The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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, we spend the entire episode on Haifa-born iconic animator Ralph Bakshi's 1977 sci-fi adventure, "Wizards."
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox, the loose premise sets the film about 5,000 years in the future, following a World War III that left Earth so full of radiation to split humanity into fairy-type creatures and mutants.
The majority of the raunchy ride builds up to a battle between twin brothers -- two wizards who represent magic or technology.
Definitely not a kids' flick, the animation is violent and emphasizes several female fairies' -- ahem -- assets.
Hoffman delves deeply into why this is a foundational film and explains the ongoing resonance of Bakshi's work. Borschel-Dan is much less impressed.
Let’s hear who gave this film an “oy,” “meh” or the prized “not bad” this week on 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 Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with CEO of Community Security Service Richard Priem.
While guarding his Dutch synagogue as a 17-year-old, Priem knew there were two places where Jews wouldn't experience antisemitism: Israel and the United States. Whereas in Europe, where Jews regularly must go through security checks and metal detectors before entering community events, he was sure the Jewish State and the Goldene Medina were different.
That "age of security" for US Jewry changed around the time of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting, he said.
This is where his NGO steps in: Founded in 2007, the not-for-profit aims to empower Jewish volunteers and strengthen their communal security toolboxes to prevent attacks and de-escalate situations as they arise.
As Priem, a former paratrooper in the IDF puts it, who better to preemptively ascertain something is amiss than the community regulars themselves?
In this episode, we hear real-life examples of how CSS volunteers saved lives. Later, Priem lays out a hypothetical plan to secure Borschel-Dan's upcoming speaking gig in Chicago.
We learn about the need for "digital hygiene" and how a force of thousands of volunteers -- and growing -- are allowing Jews to be loud and proud again.
And so this week, we ask Richard Priem, 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.
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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 US-Israeli war against Iran was initially about military capabilities -- Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its armed proxies -- but very quickly became a war about energy.
It was Iran's ability to choke global energy supplies that forced US President Donald Trump to effectively stop the war.
We also saw how central the flow of natural gas has been to the Ukraine war, as European countries scrambled to replace Russian gas to heat their homes and power their economies.
These complex challenges take place as the world tries to come up with a coherent climate policy, something it has struggled to do for decades.
Danish political scientist Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, is one of the world's most original thinkers on these issues.
"Energy is prosperity," he stressed.
Affordable, available energy has led to humanity's flourishing over the past two decades. Prosperity means you get less sick, you live longer, there is less child mortality, education is better, and you have more personal opportunities.
Global warming, he said, is a problem and will have mostly negative impacts. But we must ask ourselves whether we are pushing solutions that will end up doing more harm than the problem we are trying to solve.
The conversation, he stressed, must be based on what the UN climate panel actually says. It does not predict the demise of the human race. It does say it can cost 2-3% of global GDP by 2100, meaning it is a problem that needs addressing. But if your solution brings down GDP by 15%, then that is not the correct solution.
Climate innovation is the key, which is a low-cost way of getting green energy to be cheaper than fossil fuels.
For the foreseeable future, however, we are going to keep relying on fossil fuels. If current trends from 1971 remain the same, we are on track to get off fossil fuels in 1,000 years.
The point of public policy, he stressed, "is to leave the world better off in the future.
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.
News editor Ben Sales joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
After Israelis ranked political violence as one of their top fears in a recent poll, Sales reports on the current state of political polarization in the country, ahead of the upcoming election.
Sales discusses the enduring legacy left by the Sbarro terrorist bombing that took place 25 years ago, and how perceptions have changed regarding that trauma following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
After moderate Democrat David Crowley beat liberal candidate Francesca Hong in the recent primaries for the Wisconsin governor's seat, Sales reviews the current election cycle, noting the win for staunchly left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and whether these progressive ideas will take hold on the national stage in November.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Israelis are alarmed over the threat of political violence. Can it be averted?
25 years ago, the Sbarro bombing opened a wound in Israel that still hasn’t healed
Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan primary win is a watershed moment for anti-Israel Democrats
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.
News editor Ben Sales appears on the Daily Briefing with host Jessica Steinberg on August 13, 2026 (Flash 90)
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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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
If Israel truly implements the 15-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza -- ostensibly aimed at the disarmament of the Hamas terror group that staged the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel -- then Israel is required to pull back to the "Yellow Line" that divides the Strip between IDF and Hamas control.
On today's episode, Magid asks: Which Yellow Line — the original one that left Israel in control of 53% of the Strip, or the newer one that gave Israel control of 60% to 70% of the territory? He's received several answers in a recent reporting trip to Washington, DC.
In a Hollywood-esque moment, during a recent flight from Turkey to the United Kingdom following the G7 summit, US President Donald Trump was taken off Air Force One and transferred in a catering truck to a military plane. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that this ploy was triggered after Israel told the United States about the Iranian assassination threat. Magid gives the play-by-play and describes who was left on the original, decoy flight.
The Israeli military on Tuesday denounced the “illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable” establishment of settler outposts inside Palestinian villages in the West Bank in recent days, but did not explain why it had not dismantled them or why, in a recent example, troops prayed with civilians rather than removing them from the area. Magid rolls out the situation at Qusra, south of Nablus, which is still playing out on Wednesday as senior military officials, including Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, are meeting with the Palestinian family under siege.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Board of Peace blurs Yellow Line as it wages uphill battle to advance Gaza plan
Israeli intel on Iranian plot said to have spurred decision to sneak Trump off Air Force One
IDF slams ‘reprehensible’ settler outposts in Palestinian villages, but doesn’t demolish them
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.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.