Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Few people expected to start 2026 with images of Nicolas Maduro in a New York prison. In the days since Madouro’s capture, many have argued that the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela is another signal that the global system we’ve known for the better part of a century has dramatically changed. From the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, to Israel’s two-year multifront battle, to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, geopolitical power dynamics are rapidly shifting. But to what end? Are we witnessing the emergence of a new world order?

To discuss the historical context and implications of the geopolitical moment we find ourselves in, Dan was joined by Call me Back veteran Brett Stephens. Brett is an opinion columnist for the New York Times, a senior contributor to NBC News, and the inaugural editor in chief of the Sapir journal. Bret previously worked as a foreign affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and from 2002-2004 served as the editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

For more than a week, hordes of Iranians have taken to the streets and risked their lives to protest the Islamic regime. The regime’s attempts to suppress the protests are failing; instead, the unrest has spread from the capital city of Tehran to other cities and provinces. On Friday, President Trump warned that the U.S. would intervene if the Iranian state kills anti-regime protestors.

Against this backdrop, on Saturday, in a shocking military escalation, U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife while carrying out strikes on the capital city Caracas. Under Maduro, Venezuela has fostered warm ties with the Islamic Regime of Iran as well as Russia and China. Many see Trump’s action in Venezuela as an indication that he is willing to heighten American aggression against its enemies, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.

To discuss what to make of the societal upheaval in Iran – and how the historic events in Venezuela play a role here – Dan was joined by Karim Sadjapour. Karim is an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a recurring guest on this podcast on all things Iran.

Karim's piece on Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/autumn-ayatollahs

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

As we enter a new year, news unfolds rapidly when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. Over the past few days, Iran has witnessed the country’s largest anti-regime protests in the past three years, with crowds taking to the streets in several cities and clashing with security forces. On Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu met President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, for the leaders sixth meeting over the course of Trump’s second term. President Trump made several bold statements to the press, including warning that if Iran continues building its missile programs, the U.S. will take swift and severe action. President Trump also remarked on the Gaza ceasefire, saying he intends to move to phase two of his peace plan, but also threatening “hell to pay” if Hamas does not disarm quickly.

To unpack the dramatic events unfolding in Iran, and to analyze yet another meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Dan was joined by Ark Media contributors Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

To support the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology: ats.org/callmeback

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

(00:00) Introduction

(04:49) Dissecting the “settler” umbrella

(10:11) The origins and evolution of the settler movement

(14:32) 50 shades of ideology: the various segments of settlers

(20:12) A hot potato: the reluctance to address Israeli extremist violence

(29:40) The ideology that underlies this violence

(37:18) How the Israeli government has changed its approach to extremist violence

(44:55) Closing thoughts and Nadav’s new substack

Today’s Episode:

Critics of Israel often emphasize the phenomenon of extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Yet it can be difficult to understand the scope of the problem from afar, given the anti-Israel bias and false reporting demonstrated by many media outlets, especially following October 7. To get to the bottom of this controversial issue — and to filter signal from noise — Dan sat down with Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal and Rabbi David Stav. Rabbi Stav is the co-founder and chairman of the Tzohar rabbinic organization and serves as Chief Rabbi of the city of Shoham in central Israel.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Benjamin’s previous episode on Call me Back: lnk.to/1kxj5B

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On this week’s episode of Inside Call me Back, we released the recording of an in-person conversation between Dan, Nadav Eyal and Tal Becker that took place a couple weeks ago at an event titled “Where do we go from here? The future of Israel and Jewish Peoplehood” at the Tenafly JCC. They discussed the different roots of antisemitism in the West, the resilience and defiance expressed in living a Jewish life, and the changing attitudes towards Israel among American Jews. The conversation was so meaty that we wanted to share a sneak peek with our wider Call me Back audience. If you want to catch the full conversation, consider joining Inside call me back using by going to inside.arkmedia.org.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Support Birthright Israel: https://birthrightisrael.foundation/callmeback

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org

Follow Benjamin Birely on Instagram: HolyLandSpeaks

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Benjamin’s previous episode on Call me Back: lnk.to/1kxj5B

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Returning to the podcast for a special Christmas episode is Benjamin Birely, an American-Israeli Phd candidate and researcher in ancient historical texts at L’Orientale University in Naples, Italy.

Today, as the world celebrates Christmas, Benjamin takes us back more than 2,000 years to a land very familiar, to guide listeners through the Jewish environment that defined Jerusalem in 1 A.D and the world of Jesus Christ. The story of that period is one of factionalism, religious and political tensions, civil war, and geopolitical drama – and therefore one that will resonate with listeners today.

(00:00) Introduction
(03:58) the Jewish world of Jesus Christ
(07:15) Jewish factionalism in 1 A.D. Jerusalem
(15:13) Hellenization in Hasmonean Judaea
(21:30) King Alexander, Queen Shlomtzion, and Judean Civil War
(32:26) King Herod and the public mood
(39:04) The environment that bred Jesus Christ
(45:15) After Herod: rise of the Zealots

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

To order Walter Russell Mead's book: https://tinyurl.com/yc6vta9r

To read Walter Russell Mead’s column: https://tinyurl.com/4cbhve36

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Our guest today is Walter Russell Mead, an author, academic, and foreign policy expert. Walter is a Professor of Strategy and Statesmanship at the University of Florida’s Hamilton Center, a Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He and Dan unpacked the Trump administration’s approach to several foreign policy issues, from Russia-Ukraine, to China, to the Middle East. They also discussed Israel’s strategic position in the region following October 7th and its two year, multi-front war.

(00:00) Introduction
(04:48) Unpacking Trump’s National Security Strategy
(15:06) Where does Trump’s NSS leave the Middle East?
(20:57) How important is Middle Eastern oil to Trump?
(23:45) How Trump sees America’s role in the world
(26:57) Today’s antisemitism in a historic context
(31:36) Demographic shifts: Muslim migrants in the West
(37:09) The geopolitical trends to track

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=inside

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’:arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

This week, I sat down with Ark Media contributor Amit Segal for our weekly episode of Inside Call me Back where we delved into some thought-provoking listener questions. The questions prompted an interesting conversation so we decided to share a sneak peak of Inside Call me Back with the larger Call me Back audience. If you enjoy this type of conversation, or if you simply want to support our work, please consider joining us on Inside Call me Back by following the link at the top of the show notes or going to Arkmedia.org.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management