Beat the press: why Netanyahu sat down with the Nelk Boys
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 1 August 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tel Aviv nightlife and the Burger King order of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the talking points of a viral podcast interview with the Nelk Boys. Influencer-driven podcasts are seeing a broader trend of interest in friendly interviews from world leaders and politicians, from Donald Trump to Kamala Harris. What happens when the powerful speak to massive new audiences without journalism?
In this episode:
- Nathan Robinson (@NathanJRobinson), Editor-in-Chief, Current Affairs
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Chloe K. Li, and Noor Wazwaz, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Kisaa Zehra, Marya Khan, and our guest host Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Kylene Kiang.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, the softball interviews shaping the world. |
| 0:15.0 | What's your go-to at McDonald's? |
| 0:17.0 | No, I'll tell you, Burger King. |
| 0:18.0 | We did the, you know, the double, you know. |
| 0:20.0 | Whopper? I haven't ripped Burger King in a long time. You like Burger King. We did the, you know, the double... Whopper? Yeah, the double... |
| 0:21.6 | I haven't ripped Burger King in a long time. |
| 0:21.8 | You like Burger King over McDonald? |
| 0:23.4 | Absolutely. |
| 0:23.7 | That's your worst take. |
| 0:25.7 | Why politicians like Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and Benjamin Netanyahu are choosing to speak to influencers over journalists? |
| 0:36.0 | I'm Manuel Rappalo, and this is The Take. |
| 0:45.2 | My name is Nathan Robinson. |
| 0:46.9 | I am an author and the editor-in-chief of Current Affairs Magazine based in New Orleans. |
| 0:55.1 | Nathan, welcome back to The Take. |
| 0:57.2 | I'm going to start by playing a few clips from an interview that recently lit up the internet. |
| 1:02.8 | I hope you and President Trump can make peace in the Middle East. |
| 1:05.6 | We're all praying for it. |
| 1:06.9 | We already have, and I'm sure we can again. |
| 1:08.7 | And look, if your audience wants to have a good time, you know. |
| 1:15.3 | Go to Tel Aviv? |
| 1:16.5 | Yeah. |
... |
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