Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

Empathy is usually considered one of humanity's greatest virtues. But what happens when empathy becomes untethered from reality?

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas sits down with Dr. Gad Saad to discuss his new book, Suicidal Empathy. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, cultural analysis, and his own experiences growing up Jewish in Lebanon before fleeing civil war, Saad argues that many Western societies have become reluct...

What does a 14th-century stained glass window in a Brussels cathedral have to do with a "Jew hunt" in the streets of Amsterdam in 2024 or the slogans appearing on American campuses after October 7? Professor Flora Cassen joins Dr. Rachel Fish to discuss her new book, Stained Glass: A Reflective History of Antisemitism, and to explore how antisemitism has taken shape across different places and historical periods. 

Drawing on bo...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Qatar is one of the smallest countries in the world. Yet according to a new report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, it has invested more than $400 billion in the United States over the past fifteen years.

Where has that money gone? And what does Qatar hope to gain in return?

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

One year after the United States and Israel launched a war that devastated Iran's military leadership and nuclear infrastructure, Washington and Tehran say they have reached an agreement to formally end the conflict.

But what exactly is in the deal?

In this episode, Aviva Klompas speaks w...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

For weeks, President Trump has insisted that Washington and Tehran are on the verge of a deal. But events over the last 24 hours tell a different story. Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Israel struck targets inside Iran. The Houthis launched a missile from Yemen. And once again, the region find...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

As the Trump administration weighs its next move on Iran, Israel faces a familiar but uncomfortable question: What happens if Washington reaches a deal that Jerusalem believes leaves the Iranian threat unresolved?

In this episode, Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Michael Oren about the lessons of t...

After fighting publicly for the return of her son Hersh from Gaza, Rachel Goldberg-Polin joins the podcast to reflect on grief, uncertainty, love, and the challenge of continuing to live after profound loss.

Drawing from her new book When We See You Again, Rachel speaks with her characteristic honesty about the experience of mourning, the pressure people feel to “get better,” and why she believes grief is not som...

Hussain Abubakr Mansour joins Dr. Rachel Fish to examine antisemitism, antizionism, and the ideological currents shaping American public life after October 7. Mansour reflects on growing up in a society where Jews were largely absent but antisemitic ideas were culturally omnipresent, and how his study of Jewish history, Zionism, and Hebrew led him to radically different conclusions.

The conversation explores how antisemitism became ...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Hannah Senesh is one of the most iconic figures of Israel’s pre-state history - a young poet and parachutist whose story has become part of national memory. But who was she beyond the symbol, and what can her story still teach us today?

Host Aviva Klompas speaks with Matti Friedman about his new book Out ...

In the two and a half years since the Gaza war began, a new body of writing has taken hold, one that claims to explain not just the conflict, but the world itself. In this episode, host Aviva Klompas speaks with Matti Friedman about his essay Introduction to Gazology. He argues that this emerging genre isn’t really about Gaza as a place, but uses it as a framework to interpret global politics, morality, and power. 

They d...

After months of tension along Israel’s northern border, a fragile ceasefire has opened the door to renewed diplomacy between Israel and Lebanon. But with Hezbollah rejecting the agreement and the Lebanese government constrained in its ability to act, the path forward is anything but clear.

Aviva Klompas speaks with Ambassador Yechiel Leiter about the latest round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington and what they are actually ...

After weeks of heavy headlines - from multiple conflicts to rising antisemitism and political tension - we’re switching things up. 

Host Aviva Klompas is joined by actor and comedian Michael Rapaport to talk about everything from Jewish holidays to pop culture, life hacks, random obsessions, the unexpected things bringing joy right now, and the kind of advice that sticks.

They also check in on Rapaport’s campaign to ...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

On Israel’s 78th Independence Day, we reflect on what the Jewish state means today, and why it still matters.

Aviva Klompas sits down with Dr. Einat Wilf to explore the enduring idea of Zionism - how it is being challenged, misunderstood, and defended in a rapidly shifting global conversation. They discus...

As Israel marks Yom HaZikaron - the country’s day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror - this year carries added weight, unfolding in the shadow of an ongoing war and fresh loss still felt across the country.

In this episode, Aviva Klompas speaks with Rabbi Doron Perez, whose son, Captain Daniel Perez, was killed on October 7 while defending Israel’s border. Taken hostage after his tank was overrun, D...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

After the collapse of U.S.–Iran talks, Washington has turned to a new approach - imposing a naval blockade aimed at cutting off Iran’s ability to leverage the Strait of Hormuz. The goal is to apply economic pressure without escalating into a broader military campaign. But whether that pressure chan...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

U.S.–Iran talks in Islamabad ended without a deal, leaving the ceasefire on shaky ground and major questions unanswered.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Michael Oren about what the breakdown means and where things may be headed. They examine whether the damage inflicted on Iran transla...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

After five weeks of fighting, the United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, halting strikes and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But while the immediate crisis may be paused, the bigger questions are far from resolved.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas speaks with journalist Eli Lake about wh...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Global attention is focused on the war with Iran, but another issue is unfolding that raises urgent moral and political questions – the spike in attacks by Jewish extremists against Palestinians in the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria.

In this episode of Boundless Insights, host Aviva Klompas speaks with Y...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Iran has taken significant hits to its leadership and infrastructure, yet the regime remains in place, continues to project power across the region, and retains the ability to disrupt global energy markets.

So where does that leave us?

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas sits down with Ambassador Daniel Shapiro ...