The Fathom Podcast

In front of a live audience in Tel Aviv, Fathom Editor Calev Ben-Dor talks to Matti Friedman about his new book, Out of the Sky. They discuss Hannah Senesh and the other parachutists who returned to Nazi controlled Europe, the concepts of heroism then and now, different “solutions” to the so-called Jewish Question, and Matti's recent article about Gazology.
 

Howard Jacobson is a British Jewish novelist and journalist who has written more than twenty books, including seventeen novels, and won the Booker Prize for fiction. This interview focuses on three of his books: The Finkler Question (2010), J (2014) and his most recent novel, Howl. Fathom spoke to him in early July.

In early June 2026, Fathom editors Calev Ben-Dor and Andrew Apostolou spoke to Elliot Abrams. Abrams is Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has previously served in senior roles in the US government, including as Deputy National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush and as Special Representative for Iran in the first Trump administration.

On April 23 2026, Fathom editors spoke to Lebanon expert Hanin Ghaddar, the Friedman Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute. As Israeli and Lebanese Ambassadors renewed talks under the auspices of the US, they discussed the current violence between Israel and Hezbollah, the group’s military capacity and political strength, the ability of the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm the group, and the possibility of normalisation between the two countries.

In late March, Fathom spoke to Merav Roth (née Lapid) about her work treating trauma in Israel. She discusses the different circles of grief and reflects on her work with survivors from October 7 and returning hostages. 

In late March, Fathom spoke to Merav Roth (née Lapid) about her work treating trauma in Israel. She discusses the different circles of grief and reflects on her work with survivors from October 7 and returning hostages. 

With thousands reportedly killed by the regime, Fathom spoke to Iran expert Alireza Nader about the uprising in the country. He discussed what he terms the revolutionary movement in Iran, opposition perspectives on the late Shah's son, some of the challenges faced by the opposition in light of the 'frenzied killing' carried out by the Islamic Republic, and the approach of the Trump Administration - which may have missed an opportunity to intervene in the crisis.

Sima Shine, Alireza Nader, and Jonathan Rynhold consider the achievements of Israeli and American action in Iran. Were the aims to degrade or destroy the Iranian nuclear programme? What do they assess has been the true damage to the programme? What comes next in this war, and what do the latest developments signify in terms of the grip the Tehran regime holds on the country?

Tal Becker is the vice president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, where he leads educational initiatives on Israel in the Jewish world. He served until recently as a legal advisor with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been a senior member of Israeli peace negotiation team in successive rounds of peace negotiations. He also played an instrumental role in negotiating and drafting the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. America. In this interview, Becker recounts his time negotiating during the Annapolis process and the Abraham Accords, and shares his insights about creating a better future in the Middle East.