Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

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Dan Live from Michigan’s Temple Israel Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

Is this a turning point for Jews in America, and what happens if the country fails the test?

Recorded live at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, Dan Senor brings together New York Times columnist Bret Stephens and Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Hillary Scholten for a candid conversation about the rising tide of antisemitism, the political forces reshaping American life, and the choices facing Jews and their allies.

In this live conversation:

Dan explains the three-step playbook behind the blood libel that still plays out today
Bret Stephens reflects on reactions to October 7th, what it revealed about the Jewish community’s allies, and the meaning of becoming an “October 8th Jew.”
Stephens explores the uneasy parallels between Jewish success in the diaspora and the sudden rise of antisemitism.
Stephens reflects on how societies that condemn the Jews end up much worse in the aftermath.
Dan Senor, Gottheimer, and Scholten discuss the consequences for both parties when anti-Israel rhetoric moves from campus protests into the political mainstream.
The Representatives discuss what it takes to show moral courage when the political risks are very real.
Gottheimer and Scholten explain what they’re seeing inside their party, especially as Gottheimer co-chairs the Problem Solvers Caucus.
The conversation closes with a challenge to stand together, defend Jewish life, and decide what kind of country America wants to be.

𝗧𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/early-in-person-voting

𝗧𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/

𝗧𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

https://beaconcoalition.org/volunteer-reg/

Image credit: John Hardwick.

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

https://streicker.nyc/event/cmb_f2026/

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Andrej Todorovski, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, Karina Logiohio, Leonardo Erhardt, Ignacio Herbojo, and Yuval Semo

Is the U.S. Winning the Iran War? With Suzanne Maloney and Mark Dubowitz Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

The US seems to have won the Battle of Hormuz; what would it take to win the Iran War?

Seven months into the war, the US and Iran are locked in a high-stakes test of endurance, with the Strait of Hormuz, the global economy, and the future of the Middle East hanging in the balance. Dan Senor brings together two leading Iran experts, Mark Dubowitz and Suzanne Maloney, who sharply disagree on whether America is gaining the upper hand–or paying too steep of a strategic price. Their debate gets to the hardest question of all: Can the US win the war militarily and still lose strategically?

In this episode:

Two experts, two very different verdicts: Is Iran running out of options, or is Washington getting trapped in a war with no clear endgame?
The Strait of Hormuz was supposed to be Iran’s ultimate weapon. Has the US really taken that leverage away?
Why the Houthi threat could pull America deeper into a conflict it can’t easily contain
Can economic pressure bring down the Iranian regime—or are ordinary Iranians paying the price while the regime holds on?
Why have negotiations stalled, and is a nuclear deal still possible when the two sides fundamentally disagree on uranium enrichment?
With the nuclear program damaged but not eliminated, how much of a threat does Iran still pose?
Could another round of US or Israeli strikes be coming—and how might elections shape the timing?
If the regime survives but its military and nuclear capabilities are severely weakened, is that a victory—or a strategic failure?

Listen to Mark Dubowitz’ podcast, The Iran Breakdown:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-iran-breakdown-with-mark-dubowitz/id1798788194

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

https://streicker.nyc/event/cmb_f2026/

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This episode was sponsored by Birthright. Invest in the Jewish future today at https://onetripchangeseverything.com.

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Andrej Todorovski, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, Karina Logiohio, Leonardo Erhardt, Ignacio Herbojo, and Yuval Semo

Ask Me Anything with Dan Senor, Yael Bar tur and ChayaLeah Sufrin Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Dan Senor is joined by Yael Bar tur and ChayaLeah Sufrin, hosts of the new Ark Media podcast Chosen People Problems, for a wide-ranging Ask Me Anything. They tackle questions about the state of Jewish education, the appeal of anti-Zionism among young Americans, why Fauda is shaping perceptions of Israel globally, and what the rise of the European right means for Israel and Jews abroad.

In this episode:

What American Hebrew school gets wrong
Why anti-Zionism is resonating with young Americans
Will the language around “genocide” and anti-Zionism eventually change?
Why Fauda succeeds in telling Israeli stories better than non-fiction means
What the rise of the European right-wing means for Israel and European Jews
The unlikely allies Israel may need to turn to
Which American presidential candidates could effectively navigate Israeli issues
What the 2026 midterms might reveal about the Democratic Party’s direction

Read the article discussed in the episode.
https://www.thefp.com/p/douglas-murray-afd-election-far-right-immigration-merkel

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Andrej Todorovski, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, Karina Logiohio, Leonardo Erhardt, Ignacio Herbojo, and Yuval Semo

Can Diaspora Jews Move On From October 7? - with Rabbi David Wolpe and Rabbi David Ingber Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

What does it mean for diaspora Jews to move forward from October 7th without becoming complacent or consumed by fear?

