Day: October 7, 2026

Briefings

Background Briefing: October 7, 2026

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The Third Anniversary of the Hamas Attack on Israel and How Netanyahu’s Ignoring of Warnings is Impacting the October 27 Election

We begin on this third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis with 251 taken hostage prompting a retaliation that has destroyed most of Gaza and killed over 74,000 Palestinians. Joining us to discuss how revelations about Netanyahu’s responsibility for not protecting his citizens because he ignored repeated warnings from UAE and Egyptian Intelligence chiefs could impact the elections on October 27 is Asher Kaufman, the Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and a professor of History and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to that, he taught at Hebrew University, Jerusalem and he was a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace where he headed its Middle East Unit. Kaufman is the author of Contested Frontiers: Cartography, Sovereignty, and Conflict at the Syria, Lebanon, Israel Tri-Border Region.

 

How France’s Record Debt Underpins the Lack of Investment in Education as Students Protest Nationwide

Then we examine the underpinning of the uprising of French students against the government’s lack of investment in education and assess the heated debate in France over how to contain the country’s record debt. and preserve a meritocracy that the schools and universities used to produce. Joining us is Nicolas Jabko, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University whose research focuses on comparative politics, neoliberalism, political economy, and European politics. He got his PhD at UC Berkeley then joined the faculty at Sciences Po-Paris before teaching at Johns Hopkins and his latest book is Technocrats in Turmoil: The Fed, the ECB, and the Changing Politics of Money.

 

How we Can Live Like a Citizen and Change Mindsets and Our Country

Then finally we speak with Eric Liu, the cofounder and CEO of Citizen University and author of numerous acclaimed books on democracy and American identity. His TED Talks on power and democracy have been viewed over ten million times. He served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and as the President’s deputy domestic policy adviser. He was later appointed by President Barack Obama to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. We discuss his new book, out next week, Live Like a Citizen: 8 Ways to Change Your Mindset and Our Country.