Author Archives: Josh Levs

Episode 131: Obama Exposed & Literary Blackout

It’s time to correct something the media has been lying about for 15 years: former President Barack Obama’s record on the Middle East. The other day, he rewrote history and spewed vicious lies during a speech in Belfast, Northern Ireland (at a university where Josh once spoke). Obama poured fire onto the flaming inferno of the world’s largest hate movement, antizionism. 

Today, Josh sets the record straight. During Obama’s presidency, he ignored experts and insisted that protests in Cairo were all about democracy, and would lead to a democratic revolution. They instead proved to be rape-filled hellscapes that brought the pro-terror Muslim Brotherhood to power. When it was then toppled in a military coup, the United States looked the other way. Josh also details Obama’s massive increase in covert aerial bombings and refusal to acknowledge the Islamist terrorism sweeping across the globe. 

Then, Josh turns to a type of media that’s enormously influential, but has not yet come up on this show: prestigious “book review” sites. They have an outsized role in our culture, signaling to news giants which authors should be heard from. Recently, the Los Angeles Review of Books canceled an interview with author Shai Davidai (Josh’s guest in Episode 123) because the editors believed lies and distortions in the New York Times. Josh interviews Melissa Uchiyama, the writer whose story was killed. She explains the broad dangers it signals for the literary world.

Plus, Josh discusses his Wall Street Journal column, Christiane Amanpour’s plan to leave CNN and PBS, new figures showing a huge number of Christians killed by Islamists in Nigeria, and how democracy takes root.

Episode 130: Party Over Country & 3 ‘Isms’

A lawmaker has responded to Josh’s recent episode — and her response shows what’s wrong with our politics. Today, Josh digs into a “party over country” mentality that’s damaging society.

Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, accurately called antizionism a hate movement. But she also endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, who would lead that hate movement in the Senate. In a note on Josh’s social media, Stevens tried to justify the decision. But in a sane political system, no one would think to do something like this.

Where is the media? Josh explains that news agencies claim to stand for “country over party,” but they’re ignoring this story. Along the way, we hear from Hillary Clinton and a presidential historian.

Plus, the media is building an ideological Tower of Babel by playing games with language. Re-airing a popular deep-dive from Episode 49, Josh dissects three controversial “isms” in the news: transgenderism, feminism, and Zionism. Why do media organizations follow dictionary definitions for some words, ignore them for others, and allow activists to weaponize the confusion? Josh examines how a double standard distorts public discourse and erases history.

Episode 129: Oct. 7: What the World Lost

On this third anniversary of the October 7 massacres, Josh highlights something the media forgets entirely: the story of what does not happen. The story of that day, and Am Yisrael (The People of Israel, a.k.a. “Jews”) having to fight the latest war for survival, isn’t just about death and destruction. It’s also about what the terrorists and their supporters have stolen from humanity.

Antisemitism — including its most popular current incarnation, antizionism — is the story of our species shooting itself in the foot. When members of this tiny peoplehood, 0.2% of humanity, aren’t being hunted, they deliver extraordinary contributions far out of proportion to other groups. Why? Because of a culture that prizes learning facts, hard work, and rebuilding from scratch no matter what people do to you.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Albert Einstein (literally), Mark Twain, author Norman Lebrecht, “son of Hamas” Mosab Hassan Yousef, and more. Josh has an update on saxophonist Erez Yatzkan, who lost his hands when Gazan terrorists tried to bomb their way into a safe room to slaughter him and his family on a kibbutz filled with peaceniks.

Plus, new revelations about so-called “journalists” killed in Gaza show that the media has become a tool of propagandists. And Josh shares inspiring reasons for hope — including how we can all be a part of the good fight.

Episode 128: Laundering Antizionism: Inside A Hate Movement with Adam Louis-Klein

How did the mainstream media become a tool of today’s biggest hate movement? Today, a leading expert joins Josh to explain how the Antizionist Hate Movement used the nexus between academia and journalism to launder its lies. An academic and expert on how societies develop, Adam Louis-Klein is now leading the Movement Against Antizionism.