Three years after October 7th, Dan Senor sits down with Rabbis David Ingber and David Wolpe to discuss what the aftermath has revealed about Jewish life in America. They discuss the growing sense of uncertainty among diaspora Jews, the tension between Jewish values and liberal democracy, the debate over Zionism, and how Jewish communities can respond with both moral clarity and openness.

In this episode:

Why October 8th became a turning point for diaspora Jews
Has the relationship between liberal democracy and Jewish life fundamentally changed?
The Jewish community remains divided over Israel, Zionism, and Jewish self-determination
Can Jews hold onto hope without ignoring the warning signs around them?
Re: Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s Kol Nidrei speech, does Zionism need to be reclaimed?
How do you distinguish moral clarity from paranoia when it comes to Jewish safety?
Why Jewish communities need to make room for disagreement without giving up their core values, allowing young people to enter the fold
What would it take to turn the years after October 7th into a renaissance of Jewish life?

Watch Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s Yom Kippur speech about reclaiming Zionism here.

This episode is sponsored by American Friends of Israel Navy SEALs (AFINS). For a brief video on Buddy Line and to support the program, visit https://AFINS.us/warriorcare.

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.
https://streicker.nyc/event/cmb_f2026/

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Sign up to Ark+ to get access to exclusive episodes and ad-free listening to Call Me Back and every show in the Ark Media Network.

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Andrej Todorovski, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, Karina Logiohio, Leonardo Erhardt, Ignacio Herbojo, and Yuval Semo

3 Big Changes at Ark Media Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Dan Senor and Ark Media CEO Ilan Benatar announce Ark+, our expanded membership; The Fold, our new private community; and the network's newest show, Chosen People Problems.

Join Ark+ and The Fold: arkmedia.org/subscribe

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Listen to: Chosen People Problems (May need a link once the title is changed)
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Inside the Hostage Negotiations - with Brett McGurk Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

What really happened inside the negotiations to free the October 7th hostages?

For 15 months, the Biden administration, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Hamas negotiated over one impossible question: how do you bring the hostages home while also fighting a war? Brett McGurk, who was at the center of those talks, joins Dan Senor to take listeners inside the negotiating rooms—from the first backchannel with Qatar to the deals that repeatedly came within reach and fell apart. He explains what he believes Washington got wrong, why public pressure sometimes made negotiations harder, and how an unlikely Biden-Trump transition partnership helped finally get a deal over the line.

Purchase Brett's book Brink - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/843630/brink-by-brett-mcgurk/
RSVP to our October 5th Virtual Announcement Event: https://arkmedia.org/rsvp/

Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a Subscriber - Inside Call me Back

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In this episode:

What Washington knew in the first hours after October 7th
How Qatar became the critical channel to Hamas
Why the first hostage deal nearly collapsed over the younger women
The impossible tradeoff between freeing hostages and maintaining military pressure
Did public U.S. pressure on Israel make a hostage deal harder to reach?
Why the deaths of six hostages changed McGurk’s view of the negotiations
How the Biden and Trump teams worked together to close the final deal
What the hostage crisis revealed about divisions inside Israeli society

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Brittany Cohen, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

How Fiction Will Remember October 7 - with Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

How do you turn October 7th into fiction when it still feels like the present?

For more than a decade, Fauda has turned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a global television phenomenon. But Season 5 takes on something different: two episodes that put its fictional characters inside the events of October 7th, while the trauma is still very much alive. Dan sits down with Fauda creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff to discuss the responsibility of dramatizing a real catastrophe, what they chose to show—and leave unseen—and what happens when fiction begins to shape how the world remembers history.

Read John Aziz’s Atlantic piece on Fauda here.

