🇮🇱 Israel Episodes

A fresh take on the classic episode of the answer: Where did this strange song everyone is singing on TikTok come from, how did a 150-year-old inside joke make its way from New Zealand to your phone, and what on earth is a Wellerman? Including the full version of the hit "A Pharmacist Will Come Soon".

Netanyahu's lawyers sent the President's Residence a 111-page document and a personally signed letter: a request for a presidential pardon. For years, Netanyahu's public line was that the trial was collapsing, that justice would be served in court, that he would be acquitted. Yesterday, the Prime Minister still claimed he would be acquitted - only this time, the conclusion he reached was that because of this - the President must cancel the trial. This time we are with Dafna Liel and Dr. Dana Blonder, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and co-author of the book "The Institution of the Presidency in Israel," about Netanyahu's request. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tension between a Minister of Defense and a Chief of Staff is not an event that has not occurred in the past. The tension between Minister of Defense Katz and Chief of Staff Zamir is different. This time we are with Ofer Shelah, a journalist and former Knesset member and today a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, and our reporter Omri Maniv – who will tell us about the conflict between Minister of Defense Katz and Chief of Staff Zamir, and how it might affect the IDF.

Thoughts that lead us to believe that suffering will not pass can worsen the pain and delay natural recovery from trauma. Dr. Danny Derby, an expert clinical psychologist, explains how Cognitive Processing Therapy allows patients to free themselves from distorted thoughts and focus on emotional recovery. In collaboration with the Trauma Recovery Center at the Hebrew University, supported by JFNA | Episode 4 in the series on Trauma and Recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Similar to the plots of popular thriller series that deal with power, money, and honor struggles, here in Israel too, there is an old institution that could serve as the basis for exactly such a script. Ponevez Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, a prestigious institution that generates millions, has been at the heart of a bitter and ongoing family dispute over inheritance for three decades. The quarrel created two camps, each of which saw the other side as a real enemy. Last week, this battle was decisively settled - and the ending did not disappoint. This time, our reporter Eli Hirshman takes us to the battle that tore an entire community apart: the family dispute at Ponevez Yeshiva, which shaped the character of the Lithuanian Haredi community for generations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all use artificial intelligence, we all talk about it, stock markets are soaring because of it, so why does it feel like we've seen this movie before? After all, that's how people talked about the internet 25 years ago, and although the promise was real, investors experienced a collapse of almost 80% along the way. Could it be that we are on the verge of another crash?Presenter: Shaul Amsterdamski; Editor: Yonatan Kitain; Assistant Editor: Lihie Zadok; Producer: Adi Efrat; Sound Editor: Tal Vanig, Image: Shutterstock, GeminiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than three years after the Russian invasion, the war in Ukraine reached a turning point this week: a ceasefire agreement that looks like the beginning of the end, but actually opens up a series of new questions. So this time we are in conversation with our envoy in Washington, Barak Ravid, who will explain what really happened behind the scenes and why we are at the closest point to ending the war since it broke out, and why, despite this, it's really not certain that this is the end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most often, we as a public are exposed to violence against women only when it reaches its most extreme and deadly stage - murder. But most abusive relationships do not start there, and they almost never look like that in the beginning. This was also the case in Libi Kessel's story. Years after she left an abusive relationship, Libi encountered an eight-stage model that describes how a relationship can deteriorate into dangerous violence, and realized that her story ended at stage six. As part of processing this difficult realization, she decided to talk to friends and family about how they experienced her relationship - a journey that became the documentary "I Left at Six." So this time, we are in conversation with Libi about her personal story, about the early stages of abusive relationships, and about how they can be identified and helped, before they turn into a tragedy.

Imagine yourselves sitting in a room, facing a terrorist and trying to get into his head: what motivates him, what makes him act. Hard to imagine, but this is the work of Dr. Sagit Yehoshua, a criminologist, profiler, member of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism Policy at Reichman University and the Deborah Forum, and this time, we will try to understand with her - what does a terrorist's profile look like, what has changed from the generation of Hamas leaders to the Nukhba forces, and what does she think about the death penalty law for terrorists?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent days, we have been hearing more about violence and riots by Jews in Judea and Samaria. Arson of cars, buildings, a mosque, attacks on Palestinian farmers, Israeli social activists, or IDF soldiers. According to all the data, in 2025 there is more violence by Jewish rioters in Judea and Samaria. This time, we are with three people who tell of the loss of control in Judea and Samaria: Dvir Kariv, former senior official in the non-Arab terror prevention division of the Shin Bet. Yuval Ben Ari, a reservist and left-wing activist who was injured in clashes with rioters in Judea and Samaria, and Abdullah from the village of Al-Lubban al-Gharbiya, whose agricultural fields were partially seized by one of the rioters in Judea and Samaria. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trauma sometimes leaves us frozen in front of a deep memory. Dr. Nitza Nakash-Axelrod, an expert psychiatrist and director of the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Research Clinic at Sheba, explains how prolonged exposure therapy allows one to revisit a painful memory, in order to start breathing anew. In collaboration with the Trauma Recovery Center at the Hebrew University, with the support of JFNA | Episode 3 in the series on Trauma and Recovery See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

استقبل ولي العهد السعودي محمد بن سلمان هذا الأسبوع في البيت الأبيض استقبال الملوك، وأبرم مع ترامب صفقة قد تغير الشرق الأوسط: مئات المليارات من الدولارات، وطائرات مقاتلة متطورة، وربما تطبيع مع إسرائيل مشروط من جانبه بحل الدولتين. وفي الوقت نفسه، وافق مجلس الأمن التابع للأمم المتحدة على الخطة الأمريكية لـ "اليوم التالي" في غزة، والتي تتحدث أيضًا عن مسار لدولة فلسطينية. إذن هذه المرة نحن مع معلقتنا السياسية دانا فايس حول تداعيات هذا الأسبوع على إسرائيل، وكيف يمكن أن يبدو الشرق الأوسط الجديد الذي يتشكل أمام أعيننا.

