The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan
A weekly podcast focused on long-form interviews on history, pop culture and society affecting the MENA region and diaspora communities. It aims to inform and illuminate the region through a non-newsy lens, exploring the MENA region's past, present and future and its people. Each episode begins with a question and an introduction to an expert who will attempt to answer it.
Episodes
56 episodes
Trump’s intrusive demons and Israel’s ‘enlightened cause’ | Norman Finkelstein
Has Donald Trump peeled back the veil on the toxicity of America?What will his second term mean for Israel, Palestine and the pursuit of justice?This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we welco...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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1:41:22
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Americans are socialised into capitalism, racism and then Zionism | Noura Erakat
What is the link between Zionism, capitalism and the American empire?Fresh off the back of a deeply toxic, all consuming US election - one in which the issue of Palestine and the war in Gaza was largely ignored - we ...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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37:03
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The birth of Israel and the death of Zionism | Ilan Pappé
Can Zionism survive the current war in Gaza?Israeli historian Ilan Pappé believes it can’t. In fact, he argues that the liberation of Palestine is an inevitability.Pappé is the author of 24 b...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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1:16:25
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The untold history of the Israeli Defence Forces | The Big Picture
Before the formation of the Israeli Defence Forces in 1948, there were three underground Zionist militias - The Haganah, the Irgun and the Lehi.They differed in tactics and beliefs, and at times fought with each othe...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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32:10
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Will Kamal Harris lose the election because of the Gaza vote | Abbas Alawieh
Can Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump without ending the war in Gaza?That could be up to a handful of key swing states, including Michigan, home to 150,000 Arab-American voters. This is ...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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1:10:37
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How Elon Musk turned X into a far-right haven | Marc Owen Jones
Does Elon Musk have too much power over how we communicate online? Is he using that power to fuel dangerous far-right conspiracies?This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we’re joined by Marc Owen Jones, social media analyst, auth...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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57:47
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Israel, Iran, Hezbollah and the tightrope of regional war | Trita Parsi
What is the price tag for convincing Iran to back down?The US is desperately trying to keep a lid on the heightened tensions in the Middle East, following Israel’s assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Hanieyeh in Iran...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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1:02:32
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Netanyahu's end game: Why Israel assassinated Hamas chief in Iran | Gideon Levy
Two assassinations. Two capital cities. Less than 24 hours.One struck an apartment in downtown Beirut, killing a woman and two children - targeting a Hezbollah senior commander.Then just hour...
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Season 4
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Episode 17
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35:48
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Why real change for Palestine can't come from the fringes | Naz Shah
Just days out from a historic general election expected to usher in a Labour government for the first time in 14 years - we speak to one of its most vocal and fiery MPs - Naz Shah.Shah has been the MP for Bradford West since 2015 - afte...
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Season 4
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Episode 16
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1:05:27
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Palestine, people power and changing the two party system | Leanne Mohamad
Can a lone 24 year old Palestinian take on the Labour Party?That’s what Leanne Mohamad is determined to do, campaigning as an independent candidate in the safe Labour seat of Ilford North at the upcoming general elec...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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33:57
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After 40 years with Labour, Corbyn is taking them on | Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn was the Labour MP for North Islington for 40 years - his entire political career.But not anymore.Now, he’s campaigning against his former party, trying to convince his lifelong ...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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45:22
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What investigating the Iraq War taught me about Gaza | Les Roberts
In 2004, Les Roberts smuggled himself into Iraq as his own government was in the midst of bombing and occupying the country.His mission was to find out how many civilians had been killed in the devastating US-led inv...
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Season 4
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Episode 13
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49:05
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We can never trust these instruments of power | Norman Finkelstein
We are living through a moment of social and political upheaval - one that has somehow aligned the Houthi rebels in Yemen, South Africa’s greatest legal minds and students across the wealthiest campuses in the world. ...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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1:25:40
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Fiona Lali took down Suella Braverman, now she's going after the government
Fiona Lali wants to bring down the British government, as well as capitalism. The marxist organiser turned independent candidate in the upcoming UK general elections says there’s a link between the powerful protest movemen...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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49:56
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[BONUS] The ICC arrest warrants against Israel and Hamas explained | The Big Picture
Will Benjamin Netanyahu face justice at the Hague?The International Criminal Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders over their actions in Gaza and on 7 October, accusing them both o...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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10:32
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The untold legacy of Winston Churchill and the British Empire | Tariq Ali
Winston Churchill is one of the most biographed figures in modern history, and held up as an orator and wartime strategist that turned the tide against Hitler and Nazi Germany.But how accurate is this image? And is i...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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57:19
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Why young Jewish Americans are turning on Israel | Simone Zimmerman
“I was definitely raised to be a Jewish leader of some kind.”With college campuses all over the US gripped by intense battles around free speech, antisemitism and Palestinian rights - the voices of young Jewish Ameri...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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52:47
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Why are Israel and Iran on the brink of war? | David Hearst
Did Iran fall into Israel’s trap when it attacked on Saturday, or did it outmanoeuvre Netanyahu? Are we on the brink of regional war, or can the US contain the spill?When Israel bombed an Iranian embassy compound in ...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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43:11
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Antisemitism, White Supremacy and the death of liberal Europe | Ghassan Hage
Is Europe ‘nostalgic for a racist past’ when it didn’t have to apologise for its colonialism? In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with renowned Australian anthropologist Ghassan Hage.
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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51:37
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Why Sadiq Khan still believes in Labour under Keir Starmer
In this episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with Sadiq Khan for a wide ranging conversation about Labour’s election hopes, his political regrets and his vision for the future of London.Sadiq Khan wants to make history by w...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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48:47
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Finding my voice and leaving Gaza | Plestia Alaqad
How do you humanise people facing unimaginable odds?That was the task Plestia Alaqad gave herself when she first put on her press vest on October 7. Freshly graduated from journalism school and dreaming of a bright f...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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50:20
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How Israel tests its weapons in Gaza then sells them to the world | Antony Loewenstein
In this episode of The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein to talk about how for decades, Israel used its occupation of Palestinians as a testing ground for new weaponry, which it then packages a...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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1:05:12
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Changing the narrative around Palestine | Randa Abdel Fattah
What does coverage of Gaza tell us about how the West sees the rest of the world?A recent report into mainstream news coverage found Islamophobic and anti-Arab language was widely used in coverage of the events after...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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51:02
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Why the West is wrong about Islam | Peter Oborne
Why are Western societies so fearful of Islam and Muslims?One can answer this question by examining history, particularly that of European colonial powers, and the ways in which they justified their actions in the Gl...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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1:03:11
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The Labour Party has a racism problem | Ali Milani
How deep does racism run within the Labour Party?Since the start of the Gaza war, there's been a growing anger within British Muslim communities at Labour's perceived lack of leadership on the Palestinian issue, and ...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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54:16
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