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call Me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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This episode is sponsored by The Israel Democracy Institute: For resources on Israel's upcoming election and to learn more about IDI, visit https://en.idi.org.il/

Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a subscriber - Inside Call me Back

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In this episode:

- How Fauda reconstructed the events of October 7th

- How the co-creators determined the level of violence they could portray

- Why the creators saw Season 5 as more than just another season of TV

- Why Fauda is drawing a huge audience across the Arab world

- Can a television show become part of the historical record that’s still being written?

- In an era of misinformation and anti-semitism, why it’s important to tell this story during a still-living trauma

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Brittany Cohen, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

Is the Iran-Sanctions Playbook Coming for Israel? - with Mark Dubowitz Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Could the financial warfare playbook built to isolate Iran be turned against Israel?

Twenty-four hours after Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the UN, the organization expanded its settlement-business blacklist to more than 200 companies. It’s not a sanctions regime, but could it be the beginning of something much bigger? Dan sits down with Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who helped build the architecture used to isolate Iran, to discuss whether the same playbook could be used against Israel, how quickly targeted measures can escalate, and what Israel can do to stop it.

Read Mark Dubowitz’s FDD report here.

RSVP to our October 5th Virtual Announcement Event: https://arkmedia.org/rsvp/

Get your tickets to a live taping of Call me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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This episode is sponsored by American Friends of Magen David Adom. You can support their important work at afmda.org/callmeback.

Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a Subscriber - Inside Call me Back
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In this episode:

- How anti-Israel sentiment could turn into financial pressure

- Are sanctions against Israel already beginning?

- How one designation can scare banks and investors

- Would replacing Netanyahu reverse the momentum?

- Can Israel’s economic strength protect it from sanctions?

- How deeper U.S.-Israel ties, and cultural integration, could prevent financial isolation

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Listen to What’s Your Number?
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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel
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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Brittany Cohen, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

Sneak Peek: Amit Segal on why Israel can't address its long-term problems, and more... Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

This is a sneak peek from the members-only edition of Inside Call Me Back. Dan and Amit Segal discuss the attack against Ambassador Leiter’s son, generational shift in American attitudes toward Israel, why Amit sees different forces driving younger Democrats and Republicans, and what Israel may need to change in its relationship with the United States.

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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

For the full episode, subscribe here to - Inside Call me Back
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You can access the full episode here, where Dan and Amit answer listener questions about:

- What actually divides Israel’s left and right today?

- What would Netanyahu do if he lost?

- Can the IDF convince Haredim that military service won’t change who they are?

- Is the Haredi political establishment starting to crack?

- Why are some Israelis willing to spy for Iran?

- Could the road to Saudi normalization run through Yemen?

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More Ark Media:

Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.
Explore Israel Votes
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Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal
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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel
Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Devan Schwartz, Ryan Lohr, Brittany Cohen, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

Is Israel’s Global Standing on The (Israeli) Ballot? - with Amit Segal and Nadav Eyal Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Is Israel’s growing isolation abroad becoming a political problem at home?

As Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York for a brief UN visit just weeks before Israel’s election, Israel’s standing in the United States is deteriorating, even as Netanyahu’s political position at home has improved. Dan is joined by Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal to ask whether Israeli voters see the country’s growing international isolation with the same urgency as diaspora Jews, and how that divide is shaping an increasingly complicated election.

Read Rep. Brad Sherman’s warning about declining American support for Israel here.

Read Mark Dubowitz’s FDD analysis on how the financial warfare model used against Iran could one day be turned against Israel here.

RSVP to our October 5th Virtual Announcement Event: https://arkmedia.org/rsvp/

Get your tickets to a live taping of Call me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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This episode is sponsored by American Friends of Magen David Adom. You can support their important work at afmda.org.

Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a Subscriber - Inside Call me Back
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In this episode:

05:48 Netanyahu’s UN speech is really aimed at Israeli voters
10:00 Why American support for Israel is eroding
17:00 Is Israel’s problem bigger than Netanyahu?
20:00 Do Israelis see a threat to Israel’s global standing?
24:00 Could a different government change Israel’s trajectory?
27:00 Why Israel’s electoral map may be shifting toward Netanyahu
34:00 Can Eisenkot win by simply being “not Netanyahu”?
38:00 What happens if neither side in Israel can form a government?

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More Ark Media:

Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.
Explore Israel Votes
Listen to Ark News Daily
Listen to For Heaven's Sake
Listen to What’s Your Number?
Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal
Instagram | Ark Media | Dan
X | Dan
Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel
Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Devan Schwartz, Brittany Cohen, Mindy Schaper, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

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