We're Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends

Mehdi and Ayman Mohyeldin have a lot in common: They were both born in the same year, they're both immigrants and naturalized US citizens, they're both Muslim, and they both worked at Al Jazeera and then MSNBC (now MS NOW). As Mehdi says to his former colleague, "I look at you and I feel like I'm looking at a taller, better looking, Arab version of myself."
Ayman joins Mehdi in Washington DC for the latest episode of 'We're Not Kidding' to discuss their careers in TV journalism, the failures of Western media on Gaza, and the new US war with Iran. The two discuss Israel's role in instigating the war, Benjamin Netanyahu's decades-long obsession with toppling the Iranian regime, as well as the media's unwillingness to name Israel as an influence on US foreign policy. "Israel has said it wants regime change in Iran for 40 years, but you couldn't say that until Marco Rubio came out and said that," Ayman says.
As one of the only American journalists who lived in Gaza during the 2008-09 war, Ayman brings a perspective on the region that few other mainstream journalists are able to. The two talk about Ayman's history of reporting on the conflict, what has changed (and sadly not changed), as well as the shortcomings of most Western media outlets in offering balanced coverage. 
The two also discuss:
Beginning their journalism careers in the post 9/11 era.

Double standard attacks levied against Muslim journalists.

Bari Weiss and her "Iran expert" Douglas Murray.

Which Republican lawmakers are "dumb as shit."

And Mehdi quizzes Ayman on the French national soccer (sorry, football) team…

 
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Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
 
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Ayman Mohyeldin
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
 
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Since Oct. 7, 22 year-old Palestinian-American influencer Hamzah Saadah has gained international notoriety for doing something that no mainstream news outlet would dare to do: asking regular Israelis what they think about Palestine. The results have been shocking, as Hamzah's interviews with civilians and soldiers alike demonstrate a comfort and willingness to use "genocidal rhetoric" across Israeli society. Hamzah now joins Mehdi for a live taping of 'We're Not Kidding' at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah to discuss his work on social media and take some questions from the audience. 
Before Oct. 7, Hamzah was a gaming influencer, musician, and magician (yes, you read that right) with nearly 8 million followers across social media. But once Israel's genocide began in Gaza, Hamzah made the decision to use his massive following to expose the anti-Palestinian rhetoric of some Israeli soldiers.
The two also discuss:
Receiving threats for their political work.
Larry Ellison and censorship on TikTok.
The time the police showed up at Hamzah's house at 3:00am.
How to change the minds of audiences.
How old Mehdi is, again, and again, and again.
2026 Sundance Film Festival. Recorded at The Muslim House® Produced by the MPAC® Hollywood Bureau with the support of the Doris Duke Foundation.
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Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Hamzah Saadah
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/Zeteo

As one of the co-hosts of the massively popular podcast 'I've Had It', Jennifer Welch has made a name for herself as a sharp-witted, foul-mouthed, uncomfortable-truth-bomb-dropping political commentator. Whether you've seen social media clips of her ranting about Donald Trump's poorly applied makeup or watched her eviscerate Sen. Cory Booker on AIPAC during their viral interview, Jennifer is shaking up the way liberal media thinks about political punditry. Now, she joins Mehdi on 'We're Not Kidding' to talk about her political journey and rise to fame. 
Once an "MSNBC liberal" from the Bible Belt, Mehdi and Jennifer discuss her evolution on issues like corporate influence on the Democratic party and Israel-Palestine. They also get into the recent dump of Epstein files, including Elon Musk's "pathetic" attempt to get an invite to Epstein's island on Christmas, and how Joe Biden and the Democrats once again fumbled the ball. "Merrick Garland had these files for four f*****g years and didn't do anything with it!" Jennifer says.
The two also discuss:
- How atheism influences Jennifer's politics (and religion influences Mehdi's!).
- Why Trump appeals to evangelical Christians.
- Scott Jennings, Jesse Watters, and why Republican men are "submissive."
- Whether Epstein was a Mossad spy.
- Which national Democrats should be "remodeled" and which should "retire."
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Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
Find Jennifer:
'I've Had It': https://ivehaditpodcast.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mizzwelch/?hl=en
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Jennifer Welch
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali

Aasif Mandvi broke more glass ceilings than you probably realize.
If you watched 'The Daily Show' during the post-9/11 era, you likely already know the comedian and actor for his biting commentary on Islamophobia, George W. Bush, and the 'War on Terror'. 
But did you know he was the political comedy show's first non-white cast member? Or that he served as the "Senior Middle East Correspondent" and "Senior Muslim Correspondent" even though he's not from the Middle East or a practicing Muslim? Now, Aasif joins Mehdi on the new episode of 'We're Not Kidding' in front of a live audience at the Sundance Film Festival for a wide-ranging conversation about being fellow immigrants, Muslim representation, Gaza, Donald Trump, ICE, Zohran Mamdani, as well as take some questions from the audience.
Subscribe to Zeteo to support independent and unfiltered journalism: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
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Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
Find Aasif:
Twitter: https://x.com/aasif
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aasif
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Aasif Mandvi
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali

Noam Schuster-Eliassi is what some people might call a 'unicorn'. 
She's an anti-Zionist, Jewish-Iranian Israeli who speaks fluent Arabic and grew up in a tiny village in Israel called the 'Oasis of Peace', where Jews and Palestinians voluntarily choose to live together. Noam is now the star of the new documentary 'Coexistence, My Ass!', which won the Special Jury Award at Sundance film festival last year. The film explores her political evolution from growing up as an Israeli poster-child of the "coexistence movement" to becoming a standup comedian determined to dismantle apartheid within Israel. 
The two also discuss the contradiction of liberal Israelis who are critical of Netanyahu's anti-democratic government yet don't extend the same consideration to Palestinians living under apartheid, as well as the barrage of hasbara that Israeli society was exposed to after October 7. 
Subscribe to Zeteo to support independent and unfiltered journalism: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
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Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
Find Noam:
Twitter: https://x.com/ShusterNoam
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noam_joon/
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Noam Shuster-Eliassi
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali