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PODCAST

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht

Don"t Know Much About is a show devoted to unpacking contentious topics--to clarify the complex and empower people to understand historical and political events.

history judaism

All Episodes

68:29

Arrivederci Italy: Monica Osborne on Italy's Jews

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/11/12

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, award-winning journalist and storyteller Monica Osborne joins Naya to discuss the difficult decision she’s had to make: leaving Italy amid the alarming rise of antizionism. This conversation was inspired by Monica’s recent piece in the Times of Israel, "Italy's Jews are in Danger," in which she chronicles how quickly Italy has changed and how the normalization of antizionism has placed its Jewish community at risk. On this episode, Monica recounts wha...

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68:29

This Far, No Further: On the Need for Jewish Rebels

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/10/29

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Naya speaks with Israeli-American writer and award-winning journalist Benjamin Kerstein about his new book, Self Defense: A Jewish Manifesto. The thesis of the book can be summed up in a single declaration: “This far, no further.” It is a call for Jews to stop accepting abuse, to draw firm boundaries, and to look evil directly in the eye, without shame in naming it. This message is especially urgent because, for decades, Jews have been forced into the...

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68:29

The Courage to Name It: Andrew Pessin's Journey...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/10/22

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with philosopher, professor, and author Andrew Pessin, one of the earliest Jewish academics to warn about the rise of antizionism within higher education. Pessin reflects on his own “Herzl moment,” the point at which he recognized that antizionism is not a political critique but a modern guise of Jew-hatred. Drawing from personal experience, including being targeted by students and colleagues for his Zionist identity, h...

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58:06

Armed and Jewish: The Case forJewish Gun Ownership

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/10/15

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Adam L. Fuller, Professor of Political Science at Youngstown State University, to discuss his new book, "The Armed Jew: The Case for Jewish Gun Ownership." While the title might sound like a call for Jews to take up arms, the book is, in fact, a compelling exploration of how a people long defined as “the people of the book” may also need to see themselves as “the people of the sword.” Naya opens the conversation with a c...

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18:53

Reevaluating Jewish Advocacy Against Antizionism

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/10/15

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht asks, Why have so many Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups failed to counter the antizionist narrative? While antizionism evolved into a sophisticated campaign of disinformation, Jewish advocacy often treated it as mere misinformation, a problem of mistaken facts rather than deliberate deception. Naya breaks down how this misunderstanding gave rise to “inward advocacy,” three self-defeating modes of response: “looking at the sel...

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68:29

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie? A Schism on the Right

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/10/04

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht is joined by James Lindsay, a leading voice on the rise of the “woke right.” Together, they unpack the origins of this movement, examine who may be driving it, and, most alarmingly, discuss why young American patriots are embracing Marxist frameworks rooted in grievance narratives, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous antisemitic and antizionist ideas. Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

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58:06

Why Gen Z Shrugs at Making the "Case" for Israel

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/09/09

On this special episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht is joined by two of her former students, Shaya and Misha Keyvanfar. Shaya is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Global Studies, while Misha is a senior in high school. Naya sits down with them to get a sense of how college and high school students today think about power, capitalism, Israel, and why traditional Jewish advocacy strategies, known as Hasbara, have largely failed. Why doesn’t “rah-rah” Zionism work? Why does ...

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69:11

When Israel Becomes the Whole Story: The Dilemma of...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/09/02

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht speaks with Daniel Levine, Rabbi of Orange County Hillel, Lecturer in Jewish Studies at UC Irvine, and host of the Rabbi Daniel Levine YouTube podcast. Drawing on his knowledge of Jewish history, texts, and working with Jewish college students, Daniel examines the trend within the non-Orthodox Jewish community of centering Israel and Zionism as core to Jewish identity, and why this may be problematic. Moving across the arc of Ameri...

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71:30

We Always Danced Again: Hillel Fuld Urges Jews to...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/08/25

On this episode of Don't Know Much About, blogger, marketer, and journalist Hillel Fuld joins Dr. Naya Lekht to reflect on the unique moment facing the Jewish people in the aftermath of the greatest tragedy since the Holocaust: October 7. Fuld offers a fresh perspective on Jewish history that pushes us to look ahead: Where is this surge in antisemitism leading? Can America withstand the rising tide of anti-Jewish bigotry, or will Jews be forced to leave the United States? Clarifying the...

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52:08

When Diversity is a Fig Leaf: The Case for Bold...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/08/18

On this episode of Don't Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht speaks with Dillon Hosier, Chief Executive Officer of the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN), about how California lawmakers, legislators, and advocacy groups have been unprepared to address the challenges of Ethnic Studies. Their conversation explores how activist groups have weaponized “diversity” to advance hidden agendas, while also shedding light on the strategies advocacy organizations are using to respond. Clarifying th...

