Free Daily Podcast Summary
What Came After: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Manya Marcus
Stories of how people's lives changed on and after October 7, 2023Creator: Manya MarcusEditor and Producer: Ben WallickAssociate Editor and Producer: Keren GlicksmanLogo Design: Samuel VilemarVisit us at whatcameafter.com
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 5 days ago1h 9m
The Most Important Audience I’ve Got
Whenever I’m in Israel to work on this show, I message a few people when I arrive and say, “I’m back! Tell me who I’m interviewing.” In this case, my dear friend (and former WCA guest) Samantha Robinson pointed me in the direction of Molly Livingstone. Molly grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a British dad with a gift for complaint and an American mom. In July 2002, her beloved camp counselor Marla Bennett was killed in the bombing at Hebrew University. Molly promised herself she would go see the Israel Marla loved. She went, and she stayed. She later found out at the Ministry of the Interior that she had been an Israeli citizen all along.) Today Molly is a comedian, the founder of the Jewish Comedy Center, and the mother of four. Her husband is a Golani combat medic who has served more than 400 days in reserves since October 7th. We sat in her Jerusalem kitchen and talked about Viktor Frankl, Holocaust jokes, shiva houses, and why Israelis laugh in bomb shelters. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Graphic Design: Aman Agarwal Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Cry For Me" | Ester Rada Listen on Spotify or Apple Music Support our work here! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one.
- 1 weeks ago45 min
We Have To Hold Each Other
I met Sharon Grinker at the marina in Herzliya. It’s a beautiful marina, and a big one, at least for someone who's never spent time at a marina. By the time I found him, I was a little late and a little sunburned. He was standing on the boat, talking with two women. I later learned that these two women were part of a program Sharon founded called Breaking Waves. Both of them had lost their husbands on October 7th. They were laughing together, easy and light, despite what had brought them there. I knew quickly that this was a special place. Breaking Waves is a trauma treatment program that takes people with PTSD out to sea in a yacht and teaches them to sail. I’ll admit it sounded like an odd idea for therapy. Then I got on the boat, and it made sense. There’s the open water, where no one can reach you, allowing you to tune the external world out. There’s also the work of learning how to operate the yacht. And there’s a group of people who slowly learn how to share their pain with one another, all while learning how to keep the boat (and themselves) afloat. Sharon is a retired IDF colonel. Years ago, during the Second Intifada, he was the IDF Spokesperson for the Foreign Media. That job has only gotten harder since October 7th, as Israel tries to explain itself to a world that has grown increasingly hostile. These days Sharon's mission is to help the growing number of Israelis living with PTSD. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Deep Blue Sea" | Yehezkel Raz, Sivan Talmor Listen on Spotify or Apple Music Support our work here! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one.
- 2 weeks ago1h 5m
You Tell The Ugly Parts, Too
I sat with Israeli-American literary translator and writer Yardenne Greenspan in Tel Aviv this past July. I’d fallen in love with her translation of Yishay Ishi Ron’s novel “Dog” while preparing for my conversation with Ishi (which was featured in last week's episode), Yardenne was born and raised in Israel and has lived and worked in the US for the past 16 years. She translates novels, short stories, and plays by Israeli writers from across the country’s religious and ethnic spectrum. After October 7, she took on whatever came her way, often pro bono. That included parts of Kibbutz Be’eri’s memorial website, survivor testimonies, a memoir by a Nova survivor, and the civil commission’s report on kinocide, led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy. We talked about craft, particularly translating “Dog” during a moment when every word about the IDF is being weaponized. She spoke so beautifully about what she's been living as a Jew outside Israel—a Jew at a remove—that at moments it felt like she was giving voice to my own thoughts. This is a very special conversation. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Diaspora" | Yehezkel Raz Listen on Spotify or Apple Music Support our work here! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one.
