Jamie is a journalist and a political commentator. His work has been featured on The Daily Caller, the Rolling Stones, and the Daily Beast, and he has appeared on MSNBC and Fox News and was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, among others. Jamie is also the host of The Dispatch Podcast Monday show, as well as The Jamie Weinstein Show. 

One of the reasons I wanted to speak to Jamie is because of his ability to effectively converse with challenging and “controversial” figures like Mehdi Hasan and Bill Ayers. 

In today’s world, many in the “Podcast Sphere” invite very controversial figures to just “have a conversation.” However, more often than not, these conversations become a tool for bad actors to engage in manipulative propaganda without being effectively challenged by the interviewer. Jamie is an excellent example of how one should engage in challenging conversation with notoriously manipulative guests. 

In our conversation, we discuss the Oct. 7th massacre and the aftermath, the future of the Jewish community in the diaspora, college campus demonstrations, America’s involvement in the Middle East, the rise in Anti-semitism in Europe, public opinion on Israel, Iran’s military power, how to effectively converse with “controversial figures,” and much more. 

It was a true pleasure to have a fruitful discussion on these many different topics with Jamie. 

To support us, please share this podcast with your friends and family to help spread the word

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TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00 - Introduction 

04:00 - Oct. 7th And The Aftermath 

08:50 - Oct. 7th's Impact On World Jewry 

12:47 - How American Jews Deal With The Oct. 7th Aftermath 

16:55 - How Israel Is Being Perceived By The World 

20:00 - How Can Europe Deal With Antisemitism? 

26:00 - What Is The Fundamental Difference Between Europe and The United States? 
29:30 - Do College Campuses Represent America? 

39:00 - Are We On The Precipice of Genocide? 

40:10 - Should We Be Pessimists Or Optimists About The Future? 

44:10 - Why International Institutions Are Anti-Israel? 

52:00 - Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome 

56:00 - America's Involvement in The Middle East and In Israel In Particular 

59:40 - The Consequences of Obama's Foreign Policy In The Middle East 

63:00 - Are We Overstating Iran's Military Power? 

66:40 - What Americans and Israelis Get Wrong About Each Other? 

70:30 - Do Israelis Understand How The World Views Them? 

73:00 - Should We Platform Controversial People? 

78:00 - How To Prepare For an Interview With a Controversial Figure?

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LINKS: The Dispatch - https://thedispatch.com/article/introducing-the-newest-dispatch-podcast-host/ 

The Jamie Weinstein Show - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jamie-weinstein-show/id1158060960 

Jamie's Interview With Mehdi Hasan - https://youtu.be/YzpFBPwka0s 
 

Matti Friedman is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and a best-selling author of several books, including The Aleppo Codex, Pumpkinflowers, Spies of No Country, and Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai.

In 2014 Matti published two essays in Tablet Magazine and The Atlantic where he recounted his experience as a reporter for the Associated Press working in Jerusalem covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 2006 to 2011.  

Matti’s essays shed a concerning light on the way international media is framing and covering the story, how through their “journalistic work” they launder biased reporting that portrays Israel as the villain, and why this one tiny country that constitutes less than 0.5% of the entire Islamic world, became the most covered story in journalism.

We recorded this conversation two days after the unprecedented attack against Israel launched by Iran and its proxies, which illustrates again why framing this conflict as an Israeli-Palestinian one is so wrong and misleading.

Our conversation was focused mainly on Israel, but we also touched on Matti’s books. We discussed, Matti’s experience at the AP, why Israel gets so much bad press, the role of Qatar and Al-Jazeera in amplifying the propaganda against Israel, the role of Israeli journalists in covering the conflict, whether Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for the deteriorating US-Israel relations, the almost inevitable future war against Hezbollah, the First Lebanon War and its impact on the way Israel is pursuing wars ever since, Leonard Cohen’s visit to Israel during the Yum Kippur war of 1973, what is the Aleppo Codex and why Matti started investigating the story about the most ancient Hebrew bible in the world, and much more.

Matti is one of the more honest journalists out there, and if you read his articles, books, or essays, it is hard not to conclude that he is doing something that has almost vanished from this world - true investigative journalism.

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YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LonelyPodcast-uh1rp

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ktRM7SIzVWcAhE9jqGIq3

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lonely-podcast/id1510273071

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) - Introduction

(05:10) - Working for the Associated Press (AP) covering the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

(08:20) - Why Israel is getting so much (bad) press?

