Haaretz Podcast

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s chief sports writer Uzi Dann and Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the record-breaking Israeli delegation to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. How many medals will the 90 athletes bag for Israel? Why is the Israeli baseball team predominantly made up of American Jews? And why are there no Arabs representing Israel – yet again? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by senior intelligence analyst Yossi Melman, opinions editor Esther Solomon, and tech and cyber editor Omer Benjakob. We discuss the fallout from the Pegasus Project and ask: What limitations does and should Israel place on the export of these technologies? Did Benjamin Netanyahu act as a travelling salesman for the NSO Group? And will internationalpressure lead to a change in Israeli policy? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Judy Maltz and Samuel Sokol to discuss the government’s far-reaching plans for reform the system by which food is certified as kosher in Israel. What’s wrong with the old system? Who stands to benefit from the reform? PLUS: Why is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream no longer kosher in some places? And why women running their own synagogues can’t call themselves rabbis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Noa Landau and Anshel Pfeffer to discuss Artem Dolgopyat’s historic Olympic gold medal in gymnastics – his country’s second ever and its first in one of the core Olympic disciplines. Will Dolgopyat, who is not halakhically Jewish and cannot marry in the country, lead to a national rethink on the relationship between religion and state? PLUS: What’s behind the government’s rush to give citizens a third COVID vaccine shot? See omnystudio...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s environment correspondent, Zafrir Rinat, and by science and archaeology editor Ruth Schuster to discuss the intense heatwave that has been cooking Israel, the newIsraeligovernment’s‘green’ legislation and why mitigation and adaptation are the best way for countries to deal with the climate emergency. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s West Bank correspondent Hagar Shezaf to discuss the ongoing killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces in the West Bank – including 11 children in the first seven months of 2021 – and the relationship between the IDF and the settlers. We ask: Is the IDF’s finger getting lighter on the trigger when it comes to policing Palestinian demonstrations? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer and political scientist and public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin to discuss the latest on Israel’s delta wave of the coronavirus. We ask: Should Israelis be getting a third shot of the vaccine? What role is former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu playing in the dangerous anti-vaxx movement? And how will his successor, Naftali Bennett, handle the growing number of infections? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by photographer and artist Spencer Tunick, who is best known for organizing large-scale naked photoshoots – including a 2011 project at the Dead Sea, where he photographed 1,200 naked Israelis. Ten years on, Tunick is set to return to the Dead Sea for another art installation – in conjunction with the Dead Sea Revival Project and the Dead Sea Museum – to emphasize the importance of and the need to restore and preserve the Dead Sea...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by senior U.S. analyst Alon Pinkas and senior military commentator Amos Harel to look ahead to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming visit to the White House – the first meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and the new Israeli leader. We discuss what issues will be on the agenda (Iran and China), and which ones the sides have already agreed not to mention (Palestine)...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer and Amir Tibon to discuss the first meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and U.S. President Joe Biden...