"They still think we are 'savages'” w/ Wadie Said
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome their cousin Wadie Said, Professor of Law at the University of Colorado, to reflect on Donald Trump’s personalized domestic and Middle East agenda, the Gaza ceasefire deal and the demise of international legal order. The conversation then focuses on insidious concepts of “terrorism” in the US, and its legal implications for those accused on trumped up charges as well its weaponization against college students. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: January 21, 2025. Follow us on our socials: X: YouTube: Insta: TikTok: ...
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“You can’t hide the smoking gun of this genocide” w/ Sherene Seikaly and Tony Alessandrini
Makdisi Street
Note: we recorded this before the appalling of the democratic vote of its membership to condemn Israeli scholasticide The brothers welcome Professor Sherene Seikaly, historian at University of California at Santa Barbara and editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies and Anthony Alessandrini, Professor of English at Kingsborough Community College and of Middle Eastern Studies at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, to discuss the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) engagement with the question of Palestine. We discuss the historic...
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“Both the US and Israel are delusional” w/ Jeffrey Sachs
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome the world-renowned economics professor and bestselling author, and Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University. They discuss the nature of U.S. global hegemony, idealism vs. realism, the possibility of de-dollarization, BRICS, the delusional notions of perpetual US and Israel hegemony, and why their killing lots of civilians does not translate into political victory, the influence of the Israel lobby in pushing for wars in the Middle East that goes against US interests, money in American politics, Arab state inaction given their leverage, what a “two state”...
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“The lobby is working overtime" w/ John Mearsheimer
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome University of Chicago Professor John Mearsheimer to the show to discuss the power of the Israel lobby in the US, the relationship between the US and the Israeli state (and whether the dog wags the tail or the other way around), the possibility of change in US policy on Palestine and the Arab world, recent developments in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, and, finally, how transformations taking place in the United States may eventually overwhelm the lobby and its ability to manipulate decision-making from US college campuses to the White House. Watch the on our...
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“No one has a national interest in a unilateral declaration of Syria's future” w/ Omar S. Dahi
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome Syrian political economist and Hampshire College professor Omar S. Dahi to offer personal reflections on the early days of the post-Assad era in Syria, who exactly Ahmad Shara/ Al Jolani is, Syrian policy choices and national interests in the context of external interventions and Turkish influence, and the implications of Israeli expansionism and destruction of Syria’s military infrastructure. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: December 16, 2024. Follow us on our socials: X: YouTube: Insta: TikTok: *Sign up...
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“The problem has always been that Israel is above the law" w/ Nimer Sultany
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome , a Reader in Public Law at SOAS University of London. They discuss the difference between the hypocrisy of the Western liberal legal order versus the Western liberal abandonment of its own international order to protect Israel, the imperatives of justice in Syria at a time of injustice in Palestine, the ICC and ICJ cases, the fact that South Africa stopped appealing to the ICJ earlier this year, the idea of law as a site of struggle, the need to prevent instead of simply documenting genocide after the fact, and Western and liberal genocide denial. Check out his recent...
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"Palestine will be liberated in Arabic" w/ Fady Joudah
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome National Book Award for Poetry Finalist Fady Joudah for a searing and intimate discussion of Palestine in English versus Palestine in Arabic, about writing poetry in a time of genocide, about the limits and hubris of solidarity, about the necessity of common decency in the face of horror, and about the meaning of Palestinian love confronting the Israeli inferno of annihilation. Featuring a powerful reading of "Dedication" from his latest book published by Milkweed Editions in 2024. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: November 6, 2024....
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“The beautiful thing about the truth is that it’s easy” w/ Ta-Nehisi Coates
Makdisi Street
joins the brothers for a wide-ranging discussion drawing on his new book, , and covering the parallels and differences between the Black American and Palestinian experiences, the culture of denial suppressing the realities of the system of apartheid in Palestine, the challenges of gaining access to Palestinian voices, the power of conveying the raw reality of Palestinian life under apartheid tactics of resistance to oppression, and the historical contours of the Palestinian liberation struggle. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: Oct 14, 2024. Follow us on our...
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"The first foothold in a much broader liberation" w/ Tareq Baconi
Makdisi Street
The brothers welcome analyst , author of (Stanford University Press, 2018) and president of the board of Al-Shabaka. One year into the Gaza genocide, they discuss the emergence Hamas and its role in the Palestinian political polity, its sweeping electoral victory in Gaza in 2006 as well as its subsequent governance in Gaza and attempts to contain its growth through blockade. They explore how October 7th upended the entire strategic alignments of the Western imperialist powers that are part of Israeli apartheid structure. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: Oct 15, 2024....
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"The other guy is more genocidal" w/ Mehdi Hasan
Makdisi Street
The Brothers welcome journalist and founder of Zeteo, Mehdi Hasan ) to the pod. They have a spirited discussion about anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias in the mainstream media, the price of compromise to gain access, and whether voting for Harris is a vote against fascism or a vote endorsing genocide. Watch the on our YouTube channel Date of recording: Oct 22, 2024. Follow us on our socials: X: YouTube: Insta: TikTok: *Sign up at to access all the bonus content, including the latest *
info_outlineThe brothers welcome Professor Stephen Walt to the show to discuss US foreign policy in the Middle East, the role of the Israel lobby in influencing US decision-making, and how all these dynamics may develop in the wake of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.
Watch the episode on our YouTube channel
Date of recording: May 14, 2024.
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Music by Hadiiiiii
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