(13:23) - How does the Media launder Palestinian Propaganda?

(19:15) - Why framing the story as an Israeli-Palestinian conflict is misleading?

(24:48) - How Israel should be covered?

(26:40) - Journalism vs. Activism

(31:15) - Do Israelis understand how the Media captures them?

(39:30) - How is Benjamin Netanyahu prosecuting this war?

(44:00) - Is a war with Hezbollah inevitable?

(49:50) - Has Israel forgotten how to win wars?

(55:10) - Why a change in Israeli leadership is necessary

(59:00) - Who By Fire

(65:00) - The Aleppo Codex

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MATTI’S BOOKS:

The Aleppo Codex: In Pursuit of One of the World’s Most Coveted, Sacred, and Mysterious Books: https://a.co/d/8mpMXVX

Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War: https://a.co/d/hLwegmh

Spies of No Country: Israel's Secret Agents at the Birth of the Mossad: https://a.co/d/h2nl0HY

Who By Fire: War, Atonement, and the Resurrection of Leonard Cohen: https://a.co/d/3tyCi3Q

Norman Ohler is a German Novelist, screenwriter, and a New York Times Bestselling author of the Book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany. Norman had just released his brand new book Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age

In this conversation, we discuss how and why he started investigating the issue of drugs in the Third Reich. The prevalence of drugs in Germany during the war, the birth of LSD, how it was misused and experimented by the American CIA, the origins of The War on Drugs, what are the medicinal advantages of LSD and psilocybin, how micro-dosing of LSD helped Norman’s mother to treat her Alzheimer disease, the current state of research on psychedelics, and much more.

I really enjoyed speaking with Norman and believe that his books are a must-read. Personally, I can say that as someone who has avoided using any kind of drug throughout my life, I have become very curious to at least try micro-dosing after reading Tripped.

To support us please share this podcast with your friends and family to help spread the word.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) - Introduction

(03:55) - Drugs in Nazi Germany

(06:15) - The Role of Methamphetamine in Germany During WWII

(07:53) - The Role of Methamphetamine in the German Army

(10:34) - The Deteriorating Effects of Pervitin

(14:00) - Is Adderall the New Pervitin?  

(17:15) - Why Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are a Vehicle For Success in Capitalist Societies?

(20:55) - The Unintended Results of Legalizations

(27:35) - How Should We Introduce Drugs Into Society?

(28:50) - The Birth of LSD

(40:30) - The Prohibition of Psychedelics

(42:45) - The Truth Behind The CIA's Mind-Control Program

(47:00) - The Impact of LSD

(50:25) - Western Discovery of The Magic Mushroom

(56:45) - The Current State of Research on Psychedelics

(58:15) - LSD For Mom - The Impact of Micro-dosing on Norman's Mother Who Suffers From Alzheimer

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LINKS TO NORMAN'S BOOKS:

Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich - https://www.amazon.com/Blitzed-Drugs-Third-Norman-Ohler/dp/1328663795

Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age - https://www.amazon.com/Tripped-Nazi-Germany-Dawn-Psychedelic/dp/0358646502/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UH4U8FknRlqBWMauOVjzBiagdC5oTnBSg5jctwhLnJm8FVIHV5Veuj226ZjDncOaC5rkqH2-kIP9C4I9sEzlamFymeH3gmsi-Pwp0EXQT16ZaCKghjDXNgHDQ4JKs6wgMBTDJ73hB19onQXnmewCHKlxY7xhwPPfi45bjMpKpHLBYkOmukA1Hy6aeKvnmjP8BVzSSaaVJGU2uIVEvTcuvQ.gZ4VrZTW_x9Ykd2ZA9x5UHLzFTT0-eCpGrevF7mIXsw&dib_tag=se&hvadid=580696009408&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028787&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1341579547687034599&hvtargid=kwd-307468164419&hydadcr=22563_13493224&keywords=blitzed+by+norman+ohler&qid=1713213229&s=books&sr=1-4

Dr. Wilf is a public intellectual, and the author of several books, including The War of Return and We Should All Be Zionists. She has a B.A. from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Cambridge University.

She is a former member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) with the Labor Party and served as an advisor for former President Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin, who is considered to be the architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords.

After witnessing the bloodbath that washed over Israel during the second Intifada in the early 2000th, Wilf started questioning her beliefs about a viable two-state solution and more broadly, what is it that the Palestinians really want.

