Ask Haviv Anything

Hosted by veteran journalist Haviv Rettig Gur, this listener-driven show tackles the "big and painful" questions about history, identity, and Middle East geopolitics. It’s known for taking complex, high-stakes topics and breaking them down with intellectual honesty and a touch of humor. 

Call Me Back with Dan Senor 

Hosted by the co-author of Start-Up Nation, this podcast "un-breaks" the news by exploring the structural forces shaping Israel and the Jewish world. Senor often brings in heavy-hitting analysts like Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal to discuss deep-seated geopolitical shifts. 

Unholy: Two Jews on the News 

A weekly dialogue between two media powerhouses: Yonit Levi (Israel’s Channel 12) and Jonathan Freedland (The Guardian). It offers a unique "bridge" between the Israeli perspective and the Global Jewish diaspora, debating current events with sharp wit and high-level journalism 

Jewish History Lab 

Led by historian Dr. Henry Abramson, this project provides academic-level lectures on the vast span of Jewish history. It’s designed for those who want a deep, chronological, and thematic understanding of the Jewish experience, ranging from ancient times to the modern era. 

Unpacking Israeli History

Hosted by Dr. Noam Weissman, this show dives into the "nitty-gritty" of the most controversial and pivotal moments in Israel’s past. It’s perfect for listeners who want to understand the why behind the headlines without the usual political spin.  

Ask Project 

A unique street-interview series by Corey Gil-Shuster. Rather than experts in a studio, Gil-Shuster takes questions from his YouTube audience directly to Israelis and Palestinians on the street, providing a raw, unedited look at what the average person in the region actually thinks. 

The Story of the Jews (PBS): 

This five-part documentary series hosted by Simon Schama explores 3,000 years of Jewish history. It follows Schama across the globe—from Russia and Egypt to Israel and New York—tracing the cultural imprint of the Jewish people and their narrative of resilience and rebirth.

The Fabelmans (2022): 

Inspired by Steven Spielberg’s own upbringing, this semi-autobiographical film follows young Sammy Fabelman in post-WWII Arizona. It depicts his discovery of a shattering family secret and how the power of filmmaking helps him navigate the truth about his family and himself.

The Band’s Visit (2007): 

An Egyptian police orchestra, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, travels to Israel for a performance but ends up in the wrong town due to a pronunciation error. Stranded in a remote desert village, the musicians and the local Israelis find common ground through music and shared loneliness.

Fauda (2015): 

This intense Israeli action series follows a top undercover commander in the IDF who comes out of retirement to hunt for a Palestinian militant he thought he had previously killed. The show is noted for its gritty, dual-perspective look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Enemies, A Love Story (1989): 

Based on the Isaac Bashevis Singer novel, this film follows Herman Broder, a Holocaust survivor living in postwar New York. He finds himself entangled in a complicated web with three women: his current wife, his mistress, and his first wife whom he long believed was dead.

There Is Another Way (2024/2025): A documentary directed by Stephen Apkon that follows "Combatants for Peace," a group of former Israeli and Palestinian enemy combatants. It explores their commitment to non-violence and their struggle to maintain a path toward peace in the wake of escalating violence and the events of October 7th.

A Serious Man (2009): 

Set in 1967 Minnesota, this Coen Brothers dark comedy tells the story of Larry Gopnik, a physics professor whose life is falling apart. As he faces a failing marriage and professional ruin, he seeks guidance from three different rabbis to understand his misfortune, only to be met with baffling parables.

Once Upon a Time in America (1984): 

Sergio Leone’s sprawling epic follows a group of Jewish gangsters in New York City over five decades. The film traces their journey from childhood in the Lower East Side through the Prohibition era and their eventual reunion in old age, focusing on themes of loyalty, betrayal, and regret.

Inglourious Basterds (2009): 

Quentin Tarantino’s "alternate history" WWII film tracks two parallel plots to assassinate Nazi leadership in occupied France: one by a young French-Jewish cinema owner and the other by a team of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds."

Life Is Beautiful (1997): 

A Jewish-Italian father named Guido uses his wit and imagination to protect his young son from the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. By pretending the internment is part of an elaborate game with a tank as the grand prize, he preserves his son’s innocence amidst tragedy.

Waltz with Bashir (2008): 

This animated documentary follows filmmaker Ari Folman as he seeks to recover lost memories of his time as a young soldier during the 1982 Lebanon War. Through interviews with fellow veterans, the film explores the nature of memory, trauma, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Crossing Delancey (1988): A

A romantic comedy about Isabelle, a modern woman working in a high-brow New York bookstore who feels caught between her sophisticated social circle and her grandmother’s traditional world on the Lower East Side, where a matchmaker has paired her with a local pickle vendor.

Alex Edelman: Just for Us (2024): 

This Netflix/HBO special documents Edelman’s real-life experience covertly attending a meeting of white nationalists in Queens. The comedian uses the encounter to explore themes of Jewish identity, assimilation, and empathy in a performance that originally garnered acclaim on Broadway.

In Search of Israeli Cuisine

This mouth-watering documentary travelogue follows James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Solomonov (of Philadelphia’s Zahav) as he returns to his birthplace to explore Israel's exploding food scene. Traveling to fine restaurants, home kitchens, and street markets, the film paints a portrait of a diverse nation through the culinary traditions of more than 100 cultures—including Jewish, Arab, Druze, and Christian—while asking the complex question: is there such a thing as a truly "Israeli" cuisine?