A first-ever synagogue experience and a deeply polarizing political interview come together in this wide-ranging episode of Shoulder to Shoulder.
Pastor Doug Reed begins by reflecting on his first full Shabbat prayer service in an Orthodox synagogue, sitting side by side with Rabbi Pesach Wolicki in Nashville. What happens when worship shifts from performance to participation? What did Doug discover about Jewish prayer, community, and spiritual rootedness that challenged his expectations, and what does it reveal about the evolving relationship between Jews and Christians?
The conversation then turns to the interview that sparked intense debate across faith and pro-Israel circles, Tucker Carlson’s conversation with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Did the interview illuminate real disagreements, or was it structured to reinforce a narrative? Where did Huckabee succeed and where did he fall short? And can criticism of Israel truly be separated from deeper questions about Jewish identity, theology, and biblical interpretation?
Doug and Pesach engage the arguments directly, examining media framing, Christian Zionism, and why so many public conversations today feel less like dialogue and more like people talking past one another.
This episode moves beyond headlines to ask a harder question. When faith and politics intersect, how do we pursue truth without losing clarity or losing each other?
