The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Health editor Diana Bletter and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
With the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and surrounding towns facing constant fire from Hezbollah rockets, Bletter reports on the sense of desolation and concern from residents that the IDF won't finish the job in Lebanon, requiring them to go through another round of war in another six months' time.
Surkes discusses Israeli organizational efforts to help the Arab community in the north build emotional resilience during wartime, given concerns over a lack of adequate shelter in their communities and the terrible wave of internal violence.
After the Health Ministry budget was cut by $20 million, Bletter reports on fundraising efforts by Israeli hospitals, which are running their operations underground during the war.
Finally, Surkes briefly examines how birds struggle to breed in open spaces amid the noise pollution from nearby roads.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Northern residents concerned IDF won’t be allowed to ‘finish the job’ against Hezbollah
In mixed Haifa, weary residents face near-constant Iranian and Hezbollah missile fire
Facing violence on all fronts, Arab Israelis are unprecedentedly open to mental health help
As Iranian missiles rain down, hospitals scramble to raise funds for underground shelters
Road racket killing the mood for birds breeding in half of Israel’s open spaces – study
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene where a missile fired from Lebanon toward Israel caused damage in Kiryat Shmona, March 24, 2026. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
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Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.
This week, the team takes our listeners -- and our boss -- up on their recommendations.
After Borschel-Dan asked listeners for their favorite stand-up comedians, we received a deluge of responses. We decided to launch our stand-up tour with "Modi: Know Your Audience," which is available freely on YouTube. While both had heard of the very Jewish performer, this was their first-time watching a full-length show.
Next, we discuss "The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel," which is now streaming on Netflix. The documentary sheds light on the origins of the still-hot band and focuses on its original guitarist Hillel Slovak. Born in Israel, gifted guitarist Slovak was the catalyst that brought both bassist Flea and lead singer Anthony Kiedis to the music world. For our duo of reviewers, it was a chance to revisit their high school soundtrack.
Stick around to see who got the "oy," the "meh" and the "not bad" marks in this week's The Reel Schmooze.
The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign for Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse.
This week, the Board of Peace’s top Gaza envoy Nickolay Mladenov revealed the principles of the disarmament proposal submitted to Hamas earlier this month. He urged the international community to pressure the Palestinian terror group to accept the offer in order to prevent another cycle of violence in the Gaza Strip.
But before diving into what these principles entail, we place Hamas and the Gaza Strip into the context of the current US-Israel war on Iran.
Hamas, argues Alkhatib, triggered this war -- and potentially the downfall of the Islamic Republic -- through its murderous onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Will it now be the last terror proxy standing?
And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
The war in Iran has reached a new, somewhat odd, phase. After hammering the Islamic Republic for four weeks, US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell announcement this week -- that he was in talks with Tehran over an end to the war.
Iran initially denied the talks, then acknowledged that there were contacts, and released a series of demands for the war to end.
Now, the US and Israel continue to strike Iran, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Trump talks about Iran talks.
Raz Zimmt, Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, joins Lazar to make sense of what is happening inside Iran, and where the war might go from here.
He explains who is running Iran, and why the country is moving in an even more hardline direction. Zimmt argues that Iran's motivation for building a nuclear weapon has gone up drastically, and Ali Khamenei's fatwa against one is no longer in place now that he is dead.
The regime shows no signs of cracking, Zimmt argues, though its military industries and capabilities have been badly degraded.
If talks with the US fail, he says, the war seems headed for further escalation. That may come in the form of an invasion of Kharg Island, which Zimmt says is the wrong way to force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Yitzhak Ledee.
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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
In today's episode, we take a step back and take a look at the holistic picture that brought the US and Israel to declare war on the rapacious Iranian regime. We discuss attempts to initiate high-level negotiations with Iran and the potential consequences of a "premature" ceasefire.
Turning our gaze to Lebanon and Gaza, Horovitz describes how toppling Iran may be easier than the elusive "total victory" in Gaza or the suppression of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
We finish our conversation with a brief review of the stagnant status quo in Gaza amid a new effort from the Board of Peace to inject new momentum into the disarmament of Hamas.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Seeking a deal with different faces of the same regime, Trump risks subverting his own vital war goals
9 injured as Iran fires 6 missile salvos at Israel within hours, many with cluster warheads
Trump: Iran wants deal ‘so badly’; White House says campaign ‘very close’ to meeting goals
Hezbollah fires missiles at central Israel; 2 soldiers seriously hurt in Lebanon
Hezbollah chief rejects Israel talks as ‘surrender’ amid continued IDF strikes
Board of Peace envoy lays out principles of disarmament plan presented to Hamas
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Pro-government supporters wave Iranian flags during a rally in a square in western Tehran, Iran, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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