The dearth of fixed-line infrastructure that allowed the continent to leapfrog into the mobile-phone age now holds it back. We ask how to ensure the even spread of AI’s dividends. A stinking Seine has delayed the Olympic triathlon, but the river could one day help clean up Paris (7:09). And how “The Blair Witch Project” changed horror films (14:33).
On Saturday afternoon, a Hezbollah rocket fired from southern Lebanon struck a soccer field in the village of Majdal Shams in Israel’s north, slaughtering 12 children.
For the last 10 months, many have warned that Israel is on the brink of a major war with Hezbollah. But the truth is that Hezbollah has been fighting—and winning—in Israel’s north since October 8. For the past 10 months, Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy terror group that controls southern Lebanon, has essentially redrawn the northern border of Israel by pummeling the border towns daily with rockets, leaving 225 square miles unlivable for Israelis and displacing around 80,000 Israeli citizens.
Israel—pounded by Iranian proxies from all directions—now faces one of the most perilous moments in recent history. The prospect of an all-out war with Hezbollah, which could very well spread to a larger, more dangerous regional war—perhaps directly with Iran—seems closer than ever.
What is Israel going to do? Will Israel choose to confront Hezbollah, or will they respond in a more limited way to avoid the regional escalation that the Americans so fear? How does U.S. policy, and the upcoming presidential election, influence Israel’s strategic calculation? Is Kamala Harris equipped to bring calm to the region? Or are Israelis just waiting for Trump to return to office? Is America’s current policy—which is the containment of Iran—backfiring and inadvertently creating a regional crisis? Most importantly, should we be thinking about the war with Gaza and the war with Hezbollah as discrete fights, or are they all part of a broader war that’s already underway between Israel and Iran?
Answering those questions today is Haviv Rettig Gur. Haviv is a journalist and writer for The Times of Israel, and he is one of the most important and insightful thinkers of our time on Israel and the Middle East.
If you liked what you heard from Honestly, the best way to support us is to go to TheFP.com/subscribe and become a Free Press subscriber today.
A gripping history of the Soviet dissident movement, which hastened the end of the USSR--and still provides a model of opposition in Putin's Russia.
Beginning in the 1960s, the Soviet Union was unexpectedly confronted by a dissident movement that captured the world's imagination. Demanding that the Kremlin obey its own laws, an improbable band of Soviet citizens held unauthorized public gatherings, petitioned in support of arrested intellectuals, and circulated banned samizdat texts. Soviet authorities arrested dissidents, subjected them to bogus trials and vicious press campaigns, sentenced them to psychiatric hospitals and labor camps, sent them into exile--and transformed them into martyred heroes. Against all odds, the dissident movement undermined the Soviet system and unexpectedly hastened its collapse. Taking its title from a toast made at dissident gatherings, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement(Princeton UP, 2024) is a definitive history of a remarkable group of people who helped change the twentieth century.
Benjamin Nathans's vivid narrative tells the dramatic story of the men and women who became dissidents--from Nobel laureates Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn to many others who are virtually unknown today. Drawing on diaries, memoirs, personal letters, interviews, and KGB interrogation records, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause reveals how dissidents decided to use Soviet law to contain the power of the Soviet state. This strategy, as one of them put it, was "simple to the point of genius: in an unfree country, they began to conduct themselves like free people."
An extraordinary account of the Soviet dissident movement, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause shows how dissidents spearheaded the struggle to break free of the USSR's totalitarian past, a struggle that continues in Putin's Russia--and that illuminates other struggles between hopelessness and perseverance today.
On December 29, 1170, the Archbishop of Canterbury was brutally murdered on the floor of the Canterbury Cathedral by four armed knights while preparing for his evening prayers.
The ramifications of that incident shook the country of England, its king, and the Catholic Church.
Over 850 years later, it is still remembered and remains one of the most significant events in English history.
Learn more about the murder of Thomas Becket and why and how it happened on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced an ambitious three-part plan to reform the Supreme Court. He’s calling for term limits, a binding ethics code, and a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity from prosecution. Biden’s proposals have little chance of making it through a divided Congress. However, Melissa Murray, co-host of Crooked’s legal podcast ‘Strict Scrutiny,’ says it shows that Democrats are finally waking up to the ways the court controls the party’s ability to get things done.
And in headlines: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening a “severe” response to the recent air strike that killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, protestors filled the streets in Venezuela after the government announced the re-election of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, and the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team won their first Olympic medal in 16 years.
Donald Trump and friends try out new lines of attack on Kamala Harris as they struggle to confront her momentum—and the new reality of the race. JD Vance still can't figure out how to move past his "childless cat ladies" comments, and Joe Biden introduces a slate of Supreme Court reforms. Then Minnesota Governor Tim Walz stops by to talk about making the case for Harris, what swing voters are looking for, and the state fair foods he can't do without.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
We'll tell you about President Biden's plan for a reformed U.S. Supreme Court and what Republicans in Congress have to say about it.
Also, we'll fill you in on possible attempts to sabotage the Paris Olympics.
Plus, a new test meant to make it easier to diagnose cancer, a new tool for influencers to turn themselves into AI, and a new trend making it feel like October in July.
Those stories and more news to know in about 10 minutes!
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In this episode, Rivers and Sam are hangin' out at Disgraceland with one of our all-time favorites, comedian and all-around delight, Klee Wiggins! We kick this one off with an energy drink called "Rat Bastard" and, wouldn't you know it, the owner is kind of a weirdo. We also talk about the recent downfall and absolutely unhinged media appearances and fashion line from British rapper M.I.A. We also chat about some weird tipping behavior at restaurants in Florida and Pennsylvania and "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows is our JAM OF THE WEEK! Follow Klee on Instagram @KleeWigginsSF Follow our show @TheGoodsPod on absolutely everything! Rivers is @RiversLangley Sam is @SlamHarter Carter is @Carter_Glascock Subscribe on Patreon for an UNCUT video version of the show as well as HOURS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt at: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.