Welcome to "Still Life in Israel with Jessica Steinberg," a new weekly podcast in which The Times of Israel’s arts and culture editor explores what life in Israel looks and feels like right now, through conversations with the artists, writers, musicians and other voices helping us make sense of this moment.

For this first episode in the new series, we speak with former hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel.

Aviva Siegel was freed from captivity after 51 days and immediately turned to advocacy for her husband, Keith, who remained a hostage for 484 days.

The couple discusses the hours before October 7, when they went food shopping on the night of October 6, following a holiday evening with their family.

The pair talk about Keith's desire to return to their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Aviva's inability to do the same.

They talk about the need to tell the truth about what happened to them in captivity, as the couple's story was turned into a play that was recently performed at Tel Aviv's Habima National Theater on the third anniversary of October 7.

Aviva Siegel's book, "Survived to Tell: A Hostage’s True Story of October 7 and 51 Days in Captivity," was recently translated into English.

"Survived to Tell: A Hostage’s True Story of October 7 and 51 Days in Captivity," by Aviva Siegel is out now and available here.

Still Life in Israel podcast episodes are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.