‘These journalistic institutions have done far more to support the genocide than… Starbucks or McDonald’s’

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mona Chalabi joins Real Talk to unpack how mainstream media coverage has enabled Israel’s war on Gaza, and why she’s calling to boycott outlets aiding that effort. She also reflects on how many of these same patterns were present in the run-up to the Iraq War and its aftermath.

Mona shares personal experiences from inside different newsrooms, including moments of racism and Islamophobia, and reflects on what it meant to be asked about her "relation" to Ahmed Chalabi, a controversial Iraqi politician who championed the US invasion of Iraq.

We also talk about the political backlash to Zohran Mamdani’s primary win in New York, and Mona’s work as creative director of #1 Happy Family USA, an animated series exploring the Muslim American experience through humour.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem

“I was sold a lie.”

One of Britain’s most acclaimed historians slams the country’s education system - which he feels has distorted the history of Palestine, portraying it as an “empty desert” before 1948.

In this Real Talk interview, William Dalrymple shares his views on Britain’s historical responsibility towards Palestine, and calls out the UK government’s ongoing cooperation with Israel, including supplying weapons, amid its war on Gaza.

He reflects on what he witnessed in the West Bank while writing his book ‘From the Holy Mountain’, from settler violence to a “concerted drive to Judaise Jerusalem”, and explains why he sees the current crisis in Gaza as “one of the supreme human rights horrors of our time”.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

“I have no business with genocidaires.”

That’s how artist, poet and activist Saul Williams describes his refusal to stay silent on Israel’s war on Gaza.

In this Real Talk interview, Williams opens up about witnessing apartheid in Israel-Palestine, losing friends and work for speaking out, and the responsibility artists have in the face of propaganda and empire.

We also explore his critique of US politics as a ‘duopoly’ invested in war, his challenge to mainstream liberalism, and how hip hop has moved from resistance to commercialisation.

Williams also reflects on his powerful role in ‘Sinners’, the blockbuster film directed by Ryan Coogler.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview series hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

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