Inheritance Podcast

I am grateful to finally present the long-delayed, final installment of the oral history of the hostage deal that was incepted to capture the emotions that erupted upon the announcement of the deal in January 2025 and has continued to flow forth throughout its duration. Times of intense emotion are not unusual; indeed, they seem to be the norm lately. What made this intensity different was its feb...

Papa, I’m in trouble. I was in a car accident. I’m in trouble: I hit a pregnant woman and am in the hospital. Help me, I don’t know what’s going to happen. You need to help me! Late in the evening of April 16th, a 73 year old man, Alexander, picked up his phone to hear the voice of his daughter, Alisa sobbing, panicking. Alisa had been staying with him and his wife for five months but had just lef...

If you were reading left-leaning media in the lead-up to the 2024 election, you almost certainly came across pundits expressing concern that the election of Trump would bring about the dark night of fascism to America, that this would be the final election, and that Trump would rule as a dictator. Nearly all of this criticism focused on Trump as a uniquely malicious individual and neglected to exp...

NB: This interview was recorded on January 4th with the expectation that it would be released in the first week of February. The release was delayed due to my taking on the “Oral History of the Hostage Deal” project. Accordingly, some references will be out of date. Confronting polarization with our shared history When I began working on Inheritance , it was in large part because the politics of t...

Today marks one month since the beginning of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that has so far seen the return of 24 hostages. This month has been a heart-wrenching experience filled simultaneously with joy and sorrow, horror and hope. The returned hostages have shown unimaginable resilience and the nation of Israel has drawn more united around a common cause. Meanwhile, the path towards...

In mid-January, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. During Phase I of this deal,  Israel will cease most military operations in Gaza, withdraw from strategic corridors, further increase humanitarian aid into Gaza, and release around 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of which had been serving life sentences for murder.  In exchange, Hamas will release 33 of the hostages...

On February 4th, I had the great pleasure of Interviewing Andrew Fox. Mr. Fox served 16 years as a paratrooper in the British Army, was a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, teaching in the War Studies and Behavioural Science departments, and is currently a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He is a regular Middle East commentator on national media and has provided...

For the past two weeks, I have been interviewing people about their experiences of the deal between Hamas and Israel that began on January 19th. For many people, this deal is not an abstract, far-away piece of foreign policy. One of the people who I interviewed shortly after the first hostage release is Pelinor Calderon Morales. Her cousin, Ofer Calderon, has been held hostage in Gaza for 484 days...

When reports began emerging early last week that Hamas and Israel appeared on the cusp of signing a ceasefire agreement that would see the release of 33 hostages from Hamas captivity, a surge of emotions welled in the hearts of those who have been keeping the hostages in their thoughts these past 471 days. People felt hope and apprehension, fear and joy, rage and frustration. It seemed to me that...

Louis Wellington Jr. joins Inheritance to discuss his time with Jewish Voice for Peace, his gradual departure from the radical left, and how we can move forward. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inheritanceofathousand.substack.com