Best Steven Katz Podcasts (2025)

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Yaakov Katz - While Israel Slept: Winning Tunnels, Losing Time 44:58

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26m ago44:58

44:58

Yaakov Katz co-author with Amir Bohbot, of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, traces the failures that led to October 7 and how Israel's security establishment misread Hamas's strength and intent. He explains how world opinion, hostage leverage, and casualty ratios constrain Israel differently in …

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The Darkest Cartel Operations Happening in Small American Towns (with Trafficked’s Mariana Van Zeller) 58:03

8h ago58:03

58:03

On this week's episode of Change Agents, Andy sits down with award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller, host of National Geographic’s Trafficked, to explore cartels, black markets, and human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. Mariana discusses how cartels operate in small American towns, use domestic flights for smuggling, and recruit American c…

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KJ Steinberg, on The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox 37:30

25m ago37:30

37:30

We talk with KJ Steinberg, showrunner of Hulu’s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, about concentrating on Knox’s perspective while still showing how others perceived her, and the legal tightropes that shaped the series. She details the refracted structure (episodes from the prosecutor’s to the co-defendant’s POVs) and why the story follows Knox throu…

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Amanda Knox — “You don’t have to be a psychopath to wrongly convict somebody.” 33:31

2d ago33:31

33:31

Knox recounts confronting prosecutor Giuliano Mignini and explores how certainty, incentive structures, and “alternate realities” turned her story into a sprawling international conspiracy. She parses the feedback loop between media and Italian justice, and why today’s true-crime-savvy public might have questioned the case sooner. Also: the 21 poin…

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SYW310 - Embracing Your Creative Path with Katrina Katz 49:22

14h ago49:22

49:22

Katrina Katz is a curious, thrifty crafter who loves playing in her notebook. And despite no longer scrapbooking in the traditional sense, she definitely considers herself a memory keeper. In this episode I ask Katrina to share some of her favorite things in the stationery world and take us behind the scenes of her creative practice. Our conversati…

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25 FROZEN, 1 THAWED—Bob Cyphers 1:07:41

3d ago1:07:41

1:07:41

25 Frozen, 1 Thawed: Murder and Mayhem in the Midwest takes readers deep into the heart of unsolved mysteries and chilling crimes that have haunted communities across the Midwest. From small towns shattered by sudden disappearances to cities rocked by violent acts, each chapter brings a different story—twenty-five cases left frozen in time, still w…

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Is Masculinity A Prison? - Mike on Open to Debate 41:51

4d ago41:51

41:51

Listen to the full debate on Open to Debate’s podcast channel or watch it on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MikePesca Men are falling behind in our society, and some point to traditional ideas of masculinity as the cause. What does it mean to “be a man” today, and how do labels like toxic masculinity impact that question? For some men, masculinity is a co…

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Andrew J. Taylor: “Blue-Collar Voters Don’t Want Blue-Collar Politicians” 31:58

5d ago31:58

31:58

We talk with North Carolina State political scientist Andrew J. Taylor about his new book, A Tolerance for Inequality: American Public Opinion and Economic Policy, probing why voters often prefer public goods and tax cuts over classic redistribution—and how policy frequently tracks aggregate opinion more than pundits admit. Taylor also explores why…

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Justin Driver: “The Fall of Affirmative Action” 41:38

6d ago41:38

41:38

Yale Law’s Justin Driver argues that SFFA v. Harvard/UNC broke with precedent and embraced a faux “colorblindness,” spotlighting the Court’s creative reading of Grutter’s 2028 “sunset.” He lays out the early fallout—sharp drops in Black enrollment at elite schools, Asian American gains, and the perverse incentive for applicants to “essay their trau…

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Laura Spinney on the Language That Conquered the World 31:36

6d ago31:36

31:36

Laura Spinney joins to discuss her new book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, tracing the unlikely rise of Indo-European and why most of the world now speaks it. Also, a look at the Dallas ICE field office shooting in the broader context of political violence and how we categorize it. And in the Spiel: Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback monologue, …

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The North Korean Operation That Turned Remote Work Into a Massive Weapons Pipeline 49:30

7d ago49:30

49:30

On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Bobbie Johnson, senior editor at Wired and an investigative journalist with deep experience covering technology, security, and digital culture. Bobbie unpacks a startling new investigation into how North Korea has infiltrated Western tech companies through remote work schemes. Using fake identities, stolen do…

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Sadie Dingfelder on Mosquito Magnets and Who Tastes Best to Bugs 26:22

