FIDF Live

Moving stories, exclusive base visits, donor spotlights.Bringing the men and women of the IDF directly to you.

FIDF Live is a business podcast hosted by Friends of The IDF, with 150 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Friends of The IDF hosts FIDF Live, a business show with 150 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  FIDF Live

  FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Jonny Daniels, Activist, Former Senior Advisor to Deputy Ministry of Defense - 8.9.26

  Aug 9, 202626 min

  Lara Krinsky opens this IDF Live briefing by introducing Jonny Daniels—activist, social media journalist, former senior advisor to Israel’s Deputy Minister of Defense, and founder of From the Depths—as a trusted voice helping audiences separate facts from noise during a fast-moving war. Daniels begins by stressing his personal connection to the IDF as a former paratrooper and says the region is in a waiting period, with Iran under heavy economic pressure even if the expected kinetic action has not yet materialized. On Gaza, he is skeptical that any “Board of Peace” arrangement will truly resolve the Hamas problem, arguing that Hamas may play for time or tactical advantage but that no Israeli government will allow it to return to its pre–October 7 position. He also warns audiences to be careful in the information space, saying misinformation spreads from anti-Israel sources and even irresponsible Jewish outlets, and that people should rely on verified sources rather than doom-scrolling or chasing unconfirmed reports. Looking at the Diaspora, Daniels says Jews around the world are facing more fear and antisemitism, including in the UK, France, Canada, and Australia, but he also sees many becoming more willing to speak up publicly for Israel. He closes by describing IDF morale as very high because Israelis are literally fighting for their homeland, while emphasizing that prolonged war still takes a psychological toll and that FIDF’s support for soldiers’ well-being, PTSD care, rehabilitation, and families is essential.

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  FIDF Live

  FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: LTC. (Ret.) Or Horvitz, National Security Expert - July 26, 2026

  Jul 26, 202645 min

  Lara Krinsky opens this IDF Live briefing by framing the region as dangerously unstable, with the U.S. striking Iranian targets, Iran retaliating against Arab neighbors, Israel on high alert, and Lebanon still active despite diplomacy. Lt. Col. (res.) Or Horvitz says the immediate U.S. focus is reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but warns that Iran’s stubborn refusal to restore free navigation could trigger broader escalation between Washington, Tehran, and potentially Israel. He stresses that Israel’s urgent priority remains Iran’s roughly 500 kilos of enriched uranium, because if it is not diluted or removed, Iran could still use deception and secrecy to move toward a nuclear weapon. Horvitz argues the regime is fundamentally unstable—fragmented, financially strained, hated by much of its population, and unlikely to survive long-term—but says it will probably fall through domestic pressure rather than outside military force alone. On Lebanon, he sees a real but fragile opportunity: Hezbollah has been badly weakened, Lebanese leaders are speaking more boldly about demilitarization, and Israel should “trust but verify” while insisting on border, port, airport, and army reforms that cut off Iranian money and arms. He closes by warning that Gaza is still not solved because Hamas continues to control significant territory and ideology, and by thanking FIDF for strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership and supporting Israeli society as a whole.

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  FIDF Live

  FIDF LIVE BRIEFING Brig. Gen. Elad Edri, Homefront Command Chief of Staff - July 12, 2026

  Jul 12, 202633 min

  Jennifer Scher opens this IDF Live briefing by introducing Brigadier General Elad Edri, Chief of Staff for the Homefront Command, who joins from Venezuela after two major earthquakes caused historic damage and prompted a rare request for Israeli assistance despite the absence of diplomatic relations since 2009. Edri explains that, unlike past Israeli disaster missions focused on search-and-rescue, this delegation was asked to provide recovery expertise, so Israel sent a 30-person team centered on engineers trained to inspect damaged buildings and classify them as safe, repairable, or unusable. He describes the mission as both technically complex and emotionally significant: the team needed nearly four days to reach Venezuela, was warmly received by the local Jewish community, and later presented a national recovery framework to senior Venezuelan officials and the president. Edri says the delegation quickly expanded from inspecting individual buildings to helping draft a broader one-to-two-year national recovery plan for hundreds of damaged structures, drawing on lessons from Surfside, Turkey, and Israel’s own wartime home-front experience. He shares moving moments of civilians crying with relief when told their homes were safe, and says the mission has become about more than rebuilding buildings—echoing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s line that Israel came to “recover buildings” but is also helping “recover relationships between countries.” The briefing closes with gratitude for the Homefront Command team, a prayer for their safety, and a reminder that FIDF supports Israel’s soldiers wherever they are serving, whether on the front lines of war or in humanitarian missions abroad.

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  FIDF Live

  FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Gadi Ezra, Former Director, Israel's National Public Diplomacy Unit - June 28, 2026

  Jun 28, 202639 min

  Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by framing the last two weeks as a major diplomatic pivot, with military pressure giving way to negotiations involving Iran, Lebanon, the U.S., and regional intermediaries. Gadi Ezra explains that two parallel tracks are now shaping the region: U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and stabilizing the broader conflict, and Israel-Lebanon talks under U.S. auspices focused on southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament. He warns that Iran is trying to tie Lebanon into the broader U.S.-Iran framework so it can preserve influence through Hezbollah, cast Israel as the obstacle to peace, and tell its own public that it still controls the region. Ezra argues Israel must not sit back and let others design the “day after,” pointing to Gaza as a cautionary example where Qatar gained influence because Israel failed to shape the diplomatic architecture early enough. He says Israel needs to take initiative by putting forward a concrete plan for Lebanon that combines IDF enforcement, Lebanese legal and political action, and American-led economic rehabilitation. The briefing closes with Ezra stressing that the information and diplomatic battles are now as critical as the military ones, and that Israel’s soldiers ultimately carry the consequences of every negotiation, compromise, and strategic decision.

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  FIDF Live

  FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director, FDD - 6.14.26

  Jun 14, 202643 min

  Lara Krinsky opens this briefing by framing the moment as fast-moving and unstable, with Israel facing pressure to accept deals even as Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas continue testing red lines. Jonathan Schanzer explains that the recent “ceasefire war” exposed Iran’s attempt to fold Lebanon into the Iran ceasefire, while Hezbollah kept attacking Israel with rockets and FPV drones until Israel finally struck major Hezbollah targets and then hit Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles. He argues Israel established an important deterrent message: Iran does not get to dictate what Israel can do in Lebanon, and attacks on Israel will be answered more painfully than they were delivered. Schanzer says President Trump’s push for a deal reflects real constraints—finite U.S. munitions, air-defense burdens, domestic politics, oil prices, and pressure from Gulf states—but that Iran’s downing of a U.S. helicopter appears to have reinforced the lesson that weakness invites more aggression. He outlines a possible path that does not require a full renewed hot war: sustained economic pressure, a blockade on Iranian oil exports, targeted strikes when necessary, and continued messaging to the Iranian people until the regime buckles. The briefing closes by warning that Turkey may be the next major regional threat if Iran weakens, while also noting real IDF progress in Gaza, where Israel has expanded its control beyond the original “yellow line” and significantly reduced Hamas’s ability to threaten southern Israel.

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