We’re Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends

Hasan Minhaj and Mehdi Hasan don’t just share a common brown name… actually, that may be all they have in common. One loves to debate, the other avoids it like the plague. One is obsessed (sorry, Mehdi) with Twitter, the other avoids it like the plague. And one knew months ago that Trump was going to win, and with record levels of Black and Brown support.They also talked about Joe Rogan and diagnosing what’s the matter with men these days, pseudo-intellectualism, Hasan’s latest Netflix special - including the perplexities and paradoxes of “Beigistan”, and yes, the whole ‘Daily Show’ thing with Hasan and the New Yorker. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH, LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO ‘WE’RE NOT KIDDING’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friendsFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasanFIND HASAN:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HasanMinhajInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hasanminhaj/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hasanminhajCREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Hasan MinhajExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comFollowing the (depressing) results of the 2024 US presidential election, Mehdi is joined by comedians Amanda Seales and Francesca Fiorentini for a (funny) post-post-mortem on Democrats’ historic shellacking. They discuss the Harris campaign’s many mistakes, from cozying up to Republican neocons, to abandoning Bernie Sanders-style populism, to inexplicably hiding their only cool person, Tim Walz.“Let's stop taking these lessons from Republicans about what the Democrats did wrong,” an incensed Francesca tells Mehdi. “You're the ones who walked us in the lion's den of Trumpism in the first place!”The three also explore how Trump was able to increase his support with Black, Latino, and Muslim voters, Joe Rogan’s appeal to “fragile men” on the internet, whether Hawk Tuah girl should interview Noam Chomsky, and they list out their greatest fears of a second Trump presidency, such as violent vigilantism and RFK Jr. being in charge of milk. Yeah, MILK.SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH, LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO ‘WE’RE NOT KIDDING’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friendsFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasanFIND AMANDA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaseales/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAmandaSeales/featuredWebsite: https://www.amandaseales.com/FIND FRANCESCA:Twitter: https://x.com/franifioInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/franifio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@franifioCREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Hosts: Amanda Seales & Francesca FiorentiniExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali

It’s less than a week until the 2024 US presidential election and who better to discuss the government with than ‘Parks and Rec’ star and comedian Nick Offerman. The last time Mehdi spoke with Nick about current events was back in May 2021, right before Nick was to testify before Congress about the Covid-19 vaccine. More recently, Nick released a couple of comedic songs to encourage Americans to vote for Kamala Harris and defeat Donald Trump (hopefully) forever. Mehdi and Nick rant about the Donald Trump x Elon Musk teamup and the influence of corporate money on our media and politics. "The corporate interests that generally own the mainstream media so that no matter what messaging you get, it's never the fully straight dope,” Nick tells Mehdi. “You can count the politicians in Congress who aren't taking corporate money on two fingers.”Mehdi asks Nick about his recent role playing the president of the United States in Alex Garland’s hit film ‘Civil War’ and what Americans can learn from the cautionary tale about the waning days of a civil war fought on US soil. When discussing Trump, Nick humorously describes in graphic detail what he imagines the former president does on his golden toilet. They finish the conversation discussing the strengths and flaws of the Harris campaign, including her stance on Gaza and US arms sales to Israel. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH, LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO ‘WE’RE NOT KIDDING’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friendsFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasanFIND NICK:Twitter: https://x.com/Nick_OffermanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickofferman/CREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Nick OffermanExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

If you’ve been tuning into Zeteo’s flagship podcast, ‘We’re Not Kidding’ for the last six months, you’re going to find this one is a very special episode. Bassem Youssef returns to WNK for an intimate and heartfelt conversation – one unlike you’ve ever seen on this show. It’s also a version of Bassem none of us, including Mehdi, have ever seen before. “I’m from a very, very, very deep point of desperation,” he tells Mehdi backstage at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre in downtown Toronto. The two met up for this special recording right before Bassem went live onstage for one of the last shows of his sellout ‘Middle Beast Tour.’ It’s been a few months since Mehdi and Bassem last co-hosted WNK, and with so much that’s happened since then and the US elections just on the horizon, they had a lot to discuss: from trying to be hopeful versus feeling helplessness, to witnessing the impunity of Israel reach new heights, to whether the pro-Israel side can be defeated in the media or in Congress. If you’re looking for a listen that will resonate, that will make you feel seen, after a very long and hard-to-watch year, tune in now.SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH, LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO ‘WE’RE NOT KIDDING’ ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friendsFIND ZETEO:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_newsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonewsFIND MEHDI:Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasanTwitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasanTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasanFIND BASSEM:Twitter: https://x.com/ByoussefInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bassem/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bassem?lang=enCREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Bassem YoussefExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe