The Re-Education with Eli Lake: Recent Episodes
Nebulous Media
On the Re-Education, Eli Lake challenges common narratives the mainstream media and others push. From comedy to collusion, and disinformation to disarray, Eli unpacks what you know—or think you know—about the world around you. Join him weekly on the Re-Education.
In this interview only episode, Eli talks with Semafor's global security editor, Jay Solomon about his recent essay in Tablet on Confederate spymaster Judah Benjamin. You can read this piece here. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/history/articles/hunt-for-judah-p-benjamin-jewish-confederate-spy
On this special episode, Eli joins Ink Stained Wretches podcast this week to discuss his favorite books and films in the genre of journalism. You can listen to more episodes of Ink Stained wretches here.
In this very special episode, Eli explores the moment when Americans finally learned what their deep state did in the shadows. This monologue covers the period between Daniel Ellsberg's leak of the Pentagon Papers and the creation of the Rockefeller Commission to study the intelligence community's past abuses. His guests are James and Thomas Risen, the authors of a new biography of Senator Frank Church: The Last Honest Man.
Time Stamps: 00:31 Monologue 48:55 Interview with James and Thomas Risen
In this interview only episode Eli talks with Jonathan Rosen, the author of a stunning memoir about his friendship with a brilliant young man who loses his mind and commits a monstrous act of murder. The book, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness and the Tragedy of Good Intentions is out now https://www.amazon.com/Best-Minds-Friendship-Madness-Intentions/dp/1594206570
In this episode Eli examines the legacy of J Edgar Hoover, the man who waged a political and psychological war against Martin Luther King and created the modern FBI. His guest is Yale Historian Beverly Gage, whose majestic new biography of Hoover paints a scathing and complex portrait of the first G man. Time Stamps: 00:50 Monologue 38:21 Interview with Beverly GageQuestions? Comments? Email eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode, Eli examines the difference between what Israel's leaders must do to survive and what Ukraine needs from the civilized world. He also talks with Harvard University emeritus professor of Yiddish literature, Ruth Wisse about her extraordinary essay in Commentary from May 2022 about the rise of Ukraine's Jewish president. https://www.commentary.org/articles/ruth-wisse/zelensky-jewish-hero/
Questions? Comments? Email us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode, Eli examines the legacy of the trial and lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager false accused of murdering a 13 year old girl. The trial helped launch the anti-defamation league, and the lynching was conducted by the haters who would relaunch the Ku Klux Klan. Eli's guest to discuss anti-Semitism and the ADL is the brilliance journalist and editor at Talbet, Liel Leibovitz.
Questions? Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
The mid-terms delivered a clear signal to both Democrats and Republicans. The only problem is that Donald Trump and Joe Biden failed to get the message and are threatening a rematch in 2024. In this monologue only episode, Eli urges Trump and Biden to follow the example of Nancy Pelosi and step aside.
Questions, Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode, Eli previews the mid-term elections in America and makes the case for Republicans winning control of Congress. His guest is Washington based reporter Ben Jacobs.
Time Stamps: 00:17 Monologue 20:16 Interview with Ben Jacobs
Questions? Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
This week's elections in Israel brought back Benjamin Netanyahu to power. He will form a coalition with a political party that seeks to deport disloyal Arab citizens of Israel. Jerusalem Post contributing editor, Lahav Harkov joins Eli to discuss what the next government means for the Jewish state.
Time Stamps: 00:27 Monologue 26:02 Interview with Lehav Harkov
Elon Musk has done it. He's taken over Twitter. In this monologue only episode, Eli explains why he hopes Musk will return neutrality to the internet's town square and rebuild the trust that Twitter has squandered since 2021.
Questions, Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode Eli talks with Andrew McCarthy about Special Counsel John Durham losing his second trial in his Russiagate investigation. It's strange that he brought two cases against bit players and hasn't charged senior FBI officials, despite presenting compelling evidence that the FBI investigation was riddled with errors and deceptions.
Time Stamps: 00:22 Monologue 16:02 Interview with Andrew McCarthy
Questions, Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode, Eli examines the parallels between the 20th century literary genius, Ezra Pound and the 21st century musical genius, Kanye West. Both men were brilliant artists and both were haunted by mental demons. Then Eli discusses Kanye's recent anti-semitic outbursts with Ross Anderson, whose recent piece in Tablet can be read here.
