Zohran Mamdani’s victory didn’t just shake New York politics — it cracked open a deeper fear that’s defined Western liberal discourse for decades. Figures like Sam Harris and Bill Maher built careers on the fantasy of the “Good Muslim” — the secular, assimilated, apolitical figure who makes the West feel safe. But Zohran’s unapologetic politics, rooted in solidarity with Palestine and working-class liberation, expose the hollowness of that narrative. In this episode, we revisit Mahmood Mamdani’s landmark thesis in Good Muslim, Bad Muslim to understand why Zohran’s success provokes such hysteria — and what it reveals about how the West still divides the Muslim world into those it can use and those it must fear. From Sadiq Khan’s media approval to the wild panic surrounding Zohran’s rise, this essay is about power, empire, and the myths that keep them intact.0:00 Intro - A Perfect Science Experiment1:05 "We Want Those People Here In Our Society" - Sam Harris5:05 "They have to Say Aloud Our Western Values" - Bill Maher7:12 Bill Maher Brings Up Zohran's Ugandan Citizenship10:05 Sam Harris responding to "Stealth Islamists"17:27 Sadiq Khan vs Zohran Mamdani - What is the Dangerous Idea?18:20 Mamood Mamdani's Good Muslim, Bad Muslim29:04 The Colonial Fear of Zohran and Palestine Support32:04 What's Changed in the Last 10 Years?Good Muslim, Bad Muslim Sept 2002 by Mamood Mamdani https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/sj6/mamdanigo... BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM    / @jayshapirodilemmapodcast  For more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

The Rashomon Effect - Multiple people witnessing the same event remember it in contradictory ways, often colored by their own self-interest, trauma, or worldview.Applied to the killing of Rafaat Alareer and a Tweet by Bari Weiss00:00 The Rashomon Effect02:58 The Killing of Rafaat Alareer04:24 Perspective One - Bari Weiss, The Zionist Journalist12:42 Perspective Two - Rafaat, The Poet18:03 Perspective Three - IDF, The Killer20:20 Perspective Four - Me, The Onlooker25:01 The Exhausting Rashomon Problem, The Philosophical Problems, and "If I Must Die"Sources: https://electronicintifada.net/content/my-final-moments-refaat-alareer/50193https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2024-01/remembering-dr-refaat-alareer/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/palestinian-people-mourn-the-death-of-refaat-alareerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refaat_AlareerBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Malcolm X was more than an activist or organizer. In this conversation, Michael Sawyer, author of Black Minded and the forthcoming The Door of No Return, takes Malcolm seriously as a philosopher who linked Black freedom in the United States to anti-colonial struggle in Palestine. We talk Malcolm’s trip to Gaza, his push to move the fight to the global commons and the United Nations, and why he believed moral clarity must come before politics.This episode wrestles with the hardest question, the tension between violence and liberation. King’s nonviolence, the Panthers’ self-defense, Malcolm in the middle, what actually changes unjust systems, what counts as violence when power calls even peaceful disruption violent, and how that logic plays out in Gaza today. We connect Malcolm’s internationalism to Gen Z protests, the language of decolonization, and the growing refusal to blur anti-Zionism with antisemitism.If you care about Palestine and Gaza, if you want to understand Malcolm X beyond the poster and the pull quote, if you are trying to think honestly about means and ends, this one matters.BUY MICHAEL SAWYER'S BOOK HEREhttps://www.plutobooks.com/product/black-minded/READ ZIONIST LOGIC BY MALCOLM X HERE https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/socialist-viewpoint-us/mayjun_05/mayjun_05_21.htm00:00:00 Coming Up…00:01:08 Member Thanks…00:01:47 Before Thoughts - Michael Sawyer Intro00:02:50 Before Thoughts - A Spectrum of Violence. MLK, X, Black Panther00:16:21 Sawyer’s Path to Malcolm X00:26:42 Malcolm X as a Philosopher00:31:03 The Internationalism of Malcolm & Malcolm Goes to Gaza 00:35:48 Does the International Scope Hurt the Cause?00:41:49 On Malcolm’s view on Violence and Liberation00:53:50 Understanding the Systemic Enemy00:58:12 The Gen Z Protests from Kenya to Nepal01:04:31 The Questions Around Malcolm’s Assassinations01:09:25 The Black American and Judaism, Zionism and Marcus Garvey01:20:08 After Thought - My Next Guest and Wrestling as PoliticsBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

