What Your Relationship With Money Says About Your Character With Rabb Daniel Lapin
The Curious Middle
What if pursuing wealth isn't greedy, it's morally good? has spent decades making that case, and in this conversation he makes it clearly. He's the bestselling author of founder of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians, and one of the most practical thinkers on money, character, and how to live well. We get into his Five F's frameworkL Family, Finance, Friendship, Fitness, and Faith, and why these five areas, arranged in a circle, are the clearest measure of whether someone has their life together. Rabbi Lapin breaks down which F matters most at different life stages, why...
info_outline
Reading Before You Speak: How Mat Nuclear Debates the Issues Most People Won't Touch
The Curious Middle
is one of the most compelling young voices in political commentary right now. He went viral debating Amanda Seales on Surrounded series, one Black conservative among twenty, and has been building a reputation for tackling the issues most people his age avoid entirely. We invited Matt for a converrsationa about what it actually takes to form independent opinions in an age of social media groupthink. Matt grew up in a 90% white state, came to the US from Angola at age six, and found his way into political debate not through mentors or family ideology, but through Discord arguments...
info_outline
All the News That's Fit to Spin with Ashley Rindsberg
The Curious Middle
How much power does The New York Times really have , and what happens when that power is used to shape narrative instead of pursue truth? In this episode of The Curious Middle, we speak with Ashley Rindsberg, author of about the Times’ reporting on some of the most important stories of the last century: the Nazi invasion of Poland, Stalin’s Soviet Union, the Holocaust, Israel, the 1619 Project nd more. Ashley Rindsberg is an investigative journalist and author focused on media malfeasance, information warfare, and the hidden systems influencing public discourse. Ashley joins us to explain...
info_outline
If Iran Breaks Free with Jonathan Harounoff
The Curious Middle
In this powerful episode, we sit down with Jonathan Harounoff, British-Iranian journalist and author of Unveiled: Inside Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom Revolt. Jonathan takes us inside the Woman, Life, Freedom movement—how it began, why it refuses to die, and why the regime continues to answer peaceful protest with barbaric force. Drawing on years of reporting and deeply personal conversations with Iranians inside the country and across the diaspora, he shares the brutal realities of life under the regime—and the extraordinary courage of people who keep standing up anyway. We talk about...
info_outline
When Education Turns Into One-Sided Activism with Marissa Streit CEO of PragerU
The Curious Middle
We spreak with CEO of bout education, civics, and parenting in a time of cultural chaos. Marissa shares the moment that inspired her to “enlist” through education, explains why activism can show up even in math and literacy, and calls on parents to stop outsourcing values to institutions. Our discussion also explores he crisis facing young women today—marriage, meaning, dignity, and femininity—and why Marissa believes a new “revolution” is needed. Plus: practical ways to use PragerU at home in just 5–20 minutes a day. Timestamps & Key Moments 00:04 — Intro: Who is...
info_outline
Foster Care to Yale: The Truth About Luxury Beliefs with Rob Henderson
The Curious Middle
Rob Henderson, known for coining the term “luxury beliefs,” joins us to discuss his memoir Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. Rob shares his extraordinary path—from homelessness and the LA foster care system, to adoption in rural Northern California, to enlisting in the Air Force at 17, and eventually studying at Yale and Cambridge. Rob shares research that shows how childhood instability (more than poverty alone) shapes life outcomes; why the foster system is so under-resourced; how elite cultural narratives can unintentionally harm the very communities...
info_outline
Sarah Hurwitz: Chosen for Responsibility, Judaism, Israel, and the Battle Over the Jewish Story
The Curious Middle
Former Michelle Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz joins us to explore the world of Jewish wisdom she discovered beyond ethnic jokes, bagels, and a vague sense of guilt. She shares how her culturally Jewish upbringing transformed into a deeply learned, joyful identity—and why real Jewish study is essential if we want to withstand modern antisemitism. We trace how 2,000 years of Christian anti-Judaism, Nazi antisemitism, and Soviet anti-Zionism have been funneled into today’s leftist campus ideologies—shaping the anti-Israel narratives dominating universities, media, and movements on both...
info_outline
Your School’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum Might Be More Radical Than You Think - Monica Harris Explains Why
The Curious Middle
Monica Harris is the Executive Director of a Harvard Law graduate, former Hollywood executive, and author of The Illusion of Division. Monica explains how her experience as a gay Black woman in Hollywood and then in “flyover country”shattered many elite narratives about America. She describes why she believes much of our current polarization is manufactured by media and political interests, and how identity-based frameworks like liberated ethnic studies and DEI are deepening division rather than healing it. We dig into the following: Why “Liberated Ethnic Studies” is...
info_outline
From “America Is Evil” to American Exceptionalism: Lucy Biggers’ Turnaround
The Curious Middle
In this episode, we speak with head of social media at nd a former climate activist who has completely rethought the story she was telling the world and herself. Lucy shares how she went from a left-wing digital newsroom steeped in oppressor–oppressed ideology and climate doomsday content to slowly “re-educating” herself, especially after COVID lockdowns made her question what the climate movement was really asking of ordinary people. We talk about how smart, idealistic young people get pulled into movements, from climate activism to “Free Palestine” marches and democratic...
info_outline
What Love Makes Possible: Leland Vittert on His Father, Autism & a Lucky Life
The Curious Middle
Vittert, chief Washington anchor and author of the memoir joins us to talk about his childhood, his career, and all the unexpected ways he truly was born lucky. Despite years of bullying and difficulty navigating school as an autistic kid, Leland had one enormous blessing: parents who never gave up on him, never lowered the bar, and never stopped believing he was capable of a beautiful life. The devotion of Leland’s father will melt your heart—and make you think about the millions of ways a child’s life can be transformed through love, discipline, and grit. Leland shares...
info_outlineHow much power does The New York Times really have , and what happens when that power is used to shape narrative instead of pursue truth?
