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Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview series hosted by Mohamed Hashem that explores the unique stories and experiences of a diverse range of guests — from artists, to musicians, to politicians and more.
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Recent Episodes
S1E40 Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Israel | Murtaza Hussain | Real Talk
What was Jeffrey Epstein doing for Israeli intelligence?A new series of reports by Drop Site News has been examining this very question.Drop Site journalist Murtaza Hussain joined Mohamed Hashem on…
S1E39 She's an insider now exposing OpenAI. Here's why you should be concerned | Karen Hao | Real Talk
If AI is an empire, Karen Hao is saying you can resist it. “We don’t need empires to benefit from AI.”Hao is an investigative journalist and author of Empire of AI, she joined Mohamed Hashem to share…
S1E38 Can this pod save the UK? (Feat. Mamdani win & Nando’s) | Nish Kumar | 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…
S1E37 Facing Ben Gvir: I was stripped, beaten and detained in Israel | Yasemin Acar | Real Talk
“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…
S1E36 ‘I believed I could save her’: Inside the making of The voice of Hind Rajab | Motaz Malhees | Real Talk
“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…
S1E35 Have Democrats lost to MAGA on Gaza? | Ayman Mohyeldin | Real Talk
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…
S1E34 Valerie Zink: Why I quit and cut up my Reuters press card over Gaza | Real Talk
“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…
S1E33 Has Gaza made the UN irrelevant? | Jeffrey Sachs | Real Talk
"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…
S1 ‘They don’t care about Jewish safety’: Mahmoud Khalil slams US government & Columbia after detention
“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…
S1E31 ‘They used my chain to choke me’: Chris Smalls speaks out after Israeli prison assault | Real Talk
“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…
S1E30 ‘Gross betrayal’: My agents left me for speaking out on Gaza | Indya Moore | Real Talk
“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…
S1E29 Forget Starbucks. Boycott the New York Times | Mona Chalabi | Real Talk
‘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…
S1E28 William Dalrymple: ‘Britain’s education system sold me a lie about Palestine’ | Real Talk
“I was sold a lie.”One of Britain’s most acclaimed historians slams the country’s education system - which he feels has distorted the history of Palestine, portraying it as an “empty desert” before…
S1E26 'I have no business with genocidaires': Actor & poet Saul Williams speaks out on Gaza, Hollywood, & the US empire | Real Talk
“I have no business with genocidaires.”That’s how artist, poet and activist Saul Williams describes his refusal to stay silent on Israel’s war on Gaza. In this Real Talk interview, Williams opens up…
S1E25 Pakistani influencer on India, partition & the language of ‘dehumanisation’ | Bilal Hassan | Real Talk
Bilal Hassan is a Pakistani doctor who also happens to be one of the most popular travel storytellers from his country. He is a content creator whose work captures the people, the cultures, the food…
S1E24 I called out Microsoft’s complicity in Gaza. They fired me | Vaniya Agrawal
“The point was to make people aware… The world knows now who [Microsoft] truly are, and what they’re doing.”As Microsoft celebrated its 50th anniversary with a panel featuring Bill Gates, one…
S1E23 How does western media ‘whitewash’ genocide? | Assal Rad
‘The crimes [in Gaza] are so egregious that are being carried out... The attempt to cover them up and whitewash them is failing’ Since 7 October, western media coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza has…
S1E22 ‘You’re Palestinian. No one will care’: Cherien Dabis on ‘Mo’ and making space in Hollywood | Real Talk
"You can’t be a filmmaker. You’re Palestinian - no one will care."Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian-American filmmaker and actress constantly working to break new ground for Palestinian representation…
S1E21 Pankaj Mishra: How the West assists & enables Israel’s war on Gaza | Real Talk
In The World After Gaza, acclaimed Indian author Pankaj Mishra reckons with Israel’s war on Gaza and its far-reaching moral and geopolitical consequences.He situates the onslaught within the broader…
S1E20 Inside Trump’s crackdown on Columbia University | Prof. Bruce Robbins | Real Talk
"The more they offer the Trump administration, the more the Trump administration is going to ask - and the demands in that letter [sent to Columbia] are absolutely unacceptable."In this Real Talk…
Frequently Asked Questions
Real Talk has published 39 episodes since September 2024, covering topics in Society & Culture.
Real Talk is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 57m.
