Syed Bilal Raza Rizviis a director of an after-school program for very underprivileged youth in the Bronx. But he's also a Palestine-sympathizer and activist. Join us as he talks about his experience taking part in Quds Day rallies in Central Bank and much more.

EP50 - Bilal Raza Rizvi on Quds Day in Central Park, NYC & more

"Every call could be the last call with my family," says Shahd Abusalama as she describes the horror unfolding in the Gaza Strip. Shad is a Palestinian writer, activist, artist and '"survivor".
Join us as she recount the shocking tale of the decades of aggression against Palestinians.

EP51 - Shahd Abusalama on Gaza's humanitarian tragedy

Stanley Cohen is a self-designated self-loathing Jew.  The US-based attorney and human rights activist has done extensive work in the Middle East and Africa mostly on issues of resistance and struggle against colonialism and other forms of occupation. 
Join us as he talks about the recent flare up of violence directed at Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and much more.

EP52 - Stanley Cohen on Palestinian resistance & more

"I want to go back home to get my shoes 'cuz I don't want to die barefoot," cried the little boy from Gaza. 

Refaat Alareer is a storyteller from Gaza. He has used the power of story telling to spread the message of Palestinian resistance across the world. But as a father, he has also used these stories to convince his children that all these wars and deaths are nothing but merely a game.

EP53 - Refaat Alareer on untold stories from Gaza & more

"Even I was scared," says Yousef Hammash, veteran field reporter from Gaza. The building where he, his 8-month pregnant wife and his 3 year-old daughter live in was struck twice in a span of two days during the 11-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israel. 
Listen to this episode as he recounts his experience growing up witnessing multiple wars and the impacts they have had on his life.

EP54 - Yousef Hammash on Gaza & the trauma of war

"I'm able to make myself look visible or invisible at certain times because of what I look like and sound like", says James Godfrey who's upbringing in a liberal Jewish community has endowed him with a degree of strategic hybridity. James Godfrey is an academic with great passion for Palestinian rights and human rights in general. Listen to this episode as he shares with us intriguing stories about his years of fighting for equality and justice.

*correction by James:  "The year I refers to about the attack on Gaza and Gaza's Ark is 2014 not 2018. And my reference to 550 people should be 550 children".

EP56 - James Godfrey on Solidarity with Palestine & much more

"The allies of the Haitian people should call on the United States, the United Nations and the Organization of American States to allow for Haitian people to be able to have a democratic process and to exercise sovereignty", says Chris Bernadel member of Black Alliance for Peace.

EP58 -  Christopher Bernadel on Foreign occupation of Haiti & more

Zainab Sajjad Ali is a social scientist from Australia with a knack for painting religious art. She uses factual and historical details to perfect her portraits of Imams and saints to create never-seen before paintings which reflect her life history as a Muslim convert.  Listen to this episode as I talk to Zeinab about her inspirations, methods and much more.

EP60 - Zainab Sajjad Ali on Shia Islamic Art of Painting

Razan Zuayter loves trees, and that's why her organization, APN, has helped plant over two and a half million trees - and counting- across Palestine to make up for the losses to vegetation systematically incurred by Israel. Her NGO is generally concerned by environmental hazards gripping Arab nations, mostly the ones directly caused by conflicts and occupation. Listen to this episode as she talks about her work, ambitions and much more.

EP61 - Razan Zuayter on replanting Palestine

Sourabh Gupta is an Indian guy with a Japanese wife and an American son working as a China relations expert in Washington DC. And he's joined us to talk about Afghanistan! Sourabh also tells us about growing up in Mumbai, regarding Asia as one big nation and much more. 

*Please ignore the weird scary background noise that you might hear while Sourabh is talking. I reckon that's got to do with his microphone picking up surrounding noise and turning it into that!

EP62 - Sourabh Gupta on 'Asia as One', Afghanistan's conundrum & more

Nabila Jaffer is a Research Analyst in Islamabad. Coming from Pakistan's former tribal areas, she has extensive knowledge about the tribal structure of Afghanistan which as she explains plays a crucial role in understanding the current situation and in providing potential solutions.

EP63 - Nabila Jaffer on Afghanistan's tribal structure & more

"Battle tested" is the one phrase that irks Richard Barnard more than any other words used as selling points by Israel's largest arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. And his response has proven pretty costly: The Elbit Systems have lost about 15 million pounds and seen their UK plants shut down for over a hundred days. Watch as Richard talks to me about his aspirations and hopes.

EP59 - Richard Barnard talks Shut Elbit Down movement

Lindsay Koshgarian is co-author of the groundbreaking report “State of Insecurity: The Cost of Militarization Since 9/11” which details the cost of U.S. foreign and domestic militarization. The Program Director of the National Priorities Project tells us in this new edition of PressCast that the U.S. could fully decarbonize the electric grid and create 5 million jobs with only a fraction of the money spent on militarization since 9/11.