In this conversation, we explore many topics, including why the “West” is unable to admit that the majority of the Palestinians never supported a two-state solution, how societies in decline use anti-zionism to divert from their problem and scapegoat the Jews, what Jews, Zionists, and Israelis should do to counter Anti-Zionist hate, what Oct. 7th did to the Israeli psyche, Israel’s existential threat, whether we should qualify the war as against Hamas as opposed to against the Palestinian narrative, and much more.

Einat is a fountain of knowledge with unique expertise on this particular and complicated topic and has a very important voice that needs to be amplified. It was a true privilege to speak with her in person in Tel Aviv.

To support us, please share this podcast with your friends and family to help spread the word.

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) - Introduction

(02:55) - The Misconceptions About the Conflict

(06:43) - How did Dr. Wilf change her mind about the conflict?

(11:36) - Dr. Wilf's Aha Moment

(15:00) - Why The Western World Insists on a Two-State Solution?

(17:30) - Westplaining

(19:23) - How We Can Shift The Narrative?

(22:28) - How Did We Lose Academia?

(25:00) - How The Soviets Created Anti-Zionism

(30:00) - "We Can't Have Nice Things Because of Jews"

(32:30) - How Societies in Crisis Blame The Jews

(36:00) - Can We Save Academia?

(38:00) - The Genius Of Making Zionism Toxic

(40:40) - What is the Pound Of Flesh Dynamic?

(44:00) - The Decline Of Jewish Organizations On Campus

(47:30) - How To Counter Anti-Zionism?

(50:40) - Understanding Where Anti-Zionism Goes

(57:00) - Should We Be Surprised By Oct. 7th?

(59:15) - The Palestinian Idea Of a Violent "Return"

(61:30) - Do Israelis Understand The Palestinians?

(64:30) - Why Did The Arabs Oppose Israel?

(68:00) - Israel's Existential Threat

(73:30) - Should We Qualify The War As Against Hamas or Against The Palestinians?

(75:00) - What Should be The Goal of This War?

(78:30) - Comparing Gaza To Japan of 1945 - The Potsdam Declaration

(81:30) - Are We Blowing The International Response Out of Proportion?

(87:00) - How Would The Americans Respond To An Israeli Firm Stand?

(89:00) - A Positive Note

Dr. Einat Wilf’s Books:

The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace - https://www.amazon.com/War-Return-Indulgence-Palestinian-Obstructed/dp/1250252768

We Should All Be Zionists: Essays on the Jewish State and the Path to Peace - https://www.amazon.com/We-Should-All-Be-Zionists-ebook/dp/B0B9NBNF4D?ref_=ast_author_dp

Dr. Einat Wilf on Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/EinatWilf

00:00 - Introduction 

02:43 - Who is Mr. Nice Guys? 

06:42 - The Two Categories of Nice Guys 

12:45 - Why Nice Guys Are Not Self Aware? 

14:08 - I'm So Good vs. I'm So Bad Nice Guy 

16:03 - The Victimization Paradigm 

22:25 - What is Borrowed Function and Why it Destroys Relationships 

27:44 - The Origins of The Nice Guys Syndrome Explained 

36:01 - Why No More Mr. Nice Guy is Relevant Today More Than Ever 

40:16 - Gender and The Identity Crisis 

49:17 - How Nice Guys Use Covert Contracts in Relationships 

54:55 - The Problem With Seeking Women's Approval 

58:49 - Sex As a Form of Approval From Women 

60:01 - How To Change and Stop Being Mr. Nice Guy? 

69:11 - Why Building Strong Relationships With Other Men is Important 

71:36 - How to Date Better? 

78:51 - How to Gain Confidence With Women? 

80:39 - Who is The Integrated Man (The Recovered Nice Guy) 

82:19 - Dr. Robert Glover's Book And Movie Recommendations

LINKS TO DR. GlOVER’S BOOK AND MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS: 

BOOKS: 

The Odyssey by Homer - https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer/dp/0393089053/ref=asc_df_0393089053/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312009759033&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8696806884140797220&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028776&hvtargid=pla-386229716788&psc=1&mcid=e0774ce9a4a038eb9c7446552cdb1386&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwP6sBhDAARIsAPfK_wa9aaQNR-p9VC5xblkh0w6fSNOs2JpXxpEW2UROoKwEK24qRF8fy6oaAicOEALw_wcB 

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk - https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0393327345 

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - https://www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Sea-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0684801221 

