Mehdi Unfiltered

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Bomb threats to schools in Ohio attended by immigrants, an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, and an increase in threats to federal judges are just a few examples of the heightened level of political violence in the United States. 

Much has been written about Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and incendiary language but what will happen if he loses the election? A study last year showed that violence is gaining mainstream acceptance, with one-third of Republicans saying that violence may be the answer to saving the US. 

As the election approaches, can we totally discount the idea of a ‘civil war’ in the US? 

Some say that this has all been a long-time coming. Jack Goldstone, an expert on Civil Unrest, practically predicted January 6th, writing alongside Peter Turchin less than two months before the 2020 election: “Is the US likely headed for still greater protests and violence? In a word, yes.”

In fact, Goldstone had already predicted over 25 years ago that in the 21st century, the US would elect a populist America-first leader who would inflict division and chaos onto the country.

Jack Goldstone, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University joins this episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ together with one of the top experts on fascism, New York University’s History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the author of ‘Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present.’ 

“What it would mean is an end to the lawful processes that we believe in. Revolutions have changed, they're more peaceful than they used to be, and we could have civil strife that changes our institutions,” said Goldstone.

Ben-Ghiat cautioned that as “we saw on January 6th, [for them] violence is the way you change history. And that goes back to fascism, and it's also part of communism… This is what demagogues do, they have to condition people to see violence differently.”

Watch the important, and at times disturbing, discussion above to hear the analysis of this particular political moment, what role language and rhetoric play in setting the stage for upheaval, and even whether a coup may be in the cards.

On October 14, 2023, a week after the Hamas attacks on Israel, and just days after Joe Biden falsely claimed he had seen photos of beheaded Israeli babies, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy called Wadee Alfayoumi was brutally murdered in his home after being stabbed 26 times. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, was also stabbed and left critically injured.

Shahin’s landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and, crucially, two counts of hate crimes. Czuba pleaded not guilty and faces trial later this month.

On Tuesday, in the wake of a contentious hate crimes hearing in the Senate in which Palestinian voices were not platformed and in which Wadee’s name was barely mentioned, Mehdi sat down with Shahin and civil rights attorney Maaria Mozaffar, from the Muslim Civic Coalition, for an exclusive interview. They talked about Shahin’s memories of Wadee, the ‘Wadee Act’ in the House and Senate, and her conversations with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Please do watch the full interview with Hanaan Shahin, which we are not pay-walling and making free to all subscribers, above.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This week, we have a bonus episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ because there’s no shortage of news to cover. 

On Sunday, we saw another assassination attempt on former President Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the alleged shooter having an AK47-type rifle on him. As upset as the Republicans are, their outrage over this second assassination attempt on Trump has its limits. It stops at gun control.

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat from Florida, the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress, and the former National Organizing Director for March for Our Lives, the youth-led movement in support of gun control, joins Mehdi in studio to talk about the attempted attack and the failure of gun reform in in the US so far. 

Also on the show, Zeteo contributor, award-winning actor and activist Cynthia Nixon discusses Barnard College’s latest restrictions on its faculty when it comes to speech, freedom of expression, and pro-Palestinian sentiment on its campus. Nixon is a Barnard alumna and had a lot to say, including on the recent suspensions of students, which left many without health insurance and, in some cases, even housing. 

And finally, justice correspondent for The Nation, Elie Mystal discusses Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s dangerous peddling of fake stories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. It’s led to serious threats against Springfield schools, hospitals, city officials, and the city’s Haitian population. Mystal is of Haitian descent and recently wrote for the Nation: ‘White People Have Never Forgiven Haitians for Claiming Their Freedom’. He joins the show to talk about his piece; the racist, Republican-led narrative being pushed; and the bigger picture. 

We hope you enjoy this week’s bonus episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’. Be sure to join the conversation in the comments - including telling us what you thought of this week’s guests. (We really do read what you have to say!)

And in case you missed it, be sure to check out Mehdi’s exclusive interview with Jill Stein from Monday. 

