The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

Can Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump without ending the war in Gaza?

That could be up to a handful of key swing states, including Michigan, home to 150,000 Arab-American voters. 

This is a community that has never had a political voice in Washington, that is, until now. A group of activists, community organisers and political insiders have come together to galvanise the anger around Gaza and force the Democrats to pay attention.

That birthed the Uncommitted National Movement.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, my name is Mohamed Hassan and today I’m joined by the founder of the Uncommitted Movement, Abbas Alawieh.

In 2021, Alawieh became chief-of-staff for Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush. After October 7, he helped start a movement to withhold a vote for Joe Biden at the Democratic Primary in Michigan over his stance on Gaza, resulting in over 100,000 people voting ‘Uncommitted’ on their ballot papers.

Michigan has historically been a battleground for Republicans and Democrats. In 2016, Trump became president after beating Hillary Clinton in the state by a margin of just 10,000 votes. Four years later, Biden swung Michigan back by 154,000 votes. 

That means for both candidates, securing the Arab-American vote could be crucial. But that relies on this community to vote as a block, and recognise the influence they can wield. So can they do it? Or will they continue to be ignored?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Does Elon Musk have too much power over how we communicate online?

Is he using that power to fuel dangerous far-right conspiracies?

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we’re joined by Marc Owen Jones, social media analyst, author and assistant professor at Northwestern University in Doha.

Over the last few weeks, he’s been documenting the Southport anti-immigrant riots across the UK, and the link between online misinformation and the real world violence it can cause.

The riots, fueled by misinformation spread by online influencers like Tommy Robbinson, Andrew Tate and Nigel Farage, who initially blamed immigrants and Muslims for the attack, despite the suspect not belonging to either group.

The UK government pinned much of the blame on X-owner and tech-mogul Elon Musk, who was seen to engage actively in the conversation, sharing far-right memes and conspiracy theories about a ‘two tier justice system’ - accusing the British government of cracking down on free speech and being under the influence of Islamists.

Musk, who bought X in 2022 under a mandate of “protecting free speech”, has increasingly been accused of turning the platform into an unmoderated, bot-filled conspiracy den, and that he himself has become one of its worst offenders.

So are the accusations true?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

What is the price tag for convincing Iran to back down?

The US is desperately trying to keep a lid on the heightened tensions in the Middle East, following Israel’s assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Hanieyeh in Iran’s capital, and the airstrike on a Beirut suburb that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the gambler and accused war criminal, seems determined to escalate tensions with Iran to the brink of war, largely to keep himself in power.

Iran, meanwhile, has made it very clear that war is the last thing it wants. But after Israel’s attack on its embassy in April that pushed it to launch hundreds of retaliatory drones as a deterrent against further attacks, Iran finds itself again in the spotlight. 

What will it decide to do?

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with political analyst Trita Parsi to talk about what each party really wants to achieve from a confrontation, and what it would take for Iran to save face without escalating into all out war.

Paris was the founder and former president of the Iranian-American National Council and is currently the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

The frightening reality is - even if no one really wants a war - we may be just one tiny miscalculation away from a point of no return.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Two assassinations. Two capital cities. Less than 24 hours.

One struck an apartment in downtown Beirut, killing a woman and two children - targeting a Hezbollah senior commander.

Then just hours later, a strike in the heart of Tehran, assassinating Hamas’ most high profile figure, and its political chief - Ismail Hanieyah.

Israel has claimed the first attack, though not the second - at least not yet - but the reverberations are already starting to be felt - as are fears that we’re barreling towards an inevitable regional war - one that could spiral quickly out of control.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with award-winning Israeli journalist and author Gideon Levy about the significance, and wisdom, of the two high profile assassinations.

Hanieyah’s killing in particular threatens to derail the already fragile ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which have so far failed to put an end to a horrific 10-month war that killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and 1200 Israelis.

It also pushes the United States deeper into a corner. 

The Biden Administration has failed to pull Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the brink, but continues to supply him with weapons used against a civilian population in Gaza, while undermining attempts to hold Israel to account internationally.

Now less than 100 days before an election that could return Trump to the White House - can the US really afford to follow Israel into a war with Hezbollah - and possibly - a war with Iran?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Just days out from a historic general election expected to usher in a Labour government for the first time in 14 years - we speak to one of its most vocal and fiery MPs - Naz Shah.

Shah has been the MP for Bradford West since 2015 - after beginning her career as a carer with the NHS and a community advocate - campaigning among other things for the release of her own mother from prison.

In November, she broke ranks with the Labour Party leadership to support a call for a ceasefire in Gaza - and resigned from her position in the shadow cabinet.

She wasn’t alone - 55 other Labour MPs did the same - in one of the biggest challenges to the leadership of Keir Starmer, who’s been heavily criticised over remarks he made supporting Israeli military action.