- 3 weeks ago1h 0m
Suddenly You Find Yourself Helpless
I sat with Israeli author, Yishay Ishi Ron, at his home in Kfar Saba this past summer. To prepare, I read his novel Dog, which was deft, spare, and deeply moving in Yardenne Greenspan's beautiful translation. (Yardenne joins me later this season.) Dog follows Geller, a decorated soldier who returns from Gaza, descends into heroin addiction, and ends up on the streets of Tel Aviv. Ishi wrote it before October 7. It's fiction — but Ishi calls it psychologically autobiographical, and it opens a real portal into the subjects that define his work: trauma, post-trauma, addiction, family, and what moving on can look like from the very bottom. The Hebrew edition of Dog was longlisted for the Sapir Prize. The English edition won two National Jewish Book Awards — for Book Club and Hebrew Fiction in Translation — and the National Library of Israel named it one of the most important contemporary works on post-trauma. It's now being adapted into a feature film by Eran Riklis. I highly recommend Dog and Ishi's new novel, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion, and I hope you enjoy this conversation. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "DABOOMJIGGLE - Short Version" | Out of Flux, Eyal Talmudi Listen on YouTube Support our work here! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one.
- Oct 5, 202647 min
The Waves Are Still There
Welcome back to What Came After. This episode with guest Eden Einav comes out just days before the third anniversary of October 7th, and I think Eden is exactly the right person to spotlight as this anniversary approaches. Eden Einav is an IDF veteran who served with Yasar Darom, the unit tasked with recovering fallen soldiers and hostages. I want to reiterate: Eden's job was to recover fallen soldiers and hostages. Take a moment to sit with that. This is a difficult interview, especially toward the end, and Eden is remarkably vulnerable throughout. In a piece he wrote about his experience, Eden talks about bringing the fallen home — and then about the immense task of bringing himself home, after everything he's been through. I think about that daily. I wonder how to bring myself home, and what home even is now: where I live outside Chicago? The homeland of the Jewish people? The new communities I've leaned into after so many I valued rejected me for being a Zionist—and, I suspect, for being a Jew? Before the episode begins, I want to say a quick word about this work. Sometimes I wonder, with all the suffering in the world, whether what we're doing is important. Then I think about the countless times I've been told — by survivors of October 7th, by descendants of Holocaust survivors — that when they thought they could hang on no longer, a voice inside them said: "You have to survive so you can tell the story." That's what we're doing. That's the archive this show is making, and I hope you'll consider supporting it at wcamedia.org/support/ Thank you for being part of this. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Some Days Are Harder" | Kami Maltz Listen on YouTube
- Sep 28, 20261h 1m
These Days I'm Grateful
Support our work here! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one. This past June, I sat down in Tel Aviv with Rita Yedid. Before October 7th, Rita's friends called her "Wonder Rita." Now the nickname is also the title of a documentary filmabout what she lived through at the Nova Festival, and the process of intense self-discovery that's taken place since. Rita and her husband survived the Nova massacre together, but they didn't experience it the same way. Rita speaks about the strain that those differences put on their marriage. The couple had a second child after Nova, but at the time of this interview, they had separated. Rita speaks about the immense toll that October 7th has taken on her life. But she also talks about something surprising, something built into a name she'd given herself even before the catastrophe: wonder. Wonder at the mystery of suffering. Wonder at the winding road of her own recovery. Wonder that October 7th, of all things, has come to illuminate her sense of purpose. Wonder at being alive. To learn more about Wonder Rita and her film, see the film link above, and learn more here. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "חי בים" | Noam Banai and Anat Malamud Listen on Spotify or Apple Music
- Sep 23, 202642 min
People Who Are Willing To Do What It Takes
