Real Talk

Jan 25 2025 15 ep. 57 mins 9
Real Talk Podcast artwork

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview series hosted by Mohamed Hashem that explores the unique stories and experiences of a diverse range of guests — from artists, to musicians, to politicians and more.

  Society & Culture  News  History
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Inside Gaza's health system: British doctor tell of harrowing experience amid Israeli bombardment | Victoria Rose | Real Talk

Jan 25 2025 52 mins  
“I don’t believe this is about Israel’s security.”What’s it like to be a medic inside Gaza’s shattered healthcare system?British plastic surgeon Dr Victoria Rose joins us on Real Talk to share her first-hand account of the harrowing scenes she witnessed in Gaza. She opens up about why she believes Israel is “definitely” targeting medics, how this has become a “war

Hind Hassan on western media & Gaza: ‘If you’re an Arab journalist, you’re political’ | | Real Talk

Jan 10 2025 81 mins  
“If you’re an Arab, specifically a Palestinian journalist…you are political. Your identity is political.”We recently sat down with award-winning journalist and filmmaker Hind Hassan for a reflective conversation that delves into Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Russia-Ukraine. We also discussed Western media’s coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, with Hind reflect

Assad took my father: One woman's fight to find her dad in Syria | Wafa Mustafa | Real Talk

Dec 27 2024 67 mins  
Nearly 12 years after her father was arrested in 2013, and days after Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Wafa Mustafa is now going back to Syria driven by a determination to find him. Wafa has not returned to her home country since escaping over a decade ago, shortly after her father, Ali, was forcibly disappeared by Bashar al-Assad’s government forces during the Syrian uprising. Speak

The rise of Syria's brutal Assad dynasty rule | Joshua Landis | Real Talk

Dec 20 2024 93 mins  
How did Hafez al-Assad rise from an army officer to establish a dynasty that brutally ruled Syria for 54 years?From seizing power in 1970 to the Hama massacre, and Bashar inheriting power, Professor Joshua Landis joined us for an in-depth conversation on the Assad family’s rise to power.Landis, chair and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma

How AIPAC unseated US congressman Jamaal Bowman over Israel | Real Talk

Dec 18 2024 68 mins  
“AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobby and they need to be defeated for that reason. But they also represent white supremacy and everything that comes with that.”US congressman Jamaal Bowman reflects on losing his seat after AIPAC poured millions into his Democratic primary to unseat him, reportedly making it the most expensive House primary race in US history.The progressive member of �

Ta-Nehisi Coates: Gaza genocide, witnessing Israel’s apartheid & the US elections | Real Talk

Oct 31 2024 59 mins  
“I can’t watch a guy plugged up to an IV burned alive.” Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of America’s most celebrated writers. His latest book, The Message, took him to Senegal, South Carolina and Israel-Palestine. The book has been both praised and slammed for calling out Israeli apartheid. Coates joined us to reflect on the backlash, but also takes his time to offer a deeper persp

Iran, Gaza, & Lebanon: How the pro-Israel lobby influences US policy | Stephen Walt | Real Talk

Oct 26 2024 57 mins  
“The relationship with Israel is in a different league entirely” In light of Israel’s multi-front war in the region, including Gaza, Lebanon, and the escalation with Iran, how can we understand the US-Israel ‘special relationship’? And where does the pro-Israel lobby in the US fit inside this framework? That’s what we’re asking Harvard professor Stephen Walt, who join

Why Humza Yousaf is sounding the alarm: Islamophobia, far right, & Elon Musk

Oct 17 2024 60 mins  
“It happens because of years of anti-Muslim, anti-migrant hatred.” It’s been several months since Humza Yousaf stepped down in May 2024. Now, the Scottish former First Minister, who in 2023 became the first Muslim leader of a western democracy, is sounding the alarm. In one of the longest interviews he’s given since resigning, Yousaf warns of rising Islamophobia in UK polit

America’s Gaza policy failed. Now what? | Matt Duss, ex-Bernie Sanders adviser | Real Talk

Oct 09 2024 48 mins  
“I now rage that my government is behaving the way it’s behaving.” As Israel’s war on Gaza, and now Lebanon, continues with no end in sight, we’re delving into why America’s Gaza policy failed. Today on Real Talk, we’re joined by Matt Duss, former foreign policy adviser to Bernie Sanders and the executive vice president at the Center for International Policy. We discu

How Gaza exposed the US empire ‘like never before’ | Matt Kennard | Real Talk

Sep 26 2024 73 mins  
‘They're not ready for the storm that's happening... The average Joe has Twitter and is seeing what's going on [in Gaza].’On Real Talk, we sat down with investigative journalist Matt Kennard to discuss his latest book, The Racket.In this conversation, Kennard dives deep into US hegemony and foreign policy, especially in light of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. He also unpacks t