In this episode of The Curious Middle, we speak with Ashley Rindsberg, author of The Gray Lady Winked, about the Times’ reporting on some of the most important stories of the last century: the Nazi invasion of Poland, Stalin’s Soviet Union, the Holocaust, Israel, the 1619 Project nd more.
Ashley Rindsberg is an investigative journalist and author focused on media malfeasance, information warfare, and the hidden systems influencing public discourse.
Ashley joins us to explain why he believes the paper has repeatedly protected power, buried inconvenient truths, and helped shape public opinion in ways that changed history. We also talk about the Sulzberger family, the culture inside elite newsrooms, the collapse of trust in journalism, and how listeners can build a healthier media diet today.
In this episode:
- What first inspired Ashley to write The Gray Lady Winked
- Why the New York Times is unlike any other media institution
- The Times’ Holocaust coverage and what was buried
- How tne NYT Created a Narrative on the Soviet Unioo, Hitler, Cuba, Iraq, Israel and the Intifada,
- The 1619 Project and narrative-driven reporting
- The Tom Cotton op-ed controversy, safe spaces, silencing dissent and newsroom ideology
- How to find better journalism in a fractured media environment
More reading:
Books:
- Buried by the Times by Laurel Leff
- Stalin’s Apologist: Walter Duranty: The New York Times’s Man in Moscow by S.J. Taylor
Articles
- About the NYT Nazi Correspondent from Tablet Magazine
- NYT journalist Walter Duranty, who downplayed the Ukraine famine.
“Committed to protecting his own influence and to a future “greater good” promised by the Soviet regime, Duranty at first dismissed rumors of the Ukrainian Famine. Then he downplayed them. Then he claimed that Ukraine’s “food shortages” were the result of local mismanagement and the work of “wreckers” and “spoilers” intent on undermining Soviet progress.”
More podcasts with Ashley:
Key Quotes
- “They set cultural agendas, they set the news agenda, they influence politics, they influence culture.”
- “They didn’t want to appear to be the Jewish newspaper that was advocating for Jewish lives or Jewish people. So they did the exact opposite.”
- “You don’t bury a story about tens of thousands of people being murdered in Europe by accident.”
- “The narrative was so overpowering for them that it obliterated what was in front of their faces."
- “It became a culture of silence."
Timestamps
05:13: Origin Story of the Book
- Spark: reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- Shock discovery: NYT reported Poland invaded Germany (1939)
- Core question: “If they got that wrong, what else did they get wrong?”
08:42 – Why Focus on The New York Times
11:32 – Ochs-Sulzberger Family Ideology
- German-Jewish assimilation philosophy:
- Judaism = religion only (not identity)
14:23 – Holocaust Coverage Critique
- Only 6 front-page Holocaust stories in 6 years
17:56 – Historical Parallels to Today
- Narratives like:
- “Jews cause wars”
- “Israel manipulation”
20:34 – Could Coverage Have Changed History?
21:12 – Fascination with Power / Dictators
24:15 – Ukraine Famine Denial (Walter Duranty)
26:43 – Publishing Barriers
- Publishers avoided book due to:
- Fear of NYT retaliation
- Bestseller list control
- Insight: NYT bestseller list = editorial, not purely sales-based
30:12 – NYT Power Today
- Less local dominance, more global reach
- ~600 million monthly users
- Now a digital ecosystem
32:32 – NYT Lack of Accountability
35:30 – State of Journalism Today
38:48 – Misleading Image Example (Second Intifada)
- Photo falsely captioned:
- Palestinian victim → actually Jewish man being saved
- Example of narrative overriding facts
41:20 – Mohammed al-Dura Case
- Widely reported killing blamed on Israel
- Later forensic evidence contradicted it
- NYT never corrected narrative
43:10 – The 1619 Project
- Claim: U.S. founded on slavery, not liberty
- Criticism:
- Historians said key claims were false
- Still:
- Won Pulitzer
- Entered school curricula
51:54 – Tom Cotton Op-Ed Controversy
57:55 – Future of Media
59:27 – Advice for News Consumers (GREAT CLIP)
🔥 “Unbundle the news like Spotify unbundled albums”
1:01:09 – Closing + Current Work
- Focus on:
- Narrative spread across platforms
- Wikipedia, Reddit, AI manipulation
- Company: NPOV
Follow @thecuriousmiddlepod
Contact us: thecuriousmiddlepod@gmail.com