Iranian scholar Hamid Dabashi goes deep on empire, Iran’s revolutionary currents, and Palestine. We cover his “two nemeses” frame—global imperialism vs domestic tyranny—and why opposing one never excuses the other. He unpacks Islamism as a (once) liberation theology and its limits, the polyfocal currents inside Islam, the 1979 revolution’s three forces (nationalism, Marxism, Islamism), sanctions and the erasure of Iran’s middle class, and why airstrikes only unify Iranians behind a garrison state. We discuss Gaza (denouncing Oct 7 while naming the ongoing genocide), BDS as civil disobedience, Israel as an American outpost, and a future beyond Zionism/Islamism. Plus: Iranian cinema’s philosophy (Kiarostami, Majidi), national trauma (1953, Iran–Iraq War), and how agonistic pluralism could reframe the region.00:00 Coming Up…01:31 Before Thought - Membership Thanks02:10 Before Thought - Dabashi Intro and Three Forces of Moral Politics09:55 Origins & Polyfocal Islam: Mecca/Medina as Blueprint13:34 Three Currents of Resistance: Socialism, Nationalism, Islamism22:07 Who is a Good Muslim? A Good Jew? Religion’s Double Edge26:48 Why is Israel so Obsessed with Iran?30:57 Iran, “The One That Got Away” and the Hostage Crisis39:57 Two Nemeses: Domestic Tyranny vs Global Imperialism43:31 The Enemy of My Enemy49:25 October 7, BDS, and Moral Consistency56:49 Violence and Liberation, and The Only Viable Political Horizon59:04 Optimism About The Future01:05:42 A Celebration of Iranian Cinema and Trauma01:12:14 After Thought - More on Violence and Liberation01:14:23 After Thought - Malcolm X in Gaza and my Next GuestIranian Films mentioned:Close UpThe RunnerThe Little StrangerThe Color of ParadiseHarold Lasswell on the Garrison State: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_LasswellMalcolm X in Gaza and Zionist Logic Article:https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/socialist-viewpoint-us/mayjun_05/mayjun_05_21.htmBECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY ZOOM/LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/joinFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this conversation with sociologist Nandita Sharma, we dig into the deep contradictions of nationalism, sovereignty, and the postcolonial state. Sharma argues that the nation is not a pathway to liberation but a mechanism of ruling that reproduces inequality, exclusion, and capitalist domination. We explore her personal story of migration, the legacy of anti-colonial struggles, Palestine and Hawaii today, the meaning of indigeneity, and her call for a planetary commons beyond rulers, borders, and citizenship. This is a provocative, challenging, and visionary dialogue about what true freedom might mean in our time and what the counterfeit version of it might be.BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/join00:00 Coming Up…01:13 Become a Member02:30 Nandita Sharma - Before Thoughts07:46 The Elephant in the Room: Nationalism and a Personal Story12:23 Core Thesis of Home Rule16:17 Colonialism vs. National Sovereignty22:55 Nationalism Defined30:50 Are you Erasing Indigenousness?40:45 Palestine and the Trap of Nationhood52:12 History Didn’t Have to Be This Way58:14 The Vision of a Planetary Commons01:06:35 The Gen Z Protests and What Can We Do Now?01:15:03 No Borders and Migrant Struggles01:18:26 Palestinians Deserve Better Than a Nation State01:20:49 After Thought on “Decolonizing Our Conceptions of Freedom”01:23:56 Members Get the Spillover01:24:25 Next Guest PrepFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