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58:06

America First, Antisemitism Last: The Case for...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/08/10

On this episode, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Freedom Foundation litigator, Shella Alcabes, to discuss the case for being a proud, unapologetic neoconservative in an era where ‘America First’ too often turns into Jews last. We unpack the rise of antisemitism on the right, the dangers of retreating from global leadership, and why confronting Jew-hatred requires moral clarity, not isolationism. Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

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66:26

Surviving Antizionism: Natasha's Story

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/08/07

What if everything you thought you knew about history, education, and Israel was built on a lie? On this episode of Don't Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Natasha H. Pein, a Soviet-born survivor of state-sponsored antizionism. Natasha recounts how Soviet antisemitism shaped her fierce commitment to truth, education, and Jewish advocacy. In 2025, she launched PIE4ALL.org, an initiative exposing hate in education from kindergarten to the workplace. Her upcoming book, The Antizioni...

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46:59

When the Right Got a Makeover—and a Jewish Problem

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/08/03

In this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Sharon Nik for a timely conversation about the rise of antisemitism on the political right. Together, they trace the emergence of the "woke right" and explore how cultural cues—including fashion trends—can serve as surprising predictors of political shifts. Sharon also shares her powerful personal journey: fleeing Iran, going to Israel, and eventually immigrating to the United States. Clarifying the complex. Step in...

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55:05

Should the Jews Play Dodgeball? An Honest...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/07/30

What does Theodor Herzl have to do with dodgeball, and why does it matter for Jewish advocacy today? In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Nicole Bernstein, co-founder of PeerK12, to explore the state of Jewish grassroots leadership in the U.S. From the playground to the political arena, Naya and Nicole examine how Jewish identity, Zionism, and antisemitism intersect in education, activism, and community building. While the two find much common ground—especially i...

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14:00

They Hate the Left, Love America, and Blame the Jews:...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/07/29

In this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht explores how modern antisemitism on the "woke right" resembles left-wing conspiracy frameworks—despite often being cloaked in patriotism and Judeo‑Christian rhetoric—and challenges the assumption that love of country shields against blame-driven ideologies. With historical perspective and cultural clarity, Naya highlights how grievance politics, whether left or right, can converge in dangerous ways when Jews are cast as scapegoats ...

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56:57

Life is Short, Tell Good Stories: Iranian and Russian...

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/07/16

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Don’t Know Much About, award-winning journalist, writer, and speaker Tabby Raphael joins host Dr. Naya Lekht to explore how stories shaped her identity as a Jewish Iranian refugee and columnist. From bedtime tales in post-revolutionary Iran to columns in the Jewish Journal, Tabby shares how storytelling saved lives, preserved culture, and built resilience. The conversation dives into the emotional complexities of exile, nostalgia for Iran, and w...

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16:06

Is ANY Jewish organization successful?

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/07/12

On this episode of Don't Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht tackles a difficult but necessary topic: the failure of Jewish leadership. She explores what it truly means for a Jewish organization to fail—and, just as importantly, what it means to succeed. Identifying recurring patterns in Jewish behavior in the diaspora, Naya offers a sobering analysis of why Jewish organizations often fail to represent the Jewish people effectively. She goes beyond these patterns to examine the shortcomings of ma...

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8:56

Israel’s Six Day War: Not What You Think

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2025/01/13

On this episode of Don't Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht explores the history of the Six-Day War of 1967, emphasizing how the conflict is often misunderstood in the West. She explains that the war was defensive in nature, and the territories Israel gained were legally acquired under international law, including the Geneva Conventions. Dr. Lekht then transitions to the aftermath of the war, highlighting the Khartoum Conference, where the Arab League issued the infamous "Three No's": no recogni...

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7:46

Could You Spot propaganda?

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2024/11/14

On this short clip from "Don't Know Much About," Dr. Naya Lekht starts by discussing the common misconception that propaganda is simply "fake news" or lies. Instead, she argues that true propaganda is far more nuanced, often rooted in truth but manipulated through language and omissions. Naya emphasizes that propaganda doesn’t only exist in authoritarian regimes but is also present in democratic societies, often in subtle language choices.To illustrate this, Naya recounts an experience attend...

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18:43

Who Supports Hamas?

Don"t Know Much About with Naya Lekht ·

2024/11/07

On this episode of Don't Know Much About dives into the question of why some Americans support Hamas. A March 2024 Pew poll reveals that while 58% of Americans view Israel's war as just, only 22% find Hamas’ motives valid, and an even smaller minority—7%—see the October 7 attacks as acceptable.When examining who makes up this 7%, correlations emerge along age, gender, and race. Younger Americans, particularly Gen Z, show more support for Palestinian Arabs, and surprisingly, women are six time...

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29 results

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