The brothers welcome Ali Abunimah of The Electronic Intifada to the show to discuss mainstream media distortion of Palestine and the rise of alternative media, shifting public opinions on Zionism and solidarity for Palestine in the West, the growing divide between ordinary people and political elites, and the shared sense that we are witnessing the terminal decline of Zionism in the West.

Date of recording: November 3, 2025

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers welcome Melani McAlister, professor of American Studies at George Washington University, author of the new book Promises, Then the Storm and scholar of American culture and evangelical culture. They discuss the meaning and nature of Christian Zionism, Melani's own insight after growing up an evangelical in North Carolina, how she learned about Israel before discovering the question of Palestine, the diversity within the evangelical movement, the different ways American evangelicals are Zionist, the significance of the evident generational fracture over Palestine, and her sense of the indictment of American liberalism over its denial of the Gaza genocide.

Date of recording: Oct 13, 2025.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers welcome Mandy Turner, a senior researcher with Security in Context, to discuss the world of think tanks, how they operate as hegemony factories, and the divergence between public opinion and elites on the Gaza genocide

Check out her article, "Hegemony factories or independent thinkers? Western think tanks on Israel and Palestine after October 7"

Date of recording: Sept 16, 2025.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers discuss the "ceasefire" in Gaza, the Trump plan, and the potential contradictions between Israel and its partners and enablers.

Date of recording: Oct 21, 2025.

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Music by Hadiiiiii


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**Producer's note: This episode was marred by technical problems and connection issues. Apologies for the sound quality**

The brothers welcome the Canadian-Palestinian lawyer and former negotiator Diana Buttu (@dianabuttu) to the show to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and the context of the Trump-branded "peace plan" for Gaza and its historical antecedents and possible outcomes.

Date of recording: Oct 9, 2025.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers welcome their father, Samir Makdisi, Professor Emeritus at the American University of Beirut, to the show. They discuss the significance of Makdisi Street—the street itself!— in Beirut's cultural history, the social and political location of Ras Beirut in the larger context of Beirut and Lebanon itself, student movements in the 1950s and 1960s, the gradual consolidation of a sectarian political culture in Lebanon and the many forms of resistance to it, and the transformations in Beirut and Lebanon since the onset of the Lebanese war in 1975. They also discuss the history of their own family in relation to Makdisi Street, Ras Beirut, Beirut and Lebanon, in addition to Palestine and the Arab world more generally.

This episode was recorded live and produced by Layla Makdisi.

Date of recording: August 8, 2025.

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The brothers get together for a spirited debate on the age-old question: Is Israel a proxy of the US?

Date of recording: Sept 9, 2025.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers welcome the prominent violinist, classical musician and Professor at the Barenboim-Said Akademie Michael Barenboim to have a heart-felt discussion about the relationship between classic music and dissent, his regret at not speaking out earlier in his life about Palestine, his horror at the ongoing Gaza genocide, and the implications of anti-Palestinian racism and repressive climate in Germany despite Berlin having the largest Palestinian community in Europe, the question of boycott, and the legacy and current meaning of his father and (our uncle) Edward Said's famous collaboration in creating the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin.

Date of recording: September 1, 2025.

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