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Naomi Alderman on Substack: look at me. I’m here. I’m the ultimate product of Hitler’s defeat: https://naomialderman.substack.com/p/look-at-me-im-here-im-the-ultimate

Day 13 of the war with Iran — and the conflict just got bigger. Overnight, 200 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon. Hezbollah, which many believed had been neutered, is back. 

This week, Yonit and Jonathan take stock of a war that is growing, not winding down. They're joined by General David Petraeus — former CIA Director, commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one of the most clear-eyed voices on American military strategy. Petraeus breaks down what the US and Israel have actually achieved so far: missile launches are down over 90%, air defenses have been dismantled, and over 6,000 targets hit. But the new Khamenei? "We wanted a Delcy Rodriguez," he says. "We got a young Kim Jong-un." And he's blunt about what comes next: Iran's a million men under arms, and nobody has a clean exit.

Then: a very different conversation. Jonathan talks to novelist and broadcaster Naomi Alderman about why she thinks Marty Supreme is the most intensely Jewish movie she's ever seen. 

Plus: the Mensch and Chutzpah awards return. The Academy of Hebrew Language gets hacked by Iranians. Their response? Perfect.

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As the war between Israel and Iran enters its second week, daily life in Israel has settled into a strange and exhausting rhythm.

Yonit describe what it means to live under constant missile alerts: sleepless nights, families moving between shelters, and a country running on collective exhaustion. They also unpack two major developments shaping the conflict. First, the mixed and sometimes contradictory signals coming from Donald Trump about how long the war will last. And second, the sudden leadership change in Iran, with Mojtaba Khamenei emerging as the successor to his father.

To make sense of it all, they speak with Professor Ali Ansari of the University of St Andrews, one of the world’s leading historians of Iran. Ansari challenges much of the conventional analysis around the war and the future of the Iranian regime.

Could the Islamic Republic actually be weaker than many assume? Is regime change truly impossible—or simply unpredictable? And if change does come, what might it look like?

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Recent update episodes:

War with Iran day 4 - Living under fire (March 3)

Khamenei Is Dead. What Now for Iran? - with Dr. Suzanne Maloney (March 1)

US and Israel strike Iran; Khamenei reported dead - with Amos Harel (Feb 28)

America and Israel are at war with Iran. non-stop sirens in Tel Aviv, the Gulf states are under fire, and the Trump administration is hit by a barrage of tough questions in Washington.

This week, Yonit and Jonathan take stock of a historic and disorienting first week. Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times, joins to assess the war from the outside: Trump shifting justifications for war, Israel's military logic-- and who will fill the regional power vacuum if Iran is weakened.

And: Jonathan reports from Sydney, where he visited Bondi Beach and spoke to a Jewish community still shaken by the shooting in December — and Yonit, running on five nights of no sleep, describes what it's actually like to stop your car on the side of a highway when the sirens go off. Also: a wedding in a shelter, four floors underground.

0:00.000 Chapter: US & Israel war against Iran - day 6

22:31.671 Chapter: Shifting Justifications for War

25:22.534 Chapter: Israel's Strategic Calculus

28:27.274 Chapter: Changing Dynamics in American Support

31:12.981Chapter: The Role of Allies in a New World Order

34:19.257 Chapter: Future of Regional Powers in the Middle East

37:16.299 Chapter: The Complexity of Regime Change

40:07.423 Chapter: Responses from Gulf States and the Path Forward

42:47.830 Chapter: Understanding the Iranian Threat

42:56.867 Chapter: Current Events in the Middle East

43:59.964 Chapter: Reflections on the Conversation and Future Outlook

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Recent update episodes:

Khamenei Is Dead. What Now for Iran? - with Dr. Suzanne Maloney (March 1)

US and Israel strike Iran; Khamenei reported dead - with Amos Harel (Feb 28)

Day 4 of the Israel–Iran war: What does life look like inside Israel right now?

Yonit and Jonathan reconnect for the first time since the beginning of the war with Iran.

What does war feel like minute-by-minute?

What does it mean when sirens sound every hour and a half — day and night?

What happens to a society when workplaces close, schools shut, airports empty, and families move between safe rooms and bomb shelters as routine?
Yonit describes the exhausting rhythm of preliminary alerts, the psychological strain of constant disruption, and the quiet resilience of Israeli civilians navigating a conflict that feels both immediate and existential.

They discuss:

▶︎ The difference between June’s confrontation and this new phase

▶︎ The strategy behind Iran’s high-frequency missile fire

▶︎ The role of deterrence — and whether this is the beginning of the end for the Iranian regime

▶︎ The balance between exhaustion and resolve inside Israel

▶︎ And ultimately: who decides when this ends?

