Looking to understand the Israel-Hamas war? Start with these Vox podcast episodes.
Editor’s note, October 7, 5 pm: While our podcasts will continue to cover the conflict in the Middle East, this page will no longer be updated with new episodes. You can listen to our shows wherever you find podcasts.
The Israel-Palestine conflict goes back decades, but this latest war has taken an unprecedented toll in terms of the number of people killed, and represents a significant step back from any hopes of securing a two-state solution and a permanent peace. Vox podcasts have spent the past year covering the conflict in depth, offering our listeners context and clarity about the history of the conflict, a deeper understanding of the players in Israel and Palestine and on the world stage, and the toll of Hamas’s attack and Israel’s retaliation on the people in the region.
Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news explainer podcast, has been covering the conflict since it began, with an episode posted right after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that took the lives of around 1,200 people and resulted in the kidnapping of an estimated 240 hostages. The show has since continued to cover many threads in this story, from where Hamas comes from to how false information about the conflict has spread on social media and how information warfare is used in the Middle East. Vox podcasts The Weeds and The Gray Area have also been covering the unfolding crisis, its stakes, and its impact.
You can find those and all our other episodes on the topic below.The future of Gaza
October 7, 2024 | It’s been one year since Hamas attacked Israel and started a war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians look back, and Vox’s Joshua Keating says Israel’s occupation is looking permanent.War in Lebanon?
September 24, 2024 | It looks a lot like all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Semafor’s Sarah Dadouch has the latest from Beirut and CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh explains Israel’s strategy.Israel vs. Hezbollah
August 29, 2024 | The two are on the brink of starting a regional war. An analyst and a negotiator say that without a ceasefire in Gaza, the Middle East could spin out of control.It’s not Islamophobic, it’s anti-Palestinian
June 25, 2024 | Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents are on the rise. Author Moustafa Bayoumi and Vox’s Abdallah Fayyad tell us about another kind of invisible discrimination: anti-Palestinian racism.Was that antisemitic?
June 11, 2024 | Since October 7 there has been a lot of debate over what is and isn’t antisemitic. Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Harvard law professor Noah Feldman explain why the definition is so important.The Hamas org chart
May 28, 2024 | Seven months in, Israel has not “eliminated” Hamas leadership. Newsweek’s Tom O’Connor introduces them, and Mairav Zonszein from International Crisis Group explains what it means for the war.Biden’s breaking point on Gaza
May 9, 2024 | President Joe Biden says the US won’t supply further weapons if Israel is going to use them in Rafah. Axios reporter Barak Ravid explains what that means for the war.Israel, Gaza, and Eurovision
May 7, 2024 | The pop music competition is facing boycott calls over Israel’s participation. Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding and historian Tess Megginson explain why the apolitical event keeps getting political.Is divesting from Israel possible?
May 6, 2024 | Yes, but it’s hard. Inside Higher Ed’s Josh Moody and UC Merced’s Charlie Eaton explain.Columbia’s free-speech fight
April 24, 2024 | Daily Spectator news editor Sarah Huddleston reports on the protests at her university. AAUP President Irene Mulvey explains the stakes for campus free speech.Why Iran attacked Israel
April 15, 2024 | The Economist’s Gregg Carlstrom explains. Jerusalem-based journalist Noga Tarnopolsky explores whether the unprecedented attack hurts or helps Benjamin Netanyahu.