Time Stamps: 00:28 Monologue 23:39 Interview with Ross Anderson
Questions, Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
Since Vladimir Putin launched his war of conquest against Ukraine, his regime has hinted that it may have to use nuclear weapons. So far, he has bluffed. But the threats in the last two weeks have gotten louder as his own army loses ground. Tim Morrison, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and expert on nuclear policy, joins Eli to talk about how to deter a wounded bear.
Time Stamps: 00:40 Monologue 16:28 Interview with Tim Morrison
Questions, Comments? Email us at Eli@Nebulouspodcasts.com
If you create a super pac devoted to waging one side of the political cultural war, are you really saving democracy? Eli and Jamie Kirchick discuss the Lincoln Project.
Time Stamps: 00:26 Monologue 15:33 Interview with Jamie Kirchick
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
Ever since former FBI Associate Director Mark Felt outed himself as the source for the Washington Post's Watergate reporting, he has been praised as a kind of dissident hero. Over time, we've forgotten that Mark Felt's role in authorizing warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Eli's guest is historian Tim Naftali.
Time Stamps: 00:16 Monologue 17:30 Interview with Tim Naftali
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this special episode, the host of Hardcore History Dan Carlin talks with Eli about the similarities and differences between the American and Roman republics. Can we learn from the Roman Republic's decline and avoid the mistakes the great republic of antiquity made as it became a decadent empire? Click here for Carlin's great series on the death throes of the Roman Republic.
Time Stamps: 00:38 Monologue 15:08 Interview with Dan Carlin
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
As Iranians once again pour into the streets to wish death to their ailing tyrant, the west has an opportunity to begin to plan for a transition in Iran. As tempting as nuclear negotiations may be for the west, it is a delusion. The Iranian regime has revealed its character for years. It's time to support their most potent enemies, the Iranian people. Eli discusses the state of Iran's freedom movement with Alireza Nader.
Time Stamps: 00: 22 Monologue 20:00 Interview with Alireza Nader
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this special edition of Re-education, we are running the latest episode of Aaron MacLean's School of War podcast. Eli was the guest and the two discussed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how President George W. Bush approached the Middle East after 9-11.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
Americans have a love-hate relationship with the CIA. On the one hand, we revere and glamorize the agents who fight for our country in the shadows. On the other hand, we are shocked when we learn the CIA plays dirty. In this episode, Eli and veteran intelligence journalist Mark Hosenball discuss how the CIA looked the other way as the Contras they supported in Nicaragua trafficked cocaine to fund their war against the Sandinistas.
Time Stamps: 00:29 Monologue 26:25 Interview with Mark Hosenball
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
Great people can't always be great spouses or parents. In this episode, Eli looks at the bad marriage of one of Israel's great leaders, Golda Meir, and the sacrifice her only husband made so his wife could fulfill her destiny and rise to lead the Jewish state. This show is only a monologue.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
On this episode Eli looks at how the left on college campuses today are driving many Jewish students into a Zionist closet. They are forced to choose between their friends and their beliefs. Eli's guest is Blake Flayton, a columnist at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles and a recent graduate of George Washington University. He talks about his decision to emigrate to Israel. Read his piece for Common Sense here.
Time Stamps: 00:02 Monologue 11:33 Interview with Blake Flayton
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
What should a Republic do about a populist demagogue? The fate of a Roman Tribune named Tiberius Gracchus provides a warning today about the perils of indicting Donald Trump. Eli's guest is Bulwark writer Tim Miller. The two do not agree on Trump and have a lively and spirited debate. It's Neither Trump versus Never Trump.
Time Stamps: 00:40 Monologue 13:50 Interview with Tim Miller
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
Is a college education worth the exorbitant cost if so many of its scholars do not believe in objective truth? In this episode Eli talks with Gabriel Noah Brahm, the founding director of the center for academic and intellectual freedom about the influence of the post modernists of the 20th century on academic scholarship today.
Time stamps: 00:29 Monologue 14:30 Interview with Gabriel Noah Brahm Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
This show explores how Russia, like the Soviet Union before it, seeks to confuse and divide the west through psychological warfare and disinformation. The Russian state's cruelty is both an advantage and a liability when it comes to skullduggery. The guest is Peter Savodnik, author of the 2013 book Interloper about Lee Harvey Oswald's sojourn to the Soviet Union.
