“Every inch of that precious city is Rome and Paris and New York put together, and these barbaric savages go, ‘Oh Isfahan, we just bombed Isfahan’; they don’t even know where Isfahan is.”

Hamid Dabashi, is an American and Iranian professor at Columbia University.

He joined UNAPOLGETIC on this episode to give a scathing critique of US and Israeli adventurism and aggression in Iran and the region. Dabashi rebukes both states for having “absolutely no moral legitimacy” to export either freedom or democracy, especially while Israel continues to carry out a “genocide” in Gaza and the US under Trump cracks down on its own democratic institutions.

The episode also delves into Iran's contemporary history, looking at how the CIA orchestrated coup of Iran’s elected leader allowed the Pahlavi dynasty to reestablish “autocratic” rule in Iran, which led to a popular uprising that paved the way for Ayatollah Khomeini to opportunistically establish Iran’s theocracy that has presided over Iran with a “totalitarian” fist, ever since.

UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:22 - Israel-US no legitimacy on nuclear bombs

07:08 - Iran belongs to Iranian people

12:33 - US-Israel actions will be remembered

17:06 - The empire’s collapse

21:40 - West’s hypocrisy on Iran

26:55 - Israel’s war on Iran

33:18 - West's history with Iran

38:11 - The 1953 CIA coup

44:20 - Pahlavi and autocracy

49:35 - Khomeini seizes opportunity

55:58 - Iran’s totalitarian theocracy

1:02:41 - Trump and democratic decline

1:10:25 - Freedom as imperial excuse

1:17:04 - Moral clarity from the South

1:24:45 - Final reflections

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges joins us on UNAPOLOGETIC for a conversation on what the consequences could be if Israel draws the USA into a full-blown war with Iran.

Hedges reflects on his years reporting from war zones, the cynical nihilism driving Netanyahu’s assault, and how Israel’s genocide in Gaza has become a “spectacle” that has irreparably broken trust between North and South.

Are Israel’s and the Pentagon’s stated shifting priorities real, or a façade to continue diminishing societal infrastructure in the region? Will the complicity of Arab states in the genocide lead to blowback? Is regime change the goal, or is this just an excuse?

UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

“It’s left me with a deep and simmering anger against the western powers who imposed this nightmare on us.”

Palestinian physician, author and Nakba survivor Ghada Karmi joins UNAPOLOGETIC to speak about how her life has been shaped by exile and how, as she tried to find a new home in the UK, she was confronted by experiences that enhanced her desire to reconnect with her Palestinian identity and eventually made her want to embrace a life where she lived in service of liberating Palestinians from Zionist occupation.

She also reflects on the current unfolding genocide in Gaza, what she calls Arab and western complicity and how this event will traumatise future generations of Palestinians

Chapters

0:00 Intro and context setup
2:00 Two Nakbas, 77 years apart
4:32 Predicting 7 October’s logic
8:09 Fleeing Jerusalem in 1948
14:46 Remembering home, dog, Fatima
17:29 Life as a refugee child
21:28 1967 war changed everything
27:19 Reclaiming identity through activism
29:16 Visiting her old home
34:04 Learning the deeper history
43:58 Zionism’s effect on region
44:54 Arab states and complicity
55:57 The one-state vision today
1:09:00 Final reflections

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, joins UNAPOLOGETIC for a wide-ranging conversation about who has been complicit for the genocide in Gaza, the global shift in rhetoric, and what it takes to organise 20 months of continous mass protest across the UK.

He unpacks the gap between what Western governments say and what they do - from condemning Israeli actions as “indefensible” while continuing to arm them, to criminalising peaceful protesters demanding justice. Jamal also reflects on his arrest and upcoming trial, the police’s systematic efforts to repress the movement, and why those tactics have failed to break the solidarity movement.

In deeply personal moments, Jamal shares the story of his Palestinian father, his own political awakening, and what it has meant to sustain this movement through exhaustion, grief and hope.

We ask: What does the future look like for Gaza? For Palestinian liberation? And for a world that has tolerated so much horror in real time?

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

03:12 Shifts in media and government

10:01 Words mean nothing without action

15:30 Divestment wins and public pressure

21:12 The arrest: what happened

27:03 How police target protests

32:47 BBC march and police trap

38:55 Criminalised for peaceful protest

44:11 Holding a movement together

49:35 Building a resistance community

54:20 Ben’s Palestinian family story

1:00:07 Organising through trauma and grief

1:05:05 Family, kids and solidarity

1:10:10 What happens to Gaza now

1:14:58 Will Palestinians be erased?

1:20:10 Movement grows through genocide

1:26:30 What keeps Ben going

1:32:10 Final reflections

What were the Crusades really about - and why do they still matter today?

In this deep-dive episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, historian and political scientist Professor Roy Casagranda comes back to the show to unpack the history, legacy and weaponisation of the Crusades.

We begin by exploring why Jerusalem holds such profound spiritual and political importance to Judaism, Christianity and Islam - and how that shared reverence resulted in periods where the city was pluralistic and multicultural, and other periods where it was subject to conquest, ethnic cleansing, colonisation and occupation.

From the First Crusade and the fall of Jerusalem, to the leadership of Salahuddin, to the devastation of the Mongol invasions, Roy walks us through a thousand-year arc of conflict, ideology and empire. But this isn’t just about the past.

