Episode 30 - Understanding Hamas and why it matters | Helena Cobban | UNAPOLOGETIC |
Helena Cobban is a journalist who has covered events in the Middle East for more than four decades. Through her reporting, she has interviewed senior leadership across Palestinian movements and political organisations and senior members of Israel’s government.Recently, she co-authored a book with Rami Khouri, an academic and journalist who has also been writing about the Middle East for decades. The book is largely a transcript of a series of conversations that the authors had with five experts who have a deep knowledge of who Hamas is, what it stands for, how it operates and what it is trying to achieve.We sat down with Helena Cobban in this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to speak about who Hamas is, what it wants and why understanding it matters. This episode was filmed on March 12, 2025UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim00:00 Intro02:15 About the book07:15 Laws that make it difficult to speak about Hamas12:30 The genesis of Hamas20:00 Misconceptions around Hamas29:50 Introspection on their own actions34:00 Hamas beyond being a liberation movement41:00 Helena's journey covering the conflict51:00 Helena’s learnings from compiling the book56:30 How global power shifts change narratives01:04:30 Does Hamas introspect?01:12:30 What will happen to Gaza
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Episode 29 - Inside the nuts and bolts of the BBC’s “Orwellian” coverage of Gaza | Karishma Patel | UNAPOLOGETIC
“We have not even scratched the surface of the crimes Israel has truly committed”Former BBC journalist Karishma Patel left the BBC because of what she perceived as its editorial “double-standards” while reporting on Israel's military assault on Gaza.In this episode of Unapologetic, she takes us into the newsroom of the BBC and show’s us just how the BBC built an “Orwellian” atmosphere around coverage of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq CarimChapters01:01 Intro01:15 Welcome to unapologetic01:36 BBC an 'Orwellian' space03:20 Confronting management at the BBC08:05 Her role at the BBC09:47 Are BBC journalists ignoring or dismissing the evidence against Israel14:14 BBC coverage post October 202318:02 confrontational organising in the BBC19:41 journalists self censoring themselves25:19 her own self censoring30:56 embarrassment of the BBC's coverage36:45 the term 'Genocide'40:34 the bias of the BBC continuing until this day44:19 the BBC relying on 'authority sources'47:55 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel54:16 her aspirations when joining the BBC59:54 what she's learned the last 16 months01:03:18 Miss universe great britain01:04:46 how will history judge the BBC coverage / where will the BBC be in a decade01:10:28 outro
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Episode 28 - My life, covering Israeli war crimes for decades | Gideon Levy | UNAPOLOGETIC
In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with Gideon Levy, one of Israel’s most outspoken and controversial journalists. A longtime Haaretz journalist and columnist, Levy has spent decades documenting the occupation and challenging dominant Israeli narratives. We discuss Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, Netanyahu’s political calculations, and how Israeli society has responded. We also explore how the media and culture has eroded Israeli Israel’s, the future of Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian leadership, and what a just resolution to the conflict might look like.Finally, Levy reflects on his own political transformation and what it has cost him to tell the truth in his society.UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim
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Episode 27: This is why Israel as an ethno-nationalist state, won’t last beyond the 2030s | Iyad el-Baghdadi | UNAPOLOGETIC (Full)
Author, thinker and activist Iyad el-Baghdadi joins us on this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to break down the impact of Israel’s war in Gaza and its wider consequences for the region.We explore Baghdadi’s hypothesis on whether Israel can survive as a Jewish supremacist state beyond the 2030s and whether a Palestinian state is still viable. We also discuss what the Arab response to Trump’s Gaza proposal reveals about regional politics. How has Israel’s genocide reshaped alliances, including Saudi-Iran relations, Egypt’s role and the UAE’s stance? What kind of normalisation is possible now, and how does it differ from the pre-Gaza war landscape?Baghdadi also reflects on his own exile from the UAE, the fragility of Arab regimes, and Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for Saudi Arabia. Is the crown prince building a new regional order, and what is the opportunity cost of his ambition?Baghdadi has also co-authored of The Middle East Crisis Factory and is the founder of the Kawaakibi FoundationUNAPOLOGETIC is Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim
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Episode 26: How has Israel's war in Gaza weakened Sisi's rule? | Hossam el-Hamalawy | UNAPOLOGETIC
Egyptian activist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy joins us on this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC to speak about how Egypt has changed under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and how Israel’s war and genocide in Gaza has affected his rule.In this extended interview el-Hamalawy recalls the context of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak’s rule, why Mohamed Morsi lost power and Sisi’s coup. We explore how suppression and economic mismanagement under Sisi have weakened the Egyptian state. When Israel’s war on Gaza broke out, an injection of loans into Egypt kept the economy afloat, but 16 months later that now means Egypt’s national debt is much higher. That, coupled with uneasiness over what may still happen to the people in Gaza and Sisi’s conduct during the war and his 11-year suppression of his people, has left him vulnerableUNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim
UNAPOLOGETIC is a show that unapologetically looks at the life, times and views of some unapologetic and not so unapologetic humans. Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim
South Africa