8d ago26:22

26:22

President Trump mangles acetaminophen and issues a sweeping “don’t take Tylenol” decree. Are some people truly more attractive to mosquitoes than others? Sadie Dingfelder joins to walk through decades of mosquito studies, from Gambian huts filled with human volunteers to modern lab assays with paraffin membranes, and explains why carbon dioxide, sw…

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SYW309 - My Way with Caroline Stevens 1:04:23

7d ago1:04:23

1:04:23

In this episode, I’m joined by Caroline Stevens for a thoughtful conversation about her scrapbooking journey. Caroline shares how she’s made memory keeping work in a small space, including favorite projects like a collaborative album created with her daughter. We talk about the role of mindfulness in her creative process, her evolving approach to f…

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Andrew Fox on “Slam Frank”: Make Something Dangerous 51:11

8d ago51:11

51:11

The writer-composer behind the viral Slam Frank (an Anne Frank musical staged as if by the most social-justice-forward regional theater) explains why he pushes rules to their reductio ad absurdum and why “art should lift up the people who are beneath me.” Fox walks through a contentious table read, a Change.org backlash, and the joy/rage of craftin…

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GREG SCARPA, LEGENDARY EVIL—Jonathan Dyer 1:13:30

10d ago1:13:30

1:13:30

Goodfellow, capo, killer, thief. A man so diabolically evil that he ordered his eldest son to murder his closest associate, and his youngest son to murder his best friend. When Greg Scarpa was in his early twenties he became a goodfellow in the Profaci family by swearing a blood oath to the Mafia, at the time the country’s largest organized-crime s…

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Heidi Wang, CEO at OBI Pharma & Chairwoman at OBIGEN Pharma in Losing Her Father to Cancer, Hiring Without Humility, and Building a Culture That Lasts 27:46

9d ago27:46

27:46

In this episode, I talked with Heidi Wang, CEO of OBI Pharma and Chair of OBIGEN, who shares her powerful story, from losing her father to cancer while raising two children, to leading oncology drug approvals at BMS, and now, building out a bold ADC pipeline in biotech. Heidi opens up about the pressures of leading during personal tragedy, how BMS …

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JD Vance, Jimmy Kimmel, and America’s Radical Underground 14:13

10d ago14:13

14:13

It’s the Saturday show. One from the week, one from the vault. First, a look at JD Vance on the mic with Charlie Kirk and the culture wars of today. Then, we rewind a decade to my interview with Brian Burrow, author of Days of Rage, on the radical underground and the turbulence of the 1970s. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan…

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Brendan Nyhan: Measuring Political Violence Without Panic 29:38

11d ago29:38

29:38

Dartmouth's Brendan Nyhan explains why headline-grabbing polls inflate support for "partisan violence" and how careful survey design finds under 10% backing for felony-level force, far less than in many democracies. He traces how elite cues shape perceived threats and warns against pretextual crackdowns. Also: a look at Jimmy Kimmel's removal and a…

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Not Even Mad: Michael A. Cohen and Jamie Kirchick 1:01:21

12d ago1:01:21

1:01:21

Michael A. Cohen and Jamie Kirchick discuss the Charlie Kirk assassination and the immediate retreat to priors — who’s weaponizing grief, what counts as incitement, and whether “fascistic” vs. “authoritarian” language clarifies or inflames. Plus, the TikTok law end-run and why process crimes don’t move voters the way visible force does. In Goat Gri…

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Adriana Galván on the Adolescent Brain, Stress and Systems that Support Young People 31:50

12d ago31:50

31:50

Adolescence is a time of both vulnerability and possibility. UCLA professor Adriana Galván — a leading researcher on the adolescent brain — joins Casey Foundation President & CEO Lisa Lawson to discuss how brain science can guide education, justice, and social systems to better support young people on their path to adulthood.…

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Christian Duguay Brings the Valley Heat 29:33

13d ago29:33

29:33

Christian Duguay, creator of Valley Heat, breaks down how Doug Duguay, his in-show alter ego, works within a 51% fictional universe. Tight sound design and ad-jingle microplots create an absurd world populated with Canadian foosball biker gangs and rogue car washes. Duguay traces the show’s improv roots and why “I’ll take that” became its guiding e…

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The Path to Invading Taiwan: China’s PSYOP Long Game 1:18:06

14d ago1:18:06

1:18:06

On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Winston Sterzel and Matthew Tye, creators and hosts of The China Show and two of the most well-known foreign commentators on modern China. Winston and Matthew both lived in China for over a decade, where they documented daily life, culture, and politics through their popular YouTube channels before turning th…

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SYW308 - 12 Clever Ideas for Budget-Friendly Scrapbooking 17:56

