187. Eli Lake Goes Through the Looking Glass on Israel, Trump, JFK

Eli Lake is not a historian but a “journalist who loves history.” The former “Re-Education of Eli Lake” host and current Free Press contributor comes on Smoke for the second time to discuss his latest pop-history podcast, “Why We’re Obsessed with JFK Conspiracies.” As usual, Lake puts his own distinctive spin on a story that may have been told before, yes, but not this way.

First, though, Nancy and Sarah have to talk to Eli about Israel. Eli explains that what happened to the Bibas family has hardened his heart, but he’s trying not to let it radicalize him. We talk morals and ideologies, the horrors of war, and the necessities for civil society.

Also discussed:

• “A rabbit hole the country has never been able to climb out of”

• Eli teaches Sarah some Yiddish

• “If Baruch Goldstein had been Palestinian, they’d be naming schools after him.”

• Gaza-lago?

• On conspiracy susceptibility: “It’s either, ‘You’re a moron’ or, ‘How can you be so naive, kid?” And yet we want to believe …

• Eli coins new and helpful word: Mono-cause

• JFK is the “octopus conspiracy”

• Even LBJ thought something weird was going on …

• The unspeakable abuses exposed by the Church Committee

• We are a pro-Norman Mailer podcast!

• Nancy says something profound?

• Sarah quotes Timothee Chalamet award speech, nobody cares

• Editor’s note: Hal Ashby directed Harold and Maude

• Second editor’s note: Waylon Jennings sand Dukes of Hazzard theme song

• “What happened to normal movies?”

• The Emilia Perez kerfuffle is so 2020

Plus, Eli is such a good guest he brought his own outro (AND wrote Nancy a Sleater-Kinneyesque theme for her new interview series CHEFS TALK), Nancy and Sarah wrassle over what movie wins Best Picture, we imagine a woke Dukes of Hazzard, and much more!

NOTE GENTLE LISTENERS! Smoke’s First Sunday Zoom will be postponed as one of the fancy co-hosts (that would be Sarah) has to cover the Oscars for work, don’t you know. Details about next Zoom coming soon!