The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table

Peter Savodnik joins us to talk about Nicholas Kristof’s column alleging abuse of Palestinian prisoners, including the most extreme dog-rape allegation, and how pro-Israel people should respond when the reporting is weak but the underlying issue may still deserve investigation. We talk about the difference between bad journalism and false accusations, the danger of reflexively circling the wagons, Ben-Gvir and the Israeli prison system, antisemitism, double standards against Israel, whether Jews are being pushed back into history, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Gavin Newsom, Jonathan Haidt, Twitter addiction, and the general collapse of everyone’s sanity online. Peter Savodnik reported for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Guardian, GQ, Wired and other venues from the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Asia and across the United States. His book, The Interloper: Lee Harvey Oswald Inside the Soviet Union, was published in 2013 by Basic Books. He is now a senior editor at The Free Press and based in Los Angeles. https://x.com/petersavodnik Chapters: 00:00 Intro and Peter Savodnik joins 01:16 Nick Kristof’s Israel prison-abuse column 06:15 Olmert, Benny Morris, Haviv Rettig Gur, and what may actually be true 10:00 Double standards, bad reporting, and how Israel should respond 15:56 The dog-rape allegation and the danger of reflexive denial 22:22 Why Israel may need its own serious investigation 24:23 Circling the wagons vs. demanding proof 28:17 What real reporting would require 34:03 Retractions, antisemitism, and “emptying our pockets” for every accusation 38:27 Are Jews and Israel entering a more dangerous historical moment? 49:11 JD Vance, Rubio, Trump, and the future of the Republican Party 57:18 Gavin Newsom, 2028, and the Democrats 59:26 Jonathan Haidt, NYU, wokeness, and phone addiction 01:04:13 Twitter fights, the new Comedy Cellar room and final thoughts

Noam Dworman and Periel Aschenbrand are joined by return-guest, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, for a wide-ranging debate about truth, propaganda, evidence, starvation and the Israel-Gaza war. The conversation focuses on John Mearsheimer’s claims about October 7, whether public intellectuals should lose credibility when they make unsupported accusations, disputed casualty reporting in Gaza and the role political bias plays in shaping what people choose to believe. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is a general, trauma, and critical care surgeon in California. He is also a humanitarian surgeon, having worked most extensively in Palestine, but also in Ukraine, Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Burkina Faso. He has written and spoken extensively about surgical humanitarian work, the United States’ role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the political consequences of medical relief work. Twitter/X @FerozeSidhwa Chapters: 00:00 Intro and Twitter fights 08:14 Mearsheimer, October 7, and “good faith” arguments 15:25 Trump, Epstein, and blackmail claims 22:01 The Israel Lobby and the Iraq War debate 34:05 Germany comparisons and collective punishment 37:09 Netanyahu, “Amalek,” and genocide accusations 46:15 Dead children, crossfire, and moral responsibility 47:43 Gaza aid shootings and casualty reporting 50:02 The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion controversy 55:11 Rashid Khalidi, sources, and historical credibility

Noam Dworman is joined by Professor Gerald Steinberg. Steinberg breaks down the hidden world of NGOs—what they are, how they gained massive global influence and why he believes many have drifted far from their original mission. From organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to their role at the United Nations, Steinberg argues that these groups now act as powerful political players shaping narratives around conflicts like Israel–Palestine.  Gerald Steinberg is founder and president of NGO Monitor and Professor at Bar Ilan University. His research focuses on Middle East diplomacy and Israeli security, and the politics of human rights and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Prestigious grants and prizes include Israel Science Foundation, Bonei Zion Prize (2017) and the Bernard Lewis Prize in 2025. https://x.com/GeraldNGOM

Andrew Fox joins Live From The Table to talk about personal courage, Gaza, Hamas casualty numbers, Israel’s military strategy, Iran, the Strait of Hormuz and what modern war actually looks like. Andrew Fox is a former British Army officer (three tours in Afghanistan), now a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank. Fox has been to the frontlines in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine. He wrote the first papers worldwide exposing the Hamas fatality figures manipulation in Gaza and showing how Israel actually fought on the ground in Gaza from a tactical perspective. mrandrewfox.substack.com https://x.com/mr_andrew_fox 0:00 Intro 1:00 Serving in Afghanistan 4:00 Looking back on the war 7:30 Hamas casualty numbers in Gaza 10:00 Why Andrew looked into the numbers 12:00 Hamas figures, IDF figures, and media coverage 15:30 Civilian casualties and Hamas’s strategy 18:15 Child fighters and Hamas 19:25 Why Andrew speaks up for Israel and Jews 22:00 Problems inside the IDF 28:40 Iran and the wider war 31:50 Why stopping Iran’s nuclear program matters 37:30 Strait of Hormuz 42:00 What kind of Iran deal would make sense? 47:20 Why this is different from the JCPOA 54:00 Gaza casualty ratios and urban war 57:00 Was the Gaza war worth it? 1:02:00 Why Israel went into Gaza first 1:04:30 Final thoughts

Separating Politics from Reality. Is the war going better than we realize?Eliot A. Cohen is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He is a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University, the author of the forthcoming book The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics, and a co-host of the Shield of the Republic podcast.