Daily Briefing Jan. 23: Some diplomacy with Kyiv; fusing insects with robots

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and health and science writer Nathan Jeffay join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s podcast.

Berman discusses plan for Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to visit Kyiv, 11 months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, possibly signaling a new direction for Israel-Ukraine relations.

Jeffay explains the components of a new robot made with the antenna of a locust that is intended to replace sniffer dogs and high resolution cameras in the future.

Berman talks about the visit of US official Jake Sullivan last week, the first opportunity of the Biden administration to discuss the new Netanyahu government as well as the Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Jeffay looks at new research on medical clowning, a well-known aspect of hospital life in Israel, that looks at better collaboration between doctors and clowns.

Discussed articles include:

FM Cohen to visit Ukraine, most senior Israeli official to do so since war began

Israeli robot fitted with locust antenna gains scent superpowers

Meeting US national security adviser, Netanyahu stresses bid to build Saudi ties

Science of silliness: Israeli study deconstructs medical clowning so MDs use it more

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Playor wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode:


You’re a dedicated reader

That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREEas well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel


Join Our Community


Join Our Community

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this