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Unholy Media

Yonit Levi of Israel's Channel 12 News and Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian are two of the most prominent journalists in the world today. They are also Jews. Each week, join what MSNBC's Rachel Maddow calls "two great, smart smart smart hosts" as they dissect and debate current events shaping Israel, Jewish life - and the wider world.
Their blend of nuanced discussion and sparkling conversation, featuring a dazzling range of guests, is why New Yorker editor David Remnick calls himself a “proud, avid listener," why Ira Glass says he "completely enjoys this show" and why Malcolm Gladwell calls it an "incredibly fun podcast".
For a weekly fix of globally informed talk – including nominations for the greatest act of chutzpah and outstanding mensch of the previous seven days – there’s only one destination. Make every Friday morning Unholy. 
Contact us via: unholy@unholy-media.com

Unholy: Two Jews on the News

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RnHcr0Q6PUQ

Benjamin Netanyahu edges closer to Donald Trump’s extraordinary call for a presidential pardon, filing an official request with President Herzog and setting off another political storm.

All this as Israel tears itself apart once again over the draft bill. Will the ultra-Orthodox secure a formal exemption from service, and what does that mean for the rest of the country?

Yonit and Jonathan unpack the battle lines with Yair Ettinger of Kan News, one of the clearest voices on the Haredi world and its political power.

Plus: a farewell to a giant of the stage, and a Chutzpah Award that breaks new records.

 
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Netanyahu wants a pardon, hostages reunite and a farewell to Tom Stoppard—With Yair Ettinger

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ISRqGzPb9mY

Tensions at the top of Israel’s security establishment escalate, as a public rift between the chief of staff and the defence minister deepens — raising questions about leadership and accountability in a time of war. Yonit and Jonathan break down what this clash reveals about Israel’s security apparatus. In New York, protests outside a synagogue leave local Jews unsettled and anxious about the city’s new mayor.

 

Plus: Barak Ravid, one of Washington’s most connected reporters and a leading interpreter of Donald Trump’s political instincts, joins to discuss the president’s strategy and his unique approach to global affairs — and what it could mean for Israel in the months ahead.

 
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Army and politicians at war - and Inside Trump’s mind with Barak Ravid

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qq_LY5Ftf8M

Follow us on social media and join Patreon to get more of Unholy: https://linktr.ee/unholypod

After Donald Trump warmly welcomed Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, Yonit and Jonathan explore what enhanced US military sales to the kingdom mean for Israel’s security - and how the changing relationship between Washington and Riyadh is reshaping Israeli politics. They examine the UN Security Council’s adoption of Trump’s Gaza plan, the fragile ceasefire on the ground and the growing threats facing journalists in Israel.

And we dip back into our recent live event at the Streicker Center in New York City, with some sharp - and much-needed - humour from Alex Edelman.

 
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Arms Deals, UN Decisions and Israel’s Press Under Threat - with Alex Edelman live from NYC

Get an exclusive peek into Jonathan’s new book, The Traitors Circle, including the Author’s Note and Prologue.

You can order your copy here: https://linktr.ee/JonathanFreedland

 

Berlin, 1943: A group of high society anti-Nazi dissenters meet for a tea party one late summer’s afternoon. They do not know that, sitting around the table, is someone poised to betray them all to the Gestapo.

They form a circle of unlikely rebels, drawn from the German elite: two countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer, an ambassador’s widow and a pioneering head mistress. What unites every one of them is a shared loathing of the Nazis, a refusal to bow to Hitler and the courage to perform perilous acts of resistance: meeting in the shadows, rescuing Jews or plotting for a future Germany freed from the Führer's rule. Or so they believe.

How did a group of brave, principled rebels, who had successfully defied Adolf Hitler for more than a decade, come to fall into such a lethal trap?

Undone from within and pursued to near-destruction by one of the Reich’s cruelest men, they showed a heroism in the face of the most vengeful regime in history that raises the question: what kind of person does it take to risk everything and stand up to tyranny?

 
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Exclusive: Listen to "The Traitors Circle" - Author’s Note and Prologue

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MbFUueN6vPg

Order a copy of "Don't Feed the Lion": https://amzn.to/3JH4iwe

Donald Trump is pressing for a pardon for Benjamin Netanyahu, injecting fresh volatility into an already fraught political moment. In Israel, arguments over the scope and timing of a commission of inquiry continue to intensify, while between London and Washington the scandal over alleged BBC bias gathers pace. All this comes as the Israeli defence minister moves to shut down Galei Zahal, the army-run radio station that has been broadcasting since 1950.

