UNAPOLOGETIC with Ashfaaq Carim
Middle East Eye 83 episodes Nov 3, 2026
UNAPOLOGETIC is a show that unapologetically looks at the life, times and views of some unapologetic and not so unapologetic humans. Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim.
Episodes
Episode 95 - Israel’s genocide, the media and global systems that enable it | Francesca Albanese
On this episode of @MEEunapologetic we sat down with Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, to talk about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the media that reinforced it and the global systems that enable it. Albanese’s latest report, Truth Under the Rubble, examines media complicity. She argues that destroying a people takes a narrative as well as bombs.
Episode 94 - Israeli elections: Netanyahu set to win. Will he now bomb Iran? | David Hearst
On this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we sat down with Middle East Eye editor-in-chief David Hearst the day after Israel’s elections, with Netanyahu’s bloc on course to be the largest and no side close to a majority. David explains why a strike on Iran is now more likely than before the vote, how Ben-Gvir’s armed settler base shapes Netanyahu’s options, what a record Palestinian turnout means for citiz
Episode 93 - How corporates and politicians profit from war | Andrew Feinstein
We sat down with Andrew Feinstein, former ANC MP, arms trade investigator and author of The Shadow World, on @MEEunapologetic to talk about his new book, Making a Killing: How the West Profits From Slaughter in Gaza and Yemen. The book began with a question from Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq, who lost 21 members of his family in an Israeli strike on their home in Gaza: who made the bomb,
Episode 92 - Francesca Albanese on Macklemore, Miliband and the road to beating Apartheid in Israel |UNAPOLOGETIC
Francesca Albanese spoke to UNAPOLOGETIC on the Ed Sheeran-Macklemore debacle, UK sanctions on West Bank settlements, the changing discourse on Israel, and building allyship and solidarity to beat Apartheid in Israel. Chapters: 00:00 Intro highlights 01:41 UK sanctions and Palestinian erasure 07:57 Macklemore and the billionaire backlash 11:33 Building a global BDS strategy 19:34 Yuval Abraham a
Episode 91 - How the West has used history to wage 'civilising missions' | Josephine Quinn | UNAPOLOGETIC
Josephine Quinn is Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge, the first woman ever to hold the position, and the author of How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History. On this episode of Unapologetic, we sit down with her in her Cambridge office to take apart one of the most powerful ideas in modern politics: the idea of "civilisations," where it came from, who invented it, and why it's less
Episode 90 - How colonialism redefined "Islam" and how Muslims are moving beyond it | Faisal Devji | UNAPOLOGETIC
In the latest episode of UNAPOLOGETIC we sat down with Faisal Devji in Oxford. Devji is a widely acclaimed scholar of both South Asian history and the history of intellectual thought.In his latest book, Devji presents a novel idea: that "Islam", as many of us commonly use the word today, meaning a single thing with a will and a direction of its own, rather than the faith Muslims practise, is barel
Episode 89 - The story of how a Greater India was shattered into 12 modern states | Sam Dalrymple | UNAPOLOGETIC
"The story that I tell in the book is how this one Indian Empire passport became, by the 1970s, twelve independent passports." - Sam Dalrymple "The story that I tell in the book is how this one Indian Empire passport becomes, by the 1970s, twelve independent passports." — Sam DalrympleWe sat down with historian Sam Dalrymple, author of Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
Episode 88 - Do Greeks have more in common with Arabs and Turks than Europeans | Sean Mathews | UNAPOLOGETIC
We sat down with Middle East Eye journalist and author Sean Mathews on UNAPOLOGETIC to ask a question that unsettles a lot of assumptions: do Greeks actually have more in common with Arabs and Turks than they do with the rest of Europe? Mathews is the author of The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East, and his answer draws on years of reporting from Istanbul, Cairo and o
Episode 87 - How the US backed Khomeini, then armed Saddam | Scott Horton | UNAPOLOGETIC
The US backed Khomeini's return to power, then a year later greenlit Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran, the same country it had just warned Saddam might attack.In this latest episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, radio host and presenter of The Scott Horton Show, Scott Horton, sat down with MEE's Ashfaaq Carim to discuss the history of the US and its impact in the region. They also touched on Netanyahu's "new
Episode 86 - How the US blunder in Iran accelerates its decline and dooms Israel | Andreas Krieg | UNAPOLOGETIC