EP64 - Lindsay Koshgarian on Cost of Militarization Since 9/11

Abbas Muntaqim is a newly converted Muslim. He was so moved by the heroic acts of Abbas ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala that he instantly chose his name for himself after declaring Shahada. Abbas helps run a charity that gives out to the homeless community in Oakland, California through various programs and means. He also co-hosts Hella Black podcasts which gives political education to the community. Abbas has joined this edition of PressCast to talk about 'decolonization', 'Afrikan-amerikan' empowerment and much more.

EP65 - Abbas Muntaqim on ameriKKKa's colonial history

Critical medical anthropologist Adrienne Pine has taught and written extensively on issues relating to the Central America and immigration throughout her career as a pragmatic academic and activist. She's joined this episode of PressCast to talk to us about the currents political situation in Honduras, decades of U.S. colonial policies, and the Haitian asylum seekers.

EP66 - Adrienne Pine on Modern History of Honduras & U.S. Colonialism

"What we are doing now is moving from the clash of civilizations to a racial war between white people and people of the yellow color who are the major threat", says Professor emeritus Beau Grosscup as he breaks down the mentality of the U.S. foreign policy toward China. 

Professor Grosscup also talks about his books, his interaction with anti-vaxxers, his trip to Iran and much more.

EP67 - Beau Grosscup on the revival of the "Yellow Peril"

Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East Peace Plan in late January to become the latest American President that attempts to resolve the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

And then like his other narcissistic remarks, Trump hailed it as "the deal of the century".

But is his "awesome" new plan any different from the many previous proposals put forth by his predecessors?

To find out, listen to this week's episode. And if you like it, please share it!

EP01 - Deal of the century

The novel coronavirus is still spreading rapidly across the globe and the African continent has not been an exception. In fact, given the circumstances, the outlook for Africa is grim. As of early April, more than half of Africa's 54 countries have imposed lockdowns, curfews, travel bans or other measures in a bid to prevent local transmission of the virus. But the trade-off here is obvious. The measures could soon lead to an economic collapse unless financial assistance is provided to the millions of people out of work.

EP04 - Africa's COVID-19

India like many other countries around the globe is busy battling the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The world's second most populated nation on earth appears to be handling the situation pretty well, or at least this is what the country is trying to project. The critics of the Modi government have cast doubt on the official numbers being announced, accusing officials of downplaying the seriousness of the situation.

EP05 - COVID-19 & India

When it comes to colonialism, the African continent and its people have historically been the most likely victims. One of the most notorious colonialist to date, was France. Although French rule in Africa formally ended by 1962, the ties it forged continue to shape relations between France and its former colonial territories throughout the continent. Are we witnessing a new form of French colonialism rule in Africa?

EP16 - France's colonial crimes in Africa

The majority of Lebanese people are blaming the political elite and their corruption and mismanagement for the disastrous explosion of August 4th.

Since only hours after the blast, some politicians in Lebanon have been accusing Hezbollah of having in a role in all this.

On this special on Beirut's blast we will discuss whether Hezbollah was really innocent or guilty? and that How the international community should respond to Lebanon's economic crisis and the fallout of the explosion.

EP21 - Beirut blast: Myths & facts

Emmanuel Macron returned to Paris after a three-day journey to Beirut and Baghdad during which he played the role of a modern-day Lawrence of Arabia, promising sovereignty to the long-suffering citizens of Lebanon and Iraq.

But can he do it alone? Better yet, how does he plan to do it?

To discuss this issue with us from Beirut is Mohamad Kleit, journalist and photographer.

EP25 - France's neocolonialism in Lebanon

The U.S. State Department and Treasury has recently released 39 targets for sanctions, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma.



U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the bans “the beginning of what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue.”



But critics have denounced the latest round of American coercive economic measures against the Arab country, saying the sanctions violate international law and humanitarian principles.

EP28 - U.S. "economic terrorism" on Syria

Margaret Kimberley New York-based activist for peace and justice issues joins Daniel Shaw university lecturer also in New York to answer questions like whether the presidency of Joe Biden could affect Washington's macro political policies.

EP43 - Biden replaces Trump. But now what?

British politician Jonathan Harold Fryer and American journalist Don Debar have joined us on another episode of PressCast to talk about anti-government protests across Russia which were called by recently-jailed Putin's outspoken critic Alexei Navalny. Is the west really encouraging the protests to weaken Putin's position?

EP44 - Putin V.S. Navalny: is 'the West' fanning the flames?

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