Today, we are hearing about the largest persecuted minority that you and I have likely never heard of before.

My guest today is Cynthia Sun, a Senior Researcher at the Falun Dafa Infocenter, who is based in New York. Her work focuses on persecution documentation, transnational repression, and public policy. She authored a report on Chinese influence at American colleges, which was featured by the Hudson Institute and Radio Free Asia. Cynthia has spoken at the Council of Foreign Relations, Harvard University, the US Congress, and more. Her latest testimony on state-controlled religion in China was published by USCIRF in October 2025. She recently concluded her service as a Freedom of Religion or Belief fellow at the First Freedom Foundation in September 2025. Before joining the Falun Dafa Information Center, Cynthia worked as a Research Affiliate at the Innovations for Peace and Development and at the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian & New Zealand Studies.

The persecution of various minorities under the ruling Chinese Communist Party or CCP is severe, and so we have a lot of ground to cover today, from how a religious movement is perceived as a threat to the dictatorial regime, what the reality on the ground in China is, and how people in China and abroad can work around the heavy censorship. We are talking about communism and what I have misunderstood about it for a long time, and we’re also discussing the difference between doctrine and religion, of which doctrine plays a role in everyone’s life, but not all of it is equally free or unhindering. We will also uncover deeper reasons why it is crucial that we have the freedom to criticise our leaders, how we can avoid state-sponsored propaganda, and the scope of influence of third-party legislators such as the US State Department.

Trigger Warning: We will hear unfathomable realities from daily life as a person under the thumb of the Chinese regime, including crimes against humanity, inherent free thought being stripped away, horror stories from the biggest black market for organ trafficking, mentions of bodily harm, torture, dictatorial oppression, and much more. Please be aware.

• Find Cynthia on LinkedIn here
• Find The Falun Dafa Information Center's website here
• More information on Falun Dafa Minghui
• Shenyun Production: China Before Communism

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My guest today is Ruthi Forer, a Somatic therapist specializing in sexuality and Tantra, focusing on trauma and nervous system regulation using body-based (somatic) tools, based in central Israel. We are talking about how she combines her extensive experience, training, and knowledge to teach people how we can regulate our nervous system, why institutions created to control society make use of shame around sexuality, and how we can now destigmatize it.

We will touch on the tremendous influence of social media, how to create boundaries in relationships, contemporary as well as outdated gender roles and their influence on sexuality, consent in dating and relationships, how to deal with the images portrayed by the porn industry, and how we can ultimately have a healthy relationship to our body and sexuality and how we can teach the next generation because as you will hear, how you are being raised has everything to do with it.

Find Ruthi here

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Linktree with Current Workshops
• WhatsApp Group for weekly updates & tips

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My guest today is Roy Barkan, a writer, performer, and public figure from Israel. He is the son of the late prominent Israeli actor and pop culture phenomenon Yehuda Barkan. Roy wrote a book based on his life experiences that touches on many topics that you don't usually hear much about.

We are talking about his life’s story, including having celebrity friends with addictions to drugs, and how this ultimately landed him in prison. Roy is also talking about how his life unfolded, all while living under the scrutiny of being in the public eye, his experience with overcoming addiction, and ultimately, we’ll get to hear about the relationship with his late father.

Find Roy on social media:

Facebook, Instagram

Find Roy Barkan's book (in Hebrew)

Resources for help with addiction:

• Retorno
• Organizations in Israel
• Organizations in the US
• International helpline directory

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Eitan Chitayat is a creative director, copywriter and brand-builder, and founder of the Natie Branding Agency in Tel Aviv. Eitan has been delivering branding campaigns for B2C and B2B clients for over 25 years. He has lived in Hong Kong, London, Tel Aviv, New York, and Boston, working with clients such as Google, Volkswagen, American Express, and Toyota, as well as Israeli companies like Amdocs, NICE, The Jewish Agency for Israel, and Taglit. In 2015, he created the viral video "I'm That Jew" which has been viewed over 15 million times on various platforms. He also gave a TED talk about why he created the piece. He's consistently been an advocate for Israel and the Jewish People, gaining a following on social media, but since October 7th he has dedicated all of his time to fighting Jew hatred and anti-semitism, focusing on building Jewish pride.

We are speaking about his advocacy work, how we as a minority need to get better at advocating for ourselves to change the current narrative, and how we should be talking to our Jewish kids about how to deal with what’s going on and how to explain this spreading hatred. Eitan and I are also talking about the value and importance of integrity, as we attempt to find a reason behind so much misinformation being spread about Israel, the war, and the Jewish people, with age-old blood libels resurfacing, holocaust inversion and relativization and other forms of antisemitism, as well as who is leading, driving and funding the pro-Hamas/anti-Jewish, supposedly pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Eitan on Instagram
Natie Branding Agency
Website "I'm That Jew"
Website "She's That Woman"
Eitan's Podcast "I'm That"

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My guest today is the eloquent Yirmiyahu Danzig, known as @that_semite on social media. Yirmiyahu is an educator and activist for Jewish and indigenous rights. He holds a degree in Political Science, Homeland Security, and Public Diplomacy. Yirmiyahu will tell us how his own family background led to him inherently feeling and thinking more intersectional and realizing that there is a need for social justice and education overall.

