“I don’t believe this is about Israel’s security.”

What’s it like to be a medic inside Gaza’s shattered healthcare system?

British plastic surgeon Dr Victoria Rose joins us on Real Talk to share her first-hand account of the harrowing scenes she witnessed in Gaza.

She opens up about why she believes Israel is “definitely” targeting medics, how this has become a “war on children”, and her experience operating on Palestinian patients at Gaza’s hospitals.

Rose worked in Gaza twice in 2024 - at the European Gaza Hospital in March and the Nasser Hospital in August - and spoke with us ahead of her planned return to the besieged enclave in February 2025.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
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“If you’re an Arab, specifically a Palestinian journalist…you are political. Your identity is political.”

We recently sat down with award-winning journalist and filmmaker Hind Hassan for a reflective conversation that delves into Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Russia-Ukraine.

We also discussed Western media’s coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, with Hind reflecting on the challenges faced by many journalists in the field, including those of Arab heritage: “Many of us looked at our places in the industry.”

The British-Iraqi journalist also shared insights from some of her acclaimed work in the field, which included reporting from Gaza in 2021, the last English-language interview with Yahya Sinwar (the former Hamas leader who was killed in 2024), as well as her reports on Sheikh Jarrah, the Russia-Ukraine war and an upcoming MEE documentary on Lebanon.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

Nearly 12 years after her father was arrested in 2013, and days after Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Wafa Mustafa is now going back to Syria driven by a determination to find him.

Wafa has not returned to her home country since escaping over a decade ago, shortly after her father, Ali, was forcibly disappeared by Bashar al-Assad’s government forces during the Syrian uprising.

Speaking just before embarking on her journey back to Syria, Wafa joined us for a personal conversation, reflecting on the fall of Assad, her life in Germany and her relentless fight to find her father.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

How did Hafez al-Assad rise from an army officer to establish a dynasty that brutally ruled Syria for 54 years?

From seizing power in 1970 to the Hama massacre, and Bashar inheriting power, Professor Joshua Landis joined us for an in-depth conversation on the Assad family’s rise to power.

Landis, chair and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, has spent nearly 15 years living in the Middle East, including Syria, up until the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. He’s also the author of a forthcoming book on Syria.

Today on Real Talk, we take a look at Syria’s history under Hafez al-Assad and unpack how Bashar continued his father’s authoritarian rule after his death in 2000.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

“AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobby and they need to be defeated for that reason. But they also represent white supremacy and everything that comes with that.”

US congressman Jamaal Bowman reflects on losing his seat after AIPAC poured millions into his Democratic primary to unseat him, reportedly making it the most expensive House primary race in US history.

The progressive member of ‘The Squad’, who called Israel’s war on Gaza a genocide, spoke to us about his views on Israel-Palestine and the role of the pro-Israel lobby in American politics.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

“I can’t watch a guy plugged up to an IV burned alive.”

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of America’s most celebrated writers. His latest book, The Message, took him to Senegal, South Carolina and Israel-Palestine.

The book has been both praised and slammed for calling out Israeli apartheid. Coates joined us to reflect on the backlash, but also takes his time to offer a deeper perspective on the Gaza genocide, the US elections, and his journey as a writer.

This follows the extensive media coverage the book received following a CBS interview where Coates was accused by programme host Tony Dokoupil of "extremist" views in his writing about Palestinians.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

“The relationship with Israel is in a different league entirely”

In light of Israel’s multi-front war in the region, including Gaza, Lebanon, and the escalation with Iran, how can we understand the US-Israel ‘special relationship’?

And where does the pro-Israel lobby in the US fit inside this framework?

That’s what we’re asking Harvard professor Stephen Walt, who joined us for an extended conversation on Real Talk.

Walt is considered one of the most influential US foreign policy experts. In 2007, he famously co-authored a book with John Mearsheimer titled ‘The Israel Lobby and US foreign policy’ which generated a lot of attention and controversy for challenging what has been a taboo topic in the US for decades.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

“It happens because of years of anti-Muslim, anti-migrant hatred.”

It’s been several months since Humza Yousaf stepped down in May 2024. Now, the Scottish former First Minister, who in 2023 became the first Muslim leader of a western democracy, is sounding the alarm.

In one of the longest interviews he’s given since resigning, Yousaf warns of rising Islamophobia in UK politics, the far right threat, and he delves into his online feud with Elon Musk.

So we sat down in his family home in Dundee, Scotland to talk about it.

Recorded: 17 September 2024

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm