J100 Podcast

As the Jewish world marks 50 years since the raid on Entebbe, former Mossad officer, Israeli Air Force veteran, and psychologist Glenn Cohen joins J100 to discuss hostage rescue, ambiguous loss, trauma, resilience, and what it means to help survivors come home. You can find the condensed transcript & summary of this episode and more episodes at   https://open.substack.com/pub/thealgemeiner/p/g...

Former U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary Mitchell Silk joins J100 for an in-person conversation about his extraordinary path from working in Chinese restaurants as a teenager to becoming a senior American official involved in China trade negotiations, global finance, infrastructure, fintech, and CARES Act relief. Silk reflects on his Hasidic identity, his grandfather’s influence, his years in Asia...

Dr. Gad Saad joins the J100 Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation centered on his new book, Suicidal Empathy . From growing up Jewish in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War to becoming one of the most recognizable public intellectuals in the world today, Saad reflects on the experiences and ideas that shaped his worldview. The conversation explores: the psychological roots of ideological posses...

What if the central mistake in understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… was never military—but conceptual? Dr. Einat Wilf argues that for decades, Israel—and much of the world—has been fighting the wrong battle. While attention is fixed on land, borders, and security, the real war , she says, has been unfolding in ideas, language, and narrative . In this J100 conversation, Wilf traces her e...

Is support for Israel still bipartisan — or has something fundamentally changed? In this episode of J100 , Matt Brooks – CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition – speaks about the evolving relationship between the United States and Israel, Party divides, and American Jewish identity. They discuss the breakdown of old political assumptions, the rise of extremism across both sides, tensions on colleg...

Sylvan Adams joins J100 for a wide-ranging conversation on aliyah, antisemitism, sports diplomacy, philanthropy, and the future of Israel. From his family’s Holocaust-rooted story to his efforts to strengthen the Jewish state through major gifts and global cultural events, Adams offers a deeply personal vision of Jewish belonging, resilience, and responsibility. Chapters 00:00  The October 8 Awake...

Princeton professor Robert P. George joins J100 to examine campus antisemitism after October 7, the crisis of ideological conformity, anti-Semitism on both the left and right, and why a free society depends on forming truth-seekers—not partisans. ● 🎓 Campus After October 7: selective outrage, anti-Zionism, and when criticism becomes prejudice ● 🗣️ Teaching Without Indoctrination: why professors m...

Lionel Shriver joins J100 from Portugal for a sharp, wide-ranging conversation on faith, dogma, and dissent. She explains how her religious upbringing shaped her suspicion of imposed moral certainty, why the arts have become politically homogeneous, how she separates column-writing from novelistic truth, and why Israel’s confidence—and survival—matters in a West increasingly ashamed of itself. Cha...

What does it mean to live—and write—with urgency? Author, podcaster, founder of Zibby Media, and literary community-builder  Zibby Owens  joins  J100  host David M. Cohen for a conversation about loss, Jewish identity, and the slow, intentional work of creating spaces where people feel seen. From her childhood in New York and early dreams of becoming a writer, to losing her best friend on 9/11 and...

As Britain grapples with mass protests, policing failures, and rising antisemitism, where does free speech end—and incitement begin? In this episode of J100 , British journalist and Algemeiner contributor Jonathan Sacerdoti joins the show to examine how Western societies are responding to extremism in real time. From the collapse of debate at the Oxford Union to the everyday security realities fac...

Historian. Strategist. Myth-buster. Walter Russell Mead joins the J100 Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the real foundations of the U.S.–Israel relationship—and why both supporters and critics often misunderstand what actually drives it. Mead argues that familiar narratives are backward: Israel didn’t become powerful because of an American alliance; America aligned with Israel once Israe...

Barrister. Advocate. Relentless explainer of the law. London-based attorney  Natasha Hausdorff  joins the Algemeiner to unpack how international law and media narratives are weaponized against Israel — and what ordinary people can do about it. From elite London classrooms to Oxford law and Skadden, Hausdorff describes discovering how international law was being inverted to attack the Jewish state....

Recorded live before a New York audience, in this special bonus episode, Ambassador Tom Nides—former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and current Blackstone executive—joins the J100 for a candid, unscripted conversation on Israel’s war with Hamas, the hostages, October 7th, the meaning of Zionism, and the politics of ending a war without abandoning core security goals. Nides argues Hamas is “150% respons...

British journalist and author  Melanie Phillips —Times of London columnist and author of  The Builder’s Stone —joins David from  Jerusalem  to dissect the cultural and media forces shaping Israel’s fight. In this episode: Origins & worldview:  A British Jewish upbringing, Oxford, two societies in one head—London and Jerusalem. From Left to outcast:  The 1982 Lebanon War, double standards at  T...

Congressman  Randy Fine  represents Florida’s 8th District — and a new kind of Jewish courage in American politics. Known to admirers and critics alike as  “the Hebrew Hammer,”  Fine has made national headlines for his unapologetic defense of Israel, his fierce opposition to campus antisemitism, and his proud decision to wear a kippah daily — including on the floor of Congress. In this episode, Fi...

With the High Holidays upon us, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch joins J100 for a conversation that bridges history, leadership, and spirituality at a time when Jews worldwide are searching for meaning and clarity. Hirsch — senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York and a former IDF tank commander — reflects on growing up in Jerusalem, serving in the army, and becoming a leading Reform rabbi. He s...

As students return to school this fall, college campuses are at the forefront of one of the most pressing battles of our time.  Nina Rennert Davidson  — philanthropist, activist, and longtime Algemeiner honoree — joins  J100  to confront the campus antisemitism that has exploded in the wake of October 7th. In this wide-ranging conversation, Nina shares: Her family’s lifelong commitment to Israel a...

What happens when words become weapons? When history’s lessons are ignored? In this gripping conversation,  J100  host David M. Cohen is joined by Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, for a wide-ranging and unfiltered dialogue. Born to Holocaust survivors in a displaced persons camp, Mort built a career as a mathematician and health economist before devoting his life to Je...

In this powerful and timely episode of The J100 , host David M. Cohen sits down with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, to unpack the escalating threat of antisemitism in America and abroad. From the October 7th Hamas attacks to the silence on campuses, Greenblatt explores the moral failures of modern institutions, the rise of antisemitism masquerading as social justice, and t...

In this powerful episode of the  J100  podcast, Consul General Ofir Akunis joins host David M. Cohen for an unfiltered conversation on the historic joint U.S.-Israel strike against Iran’s nuclear program and its seismic implications for global security. Akunis reflects on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decades-long mission to neutralize the Iranian threat, the enduring alliance between Israel and Amer...

In this gripping and timely episode of the J100 Podcast, host David M. Cohen speaks with John Spencer, one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare and modern military strategy. Spencer, a retired U.S. Army officer and West Point scholar, shares powerful insights from his on-the-ground research in Gaza, his deep study of the IDF, and his analysis of the evolving face of warfare in the Middl...

In this episode of the J100 podcast, host David M. Cohen interviews world-renowned journalist and commentator Erin Molan about her journey from childhood in Indonesia to the front lines of political discourse and media reform. Raised in the world’s largest Muslim country, Molan developed a deep understanding of cultural nuance, the power of storytelling, and the dangers of propaganda early on. Fol...

In this episode of the J100 podcast, host David M. Cohen interviews Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). They discuss Dubowitz's background, the persistent threat of Iran's nuclear program, missed opportunities for U.S. support of Iranian protests, and the importance of U.S. strategy in shaping Iran's future. The conversation also touches on the challe...