The Overlook

Dominique Hoffman

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED WEEKLY

The Overlook is a weekly news podcast hosted by Dominique Hoffman, highlighting critical events in the East for a Christian audience in the West. How should we think about the news coming from the region? Join us weekly for a faith-based analysis and breakdown of how events in the Near East impact our security and political life in the West, and how, as Christians, we can advocate for the region.

2025-05-05

Is the Middle East Moving Towards Cooperation?

This April, the N7 Initiative convened a dialogue on the future of the I2U2 Group in New Delhi, India, on April 23, 2025. The event brought together senior officials, private sector leaders, and policy experts from the four countries participating in I2U2: India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States. It was the first convening of this group in almost two years. The I2U2 Group was formed in July 2022 to improve connectivity between the countries and tackle challenges that cut across the Middle East and Indo-Pacific and impact the United States. In today's episode, Dominique speaks with N7 Associate Director Emily Milliken to discuss the potential of the Israel-India relationship, how increased cooperation with the I2U2 group is related to the Abraham Accords, and the possibility of seeing them expand to more member states.

24 min
2025-04-30

Yale's attack on Jews this Holocaust Remembrance Day

Antisemitism at Yale University has become a significant concern, particularly following the October 2023 Hamas attacks. Jewish students have reported increased hostility, including verbal harassment, physical intimidation, and exclusion from campus events. These incidents have prompted federal investigations, administrative actions, and widespread debate over the balance between free speech and campus safety. Yale's response has been influenced by federal scrutiny. In April 2025, the university revoked the student organization status of Yalies4Palestine, a group involved in recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations, citing violations of university policies. The U.S. Department of Education's Task Force to Combat Antisemitism praised this decision. However, some students and faculty argue that Yale's actions were motivated more by the threat of federal funding cuts than by a commitment to addressing antisemitism. Over the last week, Yale has once again been in the news as pro-Palestinian students harassed and intimidated Jewish students during Holocaust Remembrance Day, highlighting the dangerous repeat of history flourishing on American campuses.

26 min
2025-04-29

The Strange Death of Experts

In today's episode, Dominique brings Isaac Woodward back for a part two reaction to the Douglas Murray-Dave Smith debate, focusing on the facts of the Israel-Hamas war, the nature of warfare, and the death of the expert class in a post-COVID world primed to accept conspiracy theories platformed on new media channels. The rise of decentralized information and the rejection of academic institutions and historical methods has led to the rise of alternative histories and war reports that fuel misinformation and anti-Israel campaigns.

1h 6m
2025-04-26

Hamas Bankrupt, End of War Near?

In 2023, Hamas was emboldened by the weak foreign policy of the Biden administration, which released billions of dollars in frozen assets to the Iranian regime, directly funding Hamas in the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration signals a stark foreign policy shift; the U.S. has returned to a policy of intolerance for terrorism and Islamism. All of Hamas' key funding channels have been disrupted: Israel has cut off aid that Hamas would sell to their starving population, Trump has cut off UNRWA funding and reimposed a maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime, which has significantly cut money flow to Gaza. But we need to remember this was never a war Hamas could win. Hamas was always the weaker actor surviving on the pressure of an international anti-Israel campaign. Hamas going bankrupt is downstream of strong foreign policy. Despite the reality that Hamas and Iran are financially diminished, neither entity should be underestimated. As the U.S. presses for a resolution favorable to Israel and Hamas weakens due to financial constraints, the West should not forget Hamas is not just an organization but an ideology— the latter of which will take a lot more than defunding to eliminate. It is the economic grievances and disenfranchised Gazan youth that will pose the most significant difficulty in a long-term solution to this war.

10 min
2025-04-24

The Christian Genocides the West Won't Talk About

During the First World War, approximately 1.2 million Armenian Christians were killed in a genocide carried out by the Ottoman Turks. Motivated by fears of Armenian involvement in the war and using the chaos as cover, the Ottomans pursued an ethno-nationalist and ideological agenda. This ethno-religious conflict continues today between the modern nation-states of Azerbaijan (backed by Turkey) and Armenia, who have fought for decades over disputed territories. The most recent instance of ethnic cleansing culminated in 2022 with a nine-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing indigenous Armenians to flee under Azerbaijan's brutal campaign—which included the destruction of Christian sites, the killing of Armenians, and the desecration of Christian cemeteries. Jackie Abramian joins Dominique to discuss Christian persecution in the Middle East and Africa. Jackie's docuseries, "Faces of Persecution: Exploring Global Religious Oppressions," is an educational documentary featuring inspiring and insightful interviews with global scholars, experts, and victims of religious persecution. The series amplifies the tireless advocacy of grassroots organizations and champions of multi-faith religious rights. It examines the plight of Yazidi Christians persecuted by ISIS, Armenian Christians targeted by Azerbaijani and Turkish forces, and Nigerian Christians under attack by radicalized Islamist Fulani herders. These are the persecuted Christians the West has forgotten.

21 min
2025-04-17

Senator Van Hollen, what about the hostages in Gaza?

The media campaign to make a verified MS-13 gang member a martyr, reimaging him as an innocent "Maryland father" wrongly identified and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, highlights the moral depravity of the Left. Back in 2012, Kilmar Ábrego García entered the United States illegally. In 2019, he was identified as a member of MS-13 by an anti-gang squad. While the media is painting the Trump administration as the chief villain in this manufactured saga, both an immigration judge and an appellate immigration judge agreed to his deportation. The Trump administration has made it clear: if you are a foreign student on Columbia's campus organizing rallies in the name of Hamas, or if you pose a threat to U.S. security as a member of MS-13, you forfeit the privilege of living in America. This concept has been lost on the political Left, who not only disagree with this common-sense policy but have also manufactured outrage for these violent offenders and radical ideologies. So, what did Sen. Van Hollen have to say about the hostages in Gaza? Back in 2023, he did condemn the atrocities of October 7th, but subsequently adopted language similar to the Biden Administration, which pushed for a ceasefire (something Hamas proved incapable of upholding). In an interview in March of 2024 on Face the Nation, he insisted that claims UNRWA has ties to Hamas are unfounded lies. Despite evidence to support the contrary, his claim did not age well. In October of 2024, 9 UNRWA employees were fired for participating in the October 7th massacre.

21 min
2025-04-16

The Rise of Right-Wing Revisionist History

The Joe Rogan Experience is the largest podcast in the world. Last week, Joe Rogan had Douglas Murray and Dave Smith on to debate Israel and the growing anti-Jewish sentiment in Libertarian and Right Wing politics. This fringe conspiratorial faction of the Right, now known as the Woke Right, has moved mainstream with conspiratorial claims about the Jews, their role throughout history and catastrophes, including a revisionist history that suggests Churchill is the chief villain of World War II, not Hitler. Douglas Murray points out the hypocrisy and the falsehoods of this growing viewpoint. Dominique and Isaac Woodward walk the viewer through the first part of this debate and point to key Woke Right figures to help paint a complete picture of the sinister phenomenon happening on the Right.

1h 5m
2025-04-11

Will Iran Engage Diplomatically?

Tomorrow, the U.S. and Iran will meet in Oman to discuss President Trump's demands to end the regime's terror in the region and through its race to nuclear arms. ‪Lisa Daftari of The Foreign Desk joins Dominique to discuss Iranian aggression, the emboldment of the Iranian regime, and the limitations of diplomacy. Iran has demonstrated it is committed to regional destabilization, the war against Israel, and aggression towards the United States. Diplomatic talks with Iran have never been successful in the past, and while the Trump administration has signaled talks are the preferred channel, the United States must be realistic when it comes to the regime's zero-sum objective for regional instability and hegemonic ambitions. As Lisa reminds the audience, the U.S. should not underestimate what Iran is capable of and willing to inflict on the region and the U.S. to achieve its ideological aims.

25 min

TRAILER

The Philos Project Podcast | Trailer

The Philos Project podcast is a weekly news podcast highlighting critical events in the East for a Christian audience in the West. As Christians, how should we think about the news coming from the region? Join us weekly for a faith-based analysis and breakdown of how events in the Near East impact our security and political life in the West and how, as Christians, we can advocate for the region.

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The Overlook is a weekly news podcast hosted by Dominique Hoffman, highlighting critical events in the East for a Christian audience in the West. How should we think about the news coming from the region? Join us weekly for a faith-based analysis and breakdown of how events in the Near East impact our security and political life in the West, and how, as Christians, we can advocate for the region.

Creator

Dominique Hoffman
Years Active

2024 - 2025
Episodes

73
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Dominique Hoffman
Show Website

The Overlook