A former Israel Consulate staffer for the U.S. Southeast—Brandt Burleson—breaks silence. For eight years he built church networks, wrote Bible-laced talking points, and helped run a PR machine that, in his words, “wrapped a starvation campaign in a Judeo-Christian bow.” He explains how Christian Zionist theology was leveraged to pressure politicians, how pastors were courted and choreographed, what he saw after October 7th (including raw screening sessions), why the line between “ally” and “apocalypse” talk got so blurry, and what finally broke his conscience. This is part confession, part anatomy of influence.BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/join00:00 Coming Up…01:24 Become a Member / A Random Email from Brandt04:04 From Pastor's Son to Israel’s “Useful Idiot”07:43 An Ad on LinkedIn Changes Brandt’s Life12:29 Courting the Christian Zionists for Israel20:01 What Brandt's Colleagues Really Thought of Apocalyptic Christian Zionists26:32 The Israeli Cynics and Messianic Fanatics29:17 October 7th and the Religious Danger of Atrocity Propaganda37:23 Thoughts on the Selective Outrage about Violence and Religion40:49 Brandt Loses His Religion In a Swamp of Religious Contradictions43:24 The Palestinian Narrative, The Jewish Messiah, and The Red Heifers 46:55 What Was and Wasn’t Included in the October 7th Screenings50:49 The Rigged Global Political Structures That Enable Narrative Framing55:20 “I Really Hated Myself”59:24 On Coleman Hughes, Curated Israel Trips, and False Information01:02:32 Where Christianity and Christian Zionism Goes From Here01:07:26 How Brandt Left / “There are Things That Are Worse Than Being Unemployed”01:12:44 After Thought / Humanizing Extreme Violence and Revisiting a Boy Named NemrFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this conversation with political economist Adam Hanieh, we trace the deep connections between fossil fuels, finance, Palestine, and the climate crisis. From his formative years in Ramallah during the Second Intifada to his current research, Hanieh explains how oil became the invisible substrate of modern life, how Gulf petrodollars built today’s US-dominated financial order, and why Israel and the Gulf monarchies emerged as twin pillars of American power after 1967. We explore the global shift of oil toward China, the enduring grip of the dollar system, and why the liberation of Palestine must be understood as inseparable from struggles for climate justice and decolonization.Become a member to support my work and join the members only livestream where we can share ideas, critiques, responses, or other observations about our strange world. Final Sunday of each month. See you there!My interview on BettBeat Media on Israel, Zionism, Gaza, philosophy and more:    • Jay Shapiro EXPOSES the Truth About Israel...  Crude Capitalism by Adam Hanieh here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2...Petrodollar Explained by Explains 101:    • America's Most Powerful Weapon Is Not Nuke...  00:00 Monthly Members Only Live Stream Announcement02:00 Coming up...02:34 Before Thoughts / “Our Analog World” and the Power of Oil12:30 From The Second Intifada to the Petrochemical Question15:38 The Ubiquitous and Invisible Age of Oil, The Substrate of Everything21:53 Western Capitalism, Colonialism, and the World Wars27:58 The Gulf States Become the “Oil Deposit That Matters”32:58 Post WW2 Anticolonialism and What Went Wrong in The Gulf States38:49 OPEC and an Attempt to Take Control of the Upstream41:08 Israel Works Itself Into the Region And Proves its “Value” in 196746:20 How Petro Monarchs Maintain Control52:09 Why Wasn’t Israel a Problem?56:58 The ‘73 OPEC Crisis, the Petrodollar System, and the Financial Structure Today1:08:06 Currency Wars, Climate Change, and China’s Rise1:16:00 The Sovereign Wealth Funds of the Gulf and The Arms Trade1:19:01 Israel and America’s Entangled Dollar Dominated Interests1:24:40 Disincentiving Fighting Climate Change1:28:35 Climate Justice and the Moral Horror of Palestine1:32:49 After Thoughts / Petrodollar Explained recommendation / HowTheLightGetsInFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In this conversation, I sit down with Mubarak Awad, often called the Gandhi of Palestine. Born in Jerusalem during the Nakba, Mubarak’s life has been defined by both tragedy and resilience — from burying his father as a boy, to dedicating his life to nonviolent resistance under occupation. We trace his extraordinary journey: his efforts to teach nonviolence in Palestine, his eventual deportation by Israel, and his continued commitment to peace and justice in exile. Mubarak reflects on his life’s work, the heartbreak of displacement, and his current feelings about the ongoing struggle. This is the story of a man who refused to give up on nonviolence, even when enemies were everywhere on both sides.Find more about Mubarak Awad at nonviolenceinternational.net00:00 Coming Up - Before Thoughts01:32 A Childhood Before The State of Israel06:29 Violence On The Horizon and "We all Hate The British"12:25 1947 and 1948 And Losing His Father24:10 1967 and Israel Bulldozes Awad's House and Hopes in Nasser29:06 Yale or Lee College? And Seeing American Segregation36:40 Learning about Gandhi41:21 Palestinian Resistance in the 80's55:25 The Anger in the Palestinian Movement1:02:11 Why Is Israel Threatened by Non Violence "The Prefer I Throw Bombs"1:04.40 The Unforgettable Nakba and "Who Lived In This House?"1:10:05 The First Intifada and Awad's is Targeted and Deported1:23:06 Leaving Palestine1:29:53 The Violence Today and Hamas's Form of "Resistance"1:36:15 What Happens Next? "The Cloud is now on Gaza"1:41:25 After ThoughtsFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

A final word on my efforts to help (no matter what you think) people like Coleman Hughes and Sam Harris avoid falling into the Zionist trap. Thoughts on Israel’s “disengagement” from Gaza in 2005, and why we have so much trouble believing Israel’s stated intentions.00:00 Learned Skepticism of Israel and Coleman Repeating Lies09:02 Is Epstein a Mossad Agent? The Jonathan Pollard Pattern13:37 Disengaging from Gaza and the Intentions of the Blockade17:42 Advice: Leave The Free PressFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com

In Part 2 of this 2 part conversation, we dive deeper into Gaza after Israel’s 2005 “withdrawal”, examine the blockade, restrictions, and the motives of a “starvation policy.” We also explore Israel’s close relationship with apartheid South Africa, and disagree on what these alliances reveal about the motives behind Zionism and occupation. The conversation turns toward justice vs peace in practice, and the moral weight of denying dignity. Stay tuned after the debate for my “Afterthoughts,” where I break down Coleman’s argumentation and share further reflections on justice, intention, and the future of Palestine.00:00 Intro Before Thoughts00:43 When Israel "Left" Gaza in 200507:14 Why is Egypt Different than Gaza and Western Interests19:09 What is Preventing Democracy?22:09 Israel and Apartheid South Africa doesn't Matter?26:00 Unplugging Cultural Touchpoints in Palestine by Zionists33:08 Deciphering Motivations of Zionism37:58 Understanding the Villain and Palestinian Resistance51:29 The Essentialism Charge and Nefarious Zionist Motivations1:01:06 Starvation and Motivations of Ethnic Cleansing1:10:38 Stated Israeli War Aims and the Zionist Territorial Aims1:17:42 After Thought 1 - Justice vs Peace and Material Gains1:19:11 After Thought 2 - "What they Didn't Do" as an Argument1:21:57 After Thought 3 - This Could All Make Sense, And Hamas Accepts a Ceasefire1:23:10 After Thought 4 - South Africa Apartheid and Israel Ties1:26:18 After Thought 5 - Who Will Live in Gaza?1:31:41 After Thought 6 - On Starvation Media Coverage and Losing Humanity1:36:14 After Thought 7 - Read More1:38:35 After Thought 8 - If You are Mad at Jews... Voices Against the OccupationWatch "Courage in the Divide" from 1986 https://youtu.be/-2UucKQuVK8?si=5-3xNqaQEVAoXxqz Breakdown of the methodology of the Penn State Poll we discussed https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/poll-show-most-jewish-israelis-support-expelling-gazans For more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com