If free speech is the foundation of a free society, what happened this week raises a disturbing question: are we sleepwalking into fascism?

Our guest this week, political commentator and founder of The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur, was barred from entering the UK, alongside Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, after criticising Israel, in a move that has sparked alarm over the future of free expression itself.

When does criticism of a state become "a question of public order"? Who gets to decide which opinions are acceptable? And why are some voices increasingly being shut out of public debate?

In this explosive episode of The Tea, Cenk joins us to discuss the power of pro-Israel lobbying networks, the campaign to conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism, and why Western governments are becoming increasingly hostile to dissenting voices.

Also in the show:

⚡ Israeli influence and pressure on universities

⚡ How TYT has become a target in the war over Israel criticism

⚡ Why the US can fund Israel’s wars but struggles with basic healthcare

⚡ Larry Ellison, media consolidation, and control of political narratives

⚡ How the history of Israel-Palestine is framed in mainstream media

⚡ After Iran: Is Turkey the “next threat”?

⚡ “Greater Israel” and the ideological battle over Zionism

⚡ Valentina Gomez and the framing of Israel criticism as extremism

⚡ New law linking US and Israeli military more closely

⚡ The role of lobbying and money in shaping US congressional priorities

As Cenk argues: Israel is not the root cause but a symptom of a deeper system—where money and influence shape policy, and multiple lobbies exert outsized power over democratic decision-making.

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AUDIO CREDITS

Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François

Guest: Cenk Uygur

Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi

Producer: Nadège Bizimungu

Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs

Research: Sana Serrouk, Martha Missingham

Video Editor: Max Bubnov

An MPWR Productions show.

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