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PODCAST

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

history

All Episodes

00:19:16

103: Why is the two state solution so difficult to...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/04/03

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: why is the two state solution so difficult to achieve? 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

en

00:42:32

102: Freedom under missile fire, the Passover story,...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/28

Passover is just around the corner. So we sat down with the ever-wise Rabbi David Stav to dig into the inexplicable contradictions at the heart of the holiday's traditional Seder meal -- and of Jewish life writ large.In the Seder's text, the Hagaddah, we are commanded to declare that “now we are slaves, but next year we shall be free” -- even if we live in freedom and prosperity. And we are commanded to thank God for "taking us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, and from

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01:05:05

101: Will Trump finish the job in Iran? With Prof....

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/25

Trump says a deal may be coming to end the Iran war. Netanyahu says it could protect Israel’s interests. Iran’s regime says little that can be trusted. So what is really happening? Prof. Dan Schueftan returns to the podcast to help us step back from the daily headlines to ask the much bigger question: If this war ends now, who actually wins? And what’s at stake? From the Strait of Hormuz to the ideology of martyrdom, we ask whether free societies still have the nerve to confront movements built on

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00:47:32

100: They escaped Europe — then parachuted back in,...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/22

In 1944, as the gears of the Holocaust turned toward Hungary, 32 young Jewish volunteers did the unthinkable: they parachuted into the genocide. They were a motley bunch, including a celebrated poet and a nearsighted 40-year-old pacifist. They were sent by the British to rescue downed pilots and by the Zionist leadership to save Jews. They stood almost no chance of success, and by every military metric, they failed. They organized no uprisings; they liberated no camps. Yet, as Matti Friedman reveals

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00:38:55

Episode 99: Are we winning?

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/18

The rules of engagement just shattered. From the death of Ali Khamenei to the elimination of wartime mastermind Ali Larijani, Iran’s leadership hasn't just been eroded—it’s been erased. As the regime retreats into a fractured "mosaic" of local commanders and a collapsing barter economy, the US-Israeli coalition is pivoting to a final, surgical strike on the regime’s last lifeline: its internal energy grid. Can a regime built on the theology of "resistance" survive when it can

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01:16:13

Episode 98: What Israel’s founding fathers knew about...

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2026/03/15

Terrorism scholar Dr. Bruce Hoffman joins the podcast to guide us through one of the most morally explosive chapters in Zionist and Israeli history: the Irgun, Lehi, the British Mandate, and the violent campaign that helped force Britain out of Palestine. Moving from Allenby’s conquest of Jerusalem to the King David Hotel bombing, the Lord Moyne assassination, the hanging of the British sergeants, and the bitter intra-Jewish “Saison,” the conversation refuses easy answers and asks the hardest

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00:57:21

Episode 97: Can America and Israel finish the job? A...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/11

What is this war really about, and how does it end? We sit down with warfare scholar John Spencer to explore not just the military campaign itself, but the larger stakes of this war: Whether the US, Israel and their growing list of regional allies will be able and willing (two separate questions) to carry this war to a comprehensive conclusion, one that begins the process, even if it is slow and difficult, of bringing down a regime built on terror, proxies, and chaos, or whether the world will once

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00:56:31

Episode 96: The first war Israel fought in English,...

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2026/03/09

Military analyst Yaakov Katz joins the show to break down the "first Israeli war fought in English" -- a total merger of Israeli and American military might against Iran. From the high-stakes testing of futuristic US weapon systems designed to intimidate China to the "criminal negligence" of Israel's failed PR strategy, Katz exposes how this conflict is a global chess match where the target isn't just Tehran, but the entire world order.--This episode is sponsored by an

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01:06:16

Episode 95: The idea that broke the Middle East, with...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/05

In the middle of war sirens and missile attacks, Haviv Gur sits down with Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman for a sweeping conversation about one of the biggest questions of our time: Why have some societies declined while others thrive? They trace the ideological roots of modern Islamist movements, the “politics of blame” that has hollowed out regimes like Iran, and the deep miscalculation that led Israel’s enemies to believe a liberal democracy would collapse under pressure. Instead, Israel

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00:36:54

Episode 94: America's war, not Israel's

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/03/02

As missile sirens wail over Jerusalem and families crowd into bomb shelters on the eve of Purim, this episode steps back from the noise and the slogans to ask a harder question: What war are we actually watching? In a moment when pundits argue over Israel, regime change, and partisan loyalties, I lay out a different frame -- two chessboards, one regional and one global -- and argue that what looks like another Middle Eastern conflagration is in fact a pivotal move in a far larger US–China

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02:06:47

Episode 93: How to win Iran's forever war

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/25

The conflict with Iran isn’t just about nukes. It's about a revolutionary martyrdom ideology hiding in plain sight. In this explosive deep dive, we uncover the ideological engine behind the “Muqawama,” the Iran-led "resistance axis" — a fusion of Marx, Mao, martyrdom, and Shiite theology that teaches its followers that suffering is strength and devastation is victory. From Hamas to Hezbollah to Tehran itself, this doctrine explains why bombs don’t deter the regime — and why its

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00:17:17

Episode 92: Why does Israel hate UNRWA?

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/22

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: Why does Israel hate UNRWA?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

en

01:01:13

Episode 91: Is the Iran war about China? A...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/18

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

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00:16:03

Episode 90: Is it "fascist" to believe a state can...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/15

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

en

00:14:35

Episode 89: Who benefits from continuing the...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/12

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,

en

00:55:18

Episode 88: America's "24% problem" with young...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/07

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

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00:21:04

Episode 87: How can you support a better Palestinian...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/05

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

en

01:11:57

Episode 86: Alliances and rivalries in a new Middle...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/02/02

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

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00:58:30

Episode 85: How knowing your story makes you...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/01/31

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 Open Dor 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

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00:47:33

Episode 84: Why soldiers wept when Ran came home,...

Ask Haviv Anything ·

2026/01/29

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

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108 results

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