Israeli journalist, broadcaster, and media historian Gilad Halpern will consider journalism and the media landscape in Israel and the broader Middle East, in two lectures at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.

Podcasting the Middle East: Tel Aviv Review--How do English-language podcasts shape discussions about the Middle East? Halpern and Skidmore historian Murat C. Yildiz will discuss podcasts as a medium of sharing and shaping knowledge. Halpern is the host of the Tel Aviv Review, an English-language scholarly podcast, and a founding editor of the Tel Aviv Review of Books magazine, an English-language online quarterly. Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7:30 PM, Wyckoff Ctr., in the Case Campus Center

Journalism in Times of Crisis: Israel, the Middle East, and Beyond--With the decline of the liberal order and the erosion of norms, journalism has suffered financial woes and the overbearing bite of “fake news.” What role can journalism play, domestically and internationally, especially against the backdrop of conflict? Thursday, Oct. 23, 7:30 PM, Davis Auditorium, Palamountain Hall

In 2024 Halpern was awarded a PhD from the University of Haifa’s Department of Communication for a dissertation on The Palestine Post newspaper and government-press relations in British-ruled Palestine. He had worked as managing editor for Ynetnews and senior editor for Haaretz English Edition. His work has appeared on the BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24, Time Out, Jewish Quarterly, The Jewish Chronicle, and others.

The talks are partly supported by the estate of Jacob Perlow, an immigrant to the United States in the 1920s, a successful businessman interested in religion and philosophy, and who was committed to Jewish education. Additional funding was provided by a bequest from Mrs. Beatrice Perlman Troupin.