Real Talk

Does the UK need its own Zohran Mamdani?

“It’s not The Office,” says British comedian Nish Kumar. “You can’t remake it from one country to another.”

The acclaimed stand-up comedian sat down with Mohamed Hashem on Real Talk for a conversation that ranged from Mamdani’s win to the UK’s Nando’s obsession. They also unpacked the state of progressive politics in the UK, and what it means to do comedy at a time when Britain’s far right is seen as becoming increasingly emboldened.

“Ben Gvir came to me and said, ‘You are a terrorist, and you will be treated as a terrorist’.”

In her first media testimony since leaving Israel, Yasemin Acar recounts what she endured after being on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian mission that set sail in international waters to break Israel’s siege on Gaza.

Yasemin, a leading activist from Germany, describes the moment she was dragged, beaten, stripped, and humiliated after the flotilla was intercepted in September and the volunteers were taken to an Israeli prison.

She also recounts her direct confrontation with Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who personally called her a “terrorist”.

“I hear her voice in my dreams.”

Israel’s killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab in 2024 sent shockwaves around the world, sparking global outrage and condemnation.

Hind was fleeing Gaza City with her relatives when their car was targeted by Israeli forces. She survived the initial attack and, trapped among her family’s bodies, pleaded for help in desperate phone calls with Palestine Red Crescent responders.

Hind was killed before rescuers could reach her. Her body, and those of her relatives, were recovered twelve days later.

A new film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by acclaimed Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania and executive produced by Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, brings Hind’s final moments to the screen.

One of the film’s main stars is Motaz Malhees, widely regarded as one of the most talented Palestinian actors of his generation.

In this emotional conversation on Real Talk, Motaz opens up to Mohamed Hashem about the toll of portraying this story, the moments he broke down on set, and why he says, “I really believed I could save her.”

The film has already won multiple awards, sparked Oscar buzz, and received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

On this week’s Real Talk, MSNBC host and veteran reporter Ayman Mohyeldin joined Mohamed Hashem to discuss the US political rhetoric on Gaza.

For over two decades, Ayman has reported on the front lines of the world’s biggest stories - from the wars in Iraq and Gaza to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Today, he co-hosts MSNBC’s “The Weekend: Primetime”.

In this conversation, Ayman reflects on the political rhetoric in Washington as Israel’s war on Gaza nears its two-year mark. He says that it is “absolutely shameful that any Democratic Party leader… is unable to come out and condemn what Israel is doing and explicitly call it a genocide”.

He also chimed in on the debate over Democrats ceding ground on Gaza to Maga Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The two also discuss Israel’s targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists with impunity, the debate in the US around boycotting Israel, and the broader failures of western media coverage.

“It’s extremely painful seeing how Muslims and Arabs are dehumanised in American media,” Ayman says.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

“One voice message I got from a journalist in Gaza… that’s worth more to me than anything I did with Reuters.”

For eight years, Valerie Zink worked as a photojournalist for Reuters. But after Israel killed her colleagues in Gaza, and western media coverage led to accusations of complicity in Israel’s genocide, she could no longer stay silent.

Valerie publicly resigned and cut up her Reuters press card, speaking out against the double standards in western media’s treatment of Palestinian journalists. She shares the breaking point she reached after reading Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif’s final words, the silence she faced from Canadian outlets for supporting Palestine, and what her time in Gaza taught her years ago, a journey that she says still fuels her rage today.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

"The overwhelming will of the world is for a state of Palestine now… I want it to be imposed on Israel, pure and simple."

Jeffrey Sachs joins Real Talk to discuss Israel’s genocide in Gaza, America’s complicity, and why he believes the UN still offers a hope for peace.

The renowned economist and public policy analyst explains why Israel “does not speak for me” as a Jew, the danger of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and why he’s pushing for Palestinian statehood to be imposed through international law.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

“The existence of a Palestinian student or pro-Palestine students on campus is an issue for [Columbia].”

Mahmoud Khalil became the face of the US government’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests across American campuses. A Columbia University graduate, he was one of the lead negotiators during Columbia’s Gaza solidarity encampments — a movement that quickly spread across universities worldwide.

When the US government arrested and detained him earlier this year, it drew national and international attention, as well as widespread condemnation. Mahmoud spent more than 100 days in an ICE detention centre in Louisiana, even missing the birth of his first son after authorities denied him temporary release.

Now, after being freed on bail by a federal judge in June, Mahmoud has reunited with his wife and newborn.

In this Real Talk conversation, we reflect on what Mahmoud saw, experienced and endured, and what it all reveals about America.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

“What I experienced is a glimpse of what Palestinians have to go through.”

Prominent labour activist Chris Smalls speaks out after returning to his home in the United States following his detention in an Israeli prison.

Weeks ago, Smalls decided to join the Handala flotilla, which sailed towards Gaza in an attempt to break Israel’s siege.

Now, after Israeli forces intercepted the ship in international waters, Smalls says he was singled out, violently assaulted and racially abused by Israeli forces.

Following his return home, Smalls joined us on Real Talk to open up about what really happened.

Real Talk is hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

“I haven’t worked in a very long time.”

What are the repercussions of speaking out for Gaza in Hollywood?

In this Real Talk interview, US model and actor Indya Moore opens up about the cost of speaking out for Gaza, describing the “devastating” fallout with her former agents at CAA over her use of the word “genocide” and for her support for Palestine.

Indya, who in 2019 was named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people, is now highlighting the hypocrisy in how Gaza advocacy is punished and reveals that she herself has lost job opportunities in the entertainment industry because of it.

We also talk about her upcoming satirical documentary ‘Stealing Sunset’, which confronts illegal Israeli settlements, and the emotional contradictions of filming in the occupied West Bank.

‘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