We sat down with Andreas Krieg for the fourth time on UNAPOLOGETIC, this time in the aftermath of the war on Iran, to ask what it has done to the balance of power across the Middle East. His answer is stark: this is the most fundamental shift in regional order in thirty years, and it has undone the American empire in a way he does not think it can recover from.We get into why the Gulf no longer be
Episode 85 - Israel's dream of ruling the region is over, its decline has begun | Mustafa Barghouti |UNAPOLOGETIC
"Now Netanyahu has failed. Iran was not broken. Arab countries now realise that relying on Israel is a death sentence."In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we sat down in studio with Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian physician, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative and co-founder of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. Barghouti argues that Israel's two strategic goals, imperial domination of
Episode 84 - Why reaching a ceasefire was essential - Iran, Hormuz and US decline | Laleh Khalili | UNAPOLOGETIC
Laleh Khalili is a professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and Extractive Capitalism. She is also Iranian-American, with family members displaced by the current war, a scholar with both the expertise and the personal stakes to speak to this moment with rare authority.In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Ashfaaq Carim sits down with Khalili to und
Episode 83 - Cenk Uygur on being banned by the UK and how it shows that the West has fallen | UNAPOLOGETIC
Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks, was banned from entering the UK hours before this conversation - blocked by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for criticising Israel. We speak to him live about what his ban indicates about the West's accelerating collapse, how governments are criminalising dissent on behalf of a foreign state, and whether the freedoms the West claims to stand for are already s
Episode 82 - How the establishment made the far right respectable | Daniel Trilling | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we sit down with Daniel Trilling - journalist and author of If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable.We discuss who is actually responsible for the rise of the far right and how dangerous the global far right rise could be for freedoms across the globe.From Trump's assault on democratic institutions to Orban gutting Hungary'
Episode 81 - Is Elon Musk a white nationalist? We asked his father | Errol Musk | UNAPOLOGETIC
UNAPOLOGETIC spoke to Errol Musk, father of Elon Musk, and the result is a conversation is an interesting foray into where ideology is formed and where it is inherited.Errol traces his journey from post-war poverty to building a life of considerable wealth and takes credit for funding the very first company Elon and Kimball started in 1995.But it is his views on race, politics and identity that ar
Episode 80 - How Israel's Genocide Is Turning Jews Against Zionism | Simone Zimmerman | UNAPOLOGETIC
"Palestinians are just the canvas upon which the Jewish psychodrama takes place."Simone Zimmerman, co-founder of IfNotNow and subject of the documentary Israelism, joins UNAPOLOGETIC to examine how Israel's genocide in Gaza has reshaped Jewish identity and politics.Simone traces her own journey from committed Zionist to anti-Zionist activist, describing the personal and communal ruptures that foll
Episode 79 - How US-Israeli aggression may unite Iran, Turkey & the Arab World | Hassan Ahmadian | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of Unapologetic, Hassan Ahmadian, political scientist at the University of Tehran, argues that US-Israeli aggression may inadvertently bring Iran, Turkey and the Arab world closer together.Ahmadian explains why Iran views every negotiation with Washington through the lens of betrayal, and why Tehran sees caving to Trump and Netanyahu as a worse outcome than war itself. He also expl
Episode 78 - When China rules the world | Martin Jacques | UNAPOLOGETIC
"If you go to China, you'll never ever see the world in the same way again. Never."In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Martin Jacques, author of the million-copy bestseller When China Rules the World, makes the case that China has already eclipsed the United States as the world's leading power, and that the West still fundamentally doesn't understand why.This episode explores China's identity as a ci
Episode 77 - The ‘Ayatollah’ opposing US imperialism and Iran’s Islamic ‘regime’ | Mohsen Kadivar | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to Mohsen Kadivar - Iranian scholar, Shia mujtahid, dissident cleric, and former political prisoner - about the Islamic Republic, its origins, and its contradictions.Kadivar offers a rare insider critique of Iran: opposing US imperialism and Israeli aggression, while also challenging the authoritarianism of the Islamic Republic from within Shia theology it
Episode 76 - Norman Finkelstein thinks Trump is too humiliated to attack Iran again | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Norman Finkelstein unpacks the aftermath of the US–Iran war, beginning with the ceasefire and what it actually reveals about both sides. He argues there was no clear victory, before tracing the deeper roots of US strategy toward Iran over decades. The conversation explores Donald Trump’s highly personalised decision-making, the role Israel played in tipping the bal