 

Plus: a special conversation with the authors of new novel Don’t Feed the Lion - at least one of whom is an Unholy fixture.

 
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Power, Press and Pardons - with special guests Yonit Levi and Bianna Golodryga

Exclusive for Unholy listeners:

Listen to the first chapter of Don’t Feed the Lion, Yonit’s new book co-written with CNN’s Bianna Golodryga.

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/3JH4iwe

Annie and Theo Kaplan have a family ritual: every Friday night, they celebrate Shabbat with their lively immigrant grandparents. But this Shabbat — which also happens to be Annie’s eleventh birthday — isn’t like the others. Thirteen-year-old Theo’s soccer hero, Wes Mitchell, has posted an antisemitic message that quickly goes viral, leaving his parents disgusted, his sister enraged, and Theo himself overwhelmed by confusion, anger, sadness, and a desperate wish to just ignore it.

 

Antisemitism soon begins to affect the entire Kaplan family in unexpected ways. Theo’s teammates brush off Mitchell’s remarks as “no big deal,” and he notices an increase in anti-Jewish comments around school. A rare act of rebellion draws Annie into the fray, while a new classmate helps her realize that ignoring pain is no way to get through it.

 

Don’t Feed the Lion asks readers of all backgrounds: What will you do when it’s your turn to choose?

 
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Exclusive: Listen to "Don't Feed the Lion", Chapter #1

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lxA2yVSOzak

Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/unholypod

 Join our Patreon community to get access to bonus episodes, discounts on merch and more: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 

A seismic week on both sides of the Atlantic: in New York, Zohran Mamdani was elected the city’s next mayor — a result that’s caused unease in parts of the city's Jewish community and beyond. Yonit and Jonathan are joined by The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg to unpack the reaction and what this political shift could mean for New York’s Jews.

Meanwhile, in Israel, the week’s biggest story centres on the detention center at Sde Teiman — and on the extraordinary admission by the army’s chief military prosecutor that she was behind the leak of a brutal and disturbing video that sent shockwaves through the country. To help untangle this complex, troubling saga, Yonit and Jonathan speak with Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel.

Plus: a nepo-baby earns our Chutzpah award, while there are some truly feelgood Mensches of the Week.

 

 
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Mamdani Takes NYC and the Scandal of Israel's Chief Military Advocate - with Yair Rosenberg and Amos Harel

Watch us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/PdPskPBd_78

Unholy Live arrived in New York City on October 29th for a special evening featuring former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dr. Keren Yarhi Milo the Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Yonit and Jonathan delved into the current political landscape of the Democratic Party, Donald Trump and Netanyahu, the ongoing protests at Columbia University against Israel, the upcoming mayoral election in New York City, and the significant role of Zohran Mamdani in shaping the city’s future. They also discussed their joint course at Columbia University and their latest book, titled “Inside The Situation Room.” 
 

 
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Unholy Live NYC - A conversation with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo

Unholy live is coming to NYC next week (10/29) with special guest Hillary Rodham Clinton! Grab your tickets here: https://bit.ly/UnholyLiveNYC 

Watch us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/GQGDuFFZpmA

As the Knesset reconvenes, political manoeuvring in Jerusalem is stirring unease in Washington — with decisions that risk straining Israel’s most important alliance. Yonit and Jonathan unpack the tensions between Israel and the US, the increasing influence of Donald Trump on Israeli politics, and the latest, often distressing updates from the returned hostages. Samer Sinijlawi joins them to offer a Palestinian perspective on the current situation in Gaza, an analysis of what lies ahead for politics, and leadership, in the Palestinian arena - and a dash of hope for a better future for both peoples.

 

 
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Trump “Bibi-sitting” Netanyahu, coalition troubles, and Gaza’s future - with Samer Sinijlawi

Meet us at Unholy Live NYC - October 29th, 2025 - with very special guests, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo bit.ly/UnholyLiveNYC

 

As Israel navigates a fragile ceasefire and the slow recovery of hostages, Hamas’s refusal to comply with the agreement threatens to unravel hard-won progress. Yonit and Jonathan unpack the U.S. role, shifting political narratives, and what it all means for the region’s future — plus, a look ahead to Unholy Live in New York.

 
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Special update: Hostages recovering, Hamas breaking the rules, and U.S. involvement

As a new political reality takes form in Israel, we try and estimate what a Netanyahu-Bennett handover would look like, and what are the challenges of this unusual coalition.
 
Yonit and Jonathan are joined by CNN's Jake Tapper for a conversation about politics, Judaism, his new book and his semester at Tel Aviv University.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 
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In With the New - with Jake Tapper

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