Sam the banana man

Balzac said that "behind every great fortune, there is a great crime." For some fortunes, there is more than one. Little have we known that behind every humble banana, there is a great story, some great crimes, and certainly some great characters. Sam Zemurry, the man who brought the banana to America, was a shadowy figure whose presence impacted the creation of the State of Israel, The Cold War, and the rise of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara...all from the simple banana. Best selling author Rich Cohen tells the story in The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King


My conversation with Rich Cohen:

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Here O Israel

Israel is changing. Two interviews this week shed light on the changing face of Israel both in country and in the the US Congress. First Rich Cohen gives us insight into what makes modern Israel and modern Jews tick. In his book Israel Is Real, he explains the mishmash of politics, ideology and psychology that have gone into the deification of Israel.

Then, in his New York Times Magazine piece, award winning journalist James Traub talks about J Street, a new lobbying group with a very different mission of advocacy for Israel. He shows how the old lock step model of "what's good for Israel is good for America" may be on the way out.

My conversation with Rich Cohen

My conversation with James Traub