Episode 75 - Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel's ultra-right, the Temple Mount and Global War | Abdallah Marouf
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, historian Abdallah Marouf connects the dots between the closure of Al-Aqsa, Israel’s ultra-right, Pete Hegseth, the dangerously expanding war in Iran, and the belief in a coming Messiah.He explains how a once-marginal religious Zionist movement now holds real political power in Israel, and how its vision of rebuilding the Temple and hastening the Messiah is shaping
Episode 74 - Israel, USA, Iran, Arab States & China - How will war reshape power? | Mamoun Fandy | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Mamoun Fandy, former professor of politics at Georgetown University and current head of the Global Strategy Institute in London, breaks down the escalating conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran.He argues this is not one war, but three overlapping wars, each with its own logic: regime change, regional dominance, and economic pressure. Together, they
Episode 73 - Not just Iran, ' Israel would kill millions of people' | Rabbi Elhanan Beck | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Rabbi Elhanan Beck delivers one of the most striking critiques of Zionism and the current Israeli-US wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, you'll hear. He argues that, according to the Torah, the state of Israel has no right to exist, and goes further—describing Benjamin Netanyahu as “Amalek,” a force that pulls people away from God. The Rabbi also claims that if necess
Episode 72 - The Modern History of Iran | Roy Casagranda | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Dr. Roy Casagranda unpacks 125 years of Iranian history - from the 1901 oil concession and the fall of the Qajar dynasty, to the rise of the Pahlavis, the 1953 CIA-backed coup, the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War, and the emergence of the IRGC, the reform movement in Iran and the JCPOA. He then connects this history to the present moment - where a US-Isr
Episode 71 - Israel’s drawing us into an all-out war, and nobody is stopping them | Neil Quilliam | UNAPOLOGETIC
Neil Quilliam, who is a political analyst at Chatham House, joined the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss how Israel is plunging the USA, the GCC and Iran into an all-out war.By continuing to kill credible leaders and hit key economic infrastructure in Iran, it is diminishing the opportunity for this war to end via a settled compromise, and antagonising Iran to lash out with retaliatory strikes again
Episode 70 - Iran is playing chess, Trump doesn't know where the board is | David Hearst | UNAPOLOGETIC
David Hearst, editor in chief of Middle East Eye, appeared on the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss how Donald Trump may be losing control of the war he started against Iran.When will the war end? Will Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump achieve their goals? What will happen to the Iranian government? What is the future of relations between the GCC and Iran? Could the conflict escalate into a regional war
Episode 69 - Iran will ‘fight to the death’ and the USA does not get that | Foad Izadi | UNAPOLOGETIC
Foad Izadi is a professor of communication at Tehran University. He has been making the rounds across broadcasters recently where he generally conveys the Iranian government’s position.He spoke to UNAPOLOGETIC to discuss the rationale behind Iran’s defence strategy, how he sees Iranian society rallying behind the Iranian state under this attack, the legacy of US-Iranian relations, Iran’s own exerc
Episode 68 - How long will the war on Iran last and who will win it | Trita Parsi | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute about how long the US-Israel war on Iran will likely last and what its consequences will likely be. The conversation examines Iran’s incentives to keep fighting, Trump’s political calculations, pressure from Gulf states, Netanyahu's opportunism, and how powers like China and Russia may respond i
Episode 67 - Israel, The US, the Ayatallohs and the Pahlavis are all bad for Iran | Hoda Katebi | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to writer and activist Hoda Katebi about the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, and the complex political forces shaping Iran’s future. Katebi argues that the Iranian government is deeply repressive, but also warns that foreign intervention by the US and Israel risks strengthening that repression rather than weakening it. She explains why ma
Episode 66: Will Iran’s ‘reckless’ response bring about its own downfall? | ANDREAS KRIEG | UNAPOLOGETIC
Gulf security expert Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, joined the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss Iran’s response to the US-Israel war against it and the potential ramifications of it.
Episode 65: Trump’s Iran games. The state of US empire. China's rise | Tariq Ali | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to writer, historian, and lifelong anti-imperialist Tariq Ali about the state of the US empire in an increasingly unstable world. From Trump’s erratic posture on Iran to the long arc of American imperial power, Ali places today’s crises in a deep historical context—stretching from Iran in 1953 to Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Gaza. The conversation examine
Episode 64 - Retired UK major general on Israel, duplicity and past wars | Charlie Herbert | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, retired UK major general Charlie Herbert reflects on 34 years of military service, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and explains how those experiences shaped his views on Israel, Western power, and why he now calls Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:30 Military Silence Explained 11:30 Gaza And Genocide 22:00 Strategic Failure Israel 33:00 Ira
Episode 63 - What does the Saudi-Emirati cold war mean for Israel, Trump and Iran? | Andreas Krieg |
Andreas Krieg - a leading Gulf security expert - joined the UNAPOLOGETIC episode once again. This time, Andreas tried to unpack for us just how impactful the Saudi-UAE cold war is, why it is occurring and what and where are the fault lines of their differences. And what this cold war means for the USA, Israel, Iran and other actors in the region. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim Chapters 00
Episode 62 - Inside Israel’s detention of the Gaza flotilla activists | Thiago Avila | UNAPOLOGETIC
Brazilian activist and one of the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla Thiago Avila joins UNAPOLOGETIC.He recounts his detention by Israeli forces after being aboard one of the flotilla boats intercepted by Israel in international waters while en route to break the siege of Gaza.Avila describes the moments leading up to the interception at sea and his arrest, and details the conditions he and o
Episode 61 - The story of Omar Suleiman and why his faith compels him to speak out | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this conversation with UNAPOLOGETIC, Imam Omar Suleiman reflects on two decades of global politics, the Palestinian struggle, Islamophobia in America, and the meaning of justice in a collapsing world order. Through personal stories of exile, family history, racism, 9/11, and spiritual grounding, he offers a deeply human account of how identity, faith, and political reality have shaped his life.
Episode 60 - Ottoman exiles, a billionaire and the plot for an Indian caliphate | Imran Mulla | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with journalist and historian Imran Mulla about his gripping new book The Indian Caliphate: Exiled Ottomans and the Billionaire Prince.The conversation uncovers a forgotten plot to relocate the Ottoman caliphate to India after its abolition in 1924 — a story involving exiled Ottoman royalty, the fabulously wealthy but austere Nizam of Hyderabad, British im
Episode 59 - Israel commits genocide while demanding its neighbours demilitarise | Jeremy Scahill | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this UNAPOLOGETIC episode from the Doha Forum, investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill examines how Israel has carried out a campaign that many experts believe meets the legal and moral definitions of genocide in Gaza, while simultaneously insisting that Palestinians must not resist and that neighbouring states must demilitarise. Scahill situates Israel’s assault within a wider history of US mi
Episode 58 - For how long will Syria be able to allow Israel to continue bombing it? | Omar Ashour | UNAPOLOGETIC
Recorded at the Doha Forum, this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC is in conversation with political scientist Dr. Omar Ashour examines the shifting landscape of the Middle East through three major developments: Syria’s transformation under Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the widening regional divide illustrated by the UAE’s military support for separatist groups versus Qatar’s incre
Episode 57 - The story of the Muslim Brotherhood and why they can’t be banned | Anas Altikriti | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, political strategist and CEO and founder of the Cordoba Foundation, Anas Altikriti speaks to us about the history of the Muslim Brotherhood and why Trump is looking to now proscribe the organisation in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. We examine how the Brotherhood evolved, why authoritarian governments frame it as a threat, and how Western policymakers adopted those nar
Episode 56 - Why South Africa is taking on Trump and Israel | Ebrahim Rasool | UNAPOLOGETIC
Former South African ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool sits down with Ashfaaq Carim for an unflinching conversation on power, punishment, and principle. Rasool explains how South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel triggered U.S. retaliation—from tariffs to blocked HIV/AIDS funding—while dismantling the “white genocide” narrative pushed by Trump-aligned networks.He also traces t
Episode 55 - Not just Sudan - How the UAE have wrecked Libya, Yemen and Egypt | Andreas Krieg | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to Dr Andreas Krieg — a leading Gulf security expert — about how the UAE has pursued an aggressive statecraft strategy since 2011. Andreas unpacks how Abu Dhabi has shaped the region through covert interventions, proxy forces and political engineering. From Egypt to Libya, Yemen to Sudan, we examine how the UAE has empowered secessionist, authoritarian and
Episode 54 - I got detained by ICE and learnt that America is turning against Israel | Sami Hamdi | UNAPOLOGETIC
British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE for 18 days. He recounts here on UNAPOLOGETIC how he was arrested after being informed that his valid tourist visa had been suddenly revoked, and how he was eventually allowed to leave after a federal judge was concerned that there had been serious breaches of his freedom of speech. Hamdi describes in detail how he was arrested, wha
Episode 53 - Being Jewish in a time of Israel - resist or be usurped | David Adler | UNAPOLOGETIC
David Adler - a Jewish American writer, activist, and organiser - joins UNAPOLOGETIC where he reflects on what it means to be Jewish in the age of Israel’s genocide on Gaza — and why silence is no longer an option. From his family’s divided Zionist and anti-Zionist roots to his experience being detained by Israel after joining the Summud Flotilla, Adler recounts how Jewish identity, power, and sol
Episode 52 - What does Zohran Mamdani's victory mean for the USA | Dr. Roy Casagranda | UNAPOLOGETIC
Unapologetic’s host Ashfaaq Carim speaks to Dr Roy Casagranda about what Zohran Mamdani's election victory means for the USA and it's political future
Episode 51 - Will Trump's ceasefire deal survive Netanyahu's scheming? |Gershon Baskin | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, peace negotiator Gershon Baskin takes us inside the Trump-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — from backchannel talks with Hamas leaders to the Doha strike that nearly derailed the deal, and the moment Trump forced Netanyahu to apologize on camera. Baskin explains how the agreement came together, why it almost collapsed, and whether it can survive Netanyah
Episode 50 - How to stop a right-wing takeover of the UK | Zack Polanski | UNAPOLOGETIC
Green Party leader Zack Polanski joins UNAPOLOGETIC to talk about his plans to stop the right wing’s rise in the UK. Just weeks after being elected leader — and as the Greens gain over 30,000 new members — Polanski speaks about the party’s growing momentum in a political moment defined by Reform UK’s surge and the launch of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party. We discuss whether the Green
Episode 49 - October 7th, Two years on : “Genocide is the means, not the ends” | Norman Finkelstein | UNAPOLOGETIC
Political scientist and historian Norman Finkelstein joins this special edition of UNAPOLOGETIC that marks two years since the October 7 Hamas-led attack and Israel’s devastating retaliation against Gaza, which the majority of genocide scholars around the world have labelled a genocide.In this nearly three-hour conversation, we ask whether Hamas regrets its actions, probe the realities of Trump’s
Episode 48 - Three decades on the frontlines of battling abusive governments | Kenneth Roth | UNAPOLOGETIC
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins UNAPOLOGETIC to discuss his new book Righting Wrongs. Part memoir, part strategy guide, part global analysis, the book offers a rare inside look at how human rights advocacy really works. In this conversation, we explore how Roth built HRW from a team of just 60 people into a global organisation with more than 550 staff. He refle
Episode 47 - Netanyahu’s gamble: Build greater Israel or make it a doomed pariah | David Hearst | UNAPOLOGETIC
“An Israel for all its citizens has disappeared, it has literally been extinguished, and it's a myth that Israel is a nice friendly state”David Hearst, editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, joins us on this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to discuss what he describes as the ‘worst evil the world is witnessing’ in the 21st century.Hearst shares his views on why Israel’s genocide is not just intentional but ‘
Episode 46 - Israel’s bombing of Qatar explained | Muhammad Shehada | UNAPOLOGETIC
Palestinian writer and analyst, Muhammad Shehada joins UNAPOLOGETIC in this special episode to explain how Israel's bombing of senior Hamas leaders in Qatar along with its order for 1 million Palestinians in Gaza city to evacuate once again to the South of Gaza has one common objective - to coldly and calculatedly make its ethic cleansing of Gaza inevitable.
Episode 45 - How Al Jazeera covers Gaza even when Israel kills their reporters | Salah Negm | UNAPOLOGETIC
"You have to think about people who are sitting in war rooms and plan the next bombing on civilians populations who are actually in tents in one place that they cannot move (from)"Al Jazeera has been at the center of one of the deadliest assaults on journalists in modern history. Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 270 journalists, including at least 11 from Al Jazeera. D
Episode 44 - Siege to Genocide: Gaza’s history from 2005–2025 | Muhammad Shahada | UNAPOLOGETIC
Muhammad Shahada grew up in Gaza during two decades of blockade and repeated wars. His father died after being denied medical treatment outside the Strip — one of countless lives lost to Israel’s permit system.Now a journalist and analyst, Shahada joins UNAPOLOGETIC to trace Gaza’s story from 2005 to 2025 — years that saw the removal of Israeli settlers, the imposition of siege, and the shift from
Episode 43 - The lies and culture that made Israeli society support genocide | Orly Noy (B'Tselem) | UNAPOLOGETIC
Orly Noy is the chairperson of B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation that has been documenting Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians since 1989. In this episode, we discuss B’Tselem’s new report, titled ‘Our Genocide’. Through rigorous research, the report makes the case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. We also discuss the sociological culture in Israel that has led to a so
Episode 42 - Political Islam’s 120-year story - from anti-colonial struggle to now | John Esposito | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC Professor John Esposito — one of the world’s foremost scholars on political Islam — unpacks 120 years of modern Islamic movements. From Afghani and Abdu’s 19th-century reformist vision, through Hassan al-Banna and Maududi’s activism, to Sayyid Qutb’s radical turn, we trace the intellectual and political forces that shaped the Muslim world. We explore the Iranian Rev
Episode 41 - The Shah, the Ayatollahs and 74 years of American bullshit in Iran | Hamid Dabashi | UNAPOLOGETIC
“Every inch of that precious city is Rome and Paris and New York put together, and these barbaric savages go, ‘Oh Isfahan, we just bombed Isfahan’; they don’t even know where Isfahan is.” Hamid Dabashi, is an American and Iranian professor at Columbia University. He joined UNAPOLGETIC on this episode to give a scathing critique of US and Israeli adventurism and aggression in Iran and the region. D
Episode 40 - Iran, Israel, USA and World War 3 | Chris Hedges | UNAPOLOGETIC |
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges joins us on UNAPOLOGETIC for a conversation on what the consequences could be if Israel draws the USA into a full-blown war with Iran.Hedges reflects on his years reporting from war zones, the cynical nihilism driving Netanyahu’s assault, and how Israel’s genocide in Gaza has become a “spectacle” that has irreparably broken trust between North and Sou
Episode 39 - “This nightmare” was created due to Europe’s antisemitism | Ghada Karmi | UNAPOLOGETIC
“It’s left me with a deep and simmering anger against the western powers who imposed this nightmare on us.”Palestinian physician, author and Nakba survivor Ghada Karmi joins UNAPOLOGETIC to speak about how her life has been shaped by exile and how, as she tried to find a new home in the UK, she was confronted by experiences that enhanced her desire to reconnect with her Palestinian identity and ev
Episode 38 - What I’ve learnt by organising 20 months of anti-genocide protests| Ben Jamal | UNAPOLOGETIC
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, joins UNAPOLOGETIC for a wide-ranging conversation about who has been complicit for the genocide in Gaza, the global shift in rhetoric, and what it takes to organise 20 months of continous mass protest across the UK.He unpacks the gap between what Western governments say and what they do - from condemning Israeli actions as “indefensible” w
Episode 37 - Why the Crusades occurred and what is their legacy | Roy Casagranda | UNAPOLOGETIC
What were the Crusades really about - and why do they still matter today?In this deep-dive episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, historian and political scientist Professor Roy Casagranda comes back to the show to unpack the history, legacy and weaponisation of the Crusades. We begin by exploring why Jerusalem holds such profound spiritual and political importance to Judaism, Christianity and Islam - and how t
Episode 36 - Is China ready to lead the world? | Victor Goa | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Chinese political analyst Victor Gao joins UNAPOLOGETIC for a wide-ranging and often conflictual discussion about China's global image, western condescension towards it, human rights and democracy,Gao, a former translator for Deng Xiaoping and a vocal defender of the Chinese state, argues that China is a force for stability, free trade, and development - and reject
Episode 35 - The West Is collapsing under its own lies | Yanis Varoufakis | UNAPOLOGETIC