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida - https://www.amazon.com/The-Way-of-Superior-Man-audiobook/dp/B07FXZBYJ9/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=598611057012&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028776&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11050140863465850319&hvtargid=kwd-1126389782&hydadcr=15527_13558519&keywords=the+way+of+the+superior+man&qid=1705015018&sr=8-1 

Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch PhD - https://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Marriage-Intimacy-Committed-Relationships/dp/0393334279/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=174232210495&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028776&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6920176993297271473&hvtargid=kwd-2744782865&hydadcr=24630_9648900&keywords=passionate+marriage+book&qid=1705015109&sr=8-1 

MOVIES: 

American Beauty - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/ 

Fight Club - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/ 

300 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/ 

Schindler's List - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/

Sam is a remarkable independent journalist and reporter with over 35 years of experience in the business. Earlier in his career, Sam spent 10 years living in Mexico and working as a freelance journalist, where he published two of his first non-fiction novels.

Among many famous journals, Sam wrote for the LA Times, the New York Times, National Geographic, the Atlantic, and many more.

Sam is mostly known for his two most recent books, the first, Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, was published in 2015 and received the National Book Critics Circle award. It was also selected as one of the Best Books of 2015 by Amazon, Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Seattle Times, Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Entertainment Weekly, and much more. Dreamland provides a grim view into the opiate epidemic in America, explains its roots, and its devastating effects throughout the country. The book had a tremendous impact on the way American society viewed the Opiate crisis and was pivotal in shifting the narrative against big Pharma.

His most recent book, The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, was released in 2021 and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle award. The Lease of Us provides a deep dive into the history of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine and how these drugs revolutionized the international drug market and drug consumption in America.

Sam has a unique ability to provide, on the one hand, a deep explanation of the root causes of the crisis while, on the other hand, sharing extremely touching individual stories that would help one restore faith in humanity.

During our conversation, we discussed what led Sam to investigate these issues, namely the opioid crisis and the prevalence of synthetic drugs on America’s streets. His journies around the country in pursuit of the truth, the impact of the “Drugafication of America” on our society, the danger in modern-day synthetic drugs, the unwanted outcomes of the legalization of Marijuana, the role of Big Pharma and big business in this crisis, and Sam’s Marshall Plan to Save America.

This was one of my favorite episodes thus far, and I’m sure you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/nlaKekW-2-k

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ktRM7SIzVWcAhE9jqGIq3

Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lonely-podcast/id1510273071

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) - Introduction

(04: 53) - What brought Sam to write Dreamland

(07:17) - How the Mexican Drug Cartels found a new heroin market in America

(14:50) - Why Columbus Ohio became the epicenter of the Opioid Crisis?

(16:15) - What is unique about the Opioid Crisis that is different than any other drug crisis?

(17:30) - Why Fentanyl and Methamphetamine are different than any other drug in history?

(24:45) - How "regular people" fall into drug addiction

(28:00) - The disease of addiction and effective treatment

(32:50) - Why the homelessness crisis is so extreme in San Francisco?

(37:00) - Reasons for homelessness

(41:00) - the role of Marijuana?

(44:00) - The Drugafication of America

(49:00) - How effective drug legalization looks like?

(54:00) - The impact of "Dreamland" on the narrative against Big Pharma

(60:00) - The Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma

(64:00) - The Marshall Plan to Save America

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LINKS TO SAM'S WORK:

The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth: https://www.amazon.com/Least-Us-Tales-America-Fentanyl/dp/1635574358

Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic: https://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-True-Americas-Opiate-Epidemic/dp/1620402521/ref=sr_1_1?crid=271W7AI22JU3I&keywords=dreamland%20sam%20quinones&qid=1645989580&s=books&sprefix=dreamland%2Cstripbooks%2C96&sr=1-1

True Tales from Another Mexico: https://www.amazon.com/True-Tales-Another-Mexico-Quinones/dp/0826322964

Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration: https://www.amazon.com/Antonios-Gun-Delfinos-Dream-Migration/dp/082634254X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Sam’s Website: https://samquinones.com/

Sam on X: https://twitter.com/samquinones7

Korey Wise Innocence Project.- website: https://www.colorado.edu/outreach/korey-wise-innocence-project/

Free Hearts Free Minds - https://www.freeheartsfreeminds.com/about.html

The Forgotten Feminists - https://www.yasminemohammed.com/forgottenfeministsold

The Clarity Coalition - https://claritycoalition.org/