Two Nice Jewish Boys

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/2njb *** Never a dull day in the Middle East. As Israel is entering another round of elections, Iran is on the brink of getting a new deal which will allow it to become stronger than ever. And as if that’s not enough, the entire global economy is threatened by inflation. It is in these delightful circumstances that we invited, once again, our seasoned guest Ofir Dayan, to talk about recent events and much more. Ofir recently came back from five years in the United States, where she was getting a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Ofir is a fierce advocate for the Jewish right to visit the Temple Mount, as part of the ‘Beyadenu’ NGO. We’re super excited to have Ofir with us again on the show today! Beyadenu NGO: https://www.templeheritage.com/en

This Episode is sponsored by Unpacked’s new podcast, ‘Homeland: Ten Stories, One Israel‘ https://jewishunpacked.com/podcast-series/homeland-ten-stories-one-israel/ *** What would you do if you had 2.5 million dollars to invest in scientific research? Would you search for a cure for Altzheimer’s? Cancer? MS? Would you try to send the first man to Mars? Or would you attempt to create the perfect tiktok video? These are the questions that faced Professor Ido Kaminer from the Technion. Well, maybe not the last one. Professor Kaminer applied for the prestigious Polymath award, given each year by Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. The rules are simple: submit a research proposal in a field that you’ve never explored. In other words, the applicants are requested to leave their comfort zones, think outside of the box and come up with an innovative idea that’s worth the money - 2.5 million dollars. Professor Kaminer was recently notified that he was awarded the prize. Now, he faces probably THE greatest challenges of his career - trying to explain to us simpletons what in the world his research is about. Prof. Ido Kaminer is a physics professor, he studies quantum mechanics and he’s the first Israeli to have gotten the Adolph Lomb medal, awarded since 1940 to a person who has made a noteworthy contribution to optics at an early age. It’s an honor to have him on the show today. (Photo: BAYS Israel Chem Laureate)

This Episode is sponsored by Unpacked's new podcast, 'Homeland: Ten Stories, One Israel' https://jewishunpacked.com/podcast-series/homeland-ten-stories-one-israel/ *** Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/2njb *** “The Next-To-Last time I Was Shot Out of A Cannon”, “The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God”, “Suddenly, A Knock On The Door”. Just the titles of these short stories are enough to make your literary mouth water. Etgar Keret certainly has a knack for doing just that. With a long career of award winning short stories, books, comics, graphic novels, children’s books and even short and feature films, all under his belt, Etgar Keret finally decided to tackle the hardest challenge of all - substack. Keret has been posting to his new substack, Alphabet Soup, once a week for the last year. As Keret puts it, “Super- short weird stories, poems, thoughts about writing, ideas for screenplays – they all swirl around in my Alphabet Soup pot.” Keret has won many awards, among which the Knight Medallion for Literature in France. His debut feature film, Jellyfish, which he co-created with his wife Shira Geffen, was awarded the coveted Camera d’Or prize at the Cannes film festival. Today we are super thrilled to be joined for the SECOND TIME by the endlessly talented Etgar Keret. Etgar's newsletter and website: https://www.etgarkeret.com (Photo by Lielle Sand)

(Sponsored) When a bus breaks down off an Israeli highway and leaves its passengers stranded, Emily, an American journalism student, decides to put her skills to the test...much to the chagrin of her fellow travelers. As she eventually coaxes each person to share their story, Emily uncovers the rich and complex history that every Israeli holds. Each episode is a deep dive into a new character’s world; from Morocco to Russia, all paths lead to Israel in this narrative style pod brought to you by Unpacked. Get it wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://jewishunpacked.com/podcast-series/homeland-ten-stories-one-israel/

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/2njb *** In May 1997, something happened that would change the relationships between humans and computers forever. A game of chess was played, but it wasn’t just a regular game. On one side was Gary Kasparov - the undeniable Chess Master of the world. On the other side a bunch of 1’s and 0’s, aka Deep Blue, IBM’s computer that was developed with one purpose, and one purpose only - to beat Kasparov in chess. And it happened. Deep Blue won ⅗-⅖ after a match of 6 games, and the history of computers changed forever. Cut to - almost two decades later. After a computer did the unthinkable, there was even a bigger challenge in hand - beating the Go world champion. Go is a Chinese game, which is considered to be much more complex than chess, with endless possibilities. However, eventually the computer did it again, and defeated the world champion. Cut to - Jaffa, Israel, early 2000’s. Ali is sitting at home, watching his favorite Anime show, ‘Hikaro No Go’. He’s inspired by the fascinating game the characters in the show are playing, and he decides to try it for himself. He goes online and starts playing. By 2009, he will be Europe’s Youth Champion at Go. By 2015, he’ll be the second best Go player in Europe. Today, we’re honored to be joined by Ali Jabarin and hear his incredible story.