But despite her public positions, and a long track record of speaking out for Palestine and Islamophobia - Naz Shah hasn’t evaded criticism - as calls among Muslim voters grow to boycott all Labour candidates at the upcoming general election.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with Shah to talk about lobbying for Palestine inside the Labour Party, why she thinks boycotting Labour is a mistake, and what it would take to push Keir Starmer in the right direction.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Can a lone 24 year old Palestinian take on the Labour Party?

That’s what Leanne Mohamad is determined to do, campaigning as an independent candidate in the safe Labour seat of Ilford North at the upcoming general elections.

It’s no small feat - she’s up against Wes Streeting, a senior party heavyweight and a man tapped by many as Keir Starmer’s successor. So how can she take him on?

Mohamad’s no stranger to taking on the odds. When she was 15, a high school speech she gave on Palestinian rights went viral, unleashing a wave of angry and hateful reactions that prompted her school to take the video down.

But the counterwave of support she received propelled her to become one of the most prominent activists speaking up for Gaza today - and the face of a grassroots political campaign to punish Labour for their support of Israel’s military actions.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with activist and political candidate Leanne Mohamad to talk about her Palestinian identity and how it’s shaped who she is today, and why she wants to be a new voice in parliament.

If she wins, it could prove that public anger over foreign policy can change politics, and more significantly, that the British Muslim voice is ready to be taken seriously.

Subscribe and listen on all podcast platforms: https://thebigpicture.buzzsprout.com/

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Jeremy Corbyn was the Labour MP for North Islington for 40 years - his entire political career.

But not anymore.

Now, he’s campaigning against his former party, trying to convince his lifelong voters to abandon the party that abandoned him. 

After he was suspended from the Labour Party by his former shadow minister Keir Starmer, Corbyn chose to stand as an independent, and feels like he no longer recognises the party that shaped him.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we go on the road to North Islington, where we joined Corbyn on the campaign trail to talk about the challenges of going out on his own, how Gaza changed British politics and his thoughts on what kind of leader Starmer would make.

Subscribe and listen on all podcast platforms: https://thebigpicture.buzzsprout.com/

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

In 2004, Les Roberts smuggled himself into Iraq as his own government was in the midst of bombing and occupying the country.

His mission was to find out how many civilians had been killed in the devastating US-led invasion, because Western media was refusing to cover it.

When he published his findings in the Lancet Report, that between 100,000 and 600,000 people had been killed - it was dismissed and scorned. Years later, his estimate has been accepted as true.

Inside Iraq, Roberts witnessed the horrors of America’s indiscriminate bombing campaign, and the terror it inflicted on the people of Iraq, and Iraqi children in particular.

Today, he watches as a similar horror is unleashed on children in Gaza.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since October 7, including more than 15,000 children. 

Many health officials, including Roberts, believe that number is likely conservative, as it doesn’t account for thousands missing or trapped beneath the rubble of their homes, nor those who have died from the spread of disease and famine.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we speak with Dr Les Roberts, an epidemiologist and Professor Emeritus at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr Roberts spent his career documenting death and disease in conflict zones - including in Rwanda, the Congo and Iraq.

You can read his opinion piece on the accuracy of the death toll in Gaza for Time Magazine here: https://time.com/6909636/gaza-death-toll/

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

We are living through a moment of social and political upheaval - one that has somehow aligned the Houthi rebels in Yemen, South Africa’s greatest legal minds and students across the wealthiest campuses in the world. 

They’re all fighting for Gaza, and against an increasingly isolated Israeli government and its Western backers. So are we witnessing a historic tipping point?

Norman Finkelstein has documented the Israel-Palestine conflict for over 4 decades, with a particular focus on Israel’s actions in Gaza.

As the son of Holocaust survivors, he became particularly critical of Israel’s use of history as a propaganda tool to shut down critique - something he documents in his book ‘The Holocaust Industry’.

Since October 7, he’s been one of the most prolific voices speaking out - accusing Israel of carrying out a Genocide - and describing Gaza as a concentration camp.

In this episode of The Big Picture podcast, we speak to him about the value of international law, the historic turning point in Palestinian advocacy and his view on Israel’s moral argument for its own existence.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Fiona Lali wants to bring down the British government, as well as capitalism. 

The marxist organiser turned independent candidate in the upcoming UK general elections says there’s a link between the powerful protest movement for Palestine and the widespread anger felt by young people and workers alike.

Lali went viral in May when she confronted former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman on TV, in what many saw as a powerful rebuttal of Braverman’s views on the university encampments protesting for Gaza.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we speak with Lali about how she took on one of the most divisive political figures in the country, and what she wants to change now that she’s become a politician.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.

You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG