Unholy: Two Jews on the News

Unholy Media
  • 4.7 (527)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

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

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  1. 4d ago

    Rock Bottom Politics and the Art of the If-Pology

    Seven weeks out from an election that in many ways is a referendum on culpability for October 7th, Benjamin Netanyahu tells Channel 14 that if only they had woken him earlier that fateful day, everything would have been different — and his wife goes considerably further about Yair Golan, a man who drove towards the gunfire that morning and saved lives. Yonit and Jonathan take Mrs Netanyahu’s accusation apart, then turn to the week's most improbable story: Yoav Segalovich, a Jewish former police commander, joining Mansour Abbas's Islamist party - because the crime wave destroying Israel’s Arab communities needs someone with a proven ability to fix it. Plus a Channel 13 poll that should worry the anti-Netanyahu bloc; Britain's expected ban on trade in goods linked to the West Bank - and why Greece and Finland moved in the other direction. Our Chutzpah award goes to a perennial winner with a new map, and the Mensch of the Week award is split three ways between brothers.   00:00:00 a US-Iran war nobody is calling a war 00:03:39 Netanyahu on Channel 14: if only they had woken me up 00:08:03 Yair Golan, October 7th, and a smear the hosts reject 00:14:26 Netanyahu's advisors, the pool party and the Qatar accusations 00:17:50 The Channel 13 poll and the shape of the Israeli right 00:22:54 Yoav Segalovich joins Mansour Abbas and Ra'am 00:30:27 Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Ron Dermer and the hostage families 00:35:39 Britain, the E1 corridor, and why Greece and Finland moved 00:39:09 Chutzpah of the Week and Mensch of the Week 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. 6d ago

    Gordon Brown on Nationalist Populism, Israel and Hope

    The former UK Prime Minister and Chancellor joins Yonit and Jonathan for the latest of our Unholy Conversations — on the void populist nationalists have moved into, on the difference between hope and optimism, on the father whose projector slides taught him the kings of Israel before the kings of England, and on the Middle East peace deal he watched come apart in 2009. Chapters: 00:06 Introduction to Gordon Brown and His New Book 05:48 The Connection Between Nationalism and Community Decline 12:46 Personal Responsibility and Moral Leadership 17:23 Addressing Anti-Semitism and Global Issues 22:41 Hope vs. Optimism in Times of Crisis 30:13 Britain's Role in Global Peace Efforts 32:27 Personal Reflections and Motivations of Gordon Brown   🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Gordon Brown on Nationalist Populism, Israel and Hope

  3. Aug 31 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    Bonus Episode - The Great Summer Q&A with Yonit and Jonathan

    This is a special subscriber-only Unholy, built entirely from your questions. Natalie wants to know how Israel's electoral system actually works, and whether the small parties still deciding whether to run together could reshape the map before nominations close. Adi asks how much Washington still moves the needle on an Israeli campaign, and whether Donald Trump's endorsement — or his silence — still carries weight. Another listener wonders whether it is worth flying home just to vote. Yonit and Jonathan also turn the questions on themselves: what two decades of hiding an opinion looks like next to writing one for a living, and what, after everything, still makes each of them proud of Israel, and what still disappoints them. Question answered in this episode: Natalie — How does the Israeli electoral system work? Nadav — Could smaller parties merge before the election? Adi — How much does Washington still shape the campaign? ( A diaspora listener — Is it worth flying home to vote? Steven — How do you two differ as journalists? Lawrence — What makes you proudest of Israel, and most disappointed?

  4. Aug 27

    The 60-Day Countdown, Sledgehammer Politics -- and Dolly Parton

    Join as Friend of the pod: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Unholypod   With sixty days to go until the Israeli elections, the political jockeying enters into overdrive. Yonit and Jonathan break down the high-stakes coalition arithmetic facing both Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, from the crowded field of small right-wing parties—including the entrance of retired general Ofer Winter—to the battle on the center ground. Meanwhile, alarming footage of settler violence in the West Bank and provocative stunts by far-right lawmakers raise hard questions and trigger fierce international blowback from London to Washington. Plus: an election ad pulled on grounds of chutzpah so extreme, even its own party couldn't defend it, and a Mensch of the Week whose Jewish connection nobody saw coming.     0:00 End-of-Summer Chaos 1:50 Sixty Days to Israel's Election: Eisenkot vs Netanyahu 11:56 Lieberman Scenarios and Ben Gvir's TikTok Rise 16:06 Mansour Abbas and the Two-State Question 20:58 E1 Construction and the Wave of Settler Violence 31:10 The Case for Releasing Marwan Barghouti 35:12 Chutzpah of the Week: Aryeh Deri's Shas Ad 36:36 Mensch of the Week: Dolly Parton   🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. Aug 25

