOP House speaker. And Mike Pence drops out of the 2024 presidential race. Andrew Weissmann, Neal Katyal, Gwen Keyes, Ronen Bergman, Jamelle Bouie and Stuart Stevens join Lawrence O'Donnell.

Tonight on The Last Word: The trial for allowing Donald Trump on the 2024 Colorado ballot begins. Plus, Israeli forces are reportedly closing in on Gaza City. And House Republicans introduce a stand-alone Israel aid package separate from Ukraine aid. Neal Katyal, Paul Butler, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Ellison Barber, Ronen Bergman, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell join Jonathan Capehart.

Tonight on The Last Word, a former Trump attorney has pleaded guilty in the Georgia Election case. Trump was reportedly furious in court Tuesday listening to Michael Cohen's testimony in the New York fraud trial. After three weeks, House Republicans still do not have a Speaker. And officials in Gaza say the humanitarian crisis there is dire as the health system faces “complete collapse.” Joining MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart is Amy Lee Copeland, Barbara McQuade, Neal Katyal, Tim O'Brien, Adam Klasfeld, Rep. Maxwell Frost, and Ronen Bergman.

Tonight on The Last Word: Donald Trump attacks Special Counsel Jack Smith after a judge pauses the gag order. Also, eight House Republican candidates join the speaker race. And a new aid convoy enters Gaza through the Rafah Border Crossing. Joyce Vance, Bradley Moss, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Harry Dunn, Ellison Barber and Ronen Bergman join Jonathan Capehart.

Nicolle Wallace discusses the impending ground invasion into Gaza as airstrikes continue, horrific new images coming out of the Hamas attacks, President Biden's promise of U.S. aid to Israel, and more. Joined by: Ali Velshi, Michael Oren, Haviv Rettig Gur, Elad Levy, John Brennan, Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Richard Engel, Ronen Bergman, Laurence Tribe, and Peter Beinart.