Kristof’s Israel Allegations, the Danger of Circling the Wagons and More | Peter Savodnik

Peter Savodnik joins us to talk about Nicholas Kristof’s column alleging abuse of Palestinian prisoners, including the most extreme dog-rape allegation, and how pro-Israel people should respond when the reporting is weak but the underlying issue may still deserve investigation.

We talk about the difference between bad journalism and false accusations, the danger of reflexively circling the wagons, Ben-Gvir and the Israeli prison system, antisemitism, double standards against Israel, whether Jews are being pushed back into history, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Gavin Newsom, Jonathan Haidt, Twitter addiction, and the general collapse of everyone’s sanity online.

Peter Savodnik reported for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Guardian, GQ, Wired and other venues from the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Asia and across the United States. His book, The Interloper: Lee Harvey Oswald Inside the Soviet Union, was published in 2013 by Basic Books. He is now a senior editor at The Free Press and based in Los Angeles.

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Chapters:
00:00 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM) Intro and Peter Savodnik joins
01:16 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=76s) Nick Kristof’s Israel prison-abuse column
06:15 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=375s) Olmert, Benny Morris, Haviv Rettig Gur, and what may actually be true
10:00 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=600s) Double standards, bad reporting, and how Israel should respond
15:56 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=956s) The dog-rape allegation and the danger of reflexive denial
22:22 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=1342s) Why Israel may need its own serious investigation
24:23 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=1463s) Circling the wagons vs. demanding proof
28:17 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=1697s) What real reporting would require
34:03 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=2043s) Retractions, antisemitism, and “emptying our pockets” for every accusation
38:27 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=2307s) Are Jews and Israel entering a more dangerous historical moment?
49:11 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=2951s) JD Vance, Rubio, Trump, and the future of the Republican Party
57:18 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=3438s) Gavin Newsom, 2028, and the Democrats
59:26 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=3566s) Jonathan Haidt, NYU, wokeness, and phone addiction
01:04:13 (youtube.com/watch?v=LaQH4CEwZAM&t=3853s) Twitter fights, the new Comedy Cellar room and final thoughts