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context of the Conflict

00:43 Living Under Fire: Daily Life in Israel

04:10 The Psychological Impact of Constant Alerts

10:29 Public Sentiment and Resilience Amidst Conflict

15:28 The Role of Leadership and External Influences

22:29 Looking Ahead: The Future of the Conflict

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As reports confirm that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Yonit is joined by Dr. Suzanne Maloney for a searching conversation about what this moment means for Iran and the wider Middle East. They examine Khamenei’s worldview in the years leading up to his death, the ideological roots of the regime’s hostility toward the West, and the deep divisions within Iranian society. The discussion turns to the question now confronting Tehran — who can succeed a figure so central to the system — and to the profound uncertainty facing Iran as it enters a post-Khamenei era with no clear path forward.

Chapters

00:00 The Legacy of Khamenei

02:54 Post-Khamenei Iran: What Lies Ahead?

05:42 The Future of the Islamic Republic

08:23 Regional Implications of Khamenei's Assassination

10:59 The Divided Iranian Society

13:58 Transitioning to a New Era

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Jonathan is joined by military analyst Amos Harel to assess the latest Israeli and US strikes against Iran — and what may come next. Together they examine the logic behind the operations, the degree of coordination between Jerusalem and Washington, and how Iran is likely to respond next. They also ask the harder questions now hanging over the region: whether this marks a turning point for the Iranian regime itself, how far escalation could go, and what the strikes reveal about the shifting balance of power in the Middle East.

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As the US–Iran talks in Geneva keep the region on edge, Yonit  is joined by journalist Matti Friedman, to make sense of Israel’s uneasy calm — daily life continuing under the knowledge that everything could change in minutes. They reflect on Purim anxiety, old antisemitic tropes resurfacing, and Narendra Modi’s unusually warm visit to Israel, set against Knesset infighting. 

They also dive deep into the evolving India–Israel relationship with former ambassador Alon Ushpiz: affection, technology, security interests, and how much (or little) Islam really drives the alignment. Plus: the backlash to Hugh Laurie’s mourning of Tehran producer Dana Eden, a Chutzpah award for Tucker Carlson and Mike Huckabee, and a Mensch salute to Israel’s women’s hockey team.

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Catch Jonathan on tour in Australia

As the Middle East enters another moment of acute tension — with one of Trump’s advisers saying there is a “90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks” — Yonit speaks with Barak Ravid, diplomatic correspondent for Axios and Channel 12, about what is happening now and what Donald Trump may be weighing as events continue to unfold.

From geopolitics to technology, Yonit is then joined by Noreena Hertz — academic, economist, and bestselling author — for a conversation about the future of jobs in the age of AI, why women may be particularly vulnerable to unemployment, and how these technological shifts are exacerbating antisemitism.

Plus: a sports edition of Mensch and Chutzpah — crossing borders and disciplines, from American and European arenas to stories that run from basketball courts to bobsleigh tracks.

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As Benjamin Netanyahu boards a flight to meet President Trump, his government is attempting to rewrite the memory of October 7, removing the word “massacre” from its proposed memorial day bill. Yonit and Jonathan are joined by military analyst Amos Harel, who examines rising tensions in the West Bank, the growing influence of the far right, and the fragile balance between the IDF and the Palestinian Authority.

Plus: a special conversation with Iran analyst Holly Dagres, who lived in Iran as a teenager, on the resilience and defiance of the country’s younger generation — and what change, and the future, might hold.

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As the world waits to see the outcome of talks between Washington and Tehran, Israel finds itself grappling with upheaval at home.

This week on Unholy, Yonit and Jonathan focus on two starkly different fault lines in Israeli society. First, rising violence in the Arab community: more than 30 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been murdered since the start of the year, as organised crime tightens its grip and trust in the police and the state continues to erode. What lies behind this horrific toll, and why has it been allowed to become grimly routine?

Then, another front in the culture wars. Israel’s right-leaning Channel 14 turns its fire on women serving in combat roles in the IDF, questioning their very presence. What does this campaign say about power, fear and the boundaries of belonging in Israeli public life?

Our guest is Coleman Hughes, one of the most prominent young intellectuals in the United States. He joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about race, antisemitism in America and the direction of Donald Trump’s domestic agenda — and what all that might mean far beyond the US.

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As Israel receives the body of Rani Gvilli, the last remaining hostage held in Gaza since October 7, a painful chapter closes — and a new, uncertain one begins: for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Meanwhile, the world looks to Washington, waiting to see when, where and whether Donald Trump will order a strike against Iran.

Yonit and Jonathan unpack what this new reality means — for Israel, for the region and for a war that refuses to end cleanly. They also examine Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest accusation - that Israeli soldiers lost their lives because of what he called an “arms embargo” imposed by Joe Biden - and why he made it now.

Plus: Listeners’ Therapy returns. Unholy is joined once again by renowned psychotherapist Dr Orna Guralnik for a second session — this time with Lee and Marion, an American-Israeli couple wrestling with a question that has become agonisingly familiar to many Jewish families: where should we raise our children?

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