The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Political reporter Ariela Karmel joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
As the Knesset increases its activity during the war, Karmel discusses the subjects up for debate, including controversial legislation regarding the politically appointed probe into the October 7 massacre.
Following last week’s announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to enact a 3% cut across the budget to bolster defense spending, including the earmarked funds for the long-awaited rehabilitation of the northern communities, Karmel discusses the contentious debate from the residents, coalition and opposition.
Karmel also reports on the severe lack of shelters in the Bedouin communities, predating October 7, brought to the forefront during the June war with Iran, and now leaving two-thirds of the community without any access to shelter during the current war.
Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Coalition advancing controversial legislation amid war with Iran
Northern communities protest cuts to rehabilitation budget amid war
As Hezbollah strongholds crop back up, northern farmers regrow destroyed fields
With missiles flying again, most Negev Bedouin still exposed without any shelter
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Damage after a missile fired toward Israel overnight struck Zarzir, in northern Israel, March 13, 2026 (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Bret Stephens, a The New York Times columnist and the editor-in-chief of Sapir magazine.
Recent polling indicates that only roughly half of Americans support the US-Israel war against Iran's Islamist regime. Stephens weighs in on why the current conflict can be both "Trump's war" and a just war.
Far from feeling that Israel dragged the US into this war, he says that for the first time in recent history, the US has a partner with whom to wage a war. "This war is different, not because it's a war for Israel. It's a war with Israel," says Stephens.
But is the American public capable of internalizing the Iranian regime as an existential threat? In answer, Stephens asks whether a patient with stage II cancer should be advised to wait to treat it until it develops into stage IV. "Thank goodness we're acting now rather than just waiting on events," says Stephens.
Assessing today's global dynamics and the authoritarian axis of Iran, Russia, North Korea and China, he turns to the 1930s, when the world was experiencing a series of conflicts that eventually led to World War II. He warns there is no Hollywood ending in sight.
And so this week, we ask Bret Stephens, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: New York Times columnist Bret Stephens (YouTube screenshot) / Beirut, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Health reporter Diana Bletter joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
In improved pop-up clinics, underground parking lots converted to wards and fortified operating rooms, hospitals and health clinics around the country are once again providing services under fire since the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28. Bletter tells us about the first instance that a Lebanon threat brought a Galilee hospital underground and talks about emergency preparedness.
In the second half of the program, we drill down into life in the north right now. Bletter talks about what it is like for her personally, as well as reporting on the stalwart northerners who are maintaining Israel's pioneering spirit and staying rooted on the frontline.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
From fortified ORs to popup clinics, Israel’s medical centers streamline wartime operations
Under a rain of Hezbollah missiles, determined northern farmers still sow for the future
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: An Israeli artillery unit deployed at a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, fires towards southern Lebanon on March 14, 2026. (JALAA MAREY / AFP)
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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Einat Wilf, a former MK, author and CEO of the newly formed Oz party.
Wilf describes the potential fall of the Iranian Islamic Republic's regime as a shift in the magnitude of the fall of the Soviet Union.
We discuss the seismic ripple effects on Gaza and the Palestinian Authority. Wilf proposes that this moment is a window of opportunity for Israel to end the ideology of "Palestinianism" -- the end to the Jewish state -- that could quickly shut again.
She talks through Israel's need to create firm civil borders of its control in the West Bank and to maintain military control of the remaining areas and have what she calls, "an active occupation."
And in the final portion of our conversation, we hear why Wilf formed her new party at this time and what it stands for.
And so this week, we ask Einat Wilf, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, handing the country’s flag to his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, as the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stands at left, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.
In today's escapism episode, movie maven Hoffman begins with a recommendation of a new, very Jewy podcast, Classical Music Happy Hour with pianist Emanuel Ax.
We then discuss the 2025 independent film, "Fantasy Life," written and directed by Matthew Shear. His directorial debut is produced by and stars Amanda Peet, Shear, and a slew of Jewish (or Jew-ish) actors, including Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin and Zosia Mamet.
Next, we turn to the classic Larry David series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which Borschel-Dan had never seen. Hoffman assigned her the iconic "Palestinian Chicken" episode. See how she liked it.
Check out who got the "oy," the "meh" and the "not bad" marks in this week's The Reel Schmooze.
The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
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