Today, we are talking about Jewish identity, values and visibility, our own personal feelings about the hate we are being subjected to as a people, the danger of antisemitism and anti-jewish caricatures and stereotypes festering and remaining unchecked, as well as about why and how antisemitism differentiates from other forms of xenophobia.

Yirmiyahu and I are addressing the identity crisis and dichotomy of Jewish people in the diaspora trying to fit in while attempting to reconcile with the increasingly apparent becoming feeling of never truly belonging, what the current situation is like for Jewish students, specifically on university campuses in the United States, and we’re also addressing even the short-term dangers of aligning ourselves with politically right wing ideologies due to a supposed solidarity with the Jewish people and Israel as an extension,.. Yirmiyahu is also speaking on how terminology is a determining factor of how a narrative is formed, the Jews returning to their ancestral homeland being the most successful project of Decolonization, and how the diverse society of Israel, including, Muslims, Arabs and Druze are feeling. Yirmiyahu also speaks directly to our listeners who are parents of Jewish kids about how to talk to them about who and what they are, and why we as Jews owe it to our people and our ancestors to speak up.

Find Yirmiyahu @That_Semite
on instagram https://www.instagram.com/that_semite
Unpacked on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@UNPACKED

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My guest today is Matan Peretz, who makes a living as a comedian in Israel, and as an Israeli citizen he also serves in the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, when called up for reserve duty. Matan has been using his platform to advocate for Israel, and against terrorism and will be sharing some important points of his activism and the social media information war. Based on his own experience, Matan will tell us about what life is like in Judea and Samaria, otherwise referred to as “settlements” in the West Bank, and how they have had to experience similar violence to what Hamas perpetrated on October 7th, 2023, long before any antisemites on social media caught wind of it that are now calling for the eradication of the entire Jewish people.

Matan graciously took time out of his busy schedule between serving in defense of our country and performing comedy to talk about various points in this war between Israel and Hamas. We are touching on the United Nations' countless antisemitic resolutions, history revisionism running rampant online on social media platforms, and how Israel is held to a different standard than any other sovereign country ever that has come under attack by terrorists. Matan and I are also discussing gun ownership in Israel in comparison to the United States, and why there are no school shootings in Israel. We are also talking about how far indoctrination of hate and brainwashing can go, or whether evil could be a basic human trait that just needs to be activated, whether there is a difference between the motivation of the Nazis and the Islamic terrorists of Hamas, and what the aftermath of this war could look like.

Find Matan Peretz online
For his comedy shows https://matanperetz.co.il/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/matanperetz___/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@matanperetz
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@matanperetzstandup
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/matan.peretz.73

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Cécile Nebbot is back for a deep dive into history. We are talking about ancient to recent historical events, covering the Jewish people, as well as some important events throughout Christian and Islamic history that would be crucial for people to know to be able to have a fact-based conversation about the war Israel is forced to fight on multiple fronts.

Cécile and I are trying to find a logical reason for antisemitism and the ongoing persecution of one of the smallest minorities on earth and discuss Islamic lobbyism reaching Ivy League universities in the US. Cécile is sharing more about the fate of Jews in the Maghreb, specifically in Algeria, how Germany has learned from actually putting into action what people around the world are chanting for, the genocide of the Jews, and making the security of the Jewish state Germany’s reason of state. We are also covering tokenizing people, as well as inexistent LGBTQ+ rights for Palestinians.

True to the Upfront Podcast’s tradition, we are reckoning with longstanding institutions and divulging important historical information, while talking about religion, politics, humankind’s sometimes questionable choices, and whatever feels uncomfortable.

Find Cécile Nebbot online
On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/n.cecile/
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cécile-nebbot-0908254/

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Cécile Nebbot was born in Marseille, France in 1967 to liberal Jewish parents whose recent ancestors had been expelled from Spain, and then eventually from Tunisia and Algeria.

She is an economist and communication expert with a background in brand content and strategic consulting. For two decades she has worked for leading consulting firms based in London, New York, and Paris. Cécile has a deep expertise in econometrics. In 2020, she cofounded an Institute for Art & Future Design based in Berlin to deal with contemporary art, future foresight, and the epochal shifts we live in. Amongst its expertise and clusters of research are “Cultural Frictions & Democracy”, “Artificial Intelligence & Ethics”, and “Climate Change & Symbiotic Politics”.

We are talking about integration v assimilation of Jews in diaspora countries, the Jewish people’s actual resistance to oppression as a small persecuted minority throughout the centuries and how we can handle the false narratives being spread in the information war we are being forced to fight.

Find Cécile Nebbot online
On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/n.cecile/
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cécile-nebbot-0908254/

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Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram, Youtube, Facebook or via E-Mail to theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com. Please share, subscribe and leave a review to help The Upfront Podcast reach more people.