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.com

In this special episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’, Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her running mate professor Butch Ware join ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ for a wide-ranging and challenging interview. 

Stein sat down for an hour-long interview with Mehdi where he covered her stance on Israel and Gaza; whether she helped Trump in 2016 and whether she is helping him again in 2024; her own controversial record on Russia and Syria; and the long-standing failures of the Green Party on her watch. 

The almost 1-hour interview, above, with Stein and her running mate Ware, is available in full for our paid subscribers. (Free subscribers get a preview.)

For those of you who are paid subscribers, do join the conversation in the comments.

A NOTE FROM MEHDI:

I see some lively and critical discussions in the comments below. To be clear, I do tough interviews. Jill Stein and Butch Ware merited a tough - but fair - interview. I'm amused that some people enjoy my interview style when it is a guest they dislike, but dislike my interview style when it's a guest they like. I hope you all watch the full interview, which we did at length, to give both guests an opportunity to address multiple contentious issues. 

The Occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank are home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But today in Gaza, the Israeli bombardment of churches and Palestinian Christian neighborhoods is pushing that community to the brink of extinction. And in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler expansion and travel restrictions not only make it difficult for Palestinian Christians there to practice their faith, but can even classify them as illegals in their own home.

Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian Christian and former resident of both occupied Gaza and the occupied West Bank, joins Mehdi to discuss the consequences of Israel’s war, and how Israeli aggression isn’t only killing the Palestinian Christians of today, but the Palestinian Christians of tomorrow as well. 

“We’re less than a thousand [Christian] people in Gaza, we’re allowed to only marry Christians, and there are almost no Christians to marry anymore,” says Khalil, who lost his father and sister in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. 

Watch the full interview above to hear why Sayegh is not allowed to return to his homeland of Palestine, his reasoning as to why Christian evangelicals in the US are turning a blind eye to the Christians of occupied Gaza, and his heartbreaking stories of loss from the embattled strip. 

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

On this week’s episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’, Mehdi breaks down former President Donald Trump’s “embarrassingly incoherent but shamelessly dishonest” debate performance on Tuesday night, after Kamala Harris successfully baited him and exposed “deluded Trump.”

“Trump's people told Trump not to get baited. But the thin-skinned man-child that he is, he just couldn't stop himself. He took the bait. Every time,” Mehdi says. 

US Congressman and “Squad” member Jamaal Bowman joins Mehdi to discuss his recent primary defeat, the role AIPAC played in it, and his continued fight for social justice in all its forms. 

On his frustration about how difficult it is to push for progressive change, Bowman says: “It seems like whenever we try to do a transformative piece of legislation, it has to include something like a thousand more police, or another billion to Israel, or tax cuts for corporations.” 

Watch Mehdi’s full interview with Bowman above to hear him also discuss his views on the debate, and why he thinks so many House Democrats continue to remain silent about Israel’s war on Gaza. 

Israel’s Ceasefire Protests: This past weekend, over 700,000 protesters took to the streets in Israel calling for a hostage deal, and criticizing the Netanyahu government. 

Palestinian Lawyer and Zeteo Contributor Diana Buttu was one of many to witness those protests. She joins the show to discuss what they were like and how, despite the calls to release the hostages, many of those protesters did not appear very concerned with Israel’s destruction of Gaza. 

“People are angry about the economy. They're angry about the fact that this is continuing. 

They're angry with Netanyahu. They’re angry with the Haredi [Jews] not going to the army, but not at all any sort of reckoning with what they've done to Palestinians,” Diana tells Mehdi. 

If you’re a paid subscriber, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments, and who you would like to see Mehdi talk to next! And if you’re not a paid subscriber, what are you waiting for? We want to hear from you too.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

Most Zeteo subscribers are already well-aware of Project 2025 and its anti-democratic agenda. But what a lot of people aren’t aware of is all the billionaire oligarchs who are using dark money to fund it. 

David Sirota, host of ‘The Lever’s’ new podcast series Master Plan, joins Mehdi to explain what these groups have to gain from Project 2025, and how they’ve become so successful when it comes to thwarting democracy and its’ rules. 

