logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2025
55m 31s

Episode 27: Music amidst trauma - a conv...

Haviv Rettig Gur
About this episode

There are many ways to process and manage painful and difficult times. After the massacre of October 7 and the multi-front war that ensued, many Israelis turned to music, and often to the powerful ballads and melodies of singer-songwriter duo (and married couple) Aya Korem and Adam Ben Amitai.


Aya and Adam join us in a special song-laden episode to take a look back at 21 months of pain, resilience, solidarity and, in the end, also hope.


This episode was sponsored by Bennett and Robin Greenspan of Houston, Texas, who believe in Israel's centrality and importance for the Jewish world.


They chose to dedicate this episode to Edut710en.org, a grassroots, volunteer-driven initiative established in the wake of October 7 to listen to, document, preserve, share and amplify the voices of survivors, first responders, and entire communities who experienced Hamas’s brutal attack firsthand. Over 1,600 testimonies have already been recorded to this date—many of them accessible at www.edut710.org.


We hope you like our new musical intro, written just for us by the incomparable Adam Ben Amitai.


Please join me on Patreon to support this project: ⁠ www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.


If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at ⁠haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠.


A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur

Up next
Nov 20
Episode 62: Hard times make strong Jews. Live in London with Daniel Schwammenthal.
<p>Today&#39;s episode is a very special show which was recorded live on November 10, 2025 at the Finchley United Synagogue - Kinloss in London. Haviv had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Jewish Chronicle Editor Daniel Schwammenthal. We had a great discussion about growing ... Show More
1h 48m
Nov 19
Episode 61: Is criticizing Israel antisemitic?
<p>Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East. Our current question: Is criticizing Israel antisemitic? </p><p><br></p><p>If you like what we do here, please join ou ... Show More
10m 58s
Nov 16
Episode 60: Does it matter what the world thinks? A conversation with Dr. Tal Becker
<p>These are strange times to be a Jew. Jews are in many ways safer and stronger than ever, but face a surge of antisemitism unlike anything seen in generations. This includes a hatred of Jewish collective identity on the progressive left as well as hatred of Jews as Jews in mill ... Show More
48m 9s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Yahya Sinwar’s death
<p>On Thursday, the Israeli military&nbsp;<a href="https://www.readtangle.com/r/a740cdb6?m=c128382d-3df4-42e5-be0b-357e72caf266" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>announced</u></a>&nbsp;it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an operation in southern Gaza the day pr ... Show More
29m 5s
Jul 2024
INTERVIEW: Isaac talks with Alon Gat
<p>Isaac got to talk with Alon Gat. He recounts his harrowing experience on October 7th, what happened to him and his family, the current situation, and his hope for the future of Israelis and Palestinians. </p><br><p>You can<a href="https://www.readtangle.com/membership/" rel="n ... Show More
51m 22s
Apr 2025
77 and counting - with Eyal Waldman (featuring Emily Damari)
<p>Unholy is going live in London! Join Yonit Levi and Jonathan Freedland for a special night of news and great guests: Yuval Noah Harari, Andy Nyman and Mira Awad—live on stage, June 8th 2025. If you’ve ever wanted to see the podcast come to life, now’s your chance. Reserve your ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 2024
The Sunday Podcast: An interview with Dr. Noam Weissman
<p>Since Isaac is off coaching his frisbee team to a national championship, Ari and he couldn't record a Sunday podcast for you all. So to make up for that, we are releasing last week's special Friday edition interview for you all to enjoy. To listen to this and all our other pod ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 4
Day 729 - Rachel Goldberg-Polin: A deep hope for repair and relief
Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin, who has become a well-known voice in ... Show More
45m 37s
Jun 2024
The Sunday Podcast: Isaac and Ari talk about Project 2025, the latest inflation report, and Ari shares a ghost story.
<p>On today's episode, Ari shares a ghost story, Isaac and Ari talk about Project 2025, the latest inflation report and the partisan views around it, and as always, the Airing of Grievances. </p><br><p>You can catch our latest YouTube video, an interview with Alyssa Cass and Pat ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2023
The Tudor Dixon Podcast: Understanding the War in Israel, Combating Anti-Semitism, and Empowering Teenagers
<p>In this episode, Tudor interviews Rayna Rose Exelbierd. Rayna shares her experiences with anti-Semitism in the United States and discusses the war in Israel from her perspective. She also talks about her work in educating and inspiring others about Israel and the Jewish people ... Show More
37m 5s
Aug 2024
The HIV-Positive Ray Brothers House Is Burned Down (1987) w/ Eric Marcus
<p><em>Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets</em><a href="https://www.wbur.org/events/953434/this-day-in-esoteric-political-history-live"><strong><em> are available now</em></strong></a><em>!</em></p><p>It's August 29th. This day in 1987, ... Show More
24m 21s
Apr 2023
Changing Culture, Career Insights and Outcomes with Jason Lengstorf
<p>Our 100th episode special with Jason Lengstorf! </p> <p>It&#39;s been a while since we&#39;ve done an in-person episode, but Jason happened to be in the neighbourhood, so we made it happen 🙌</p> <p>We had a blast and kept rolling longer than usual with exciting discussions on ... Show More
1h 51m
May 2019
Episode 6: The .01 Percent
In this episode, Israeli poet Tahel Frosh talks to us about her debut poetry collection Betsa (Avarice, 2014), financial crisis, and the value of culture. We revisit the summer of 2011, when a series of protests spread across Israel sparked by rising housing costs, the increased ... Show More
27m 46s