13d ago17:56

17:56

Is your scrapbooking budget feeling tighter than before? As is the case with most hobbies, scrapbooking typically requires ongoing and not-insignificant investment in tools and materials. Yet the reality is that scrapbook supplies, like everything else, are rapidly increasing in price. So you might have been wondering how to be more frugal with you…

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Garrett Graff: “Russia Sought Division More Than Victory” 30:34

15d ago30:34

30:34

Garrett Graff, host of the Long Shadow podcast, argues that Russia’s 2016 interference was about sowing distrust in U.S. democracy—weakening Clinton if she won, or destabilizing the system either way. He revisits the Access Hollywood–email leak overlap, the forgotten U.S. warning about Russian meddling, and how other nations have since borrowed the…

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Introducing Thrive: A Special CaseyCast Episode With Lisa Lawson 1:41

14d ago1:41

1:41

Lisa Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, introduces her new book Thrive: How the Science of the Adolescent Brain Helps Us Imagine a Better Future for All Children. In this special short episode, Lisa shares why adolescence is not just a challenge to navigate but an opportunity to help young people ages 14 to 24 flourish — an…

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Garrett M. Graff on “Long Shadow” and the Internet’s Descent Into Outrage 37:56

16d ago37:56

37:56

Writer and historian Garrett Graff discusses the fourth season of his podcast Long Shadow, which charts how the internet devolved from a tool of hope to one of outrage and division. He traces that shift to specific corporate choices—especially Facebook and YouTube prioritizing profit by feeding anger and conspiracy. Graff argues that these unregula…

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THE MURDER OF DEBBIE GAMA—Justin Dombrowski 1:12:03

17d ago1:12:03

1:12:03

The murder that still haunts a Pennsylvania city. On the morning of August 8, 1975, sixteen-year-old Debbie Gama disappeared after leaving her home in Erie, only to be found raped and strangled days later in a creek nearly thirty miles from her home. What followed was an investigation that lacked suspects or even evidence pointing to a viable suspe…

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Mike Pesca on The Good Fight Club 43:40

17d ago43:40

43:40

Today on The Gist, we air some of Mikes appearance on The Good Fight Club Podcast. Please note that this was recorded on September 10th, before the shooting of Charlie Kirk. You can listen to the rest of the podcast using the link below. The Good Fight Club: Russian Drones in Poland, Low Literacy in Schools, and Can Anyone Rein in Trump? Produced b…

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Bill McKibben: “Energy From Heaven, Not From Hell” 39:04

18d ago39:04

39:04

Bill McKibben discusses his new book Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, making the case for renewables as civilization’s best hope. He has long argued that we can’t save the planet without a massive overhaul of how we live, but here he answers a challenge to whether that was ever right. McKibben d…

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Aaron Sibarium on Charlie Kirk, Retribution, and the Cycle of Violence 38:46

20d ago38:46

38:46

Aaron Sibarium of the Washington Free Beacon reflects on his recent full-hour interview with Charlie Kirk, which aired just a week before Kirk’s assassination. He recalls Kirk’s reach across conservative factions and his surprising focus on debate and voter mobilization rather than pure outrage. The conversation widens to the risks of political vio…

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Ryan Evans on Drones, Ground War, and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival 27:59

21d ago27:59

27:59

Ryan Evans, founder of War on the Rocks, breaks down the grinding land war in eastern Ukraine, the tactical role of drones, and how morale and leadership shape the battlefield. He points to Zelensky’s missteps, the weapons still needed, and what “winning the ground” really means. Also: Russia sends drones into Poland, forcing Trump into a test of N…

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USA vs Venezuela: INSIDE America's Massive Narco-Terrorism War (with Steven Dudley) 1:04:50

22d ago1:04:50

1:04:50

On today’s episode, Andy sits down with Steven Dudley, an investigative journalist and expert on Latin American organized crime. Steven is the founder of InSight Crime, a leading organization dedicated to studying and reporting on criminal networks in the region. They discuss the structure and operations of cartels, recent U.S. maritime drug enforc…

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Nim Shapira: Torn Between Empathy and Erasure 31:29

21d ago31:29

31:29

Filmmaker Nim Shapira discusses Torn, his documentary on the hostage posters put up—and torn down—across New York after October 7th. He reflects on free speech, empathy, and why erasing someone else’s pain won’t shorten a war. Also: a protest in Nepal over a social media ban topples the prime minister. Plus: Israel’s strikes on Hamas leaders in Qat…

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SYW307 - Crafting the Empty Nest Era with Caroline Gatenby 46:56

21d ago46:56

46:56

In this episode empty nester Caroline Gatenby shares how she has embraced this era and made crafting a central part of her daily life. She shares her thoughtful approach to a streamlined hobby, focusing on formats like pocket pages and notebooks. Our conversation discusses prioritizing creativity, adapting to new life seasons, and finding joy in do…

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Christine Wenc: The Onion’s Straight Face Made It Funnier 28:48

22d ago28:48

28:48

Christine Wenc joins to discuss Funny Because It’s True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire, recalling its Wisconsin roots, AP-style discipline, and newsroom battles over absurd details. She traces the paper’s arc from gas-station rent money to online cult influence, and the tension between preachiness and bite. Plus, the Ambazonian …

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31 MURDERS-—Alvin A.J. Esau 1:00:38

24d ago1:00:38

1:00:38

Many decades before Ted Bundy roamed the country there was serial killer Earle Nelson. During the 1920s, this geographically mobile killer went from city to city. His modus operandi involved getting into a house by pretending to be a person looking for a room to rent or inspecting a house that was for sale, and then strangling the landlady, often f…

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Immigration, Nuance, and a Leonhardt Vault Cut 31:46

24d ago31:46

31:46

It’s the Saturday Show: one from the week, one from the vault. Mike revisits his take on immigration—spurred by a CNN piece and a Pesca Profundities post—arguing the media too often flattens a hard issue into easy labels. Courts have now allowed parts of Trump’s approach, forcing a distinction between “shameful” and “unconstitutional.” From the vau…

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Mike Hayes on Purpose, Grit, and Mission 38:45

25d ago38:45

38:45

Today on The Gist. Trump’s push to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War”. Then a full-length interview with Mike Hayes—former commanding officer of SEAL Team 2, White House Fellow, and author of Mission Driven: The Path to a Life of Purpose. Hayes lays out how to define the “who” before the “what,” why 1% better beats overnight breakthrou…

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Not Even Mad: Galen Druke and Josh Barro 49:47

26d ago49:47

49:47

Today on The Gist: It’s Not Even Mad. Mike Pesca welcomes Galen Druke and Josh Barro for a sharp yet civil debate on Trump’s immigration strategy, crime, and the charge of creeping autocracy. They weigh whether cruelty brings Trump political advantage, how Democrats should frame their response, and what “autocracy makes you poor” really means for v…

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Miles Taylor on Resistance Cascades, Rubio’s Turn, and Testing the Judiciary 35:15

28d ago35:15

35:15

Former DHS official Miles Taylor, author of the “Anonymous” op-ed, returns to discuss Trump’s second term agenda, the courts, and the missing “axis of adults.” Pesca opens with a theory on why deportees landed in Eswatini, then closes with a spiel on the immigration conundrum: border deterrence versus humane policy. Taylor explains “permission stru…

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Epstein an Israeli Agent & President BUSH Covered It Up? (John Kiriakou Returns) 43:33

28d ago43:33

43:33

On this episode, Andy welcomes back former CIA officer John Kiriakou for a wide-ranging conversation about intelligence and global power. They discuss Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged ties to Israeli intelligence and what those claims reveal about the overlap between private influence and state security. The conversation then turns to the rise of the BRIC…

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Ex-DHS Chief Miles Taylor: Trump, Treason, and Executive Power 36:41

29d ago36:41

36:41

Trump health rumors, media scrutiny, and what counts as news kick off the show before a wide-ranging interview with Miles Taylor—former DHS Chief of Staff and author of Blowback—about the April 2025 White House memo labeling him “treasonous,” the threats that followed, alleged blacklisting, and how executive power can be bent to punish speech. We d…

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EXPERT WITNESS—Ann Burgess 57:57

1M ago57:57

57:57

From the author of the critically-acclaimed true crime account, A Killer By Design (the inspiration behind Hulu's original docuseries, Mastermind), a groundbreaking look into the crucial role played by expert witnesses in the most high-profile criminal cases, based on Dr. Ann Burgess’ personal experiences within the criminal justice system. Written…

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Governor Wes Moore on Baltimore’s Historic Drop in Homicides, Plus Laura Loomer’s Lunacy 20:27

1M ago20:27

20:27

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has overseen one of the steepest homicide drops in America. Baltimore, long plagued by 300-plus murders a year, has seen killings fall more than 40 percent since 2023. In this archived conversation, Moore explains how a data-driven, all-of-the-above approach—boosting local police, investing in technology, and supporting …

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Edward Wong: At the Edge of Empire, China, Family, and Power 33:59

1M ago33:59

33:59

New York Times correspondent Edward Wong has reported from Beijing to Baghdad, covering the rise of China and the reach of American power. In his new book At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China, Wong blends geopolitics with personal history, from his father’s time in Mao’s army to his own years navigating censorship and nationalism …