We’re Not Kidding is a show where funny people talk about serious things, hosted by Zeteo founder and CEO Mehdi Hasan and regularly featuring internationally ac...
‘ICE is a Terrorist Agency’ - Cynthia Nixon on Deportation Raids, Gaza Attacks, and Trump’s War on Higher Education
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comOn this week’s ‘We’re Not Kidding’, Mehdi is joined by award-winning actor, activist, and Zeteo contributor Cynthia Nixon for an impassioned conversation about rising fascism under Donald Trump and the lawlessness of ICE, which Cynthia calls a “terrorist agency.” Mehdi and Cynthia unpack Trump’s assault on US higher education, the ‘disappearings’ of international student activists, and the lack of opposition from the Democratic Party.Finally, the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor is underway and Cynthia has some strong opinions about two of the candidates. First, there’s former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Cynthia’s former opponent from the 2018 gubernatorial race) who’s currently polling first even though he resigned from office in disgrace amidst multiple scandals. Then, there’s New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani who’s running a progressive and grassroots campaign and has not had to resign from office in disgrace due to multiple scandals. Listen now to find out which candidate Cynthia prefers!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/@mehdirhasanCREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Cynthia NixonExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
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42:20
United States of ‘Hypocrisy’ – Bassem and Mehdi on College Students, Free Speech, and Gaza
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIt’s been almost two months since Mehdi and Bassem co-hosted ‘We’re Not Kidding’ together and A LOT has happened since then. As two naturalized US citizens, Mehdi and Bassem co-host again, starting off the conversation discussing the Trump administration’s arrests of international residents in the US who dare to criticize Israel. The two also discuss Israel breaking the ceasefire deal (Bassem compares Israel to ex you keep expecting better from) and its renewed attacks on Gaza, which have killed over 700 Palestinians in just three days with full political support from the Trump administration. Bassem also points out the inherent hypocrisy of US foreign policy throughout modern history – and how they’re each coping with it (or not). SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribeWATCH ‘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
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40:30
‘Ethno-Nationalist, Hard-Right Whackjobs’ - Nish Kumar on Fascism, Starmer, and Being Both Brown and English
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comThey first bonded over their shared love of Nando’s — now Mehdi and UK comedian Nish Kumar reunite to talk about their shared contempt for the Trump administration. The two sat down in Washington DC to discuss UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous visits to the White House and the childish behavior of US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.Mehdi and Nish also weigh in on the current debate raging in the UK over who gets to claim ‘English’ identity. Is Rishi Sunak English? Is ‘English’ an ethnic identity? Is this just racism disguised as legitimate debate? The two also dig into the nature of ‘American’ identity and Donald Trump’s attempts to revoke birthright citizenship in the US. 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 NISH:Twitter: https://x.com/MrNishKumarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrnishkumar/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrnishkumarCREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Nish KumarExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
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44:58
Politics, Sport, and Free Speech Hypocrisy, with Jemele Hill
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comLive from New York — it’s ‘We’re Not Kidding’! This past week, Mehdi traveled to the ‘On Air Fest’ in Brooklyn for a very special LIVE taping of ‘WNK’ with award-winning sports journalist and broadcaster Jemele Hill. You may remember Jemele from the first Trump administration, when political ‘nepo baby’ and then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for ESPN to fire Jemele for calling Donald Trump a white supremacist. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mehdi and Jemele discuss Trump and Elon Musk’s recent attacks on the press and the dangerous behavior of mainstream journalists who value access over solidarity. They also dig into the crucial intersection of sports and politics, including Trump’s historic Super Bowl appearance, the capitulation of (some) professional sports leagues, the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics, and whether the NFL is responsible for Trump running for president. “To be honest, I sort of blame the NFL because we have to deal with Trump in this capacity,” Jemele says. Intriguing, right? 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 JEMELE:Twitter: https://x.com/jemelehillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemelehill/‘Spolitics’ with Jemele Hill: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-spolitics-222755070/CREDITS:Hosted by: Mehdi HasanGuest Host: Jemele HillExecutive Producer: Kiran AlviSenior Producer and Editor: Frank CappelloMusic: Andy ClausenDesign: Alicia TatoneMix Engineer: Valentino RiveraTitle Animation: Ehsaan MesghaliSpecial thanks: Stephen Wentzell
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47:48
Is Trump 'Daddy'? – with Bassem Youssef
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comMehdi is once again joined by ‘We’re Not Kidding’ powerhouse Bassem Youssef for a raw and honest conversation about the state of the world. To steal a phrase from MAGA Republicans speaking about Donald Trump — “Daddy is home.” Mehdi and Bassem unpack the first few weeks of Trump’s second term, including the escalating violence in the West Bank occurring during the “fake” Gaza ceasefire. The two also debate whether the US empire is beginning to collapse, if organized resistance movements are at all effective, and if Trump and the Republicans are more honest than Joe Biden and the Democrats. “You prefer to deal with the wolf rather than the wolf in sheep's clothing,” Mehdi asks Bassem, who also shares his opinion on Elon Musk’s controversial hand gesture and his uniquely noxious flavor of South African racism.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-friendsSNAG ZETEO’S BRAND NEW MERCH:https://shop.zeteo.com/FIND 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
We’re Not Kidding is a show where funny people talk about serious things, hosted by Zeteo founder and CEO Mehdi Hasan and regularly featuring internationally acclaimed comedian Bassem Youssef. Each episode, Mehdi is joined by a renowned guest host for a sometimes lighthearted, sometimes vulnerable conversation about topics they can't discuss anywhere else. zeteo.com
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