The Interloper by Peter Savodnik
Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 19:57 Interview Peter Savodnik
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
From PT Barnum to Donald Trump, Americans have had a soft spot for bullshiters. We all know the type, the carnival barker, the fast talking pitchman, the colorful politician who insists "a lot of people are saying." On this episode Eli talks with actor, podcaster and comedian Michael Rapaport about how Donald Trump's super power is his ability to spew entertaining bullshit. Be warned, there is a lot of profanity in this episode.
Time Stamps: 0:20 Monologue 12:07 Interview with Michael Rapaport
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
Since the Mar-a-Lago raid, there has been a raging debate over whether Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were treated the same by the FBI. In this special episode, Eli dives deep into this question and compares the bureau's two investigations into presidential candidates in 2016.
In this episode Eli examines the history of Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against the author Salman Rushdie in light of his near assassination last week in New York state. The Fatwa and Iran's role in a murderous campaign against the editors, translators and author of the Satanic Verses reveals the truth about a regime that has not reformed or moderated. His guest is Nazenin Ansari, the managing editor of the London based Kayhan newspaper.
Time Stamps: 0:18 Monologue 11:44 Interview with Nazenin Ansari
www.Kayhan.London www.KayhanLife.com
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this episode, Eli explores how the word punk can be both an insult and high praise and why after nearly 50 years, the degenerate rebels of the late 1970s who created punk rock are still so culturally relevant. His guest is the host of the Reason Magazine interview podcast, Nick Gillespie. This is a long one, but worth your time.
Time Stamps: 0:20 - Monologue 13:20 - Interview with Nick Gillespie
On Monday the FBI made an in kind donation to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign when they conducted a search warrant of his Mar-a-Lago compound. If this turns out to be part of an investigation into a Presidential Records Act violation or the mishandling of classified material, as has been reported in the press, then the Justice Department has just secured Trump's win in the GOP primaries. Eli's guest is Andy McCarthy, a former US attorney and one of the sharpest commenters today on federal law enforcement.
Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:23 Monologue 07:58 Interview with Andy McCarthy
For questions and comments, please email eli@nebulouspodcasts.com
In this show, Eli examines the United Kingdom's decision last month to shut down the Tavistock clinic, the only facility in the country to specialize in transgender youth. The decision to shut it down exposes a false consensus imposed by activists on the safety of what are known as puberty blockers. His guest is the co-host of the Blocked and Reported podcast, Jesse Singal.
Time Stamps: 00:04 Introduction 00:23 Monologue 10:59 Interview
In this episode Eli and Foundation for Defense of Democracies fellow Bill Roggiio discuss the death of al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al Zawahiri and what it means for the organization that brought down the twin towers. America has made plenty of mistakes in the war on terrorism, but al Qaeda's dream of restoring the Caliphate looks like it will die with Zawahiri. Time Stamps 0:01 Introduction 00:33 Monologue 12:19 Interview with Bill Roggiio
Does the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade mean other gains of the women's movement are in danger of slipping away. It depends on how you think about the legacy of second wave feminism. If it's a political movement, perhaps. But the real accomplishment of women like Betty Friedan was that she and her movement changed American culture. Eli will explore the issue with philosopher and author, Christina Hoff Sommers.
Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:14 Monologue 13:00 Interview with Christina Hoff Sanders
In this episode Eli looks at what recent Russian history tells us about the relationship between the Russian state and its citizens, and why so many Russian leaders have been so cruel. His guest is Fred Kagan, the director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute.
Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:23 Monologue 11:44 Interview with Fred Kagan
The First Avenue club in Minneapolis helped break Prince, one of the most controversial artists of the 1980s despite backlash that decade from social conservatives who worried that his music was dangerous for the youth. Today that same club has caved to pressure from moral scolds on the left who claim Dave Chappelle's comedy endangers the trans community. In this episode Eli and guest, Jeff Blehar examine First Avenue's decision to cave to the censors.
Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:17 Monologue 13:00 Interview with Jeff Blehar
In this episode of the Re-Education, I examine why so many Americans are filled with despair when the quality of life has improved so much in the last century. My guest is the host of the Good Faith Effort podcast, Ari Lamm.
