EconTalk
EconTalk
Russ Roberts
Matti Friedman on Leonard Cohen and the Yom Kippur War
1 hour 9 minutes Posted Jun 6, 2022 at 10:30 am.
0:00
1:09:02
Download MP3
Show notes

In October 1973, an unhappy Leonard Cohen was listening to the radio on his Greek island home when he heard that Israel was at war. He headed to Tel Aviv, exchanging a personal and creative crisis for a national one. Absent a plan and even a guitar, Cohen wound up serenading Israeli soldiers at the front. Journalist Matti Friedman talks about his book Who by Fire with EconTalk host Russ Roberts and explains how a songwriter and a nation were transformed in the crucible of war.