His own story is instructive. He was a Communist and left-wing activist who went off to do research on an indigenous community. When he reconnected to the world two days after the October 7 massacres, he discovered his communities celebrating the terrorists. “Antizionist narratives were there from the beginning — the entire complex of the delegitimization of Israel, the erasure of Jewish peoplehood,” he explains.

In this eye-opening, mind-expanding interview, Adam explains why fighting this hate movement requires a whole new strategy. He argues that it’s time to stop explaining why it’s antisemitic, and start making clear to the world that Israel-loathing is an “abusive complex.” He describes how academia, NGOs and the media have turned “epistemic authority” into a “tool of power.”

Plus Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan faces calls for her death for saying something true. And the Boston Globe’s hilarious, viral story about a lesbian bar shows how hate movements turn on themselves.

Episode 127: Macklemore, Mahdawi and the Media

When the media decides to present someone as a victim, there’s almost always no turning back. No matter how wrong they turn out to be, no matter how much evidence disproves the narrative, the media doubles down. We’ve seen that in recent days with a rapper known as Macklemore. Today, Josh explains that the media is completely wrong about him. 

Macklemore praised violent pro-terror mobs at Columbia University. A leader of that movement is also a media darling, Mohsen Mahdawi. A new 100-page report proves that the media’s portrayals of him are pure fiction. In this episode, independent journalists David Collier and Rachel Feldman join Josh to talk about how they uncovered the truth. They discuss “crickets” from the media, historic failures, and how people can get the word out. Interestingly, it involves local school boards.

Plus the New York Times blames an editing error for an offensive, wildly wrong claim in a report. But why is it that the Times’ supposed mistakes always point in the same direction? And Josh breaks down the hypocrisy in the battle over press access to the White House.

Episode 126: America’s Most Unpopular

If you picture America as the news describes it, which political figures do you think are popular? A new survey shows the actual popularity — in most cases, unpopularity — of political figures. It exposes the massive disconnect between the media and reality. Media darlings are among the most unpopular political figures in America. Today, Josh explains why this is such an important reality check about where Americans really stand. 

Also, the Wall Street Journal has run a new, anonymously-sourced hit piece on Senator John Fetterman. Josh digs up what the paper’s top editor has said about anonymity, and explains why allowing it in this case doesn’t seem to make sense. Plus, the giant part of the Fetterman story that just about everyone leaves out. It’s a sign not just of what one lawmaker faces, but of today’s political culture.

Plus, a researcher from an elite university publishes a new report quantifying the New York Times’ bias, and a listener asks Josh about comment sections.

Episode 125: 9/11 ‘Terror’ Walkback

A powerful news agency heard people’s complaints and changed its stance on 9/11. Now, it says, its journalists may call the September 11th attacks what they were: terrorism. But that doesn’t solve the problem. In fact, with its new guidance, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) just showed how its rules make no sense. 

Today, Josh explains that this is a hole news agencies have dug for themselves by trying to create an imaginary world in which they can’t simply call terrorism by its name. He talks through the two simple options news agencies have, and how their constant failure to make a choice skews their coverage of global events.

As the 25th anniversary arrives, Josh explains what we’re likely to see, and not see, from the media. Plus, how U.S. and Israeli intelligence are essential in thwarting terror attacks.

Episode 124: Natural Disasters & Democracy

The flooding in Nepal and Tibet is the latest in a string of natural disasters showing the vulnerability of so many people. In news coverage, the media is missing what may be the most important point of all: what it takes to strengthen societies against these events. 

Today, Josh explains why democratic societies do a much better job of protecting and saving lives in natural disasters. As the United States faces growing anti-democratic forces from both the right and the left, it isn’t just our societal structures that could topple; it’s our buildings, too. 

