Defense Matters Podcast

Defense Matters is a podcast about all matters of defense – and why they matter.
Join host Aron Heller as he takes you on a journey into the world of security, military affairs, technology and everything in between. Each episode, we catch up on the latest developments and focus on a different aspect of the current climate with a featured guest. In addition to the challenges of today, we also take a glimpse into tomorrow with our Gamechanger corner in which we look at the technologies that will shape the future battlefield. “Defense Matters” is an Israel Defense production, in association with IAI.

January 01, 2023

Defense Matters, Episode 10 | The Chinese Connection

Episode 10 of “Defense Matters” looks at Israel-China relations. In our season finale, Host Aron Heller speaks with Carice Witte, Founder & Executive Director of SIGNAL – Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership. Witte and Heller delve deep into the…

December 14, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 9 | Israel: New government, same old challenges

Episode 9 of “Defense Matters” tackles the new Israeli government. Host Aron Heller speaks with Eitan Dangot, retired IDF general, former Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, and currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of Strategy…

July 20, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 8 | A Special Cyber Edition

Episode 8 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the cyber and its complex reach into our lives. Host Aron Heller speaks with Erez Kreiner, a former director of the Cyber Division of Israel’s Shin Bet security service and currently a senior…

July 06, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 7 | Seeking the Saudis

Episode 7 of “Defense Matters” focuses on Saudi Arabia. Host Aron Heller speaks with Prof. Uzi Rabi, PhD, Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for the Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, about the Israel’s relations with…

June 21, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 6 | The Biden visit: Checking the pulse of Israel/US relations

Episode 6 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the upcoming Biden visit to the Middle East and what it means for Israel and the region. Host Aron Heller speaks with Helit Barel, a security expert on US-Israel relations, the former Director…

June 13, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 5 | Israel & Turkey: friends or foes?

Episode 5 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the current status of relations between Israel and Turkey. Host Aron Heller talks to Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss, an expert on Turkey and a Senior Research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies…

May 25, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 4 | The war over public opinion

Episode 4 of “Defense Matters” tries to figure out why Israel always seems to be on the losing end of global public opinion. We will review recent crises, such as the deadly shooting of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and…

May 03, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 3 | A New Middle East?

Episode 3 of “Defense Matters” looks at the seemingly new era in the Middle East. Israel now has open relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and others, and the Palestinian issue seems passe. And yet, we still have rocket attacks…

April 11, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 2 | Wave of terror: Coping with lone attackers

Episode 2 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, after the deadliest month of nationalist violence in years. The stabbing and shooting attacks in Beer-Sheba, Hadera, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv were all very…

April 03, 2022

Defense Matters, Episode 1 | Ukraine: First lessons from a brutal war

Episode 1 of “Defense Matters” focused on the war in Ukraine and discussed the fighting on the ground, the technology involved, the cyber war, the post-Cold War military balance that is currently unfolding – and, of course, the Israeli angle,…