Welcome back to What Came After. In this episode, Joseph Gitler welcomed me into his home—we recorded in March of 2026. Fortunately, our conversation wasn't interrupted by a missile attack but Israel's war with the Iranian regime was still very much raging. Joseph is the founder of Leket Israel, the organization that rescues cooked meals and agricultural surplus from across Israel to feed over 470,000 Israelis every week. He and I spoke about the enormous numbers of international volunteers who came — as quickly as they could enter the country after October 7 — to step into the breach for farmers who'd lost nearly everything, including the workers they'd depended on. We also spoke about a very painful personal loss Joseph experienced during the war. Throughout it all, he ponders this question: given the Jewish people's long history of near-collapse, and our equally long history of improbable survival — is there any calamity the Jewish people face that can truly be described as "existential"? On another note — I want to apologize for our long hiatus. Here's our big announcement: What Came After is no longer a standalone podcast. It's now a production of WCA Media, our new nonprofit audio studio. WCA Media will keep bringing you What Came After, and we have several other projects in the works. Please stay tuned — and if you're able, consider supporting us so we can keep this work going. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editor: Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Where We Go - Instrumental Version" | Elijah Aaron Listen on Spotify or Apple Music
- Aug 11, 202652 min
Your Students Carried Us
Please Support What Came After Media: Donate here. Your donations make this work possible. For months, Yoni Heilman and I kept missing each other. When I was in Israel, Yoni was serving in reserve duty. When Yoni was available for an interview in Israel, I was back in America. Finally, this past April, we were both in New York City and managed to sit down for this conversation. Yoni is an American-Israeli reservist and the CEO of TAMID Group, a nonprofit that fosters relationships between Israeli businesses and bright, motivated college students, as well as other emerging business leaders around the world. We talked about the many roles Yoni has found himself playing since October 7th — as an American, an Israeli, a reservist, a CEO, a parent, a partner, and someone deeply invested in the relationship between young people and Israel. He shared why TAMID Group is so intentional about creating meaningful relationships between young people and Israel that transcend religion and politics, and what he has learned from serving in his particular reserve unit, where he has witnessed some of the very best of humanity. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Credits: Host and Creator: Manya Marcus Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman Content Editors: Keren Glicksman and Alexandra Yelderman Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar Outro Music: "Not Over" | Israel Wasserman Listen on Spotify or Apple Music
Get What Came After summaries in your inbox
Free AI-powered daily recaps. Key takeaways, quotes, and mentions — in a 5-minute read.
Get Free Summaries →Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
You Might Also Like
Listeners also like.
Things You Can't Un-Hear
Maritza Barone
StoryCorps
Unscripted conversations between people exploring love, loss, family, and friendship through personal stories.
Things Fell Apart
Traces the origins of modern culture wars through personal stories and pivotal moments that sparked lasting social conflicts.
Life Changing
BBC Radio 4
We Can Do Hard Things
Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle discuss personal struggles and emotional resilience in honest, open conversations.
Get Obsessed : With Living Your Best Life
Two hosts explore transformative stories and taboo topics with people challenging norms and living unfiltered lives.
Alive Again
People who survived life-threatening events share how the experience transformed their lives, told in their own words.
After Hours
Three Harvard Business School professors discuss current events where business meets culture, offering insightful and unconventional takes.
A World With
Futures In Draft & Storythings
Almost 30
Best friends explore personal growth, wellness, and life transitions through candid conversations and expert interviews.
Say It Anyway with Corey Proffitt-Boyd
A storyteller shares personal experiences on grief, mental wellness, and everyday life with honesty and humor.
A Slight Change of Plans
A cognitive scientist examines how people navigate life’s unexpected turns through personal stories and psychological research.
About What Came After
Stories of how people's lives changed on and after October 7, 2023Creator: Manya MarcusEditor and Producer: Ben WallickAssociate Editor and Producer: Keren GlicksmanLogo Design: Samuel VilemarVisit us at whatcameafter.com
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from What Came After in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's What Came After daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of What Came After as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the What Came After podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official What Came After product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Manya Marcus.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts, any in the catalog. Basic raises that to 15, Pro to 40 and Max to 100. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
What topics does What Came After cover?
What Came After covers topics including Culture, Journals, Society & Culture, Personal Journals. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting What Came After summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.