“A mixture of stupidity and nastiness… The liberal establishment is primarily responsible for the genocide of the Palestinians.” In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Yanis Varoufakis unleashes a fierce critique of Western liberalism, and tells us why he feels that the global system is in crisis.This episode explores the facade of Western moral superiority, the role of empire past and present, how libe
Episode 34: Unpacking Sudan’s civil war and genocide case against the UAE | Sudan’s ambassador | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with Sudan’s ambassador to the UK, Babiker al-Siddig Mohamed al-Amin, about the Sudanese government's case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice. The conversation explores Sudan’s accusations of genocide, the origins of the RSF, alleged atrocities, foreign interference and the path forward for a democratic Sudan.We also address difficult qu
Episode 33 - The Holocaust survivor who leads pro-Palestine protests | Stephen Kapos | UNAPOLOGETIC
Stephen Kapos survived the Holocaust as a child in Nazi-occupied Hungary. In this candid interview, he recalls his time in a Jewish refugee home—hiding his identity with other children to avoid Nazi detection.He reflects on memory, survival, and the different paths his family took after the war, including his journey to London. Kapos also shares how visits to Israel opened his eyes to the country’
Episode 32 - What the slave trade can teach us about Trump and US decline | Rudolph Ware | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode, historian Rudolph “Butch” Ware joins us for a conversation about the global system slavery built — and how its legacy still shapes the modern world.He breaks down the myths we’ve been taught about abolition, the spiritual legacy of resistance, and how white supremacy was not just a byproduct of history, but an architecture that still defines our institutions.We also talk about Gaz
Episode 31 - Architecture of violence - how Israel engineered genocide in Gaza | Eyal Weizman | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with Eyal Weizman, architect, scholar, and founder of Forensic Architecture — a research agency that uses spatial investigation to expose state violence and human rights abuses.We dive deep into the ongoing genocide in Gaza, examining how Israel’s military campaign is not just a war of bombs, but one of deliberate spatial erasure. Eyal breaks down how arch
Episode 29 - Inside the nuts and bolts of the BBC’s “Orwellian” coverage of Gaza | Karishma Patel | UNAPOLOGETIC
“We have not even scratched the surface of the crimes Israel has truly committed”Former BBC journalist Karishma Patel left the BBC because of what she perceived as its editorial “double-standards” while reporting on Israel's military assault on Gaza.In this episode of Unapologetic, she takes us into the newsroom of the BBC and show’s us just how the BBC built an “Orwellian” atmosphere around cover
Episode 28 - My life, covering Israeli war crimes for decades | Gideon Levy | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with Gideon Levy, one of Israel’s most outspoken and controversial journalists. A longtime Haaretz journalist and columnist, Levy has spent decades documenting the occupation and challenging dominant Israeli narratives. We discuss Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, Netanyahu’s political calculations, and how Israeli society has responded. We also explore how
Episode 27: This is why Israel as an ethno-nationalist state, won’t last beyond the 2030s | Iyad el-Baghdadi | UNAPOLOGETIC (Full)
Author, thinker and activist Iyad el-Baghdadi joins us on this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to break down the impact of Israel’s war in Gaza and its wider consequences for the region.We explore Baghdadi’s hypothesis on whether Israel can survive as a Jewish supremacist state beyond the 2030s and whether a Palestinian state is still viable. We also discuss what the Arab response to Trump’s Gaza proposal
Episode 26: How has Israel's war in Gaza weakened Sisi's rule? | Hossam el-Hamalawy | UNAPOLOGETIC
Egyptian activist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy joins us on this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to speak about how Egypt has changed under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and how Israel’s war and genocide in Gaza has affected his rule.In this extended interview el-Hamalawy recalls the context of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak’s rule, why Mohamed Morsi lost power and Sisi’s coup. We explore how suppres
Episode 25: Palestinians defiantly would “die here and not leave”| Mustafa Barghouti | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this extended interview, Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, reacts to the statements and plans and remarks of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made it clear that his intention is for the U.S to “have” Gaza and to clear out the Palestinians so that it can be rebuilt.Barghouti also speaks about how Israel has stepped up attacks on the West Bank, and h
