Podcast & Dispatch

I've got a few new things to share up on Tablet's website.

First things first, my very first (and probably last) podcast is up. In it, I interview Nathan Thrall who is the Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group. We have a chat about the Palestinian bid for statehood. Check it out here if you've got the time/inclination/patience.

I also wrote a dispatch from the 92nd Street Y, which this week featured Jeremy Ben-Ami, the founder of J-Street (AIPAC's liberal antidote). It's my most recent attempt at channeling Gay Talese, at which I falter splendidly:

For a 92nd Street Y crowd that is known to boo and hiss, the calm was pretty steady. Ben-Ami’s positions are well-known, but even for first-time listeners, there wasn’t much by way of verbal glowering thrown his way. One tuning in to the peanut gallery on the way out of the event could hear the following muttered: “I still don’t buy it.” And: “He is Mr. But. He always says ‘I understand this, but … .’”

On the topic of Gay Talese, if you haven't read his piece about the meeting between Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, you are missing on of those rare cultural gems. Check it out here (subscription required).