The Western Spirit - With Ariel Whitman

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with political commentator, author, and longtime radio host Larry Elder for a powerful conversation about the shifting attitudes toward Israel in the United States. For decades, support for Israel was bipartisan. Today, that consensus is breaking down — not only on the left, but increasingly among younger conservatives as well. What ch...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with writer, comedian, and cultural commentator Bridget Phetasy to discuss a major shift happening in media right now. Why do some of the biggest voices in politics and podcasting seem to be changing? Bridget argues that many prominent figures, including Tucker Carlson and others, are increasingly shaping their content to appeal to you...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with Heather Johnston, Founder and President of the U.S. Israel Education Association, for a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really happening in Washington when it comes to Israel. Is support for Israel in Congress actually changing? Heather has led numerous delegations of Members of Congress and senior leaders to Israel, giving her r...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with Ari Ackerman — entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and a minority owner of the Miami Marlins. After October 7th, Ackerman made a conscious decision to expand his public voice and speak out even more forcefully. Why are so many successful and influential Jews still staying silent — even as antisemitism rises across the United S...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, about the growing divide inside the American right. Why are prominent voices like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly turning on Donald Trump over Iran?  Hanson explains what changed — and why figures who once strongly supported Trump are now criticizing his foreign policy and...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with Sylvan Adams — Israeli-Canadian billionaire, philanthropist, and President of the World Jewish Congress (Israel Region).After October 7th, Adams made a bold decision: to double down on Israel. He has invested over $200 million into the country’s future — from rebuilding critical infrastructure in the south to strengthening key ins...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with Yeshaya Rosenman, an Israeli researcher of India, the subcontinent and its diasporas, and of political religions. Why do Hindus respect Jews in a way that often surprises the West? Yeshaya explains the deep civilizational parallels between Jewish and Hindu societies — from shared historical narratives of survival and resilience, t...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman sits down with Cliff May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), to break down the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran — and what the world is getting wrong about it. Is Iran actually winning — or is the regime being quietly dismantled? Cliff May explains why the current conflict could reshape the M...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Melissa Francis — a journalist, commentator, and former Fox News and CNBC host — about what she discovered after traveling to Israel following October 7.After years inside American media, Melissa says she was shocked by how different reality on the ground was from what many Americans were being told. She describes a major gap between...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Nikhil Chandwani — a humanitarian who has helped rescue and rehabilitate over 9,300 persecuted Hindus from Pakistan. Every year, thousands of young Hindu girls are kidnapped, forcibly converted, and sold. Yet this crisis receives little international attention. Why is this happening — and why is the world largely silent? We discuss:*...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Elizabeth Barcohana, a Los Angeles-based attorney and conservative activist, about a growing divide inside the American Right. Why are figures like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens increasingly critical of Donald Trump and Israel? Is this a genuine shift in conservative thinking — or the rise of a new movement trying to reshape the R...

Charles A. Small, founder of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), breaks down what he believes is a growing and dangerous trend in Western discourse. In this conversation, Small explains how Islamist ideology, the Muslim Brotherhood, and state actors like Iran and Qatar have influenced global narratives around Israel — and how those ideas are now spreading across...

Jonathan Conricus, former IDF international spokesperson and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains what’s really happening in the war with Iran — and why so many people are getting it completely wrong. Despite viral videos, AI-generated clips, and confident claims from major influencers, the reality on the ground tells a very different story. In this conversation:– I...

Zineb Riboua, policy analyst at the Hudson Institute, explains what’s really happening in the war with Iran — and why most people are completely misunderstanding it. While headlines and social media are filled with dramatic footage and viral claims, the reality on the ground tells a very different story. In this conversation, we discuss:– Why Iran is more isolated than ever– How China is losing it...

In this powerful conversation, renowned British historian David Starkey explains what is really happening to Britain — and why so few people are willing to say it out loud. From mass immigration and demographic change to the collapse of national identity, Starkey argues that the UK is facing a deep political and cultural crisis. We discuss:* Why Britain is "losing itself"* The growing di...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), about what happened after October 7 — and why the reaction shocked so many observers. They discuss:• What changed immediately after October 7• The rise of antisemitism across the United States• What’s happening on college campuses• The role of social media and misinformati...

Over the past days, viral posts across social media have claimed that Israel is collapsing, that Tel Aviv has been destroyed, and that Iran is winning the war. But the reality on the ground tells a very different story. In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with author and cultural critic James Lindsay about the wave of misinformation spreading across the internet — including...

Over the past days, viral posts across social media have claimed that Israel is collapsing, that Tel Aviv has been destroyed, and that Iran is winning the war. But the reality on the ground tells a very different story. In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with author and cultural critic James Lindsay about the wave of misinformation spreading across the internet — including...

Why has antisemitism exploded across Western universities, activist movements, and intellectual circles? In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Pamela Paresky, a scholar affiliated with Harvard University and contributor to Quillette, about the ideological forces behind the surge of hostility toward Jews and Israel in the West. Paresky explains how modern movements influe...

A growing debate is unfolding inside the American right over Israel, foreign policy, and the future of the conservative movement. In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Karys Rhea, fellow at the Middle East Forum and researcher on the rising identitarian and isolationist factions within the American right. They discuss the growing tensions surrounding figures like Tucker...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Ariel Whitman speaks with Shabbos Kestenbaum, political commentator at PragerU and one of the most outspoken voices exposing antisemitism in American politics and on elite university campuses. After October 7, Kestenbaum became widely known for confronting antisemitism at institutions like Harvard and speaking out about the changing political landscape surrou...

In this explosive conversation, Iranian activist Sana Ebrahimi exposes what most Western media and political activists refuse to confront: the Islamic Republic of Iran is not a misunderstood government — it is an ideological regime willing to sacrifice its own people to survive. Born and raised in Tehran, Sana grew up inside Iran’s education system, where she says she was taught to hate Israel, de...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, Turkish student and political activist Turku Avci shares her extraordinary personal story after publicly declaring support for Israel — a decision that changed her life overnight. After speaking out as a Muslim who supports Israel and Zionism, Turku became the target of massive backlash in Turkey, facing online harassment, public accusations, and threats that...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, political philosopher Professor Efraim Podoksik joins Ariel Whitman for a deep and provocative discussion on antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the changing moral landscape of the West after October 7.Is anti-Zionism truly different from antisemitism — or has hostility toward Jews simply taken a new political form? Professor Podoksik explores how antisemitism hi...

In this episode of The Western Spirit, global branding expert, businessman, and political commentator Suhel Seth joins Ariel Whitman for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, global perception, and the geopolitical battle for narrative dominance. Why did international opinion shift so dramatically after October 7?Why has India succeeded at shaping its global image while Israel struggles to wi...