The Reckoning - Iran, America, Israel, and War Podcast
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Podcast Overview
<p>For nearly one-half of a century, the Islamic Republic of Iran made war, on different levels, against Israel and America. The war was conducted surreptitiously and overtly, boldly and timidly, militarily and non-militarily, conventionally and, usually, uncoventionally. The attacks came from guns and bombs and words and funding. But the attacks continued. The Reckoning podcast examines the men and women behind this drama. What is Iran's argument with Israel and America? Why such passion? All this and more is the subject of this podcast. </p>
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Publishing Since
4/20/2026
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Recent Episodes
June 16, 2026
The Reckoning - A Persian Rose, Some Good Germans, and a Bad Day at the British Museum
Hello from Jihad and the World – a podcast that explores the intersection of Western and Islamic cultures. I am Mark Silinsky of Kensington Security Consulting, and today’s episode will examine several cases, beginning with the sentencing of a New York man for planning to kill an Iranian-American journalist. One of the would-be killers, Jonathan Loadholt, was sentenced to 10 years for his role in an Iran-backed plot to kill the free-spirited Masih Alinejad. Ten years is a serious sentence, and this was after he confessed to his role in the plot. Another defendant, Carlisle Rivera, was also convicted and received a 15-year sentence. In response, the intended victim cheered, “The women of Iran and I have today won, and you (the convicted plotters) and your hated regime have lost! I am relieved that after nearly three years, moving more than 20 times between safe houses, the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me on US soil have been found guilty. But make no mistake: the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran. I am waiting for the day when Ali Khamenei and his terrorist Revolutionary Guards face justice. They must be punished.” Wow, a lot of hot talk. So, let’s back up a bit and look at the drama and the players. First, who is the perky Masih Alinejad, and why would anyone want to kill her? Let’s take a look at her colorful website. According to her account, she worked in Iran for more than ten years, covering the Majlis (Parliament) as a journalist. After being forced to leave Iran in 2009, Masih continued her activism abroad. She produced a multi-award-winning radio series about the victims of the 2009 crackdown on protesters during the disputed presidential elections. In 2014, she created the My Stealthy Freedom movement through a Facebook campaign that now has around 1 million followers. This movement is the largest women's campaign in Iran, empowering women to share photos of themselves without hijabs in protest of the country's strict dress codes. Masih and My Stealthy Freedom have been covered by more than 100 media organizations worldwide. She is a vocal opponent of the regime in Iran and a proponent of women’s rights there and everywhere. But why would anyone want to kill her? Because she is a vocal opponent of the regime and a proponent of women’s rights. That’s why. I have written about this extensively in Empire of Terror, which is still in print. But please trust me. Prominent critics of the regime frequently receive long prison terms if they are within the regime’s reach. Sometimes they are sentenced to death, as was the case with Alinejad. So, who are the convicts in this case? One was Jonathan Loadholt, 37, of Staten Island, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was a former commercial transit driver who was sentenced to a decade behind bars for his role. The FBI agent in charge explained, “Loadholt was tasked by the government of Iran to surveil Alinejad and eventually assassinate her, but the FBI arrested him first.” The prosecutors explained that Loadholt was driven by financial desperation, not by religion or ideology. He just needed the money and was driven by greed. And his coconspirator Carlisle Rivera? In January, Rivera offered an official courtroom apology before receiving a 15-year federal prison sentence for his primary role in the state-sponsored conspiracy. I really don’t know much more about him. As for Ms. Alinejad, this is not her first encounter with Iranian assassination attempts. In a separate case, two men hired by the Iranian regime to assassinate Alinejad at her New York home were sentenced in October to 25 years in prison. Federal prosecutors said the two partnered with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to silence one of Iran's most vocal, internationally recognized, and effective critics in exchange for half a million dollars. After the sentencing hearing, the scrappy Alinejad proclaimed, “I looked these men in the eyes -- men who intended to
June 2, 2026
The Reckoning - Monica Witt - A Traitor's Love Poem to Iran and More
Hello from Jihad and the World – a podcast that explores the intersection of Western and Islamic cultures. The author is Mark Silinsky of Kensington Security Consulting, and today’s episode will examine the strange case of Monica Witt – from all-American girl to a traitor for Iran. Here is an update to a podcast I made a few months ago. . So, an all-American girl joins the Air Force, becomes an intelligence analyst, learns Persian, and defects to Iran. It doesn’t happen often. Generally, defections go the other way, from autocracy to freedom. There are, of course, exceptions. Kim Philby and the other Cambridge spies skedaddled to Moscow when their cover was blown. A few Americans hightailed it to Cuba. But this was rare. Rarer still was defecting to Iran. Some Iranians who lived in the West for a while returned to Iran. Maybe they have very aged parents, saw business opportunities, or were seized by religious conviction. But they were not defectors. However one was, and her name is Monica Elfriede Witt. Witt was born in Texas, raised in Florida, served competently in the Air Force, earned an advanced degree at a top university, and then she defected. She claimed to use her intelligence background, knowledge of tradecraft, and personnel to support a higher purpose—serving the Islamic Republic of Iran. She was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to deliver national defense information to the Iranian government; prosecutors say Witt provided highly classified secrets to Iranian intelligence and helped them target operations after she defected to Tehran. She remains at large, with a $200,000 bounty from the U.S. Department of Justice. So, What Happened? Well, she didn’t like it in the Air Force. Years after her service and speaking on Iran's Press TV, Witt criticized a "boy's club atmosphere" and widespread sexual harassment that