Time Stamps: 0:02 Introduction 00:24 Monologue 11:58 Interview with Ari Lamm
In this episode, Eli explores why so many creative geniuses have embraced some truly vulgar and horrific political causes and movements. His guest is Vice reporter and Fifth Column podcaster, Michael Moynihan. Time Stamps: 0:04 Introduction 0:22 Monologue 9:38 Interview with Michael Moynihan
In this episode, the Re-education examines the similarities between the woke scolds of today and the puritans of earlier moral panics in America. Our guest is Noah Rothman, the author of the new book, "The Rise of the New Puritans."
Time Stamps: 0:06 - Introduction 0:24 - Monologue 7:03 - Interview with Noah Rothman
In this bonus episode, Eli argues America deserves a better national anthem than the Star-Spangled Banner and suggests four alternatives.
Happy Birthday, America. On this episode, Eli and author Tevi Troy explore the cultural legacy of our national charter and the tension between order and liberty, safety and freedom.
Time Stamps: 0:08 - Introduction 0:31 - Monologue 7:09 - Interview with Tevi Troy
On Today's Re-Education, Eli examines the phenomenon of the red pill in our politics today, people who have chosen to pursue an uncomfortable truth despite enormous pressure to go on believing a lie. His guest is Maud Maron, a New York City public defender who is now running for Congress in a crowded primary.
Time Stamps: 0:03 - Introduction 0:51 - Monologue 9:44 - Interview with Maud Maron
In this episode, Eli explores why it’s hard to shun an ally like Saudi Arabia, even when the new Saudi crown prince acts like a tyrant. If there were easy answers in foreign policy, every pundit would be a statesman.
Time Stamps: 0:03 - Introduction 0:24 - Monologue 9:03 - Interview with Brian Katulis
In this episode, we examine what life was like for gays and lesbians when they were second-class citizens and forced to live in the closet and how and why this unjust regime changed. The guest is the author of a new history of gay Washington, Jamie Kirchick.
0:03 - Introduction 0:52 - Monologue 7:09 - Interview with Jamie Kirchick
When you can't support a demagogue who won’t accept the results of elections he loses, but you also can’t support a resistance that claims to be restoring our political norms by violating them, you have few places to turn. This week on The Re-Education, Eli is joined by Mary Katharine Ham to discuss where Americans should turn when they feel stuck in the middle.
Time Stamps 0:04 - Intro 0:23 - Monologue 16:49 - Interview with Mary Katharine Ham
There was a time in America when the bullies plagued our schools and workplaces. This week we look at the "cry bully", a new type of bully that can be described as a "hideous hybrid of victim and victor, weeper and walloper" and how they have infiltrated our newsrooms, colleges, and public offices.
Time Stamps: 0:03 - Intro 0:21 - Monologue 9:53 - Interview with Abe Greenwald
The citizens of San Francisco vote this week on whether to recall their district attorney, Chesa Boudin. This episode looks at a progressive prosecutor who doesn't want to prosecute a lot of crime.
Time Stamps: 0:03 - Intro 0:17 - Monologue 15:29 - Interview with Richie Greenberg
When a Washington DC jury acquitted a former lawyer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign this week, many Democrats rejoiced. But the real story from his trial is how much it exposed the FBI and its willingness to take any innuendo and smear from the Clinton campaign as grist to investigate Donald Trump. On this episode of the Reeducation, Eli looks at why the FBI is in desperate need of reform.
Time Stamps: 0:03 - Segment: Intro 0:21 - Segment: Monologue 10:22 - Segment: Interview with Mollie Hemingway
As the Republican party sorts out whether they will be a party of election deniers or election acceptors, Democrats should take another look at how Hillary Clinton's campaign did not respect the peaceful transfer of power in 2016.
Times: 0:03 - Segment: Introduction 0:20 - Segment: Monlogue 15:23 - Segment: interview with Rich Lowery
Lawmakers, activists, and others called for action after this week's tragic elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. With an increase in mass shootings in recent years, many wonder what can be done to prevent such horrors from happening in the first place. What is the best way forward for gun laws and gun ownership?Today on The Re-Education with Eli Lake: Guns. Featuring an interview with gun policy reporter Stephen Gutowski.
