Ask Haviv Anything

Haviv Rettig Gur

"Ask Haviv Anything" is a podcast about history, a podcast you, dear listener, will help to shape and direct, focusing not just on what I want to talk about but on what you want to learn and discuss. Nothing is off limits. We're going to talk about big and painful things, and also beautiful and fascinating things, wars and identities and painful history. And also more light-hearted things. Humor matters, especially when facing tough subjects. Join me on this journey. A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur

  1. -5 H

    Episode 91: Is the Iran war about China? A conversation with Melissa Chen

    In this episode, we confront a critical "blind spot" in the Israeli (and too often broader Western) consciousness: The role of the People’s Republic of China as the silent architect behind the Middle East’s most volatile threats. Guest Melissa Chen, managing director at Strategy Risks, pulls back the curtain on a sobering reality where China acts as the sole guarantor of Iran’s survival, bypassing global sanctions to fuel a regime that mirrors its own anti-Western ambitions. From the export of advanced repression technologies that stifle domestic dissent in Tehran to the algorithmic amplification of antisemitism on platforms like TikTok, Chen argues that the "Axis of Resistance" is increasingly powered by Chinese infrastructure. Our conversation is a reflective warning on the nature of "unrestricted warfare," where the battlefield has shifted from kinetic borders to the granular data in our electric vehicles and the hearts and minds of a polarized West. It is a necessary, albeit chilling, look at how a regime thousands of miles away has become a central, malign actor in the survival of the Jewish state and the stability of the liberal world order. — For more than a century, the Technion has powered Israel. Its graduates built the nation’s roads and bridges, its water systems and electrical grid. Israel’s high-tech industry emerged from the Technion — the very foundation of the Startup Nation. Today, as Israel recovers from the devastation of war, it needs the Technion more than ever. Technion scientists are developing new energy sources, sustainable food and water solutions, and breakthrough medical therapies—creating innovations for a better world that will also reboot Israel’s economy.   You want to help make Israel safe and strong. By supporting the Technion, you’re investing in the people and ideas that will rebuild Israel for a better future. Because rebuilding isn’t just about restoring what was lost—it’s about creating what comes next. The Technion built Israel. Now, the Technion will rebuild Israel. Join us. Visit ats.org/rebuild — If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    1 h 1 min

  2. -2 DIAS

    Episode 90: Is it "fascist" to believe a state can belong to a specific people?

    Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East. Our current question: Is it "fascist" to believe a state can belong to a specific people? If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    16 min

  3. -6 DIAS

    Episode 89: Who benefits from continuing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

    Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East. Our current question: Who benefits from continuing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    15 min

  4. 7/02

    Episode 88: America's "24% problem" with young antisemitism, with Jonah Platt

    Is American Jewish identity weakening before our eyes? Are American Jews, caught in a whirlwind of hatred directed both at Israel and at the Jews themselves, turning their backs on their Jewish identity? Jonah Platt joins the podcast to talk about the growing numbers of Jews moving in the opposite direction: From quiet assimilation to unapologetic, intentional pride. We confront the sobering data on the rise of antisemitism among Gen Z and discuss Jonah's defiant hope that the "switched-on" generation will reclaim its story -- both in Hollywood and beyond. A great deal depends not on the young, but on their parents. American Jews must move past defensive anxiety to become a "pillar of fire" for their children. -- This episode is sponsored anonymously and dedicated to "all those who want a better understanding of the world," including our audience community. Thank you to our sponsors. -- If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    55 min

  5. 5/02

    Episode 87: How can you support a better Palestinian future?

    Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East. Our current question: How can you support a better Palestinian future? If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    21 min

  6. 2/02

    Episode 86: Alliances and rivalries in a new Middle East, with Dan Schueftan

    The inimitable Prof. Dan Schueftan joins Haviv to break down a "profoundly dangerous" turn in the Middle East. With Saudi Arabia shifting away from its alliance with Israel and the Emirates and Turkey consolidating a "puppet state" in Syria, the regional map is being redrawn. Schueftan warns that the "moderate axis" has blinked, leaving Israel to face a sophisticated Turkish adversary that is ideologically rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood and strategically positioned to disrupt Israeli interests from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. But despite these threats, Prof. Schueftan offers a powerful and much-needed reality check: Israel has never been stronger. Jews are the only people in the region who don't seem to grasp its power. Israel is currently in its best strategic position in history -- a 21st-century military and technological power that has outlasted every previous attempt at its destruction. -- This episode was sponsored by Alex Verjovsky. "I want to dedicate this episode to my wife Betty, without whom I would not be the person I am today. When we started our lives together, you believed in me when I had little more than a promise, something I spent the next thirty-something years trying to live up to. As we begin the countdown to our fortieth anniversary, it’s now your turn to enjoy the fruits of that journey. So get ready for another forty years together, exploring, learning, asking questions, and growing old side by side. "Ask Haviv Anything has become a place of learning and discovery, and one of the few spaces left where ideas, rather than dogmas are openly discussed and we love listening to it and talking about it." -- If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    1 h 12 min

  7. 31/01

    Episode 85: How knowing your story makes you invincible, with Noam Weissman

    In these strange times, it is easier than ever for a Jew to learn -- and easier than ever to remain ignorant. We sit down with Dr. Noam Weissman, executive vice president of the educational nonprofit OpenDor Media, to tackle a looming crisis: a generation of Jews who no longer know their own story. From Harvard Law students paralyzed by campus slogans to the staggering reality that 62% of Jewish day school students cannot define Zionism, this episode exposes the "malpractice" of outdated advocacy and offers a better blueprint for the future. What would a better Israel education look like? Haviv and Noam explore how history and identity can transform a vulnerable community into an invincible one—shifting the next generation from passive spectators in the stands to active players in the Jewish game. -- This episode is sponsored by Max and Susan Reichenthal in honor of Friends of the IDF (FIDF), which works to ensure that the soldiers of the IDF have the support they need during their service. Max and Susan asked to dedicate the episode to the IDF soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect the people of Israel. We thank them for their continued support. -- If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    59 min

  8. 29/01

    Episode 84: Why soldiers wept when Ran came home, lessons from Tu Bishvat

    This week, Israel finally brought home the remains of its last hostage, 24-year-old Ran Gvili. To outsiders, the sheer scale of the national sacrifice and the collective exhalation of relief that followed his return can seem like a mystery. Every nation honors its fallen, but few go to the lengths Israelis do to reclaim a body from the hands of the enemy. In this episode, we use the upcoming holiday of Tu Bishvat as an entryway into the Jewish psyche. We explore the idea of "hesed shel Emet" -- the "true kindness" of a dignified burial, which is called "true" because it can never be reciprocated. We dive into a world where a dignified burial is more than a ritual; it is a declaration that even in death, a human being remains a reflection of the divine. Through the teachings of the Malbim and the Sfat Emet, we re-examine Tu Bishvat not as a simple children’s holiday, but as a sophisticated meditation on the human condition. From the sap stirring in the dead of winter to the "inner light" hidden within the shells of the Seven Species, we discover a "New Year of the Human"—a day that honors our unique mission to find meaning in our mortality and uncover the sacred within the broken. -- This episode was sponsored by an anonymous donor who asked to dedicate it to all our fallen soldiers and to the sacrifices of the reservists and their families, from October 7 until today. Thank you for your sponsorship. -- If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

    48 min
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Sobre

"Ask Haviv Anything" is a podcast about history, a podcast you, dear listener, will help to shape and direct, focusing not just on what I want to talk about but on what you want to learn and discuss. Nothing is off limits. We're going to talk about big and painful things, and also beautiful and fascinating things, wars and identities and painful history. And also more light-hearted things. Humor matters, especially when facing tough subjects. Join me on this journey. A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur

Informação

  • Autoria
    Haviv Rettig Gur
  • Anos em atividade
    2025 - 2026
  • Episódios
    96
  • Classificação
    Para todos
  • Copyright
    © Haviv Rettig Gur
  • Site do programa
    Ask Haviv Anything

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