We examine how the logic of the Crusades impacts our current political landscape and geopolitics. Was the partition of the Middle East by colonial powers after World War I an extension of the Crusades? What about the War on Terror, drone strikes and ongoing Western interventions in the Muslim world?

UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim.

Chapters

0:00 Intro collage

3:00 Why Jerusalem matters

7:40 Jewish roots and the Temple

12:20 Rise of Christianity

17:00 Islam and early rule

21:40 Muslim rule of Jerusalem

26:20 What triggered the Crusades

31:00 The call to crusade (1095)

35:40 Norman warriors and motives

40:20 The first massacres

45:00 Taking Jerusalem (1099)

49:40 Crusader brutality revealed

54:20 Crusader states form

59:00 Muslim response builds

1:03:40 Zengi, Nur ad-Din and resistance

1:08:20 Rise of Salahuddin

1:13:00 Egypt campaigns begin

1:17:40 Salahuddin becomes wazir

1:22:20 The Fatimids fall

1:27:00 Power struggles with Nur ad-Din

1:31:40 Salahuddin unifies Syria

1:36:20 The peace treaty

1:41:00 Breaking the peace

1:45:40 Battle of Hattin

1:50:20 Retaking Jerusalem

1:55:00 The Third Crusade begins

1:59:40 Legacy of the Crusades

2:04:20 The fifth Crusade?

2:09:00 Zionism as settler project

2:13:40 Clash of civilizations

2:18:20 Anti-Arab hatred in the West

2:23:00 Demographic shifts and Gen Z

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Chinese political analyst Victor Gao joins UNAPOLOGETIC for a wide-ranging and often conflictual discussion about China's global image, western condescension towards it, human rights and democracy,

Gao, a former translator for Deng Xiaoping and a vocal defender of the Chinese state, argues that China is a force for stability, free trade, and development - and rejects western narratives around repression in places like Xinjiang and Tibet.

He is challenged on China's human rights record, especially concerning the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The clash exposes fundamental differences in how each views evidence, legitimacy, and sovereignty.

Also discussed:
- How does representation and governance work in China?
- Why is China rising while liberal democracies fragment?
- Can China be trusted as a global leader?

UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

This episode was filmed on 14 May 2025.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

04:15 Why the West misunderstands China

08:30 China’s view on democracy and modernisation

12:10 The century of humiliation

16:00 Is criticism of China racist?

19:50 Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang: the one China argument

24:30 Pushing back on human rights violations

29:00 “You are my enemy”: dissent and denial

33:45 China’s stance on Palestine and Gaza

38:00 Democracy in China: consensual vs confrontational

44:00 Can China handle more free speech?

50:30 Xi Jinping’s legacy and global role

55:00 Winning global trust

“A mixture of stupidity and nastiness… The liberal establishment is primarily responsible for the genocide of the Palestinians.”

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Yanis Varoufakis unleashes a fierce critique of Western liberalism, and tells us why he feels that the global system is in crisis.

This episode explores the facade of Western moral superiority, the role of empire past and present, how liberal hypocrisy has given rise to fascism, the climate crisis, Gaza and why Varoufakis places his hope in the Global South.

UNAPOLOGETIC is Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:01 Western civilisation and its hypocrisy
04:57 Gaza, genocide and colonial legacies
10:59 2008: The collapse of capitalism
17:28 Technofeudalism and the rise of cloud capital
20:06 Trump’s tariffs and the new Nixon shock
25:18 Liberal complicity in Gaza
30:55 Europe’s civil liberties crackdown
34:59 Palestine and the loss of moral resistance
39:19 Why protesters lack hope in the West
44:56 China vs. Russia: A critical distinction
50:02 China’s authoritarianism vs. local democracy
54:42 Climate collapse and cloud capital
58:46 Organising after collapse: What’s the alternative?
01:01:51 "Another Now": Varoufakis' vision for change

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with Sudan’s ambassador to the UK, Babiker al-Siddig Mohamed al-Amin, about the Sudanese government's case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice. The conversation explores Sudan’s accusations of genocide, the origins of the RSF, alleged atrocities, foreign interference and the path forward for a democratic Sudan.

We also address difficult questions about the Sudanese Armed Forces, the role of the international community and the geopolitical interests driving the conflict.
UNAPOLOGETIC is Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

00:00 Intro
00:44 Opening remarks and episode overview
01:28 Sudan's case against the UAE
04:55 Evidence linking UAE to RSF
06:09 Origins of Sudan conflict and army-RSF tensions
09:02 The RSF: History and origins
10:53 UAE's motives: Gold, ports, and proxy power
13:00 Sudan’s gold industry and UAE smuggling
16:36 Red Sea ports and strategic interest
17:30 Atrocities committed by RSF
22:10 Accusations against Sudanese Armed Forces
28:57 Towards elections: Transition plans
32:04 International mediation and critique of the narrative
36:16 Jeddah Declaration and failed ceasefire
40:58 Tribalism and redrawing Sudan’s borders
42:48 Regional interests and external destabilisation
43:31 Egypt’s role and historical ties
45:22 Final message to Sudanese people and the world
50:02 Outro and thanks