Plus, as the anniversary approaches, a news giant has told its reporters not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as terrorism. Josh breaks down the many things wrong with that decision, and discusses why it’s a reflection of a dangerous shift at the heart of society. Josh has sent the news agency a series of questions, which he shares today.

Also, more from last week’s guest, Professor Shai Davidai. He and Josh discuss a trick news agencies sometimes play.

Episode 123: Fighting Back When the Media Targets You, with Shai Davidai

https://media.blubrry.com/3715769/content.blubrry.com/3715769/TSC_ep_123f.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:07 — 49.6MB) | EmbedSubscribe: RSS | MoreWhat do you do if you’re interviewed and want to make sure your words don’t get twisted? Or what if you’re not even interviewed, but suddenly find yourself in the news anyway? That can happen to anyone at any time. […]

Episode 122: Secret Plane Switch

It’s a big story involving alleged life and death stakes: Were the Secret Service and the president -willing to risk the lives of journalists and staffers? Before taking off from Turkey recently, President Trump and a few aides were secretly snuck out of the plane and into another military aircraft, amid a security threat from Iran. 

Members of the media say the president and Secret Service used them, as well as other White House staffers, as decoys, endangering them. But presidents have done similar things before. How different was this case? The reporting has been filled with conjecture. Today, Josh pieces through the claims to find the facts. He speaks with Joe Lockhart, who was press secretary for President Clinton in 2000 during another plane switcheroo.

Then, Josh explains how the media missed a giant opportunity to educate people about big developments in American security, foreign threats, and a world-shaping event in the 20th century. 

Plus, another group is caught stealthily removing terrorists from its list of so-called “journalists” killed in Gaza. But it’s leaving others on the list. Josh shows why these two stories together demonstrate how the media is endangering its own safety.

Episode 121: El-Sayed & Existential Threats

The narrow victory of left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary exposed a fault line in America. Some people who recognize his problems with antisemitism say Democrats should now support him anyway. They argue that MAGA is an “existential threat” to the United States, so any Democrat will do. 

Today, Josh shatters that myth, laying out how a left-wing movement presents an existential threat to the nation, and El-Sayed is their new poster child. Josh pieces through the candidate’s blatant lies that fuel violent antisemitism, “shocking” video that pretends Islamist terrorism doesn’t exist, funding from groups linked to terror, and more. 

Then, Josh shares the truth about the Democratic Socialists of America, which backs El-Sayed. The DSA openly calls for the American democratic system of government to no longer exist. It also celebrates the terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacres. The central political battle is no longer left versus right, Josh says. It’s about people who stand for democracy against those who don’t. 

Plus, an update on the war between Russia and Ukraine; the U.N. makes a big admission about Gaza; and a new, horrific attack on Christians in Africa.

Episode 120: Fauci’s Fame/ Jonah Platt

In recent years, news giants have vowed to do a much better job of representing minorities. But there’s an obvious exception. They’ve doubled down on misrepresenting Jewish Americans, who compose about 2% of the country. They seek out the token few who support AZHM (the antizionist hate movement) and ignore virtually everyone else.

Today, Josh speaks with Jonah Platt, an actor and singer who created Being Jewish, a show for Jewish celebrities and others to share their stories. “Most people on planet Earth have never met and will never meet a Jew,” he says. “The only thing they know is whatever 12 seconds of the news they catch.” The two discuss fears gripping Hollywood, why Jonah’s show is like Harry Potter’s train to Hogwarts, and the new TV show Boston Blue, which centers on a Black Jewish family.

Plus, Josh calls out Variety for a fawning interview with actress Melissa Barrera that portrayed her as a victim while hiding the vile antisemitic propaganda she spreads. And he shows how the fallout from Boy George’s new song supporting the Israeli people disproves the media’s “cancellation” narrative.

But first, Anthony Fauci, the chief scientist who advised the U.S. government on the Covid response, is facing new criticism. So are Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, two of Josh’s former CNN colleagues, for off-air interactions with Fauci. He details why this story shows what happens when the media fails to do its job and loses America’s trust.