Episode 24: "Israel's masterplan…to ethnically cleanse Gaza" | Norman Finkelstein | UNAPOLOGETIC
In an extended interview, Norman Finkelstein, the political analyst and author who has studied Palestine and Israel for decades, speaks to us about the fate facing Palestinians.Finkelstein gives his frank views on how Israel, along with the Trump administration, will continue and accelerate its plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians as much as they can in the area between the River Jordan and the
Episode 23 - How large parts of Israeli society have come to justify war crimes | Anat Matar | UNAPOLOGETIC
Anat Matar is an Israeli academic and philosopher who is leading an open call from Israelis to have sanctions imposed on their own country.Since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began after the events of 7 October, Matar and a few other Israelis have seen the social space around them get narrower and narrower, as mainstream Israeli society, educators, media institutions and leaders have stood behind Isra
Epiosde 22 - What exactly happened in Syria’s 13-year civil war | Gamal Mansour | UNAPOLOGETIC
Gamal Mansour is a Syrian-Palestinian who was forced to move to Canada in 2012, as the Syrian uprising was turning into a civil war.Mansour is also a political scientist who is currently researching strategies that the business sector under the Assad regime employed so that they could remain autonomous from the state.In this marathon three-hour conversation, Gamal Mansour and the host Ashfaaq Cari
Episode 21 - Is Israel descending into a ‘fully fledged fascist dictatorship’? | Israeli MP Offer Cassif | UNAPOLOGETIC
“In Israel they are either bigots, fanatics, sometimes murderous ones… and they are cowards… and unfortunately there is no brave figure that I can see” - Offer Cassif, Israeli MPIsraeli MP Offer Cassif has been staunchly against Israel’s long occupation of Palestine and has been highly critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The coalition he is a part of consists of only five seats out of 120 in t
Episode 20 - 100-year history of US meddling, coups and wars in the Middle East | Roy Casagranda | UNAPOLOGETIC
Professor Roy Casagranda is an expert in history and political science.He has hosted a series of lectures that are available on YouTube explaining the history of the Americas, the slave trade, colonialism, and the Arab world and the Middle East.In this extended interview, Casagranda takes us on a history lesson that includes the Sykes-Picot agreement, CIA-orchestrated coups in Syria and Iran, vari
Episode 19 - The global fight to isolate Israel as a “pariah state” | South Africa’s Naledi Pandor | UNAPOLOGETIC
South Africa’s former minister of international relations, Naledi Pandor, speaks to us about the why South Africa took Israel to court for genocide. We also speak about why the world has still not yet intervened decisively and has allowed Israel to continue its onslaught in Gaza, whether international institutions will break down under a new Trump presidency and in the aftermath of Israel’s impuni
Episode 18 - The problem with "whiteness" and how its unleashed all types or racisms | Rachel Shabi | UNAPOLOGETIC
“Fighting racism in silos that was invented by racism doesn’t make any sense.”Rachel Shabi is an author, journalist and commentator, and she has recently published her second book, Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism.Shabi joined us for a conversation about her book, the fate of Arab-Jewish identity, how Israel’s war on Gaza is polarising global society and how the racist logic that defined so
Episode 17: "The more the US interfere, the more they are hated" | Wadah Khanfar | UNAPOLOGETIC
“I think the Arab leaders are going to be the victims of this genocide in Gaza.”Wadah Khanfar is the founder and executive director of the Al-Sharq Forum. He is also the former director general of the Al Jazeera Media Network.We speak to Khanfar about Gaza, the prospect of regional war, what it means to be a Palestinian and an Arab at this moment in time, and how the frustration being felt by Arab
Episode 16: Has Israel immortalised the memory of Yahya Sinwar ? | Dr. Azzam Tamimi | UNAPOLOGETIC
In a conversation with Dr. Azzam Tamimi - who is a scholar of political science and has written books on the history of Hamas - we discuss the legacy of Yahya Sinwar.Was it a miscalculation for Israel to release footage of how the Hamas leader was killed? What will it mean for the war? What are Israel's war ambitions and will they succeed?
Episode 15 - How Israel functions as an extension of US Imperial interests | Joseph Massad | UNAPOLOGETIC
“It’s not just that the US is complicit in this genocide, the US itself is responsible for this genocide”.A year after the events of 7 October, Joseph Massad speaks about Israel's response and what it has all meant and could mean for the region.Massad speaks about how Israel acts as an extension of US imperial policy. His unapologetic analysis is that it’s an “absurd argument” that the US is being