    Andy Nyman on saying "F-You" to Hitler on stage

    It's the end of summer, and Yonit and Jonathan are taking a break from the news with a nugget of pure Jewish joy. Andy Nyman — the West End actor, writer, director and magician currently starring as Max Bialystock in The Producers, and previously as an acclaimed Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof — joins the show for an Unholy Conversation. Why does Mel Brooks' nearly-60-year-old joke about Hitler still land? What makes Max Bialystock - who could have been Tevye’s grandson - so beloved, even in his desperation? And is the Broadway musical, as a form, secretly a Jewish one? Andy answers the question by giving a rare performance of a musical classic — rendered in Yiddish. You won’t want to miss it. In this episode: The Genius of Mel Brooks: How The Producers transforms satire into an act of healing and an uncompromising "f**k you" to history. From Tevye to Bialystock: Exploring the thread connecting the working-class milkman of Anatevka to the scheming, desperate, yet deeply human Broadway hustler. Art in Times of Darkness: A rare behind-the-scenes look at performing comedic Jewish art—and deciding to keep a daring scene in the show—in the wake of global tragedy. Exclusive Live Performances: Andy delivers three bespoke, stripped-back performances directly in the studio: "We Can Do It" (The Producers) "If I Were a Rich Man" (Fiddler on the Roof) A haunting, tender Yiddish translation of "Hushabye Mountain" (originally by the Sherman Brothers).   00:06 Introduction to Unholy Conversations 00:09 Introduction to Andy Nyman 01:57 The Enduring Appeal of The Producers 05:50 Mel Brooks and Jewish Healing through Humor 08:29 Defiance in Comedy: Pulling Down Pants 09:59 Exploring Max Bialystok's Character 17:30 Max Bialystok and Tevye: A Generational Connection 18:23 The Complexity of Tevye 22:58 The Essence of Fiddler on the Roof 30:44 The Current Jewish Climate 35:40 The Jewish Influence in Musical Theatre 42:32 A Yiddish Lullaby: Bridging Cultures 44:24 The Importance of Representation 44:25 Personal Connections and Impact   🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Andy Nyman on saying "F-You" to Hitler on stage

  6. Aug 20

    Bibi's Primary Battles, Gaza Deadlines, and the Plus-sign "Plot"

    Send us your questions at: https://www.speakpipe.com/Unholy Visit our website to learn more about Unholy and become a friend of the pod: www.unholy-podcast.com   Sixty-eight days from the election, the hardest problems on Benjamin Netanyahu's desk are arriving from Washington. Jared Kushner is meeting Hamas directly, and the Gaza withdrawal deadlines he is carrying — thirty, sixty and ninety days — all land inside the Israeli campaign. Yonit and Jonathan read the timing as an unfriendly act rather than an accident, and ask what Donald Trump wants in return for the endorsement he keeps withholding. Also this week: the anti-Netanyahu bloc still cannot say who leads it, the IDF publishes its decisions in five Gaza cases, and the prime minister calls Britain an Islamic Republic on a podcast. Plus a Chutzpah award for an American broadcaster who has found proof of Israeli hostility to Christians in a mathematical symbol, and a Mensch of the Week who proves that sometimes even the most heartbreaking stories can have a happy ending.   00:00 Intro 04:04 68 days out: blocs, mergers and the electoral threshold 10:03 Eisenkot, Bennett and who leads the anti-Netanyahu bloc 14:32 Kushner meets Hamas and Washington's Gaza deadlines 19:59 The IDF's decisions in five Gaza cases 22:24 Huckabee on settler violence, Iran, and Trump on Oman 27:47 Coming up: Simon Sebag Montefiore on the Middle East 28:33 Netanyahu calls Britain an Islamic Republic 33:33 Central Synagogue and the cost to the diaspora 35:35 Chutzpah of the Week 38:56 Mensch of the Week 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. Aug 18

    The Middle East Cauldron - with Simon Sebag Montefiore

    Acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore returns to Unholy to discuss his sweeping new book, The Cauldron: A History of the Middle East between 1900 and 2026. He tells Yonit and Jonathan that understanding the region today requires starting at the dawn of the 20th century — thanks to the long shadow still cast by the Ottoman Empire and its collapse. They talk of the often underestimated significance of Saudi Arabia, the convulsions that followed the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the extent to which Israel is - unexpectedly - a Middle Eastern state like any other.   ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:52 Why the book starts in 1900 02:49 Ibn Saud and the House of Saud 07:31 1979 and the Iranian revolution 09:55 The empire states, none of them Arab 13:13 Israel as a post-Ottoman state 18:22 Ben Gurion, Ataturk, Reza Shah 21:46 Middleness, pipelines and Haifa 26:35 The 1840 Damascus blood libel 30:02 Purity tests and historians' nerve 33:58 The King and Britain's minorities     🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The Middle East Cauldron - with Simon Sebag Montefiore

  8. Aug 13

    Clash with the White House, clash on the West Bank

    Benjamin Netanyahu has said no to Donald Trump's 15-point Gaza plan, and the refusal is flat rather than fudged. In the West Bank, extremist settlers have besieged two Palestinian families in the village of Qusra, apparently hoping to take their homes. The IDF went in but came away with mission very much unaccomplished. With Yonit away, Jonathan is joined by Hadley Freeman, columnist for London’s Sunday Times and author of the acclaimed memoir, House of Glass, for what is an Unholy first: two voices from the Jewish diaspora and no Israeli in the room. They talk through the week's news and reflect on what three years since October 7 has done to Jewish life outside Israel, why Israel-Palestine has become the litmus test of the American left and whether anybody speaks for the diaspora.   Plus: a Chutzpah nominee that reached a Belfast stage via Sweden, and a Mensch that arrives from Australia by way of Yiddish.   The Bashevis Singers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G531cgjplcM 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
527 Ratings

About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Unholy Media
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    363
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Unholy Media
  • Show Website
    Unholy: Two Jews on the News
  • Provider
    Unholy Media LTD

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