איך זה שבכל שנה נסגרים מאות גנים שיכלו להעניק חינוך מפוקח במחיר מוזל לעשרות אלפי ילדים, למה העניינים רק התדרדרו מאז שהמדינה החליטה לעשות רפורמה בתחום, ומה צריך לקרות כדי שהמצב ישתפר? מגישה: צליל אברהם; עורך: יונתן כיתאין; עורכת משנה: ליהיא צדוק; מפיק: עדי אפרת; עורך סאונד: טל וניג; סייעה בתחקיר: אופיר הלפרין; תמונה: Shutterstock ראה omnystudio.com/listener למידע בנושא פרטיות.

Every year, a new argument develops between the Finance and Defense Ministries regarding the size of the defense budget for the coming year. But in the last two years of the war, the budgets of the army and the defense establishment have grown unprecedentedly, and despite the security challenges that still exist, the country still has many other needs. If compromises are not found, we will reach a situation that will deteriorate the economy and lead to a real crisis: not many remember, but Israel has reached such a situation in the past - and it was not easy to recover from it. This time, together with our economic correspondent Yuval Sadeh, we will dive into the debate on the defense budget for 2026: the dilemmas, the gaps between the parties, and what it means for the economy.

עד סוף השנה ייסגר ערוץ המוזיקה MTV. אולי חלקכם מזדהים, ואולי לחלקכם זה כבר נשמע כמו היסטוריה עתיקה — אבל הרבה לפני טיקטוק ופייסבוק, MTV היה המקום שבו מתעדכנים בכל מה שחדש ומגניב. אז הפעם אנחנו עם נדב רביד, לשעבר מנהל גלגלצ, בשיחה על עלייתו וגם נפילתו של הערוץ ששינה את עולם המוזיקה.

אבו מאזן, נשיא הרשות הפלסטינית יותר מ-20 שנה, כבר לא ילד. השבוע הוא ציין יום הולדת 90. מצד שני, אבא שלו חגג גם עד גיל 102 - אז מה גרם לו להכריז דווקא עכשיו על יורש? מי הוא היורש המיועד, חוסיין א-שייח', ומה חושבים עליו הפלסטינים? הפעם, אנחנו עם ד"ר מיכאל מילשטיין, חוקר בכיר במרכז דיין באוניברסיטת תל אביב ולשעבר ראש הזירה הפלסטינית באמ"ן ונדבר על היום שאחרי אבו מאזן ועל עתידה של הרשות הפלסטינית.

مجلس حكماء التوراة هو الهيئة التي من المفترض أن توجه شاس وتحدد طريقها، لكن تسجيلات جديدة ينتقد فيها كبار الحاخامات أرييه درعي بشأن تعامله مع قانون التجنيد، تكشف عن فجوة متزايدة بينها وبين رئيس الحزب، وصراع على السيطرة عليها. إذن هذه المرة نحن مع مراسلنا إيلي هيرشمان الذي نشر التسجيلات، ومع الصدع المتفاقم بين درعي والحاخامات الذين يقودون الحزب.

משבר המוביל לטיפול אינו קל. צורך פתאומי שמישהו יראה אותנו וייתן כלים להתמודדות. איך בוחרים גישה? יונתן הפרט, פרופסור לפסיכולוגיה קלינית ומייסד המרכז להחלמה מטראומה באוניברסיטה העברית, מסביר טיפולים מבוססי ראיות. בשיתוף המרכז להחלמה מטראומה באוניברסיטה העברית, בתמיכת JFNA | פרק 2 בסדרה על טראומה והחלמה.

בשבוע שעבר ניצח זוהרן ממדאני בבחירות לראשות עיריית ניו יורק. לממדאני, שידוע בעמדות אנטי-ישראליות ואף נחשד לא אחת באנטישמיות, הצביעו 33% מיהודי העיר. הניצחון שלו עורר ויכוח חריף בקהילה היהודית: בעוד שחלק רואים בממדאני הסוציאליסט הבטחה לשינוי חיובי בעיר, אחרים מפחדים מיחסו לישראל ורואים תמיכה של יהודים בו בגידה בערכים ובזהות היהודית. אז הפעם נדבר עם שניים שמייצגים בדיוק את העמדות האלה - מיכאל כהן שהצביע בעדו וג'ניפר פרס שרואה בו אסון, על המחלוקת בין יהודי ניו יורק.

מאיר ברנד, סגן נשיא גוגל העולמית, בראיון שבו הוא מתמודד עם השאלות הבוערות של התקופה: מה צריך לעשות כל אחד מאיתנו במקום העבודה שלו כדי להישאר רלוונטי, האם הבינה המלאכותית תחסל את אתרי התוכן והחדשות, האם יש עוד טעם ללמוד מדעי המחשב? וגם: איזה עתיד הוא צופה לישראל. מגיש: שאול אמסטרדמסקי; עורך: יונתן כיתאין; עורכת משנה: ליהיא צדוק; מפיק: עדי אפרת; עורך סאונד: טל וניג; תמונה: כאן