she claimed was systemic in the U.S. military. In June 2008, she left the Air Force and earned a degree from the University of Maryland. With her security clearance and bachelor’s degree, she was well-positioned to work for national security contractors, a role she held for several years. From November 2008 to August 2010, she worked as a Middle East Desk Officer in Virginia. She later worked for a nonprofit organization that connected Middle Eastern students with Fulbright scholarships. She enrolled at George Washington University and partially paid her tuition through an Iraq Fulbright scholarship. You think she would be happy, but she wasn’t. In choppy English, she published an article in the university’s International Affairs Review that was very critical of the United States. . She, like many other university students, was openly critical of the United States, and at first her anti-American rhetoric was indistinguishable from that of other graduate students. Many Middle East studies departments have been highly hostile to the policies of successive administrations. They are also well-financed by Middle Eastern states. But the key here is that she began to show signs of disloyalty to the United States, and these signs were noted but not reported. Something similar happened with an Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Hasan. He began to turn away from his country and embrace radical Islam. He unleashed his fury on his fellow American soldiers as they were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. On a rampage, he shot at anything that moved, killing 14 and wounding and crippling others. It is vital to note that both Hasan and Witt were ostentatiously disdainful of America, and their fellow students were concerned. But they were also worried about being tarred as a bigot or Islamophobic. Referring to Monica Witt, a fellow student at George Washington, later recalled, 'There weren't warning signs in terms of 'go to authorities' warning signs.' One student recalled that “everyone just kind of sat and watched” as Witt expres
June 1, 2026
The Reckoning - Iran, America, Israel and War - Crossroad of Hate - Episode Five
Hello and welcome to The Reckoning – Iran, Israel, America, and War. This podcast explores the relationships among these countries and the events that led to war in 2026. Crossroads of Hate is a five-part series examining Western influences on Iranian anti-Semitic propaganda. This has been part of Iran’s information warfare against both Israel and the United States. The author is Mark Silinsky. This is the fifth and final episode. Beyond Holocaust Denial - Anti-Semitic Themes Holocaust deniers in Iran claim that Jews manipulate international relations so subtly and successfully that very few people are aware of their betrayal. M’bala M’bala, in one of his frequent Iranian television appearances, stated that most slave traders were Jews. Further, "They have organized all the wars and organized all the disorders on this planet." Robert Faurisson attributed many of the world's difficulties to Jewish control. "Whatever is said, there would be no Syrian war without Zionism, no 'war on terror,' no Suez crisis, no Chechnian bombings in Russia. We can go further; there would be no Tea Party of warmongers and extremists in the U.S. without the Zionist money behind them." Though David Irving is not as openly antisemitic as others, he implicitly put the onus on Jews for their misfortune. "They (Jews) should ask themselves the question, 'Why have they been so hated for 3,000 years that there has been pogrom after pogrom in country after country?' and it's the one question they seem to be very shy of?" Irving said. Keven Barrett promotes a wide range of all-encompassing Jewish conspiracy theories. In May 2020, he explained on Press T.V. that Germany designated Hizbullah a terrorist organization because Germany is under "Israeli occupation." According to Barrett, so is Washington. He claimed that Israeli operatives filmed President Trump and other senior Americans having sex with children. He also castigated Arab leaders as corrupt elites who "steal the money and the resources of their countries and hand them over to their Zionist banker-masters who rule the West and grovel before the feet of their colonialist overlords." Other Europeans receive accolades from Iranian leaders. Iranian cartoonists have borrowed grotesque cartoon imagery from earlier epochs and distant continents. Descheemaeker is one of many cartoonists critical of Jews and Israel, and there are many entrants around the world competing in Iran’s cartoons contests. Antisemitic cartoons proliferate in many other countries around the world, including the United States. In April 2019, the New York Times published a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serving as a guide dog wearing a Star of David and leading President Donald Trump, who is wearing a skullcap. Responses Some European leaders, such as Jeremy Corbyn, have been equivocal about Iran’s Holocaust denial. Others, such as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, have loudly condemned Iranian Holocaust Denial. In 2009, he said of then-president Ahmadinejad, “With his intolerable tirades, he is a disgrace to his country.” Prominent Western intellectuals have also been outspokenly critical of Iranian antisemitism and of Europeans who are passive to it. Many have tread carefully after Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for mocking Mohammed. But some have been vocal. Plucky and glamorous Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci interviewed Khomeini in the first year of the revolution. When Khomeini suggested, "If you do not like Islamic dress, you’re not obliged to wear it . . ." she responded by saying, "I’m going to take off this stupid, medieval rag right now” and bolted the interview. Wracked by cancer at the end of her life, she declared her disgust “with the antisemitism of many Italians, of many Europeans” and “ashamed of this shame that dishonors my country and Europe.” Like Fallaci, Christopher Hitchens
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- What is The Reckoning - Iran, America, Israel, and War Podcast?
<p>For nearly one-half of a century, the Islamic Republic of Iran made war, on different levels, against Israel and America. The war was conducted surreptitiously and overtly, boldly and timidly, militarily and non-militarily, conventionally and, usually, uncoventionally. The attacks came from guns and bombs and words and funding. But the attacks continued. The Reckoning podcast examines the men and women behind this drama. What is Iran's argument with Israel and America? Why such passion? All this and more is the subject of this podcast. </p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
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