cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45601600
This episode is sponsored by Ellydee. To sign up, go to ellydee.ai/mehdi
NOTE: This episode was recorded on April 3, 2026.
It’s been six months (!) since Bassem Youssef joined Mehdi for an episode of ‘We’re Not Kidding’, and since then Israel has started two new wars, right-wing podcasters have turned on Donald Trump over his war with Iran, and centrist Democrats have mounted a cancellation campaign against leftist streamer Hasan Piker. But before they get to any of that, they dig into Epstein and Mehdi’s viral interview with the so-called “Professor Jiang,” the two get into a friendly argument over which terms and ideas qualify as religious tropes and how the weaponization of antisemitism by Zionists has diluted the meaning of the word.
The two also debate whether right-wingers like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson can be trusted allies for calling out Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Donald Trump’s war with Iran, or if they’re just opportunists who see the writing on the wall for the MAGA movement. “Why don’t you like Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson?” Bassem asks Mehdi, who explains his position on the two.
The two also discuss: Zionists cracking down on free speech and civil liberties. Why “Pax Judaica” is an antisemitic trope and “Greater Israel” is not. US citizen Moshe Katz who recently died in Lebanon fighting for the Israeli military. Why Bill Maher is… just the worst.
It is all an act for people like Carlson and Owens. Carlson is much better at disguising his rhetoric in classical liberalism with a layer of “America first”. And Carlson might not be in it for the money as much as Owens is - he genuinely seems to like to create controversies for the sake of watching the world burn - but they are both hacks whose political opinions are dictated by what will get them the most clicks, the largest audience, the most fame, etc. They’re both trying to position themselves for a post-Trump world.