“In a one person, one vote democracy, it's much harder for oligarchs and corporations to pass the unpopular, self-enriching policies they want,” Sirota tells Mehdi. “They need to use the thing that they have the most of – money – to rig that and short circuit that process.” 

Watch the full conversation above to hear Sirota explain what his new investigative podcast series, “Master Plan,” has revealed about dark money, buying elections, and just how dangerous Project 2025 could be. 

Also, check out The Lever’s “Master Plan” on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

On this week’s episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ Mehdi breaks down one of Donald Trump’s most fascistic plans yet – using the US military to crush dissent.

“It’s not a conspiracy theory, nor is it a secret,” Mehdi says, as he brings the receipts exposing Team Trump’s plan to use the Insurrection Act to crack down on protesters via military force, starting on day one of his second term.

“We're not exceptional,” Rosa Brooks, former Obama Defense Department adviser, tells Mehdi. “I think one thing that Americans tend to think is that somehow bad things that happen in other places couldn't possibly happen here, but we are not immune from the forces of history.”

Watch Mehdi’s monologue, and his full conversation with Rosa Brooks and Yale University fascism expert Jason Stanley, above.

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Christians in Gaza: Khalil Sayegh, a member of Gaza’s Palestinian Christian community, joins Mehdi in the studio to discuss how Israel has repressed and attacked his community, both before and especially since October 7, 2023, and how the US evangelical elite has ignored the Christians of Gaza.

“My sister was entering a room with my infant niece, literally walking into the room and just before she got into this room, the room itself just collapsed,” Sayegh tells Mehdi, referencing the recent Israeli strike on a house next to Gaza’s Saint Porphyrius Church.

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Khizr Khan is back: Also on the show, Mehdi talks to legendary Gold Star father Khizr Khan, on set, about Trump’s recent stunt at Arlington Cemetery, in violation of federal law, and why it matters. “Trump is void of accountability, sense of responsibility. That is why we see that civility in our political discourse is at its lowest,” says Khan, who lost his son Humayun in Iraq in 2004 and famously denounced Trump at the Democratic National Convention back in 2016.  

If you’re a paid subscriber, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments, and who you would like to see Mehdi talk to next! And if you’re not a paid subscriber, what are you waiting for? We want to hear from you too.

Oh and check out the big Washington Post story on how Zeteo, with your support, is going from strength to strength. Thank you!

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

“I was the first president in modern times to start no new wars,” Donald Trump declaimed at the RNC in Milwaukee in July.

That statement, like pretty much every statement Trump makes, is false. On multiple levels.

And yet, I keep meeting people – in leftwing circles, in Muslim-American circles, in Arab-American circles, and beyond – who tell me that they’re voting for Trump in November because they believe him; they think that he isn’t a hawk and that he killed fewer Muslims than Democratic presidents have. 

“At least he didn’t do a genocide like Biden,” I hear some say.

It’s an argument that gives me a proper headache because it simply is not true. In fact, it’s total and utter nonsense.

So, when it comes to Trump and the topic of war, and especially the killing of Muslims in the Middle East, it’s time for a thorough debunking.

Please do watch and share my video explainer above.

(It’s such an important issue that we have kept it free for all subscribers!)

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

Twenty years, trillions of dollars, and the longest war in US history failed to eradicate the Taliban. Now, with the Taliban having taken back the country – and having implemented some of the most troubling restrictions on women we’ve seen from them – what’s next for Afghanistan and its people? And what’s been happening since the mainstream media mostly stopped covering the story? 

The head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) Ali Maisam Nazary joins Mehdi Unfiltered in Washington, D.C. to talk about his coalition group’s efforts to force out the Taliban and take back the country. 

But how effective have they been so far – including in their efforts at getting foreign help? Are they even popular in the country? And what was their record when their members were part of the last government? 

Watch the interview above, including Nazary explaining the dire state of women in Afghanistan at this very moment (he calls it gender apartheid). And for paid subscribers, join the conversation in the comments and let us know what other countries you want to see us covering!

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe