Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

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In a Call me Back bonus episode, we’re publishing this week’s episode of Ark Media podcast What’s Your Number, co-hosted by Yonatan Adiri and Yael Wissner-Levy. This week, despite recording between air-raid sirens and shelter runs, Yael and Yonatan break down Iran’s emerging strategy of economic warfare. Instead of matching Israel and the U.S. militarily, Iran appears to be targeting global pressure points—oil and gas infrastructure, fertilizer supply chains, financial hubs, AI data centers, and the Strait of Hormuz—to drive up global costs and force political pressure. The question: can this strategy actually move markets and reshape the conflict? 

In this episode:

00:00 - Numbers of the Week

05:00 - The WYNDEX

09:00 - Big Short #1: Lebanon signals a shift on Hezbollah

11:30 - Big Short #2: Israel’s budget politics and coalition stability

14:00 - Long Play: Iran’s economic warfare and the global energy stakes

38:40 - Words of the Week

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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This is a sneak peek from today's members only Inside Call me Back, in which Dan and Ilan discuss the Michigan synagogue shooting and the rise in global Antisemitism.

In the full episode:

In this Inside edition of Call me Back, producer Ilan Benatar turns the mic on Dan Senor to respond to listener questions and reflect on the surge in antisemitism worldwide. They discuss the attempted synagogue terror attack in Detroit, how narratives about Israel’s war with Iran could shape antisemitic rhetoric, and the difficult balance Jewish communities face between investing in security and investing in Jewish life.

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

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Is the Iran War actually heading toward an end, or just getting started? 

Almost two weeks into the conflict, the United States and Israel have laid waste to Iran’s external war capabilities. As the Pentagon signals the end of "Phase One," the focus shifts from destroying missile launchers to a much bigger question: can advanced technology and air superiority achieve what was once thought possible only with boots on the ground? Dan is joined by Rich Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to unpack the military scorecard, the high-stakes messaging of the oil markets, and the "science fiction" reality of modern AI-driven warfare.

In this episode:

05:20 – Military Progress: Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Arsenal

09:25 – Economic Warfare: Using Presidential Messaging to Control Oil Prices

11:05 – Breaking the Siege: Ending Iran's Control of the Strait of Hormuz

14:05 – Intelligence Debates: Is the Iranian Regime Near a Tipping Point?

26:10 – The Ground War Debate: Why Air Superiority Might Be Enough

31:40 – The High-Stakes Mission to Extract Buried Nuclear Material

36:35 – Beyond Iraq: How AI and Technology Have Changed War-Fighting

42:45 – The Future of the US-Israel Defense Tech Partnership

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

Subscribe here to Inside Call me Back

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Could a buried stockpile of uranium decide the outcome of the war with Iran?

Dan is joined by Israeli journalist Amit Segal and military historian Fred Kagan to unpack reports that roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% may still be recoverable from a bombed Iranian nuclear site. They discuss why that level of enrichment matters, what it would take for U.S. or Israeli forces to extract the material, and why the race to secure it could shape the next phase of the war. The conversation also explores the broader campaign against the Iranian regime, the possibility of regime change, renewed Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel, and what Iran might look like if the current leadership collapses.

In this episode:

01:50 – Hezbollah’s renewed attacks on northern Israel

04:05 – The broader military campaign against Iran’s regime infrastructure

08:20 – The race to secure Iran’s buried 60% enriched uranium

12:15 – Why 60% enrichment puts Iran close to nuclear weapons capability

16:40 – What it would take for U.S. or Israeli forces to extract the material

23:30 – Netanyahu’s “surprises” and the strategy to destabilize the regime

28:55 – The rise of Mojtaba Khamenei and what it means for the regime

35:10 – Could regime change in Iran trigger a civil war?

Learn more about AEI’s Critical Threats Project. 

Learn more about the Institute for the Study of War.

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo

Subscribe here to Inside Call me Back

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Please take 5 minutes to fill out Ark Media’s LISTENER SURVEY

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How did the oppressive Ayatollah regime convince the Western left that they’re the victims?

Dan speaks with Iranian-American lawyer and activist Elica Le Bon about the ideological narratives that form (and distort) the West’s reaction to the Iran war. Le Bon explains the deep divide between the Iranian people and the Islamic regime, the cycles of protests and repression, the imperialist roots of the regime’s long-standing obsession with Israel, and the Marxist prism through which the Western left understands the conflict.

In this episode:

06:30 – Elica Le Bon’s family story and the legacy of the 1979 revolution

07:45 – Life under the Islamic regime and the experience of repression

11:05 – The gap between the Iranian people and the regime ruling them

14:42 – Why the Iranian regime sees Israel as central to its ideology

20:32 – How ideological narratives in the West shape perceptions of the war

23:42 – The “mind virus” of anti-Western and anti-Zionist thinking

26:46 – Protest movements inside Iran and the risks people face

31:04 – What a post-regime Iran could mean for the Middle East and the world

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Patricio Spadavecchia, Yuval Semo