Unholy: Two Jews on the News

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In this special Pesach episode, Yonit and Jonathan discuss seder traditions and those who had to change due to the war. They are joined by Tom Holland — historian and co-host of The Rest Is History and author of landmark books on Rome, Persia, and the roots of Western civilization — to explain why the Romans were wrong about the Jews, why the West fundamentally misunderstands Iran, and why secularism is itself a religious inheritance. From Cyrus the Great to the Iranian Revolution to Donald Trump, this is the episode that puts the present moment in full historical context.

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The fourth week of the war with Iran finds both sides insisting—loudly and contradictorily—that peace talks are either underway or nowhere in sight. In the meantime, Iranian missiles continue to hit civilian neighbourhoods across Israel, while rolling news blurs day into night, tracking both the war itself and the political manoeuvres that show little sign of slowing down. And in London, another antisemitic attack raises uncomfortable questions about double standards when it comes to hatred directed at Israel.

This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with Jake Sullivan, who puts it bluntly: this war should not have started. Sullivan lays out three reasons why the decision was flawed, argues that Donald Trump’s “appetite grew with the eating” from the 12-day war to the current escalation, and offers an alternative path—a renewed nuclear deal backed by long-term deterrence. He also raises a troubling possibility: could this conflict increase the likelihood of Chinese action against Taiwan?

 

Plus: a rare look behind the scenes of Israel’s most-watched news broadcast, as Yonit reflects on what it means to sit in the anchor’s chair for hours on end—and the personal toll it takes.

 

00:00 Day 27 — Cluster bomb near Yonit's house

 03:00 Life under sirens: sheltering in Tel Aviv 

19:48 The Rubio remark: did Israel drag America into war?

23:28 Yonit on anchoring Israel's news during a war she's living

31:23 Jonathan: global antisemitic attacks since the war began 

42:06 Jake Sullivan: deal or escalation?

1:15:16 Chutzpah & Mensch Awards

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This morning, Donald Trump posted something that might — or might not — mean the US-Israeli war on Iran is coming to an end.

A five-day pause on strikes. Secret talks via Pakistan and Turkey. Kushner and Witkoff on the American side. A shadowy Iranian speaker being cast as the pragmatist the US has been searching for. This is a special emergency episode of Unholy, recorded on 23 March 2026, as events were still unfolding.

Jonathan and Yonit break down the two scenarios — deal or larger war — and why Trump's exit ramp looks nothing like Netanyahu's. They also turn to the daily wave of antisemitic attacks across Europe and North America since this war began, including last night's arson on four Hatzalah ambulances in Golders Green, London.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Update Episode

01:02 Trump's Social Media Post and Its Implications

03:40 Negotiations and Mediating Efforts

08:29 The Role of Iran and Potential Outcomes

13:30 Israel's Position and Concerns

16:26 Rising Anti-Semitism and Community Safety

 

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Day 20 of the US-Israeli war on Iran — and it's becoming a war of attrition.  In the meantime, Europe refuses to lend its ships, daylight emerges between Trump and Netanyahu, and Joe Kent's antisemitic conspiracy theory gets the full debunking it deserves.

Amos Harel, Haaretz's military affairs correspondent, joins Yonit and Jonathan for a deep dive. What does the assassination of Ali Larijani — Khamenei's right-hand man — actually achieve? Is the war drifting from plan A toward something no one planned at all? And why is Netanyahu now talking less about regime change and more about Israel as a "world superpower"?

And we turn to you, our listeners, with your most pressing questions about anything between life and war.

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Naomi Alderman on Substack: look at me. I’m here. I’m the ultimate product of Hitler’s defeat: https://naomialderman.substack.com/p/look-at-me-im-here-im-the-ultimate

Day 13 of the war with Iran — and the conflict just got bigger. Overnight, 200 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon. Hezbollah, which many believed had been neutered, is back. 

This week, Yonit and Jonathan take stock of a war that is growing, not winding down. They're joined by General David Petraeus — former CIA Director, commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one of the most clear-eyed voices on American military strategy. Petraeus breaks down what the US and Israel have actually achieved so far: missile launches are down over 90%, air defenses have been dismantled, and over 6,000 targets hit. But the new Khamenei? "We wanted a Delcy Rodriguez," he says. "We got a young Kim Jong-un." And he's blunt about what comes next: Iran's a million men under arms, and nobody has a clean exit.

Then: a very different conversation. Jonathan talks to novelist and broadcaster Naomi Alderman about why she thinks Marty Supreme is the most intensely Jewish movie she's ever seen. 

Plus: the Mensch and Chutzpah awards return. The Academy of Hebrew Language gets hacked by Iranians. Their response? Perfect.

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