Times
00:02 - Segment: Introduction
00:17 - Segment: Monologue
11:34 - Segment: Interview with The Reload's Stephen Gutowski
Links The Reload blog The Reload Podcast
Tyrants can only retain power when the masses cooperate with tyranny. Successful nonviolent resistance movements—from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights demonstrates to modern protests in Iran—show that taking up arms is not always necessary for, and can be antithetical to, advancing freedom. Today on The Re-Education, Eli Lake discusses nonviolent resistance with Cameron Khansarinia, policy director of the National Union for a Democratic Iran.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:23 - Segment: Monologue
12:57 - Segment: Interview with Cameron Khansarinia
The trial of former Washington lawyer Michael Sussman began this week—highlighting how the Hillary Clinton campaign tried to gin up FBI investigations into her opponent's ties to the Kremlin. That's right—we're talking Russiagate on this episode of The Re-Education with Eli Lake. Featuring Washington Free Beacon senior investigative reporter Chuck Ross.
Times
00:02 - Segment: Introduction
00:19 - Segment: Monologue
19:33 - Segment: Interview with Chuck Ross
Link Chuck's work for the Free Beacon
What happens when we judge speech and opinions by the actions of rogues and sociopaths instead of the thinker? Eli Lake asks on this episode of The Re-Education, featuring author Batya Ungar-Sargon.
Times
00:02 - Segment: Introduction
00:25 - Segment: Monologue
13:48 - Segment: Interview with Batya Ungar-Sargon
Link Batya's book
What are norms? What societal and political norms should we continue to observe today? And when is it okay to break the norms? On this episode of The Re-Education, Eli Lake talks norms with Liberties founder Leon Wieseltier.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:18 - Segment: Monologue
07:38 - Segment: Interview with Leon Wieseltier
What would have happened to Jesse Jackson's work in racial justice movements if American Jews ostracized the activist after his anti-Semitic comments? Instead of ending the careers of those who err, what if cancel mobs sought apologies, and feuding parties made amends? Eli Lake talks apologies on this episode of The Re-Education.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:24 - Segment: Monologue
12:47 - Segment: Interview with Abe Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League
Terrible artists can be great people. And terrible people can be great artists. Modern-day pressure campaigns to cancel stars for their abhorrent behavior fail to separate the art from the artist—and pose a threat to our culture. On this episode of The Re-Education, Eli Lake considers what we stand to lose when we boycott disgraced geniuses.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:20 - Segment: Monologue
15:05 - Segment: Interview with author and art historian Victoria Coates
Link Victoria’s book, David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a war of terror. From bombing children's hospitals to sniping innocent, fleeing civilians, Vladimir Putin has undoubtedly committed atrocious war crimes. Should Putin remain in power? And who is responsible for keeping Putin accountable? On this episode of The Re-Education, we discuss Putin's army of terror with New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:20 - Segment: Monologue
08:48 - Segment: Interview with Bret Stephens
Links Bret's work in the New York Times
What happens when the gatekeepers of information—newspapers, television, social media platforms—dictate what is true? On this episode of The Re-Education, Eli Lake talks disinformation and misinformation.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:20 - Segment: Monologue
20:44 - Segment: Interview with Commentary Magazine writer Christine Rosen
Link Christine’s work in Commentary Magazine
Lambasted as "elites" and "war hawks" by both the left and the right, the neoconservatives have taken the heat for many of the United States' recent foreign policy blunders—even those with near unanimous support. Who are the neocons, really, and what lessons do they have for present-day American foreign policy? Eli Lake answers these questions and more on this episode of The Re-Education.
Times
00:03 - Segment: Introduction
00:19 - Segment: Monologue
14:37 - Segment: Interview with Commentary Magazine editor John Podhoretz
Comedy today is under siege. The force of digital umbrage and the belief that words can be violence has made it very hard for those who tell jokes for a living. On the first installment of The Re-Education, Eli Lake examines Lenny Bruce's legacy and the new war on comedy. Times
00:04 - Segment: Introduction
00:26 - Segment: Monologue
14:36 - Segment: Interview with John Viener
On the Re-Education, Eli Lake challenges common narratives the mainstream media and others push. From comedy to collusion, and disinformation to disarray, Eli unpacks what you know—or think you know—about the world around you. Join him weekly on the Re-Education.