PODCAST · news
Makdisi Street
by Makdisi Bros.
A podcast co-hosted by Saree Makdisi, Ussama Makdisi, and Karim Makdisi.Follow us on X: @MakdisiStreetFollow us on YouTube: @MakdisiStreet
Episodes
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"The loudest denialists"
The brothers gather to discuss the third anniversary of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the dissonance arising from witnessing genocide on the one hand and seeing stubborn denial by committed Zionists on the other hand, as well as the internal contradictions in Lebanon as the Israeli devastation of...
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Makdisi Street Reviews w/ Akbar Shahid Ahmed
The brothers host a livestream discussion with Akbar Shahid Ahmed on his new book Crossing the Red Line: Biden, his Advisors, and Israel's War in Gaza (2026), published by WW Norton Watch the video edition on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9xcED2AYPw Consider supporting the...
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"The bottom is falling out in the US" w/ Ryan Grim
The brothers welcome Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) of Drop Site News to the show to discuss shifts in the American political landscape, the growing disillusionment with Israel and how AIPAC has become an index of political corruption, the contradiction between donors and electoral base in Democratic…
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Makdisi Street Reviews w/ Fady Joudah
The brothers host the award-winning Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah to discuss his newest work, Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza (2026). Watch the livestream on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnUPf7gMDSs Consider supporting the show for access to the…
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"The UK government was definitely complicit" w/ Chris Doyle
The brothers welcome Chris Doyle, Director of the Council for British-Arab Understanding (CAABU) and leading expert on British policy to the Middle East. We discuss the context behind British complicity in the Gaza genocide under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer and why he thinks the apparent...
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"Uncontained Malice"
The brothers regroup to discuss israel's ongoing campaigns of genocidal destruction in southern Lebanon and Gaza; the regional consequences of the apparent stalemate in the US war on Iran; continuing shifts in Western public attitudes toward the question of Palestine and the gap between public or...
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"They've lost all the arguments"
Two of the three brothers reflect on summer travels and discuss Ussama's recent visit to Australia, the extraordinary repression across the Western world intended to shield Israel from criticism or even analysis, the provenance of the so-called IHRA misdefinition of "antisemitism," and the...
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"Surrender is not an option"
The brothers reunite in a special, in-person episode at their parents' mountain house in Dhour Choueir, Lebanon, to discuss their recent trip to southern Lebanon, what they saw on the ground, the wider regional implications, and where U.S. politics stands today. Produced by Layla Makdisi Watch…
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"Palestinians are wholly excluded from the room" w/ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The brothers welcome journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates back to the show to discuss Kamala Harris's ill-fated 2024 presidential campaign and the debacle of the Democratic Convention's exclusion of Palestinian-American voices (about which he's written recently for Vanity Fair), the betrayal of...
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Patron-only livestream: Latest on Iran, Lebanon and US policy
**Please join our Patreon for access to our next livestream and to submit your questions/comments** Come and join the brothers for another patron-only livestream discussion of the situation in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza. We look forward to your questions and comments! Watch the video edition on our...
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"Their appetite grows with every war" w/ Aslı Ü. Bâli
The brothers welcome back Aslı Ü. Bâli, Professor of Law at Yale Law School, for an intense and wide-ranging discussion of the state of the Middle East in the aftermath of the failed US-Israeli war on Iran. They discuss the potential geopolitical outcomes the apparent US strategic defeat, examine...
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"FIFA is a racket" w/ Abdullah Al-Arian
With the 2026 World Cup having started in the USA, the brothers welcome Abdullah Al-Arian, Chair of History at Georgetown University Qatar and editor of Football in the Middle East: State, Society, and the Beautiful Game. We talk about how football shapes Arab identity, including the role of...
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Makdisi Street Reviews w/ Eyal Weizman
In anticipation of the publication of Eyal Weizman's new book, Ungrounding: The Architecture of Genocide, which will be released in the US next month, the brothers hosted a livestream with Eyal to which our Patreon supporters had access, including the opportunity to ask questions of Eyal either…
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"We should not become our own worst enemy"
The brothers discuss the latest developments in the regional war, with a special focus on Lebanon and the nature of Israeli bombardment of civilian homes, which is tied to the destruction of homes on different scales across historical Palestine since 1948. The brothers also discuss co-existence…
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"Every war ends at the negotiating table" w/ Trita Parsi
The brothers welcome Trita Parsi back to the show to discuss the status of US-Iran negotiations, the pressures of the ongoing stalemate on both sides, the prospects of an agreement given Israel's continued disruption in Lebanon and the vagaries of Trump's egotism, whether Iran can coerce a stop…
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"Only proper deterrence works"
The brothers get together for a conversation about the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon, the meaning of deterrence, the role of Iran in Lebanon, the question of Lebanon's sovereignty, and the divisions within Lebanon about how best to defend the country and its people. Watch the video edition on…
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"No peace and prosperity with apartheid" w/ As`ad Abukhalil
The brothers welcome Lebanese scholar and original "Angry Arab" Asad AbuKhalil, author, columnist, professor, and public intellectual. The discuss the increasing depravity of a long history of Israeli wars on Lebanon going back to 1948; why so many in Lebanon continue to put their faith in the...
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"The Zionist project is what it has always been" w/ Jehad Abusalim
The brothers welcome to the show Jehad Abusalim, who grew up in the city of Deir el Balah in the Gaza Strip and now heads the Gaza Genocide Center. They discuss what it was like to grow up under occupation in Gaza, what normal life was like for a generation under siege, isolated and cut off from...
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"We cannot negotiate without national consensus" w/ Michael Young
The brothers welcome to the show Michael Young, journalist and editor of the Carnegie Middle East Center's Diwan blog, to discuss the vexed and controversial question of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations against the background of the continued Israeli bombardment and occupation of Lebanese territory...
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"It hasn't worked": Lebanese defiance of Zionist oppression w/ Karim, Ussama and Saree Makdisi
**Producer's note: This is a special co-published episode with Psychic Militancy, hosted by Makdisi Street guest Lara Sheehi. Make sure to subscribe to her channel if you haven't already!!** In this episode, I sit down with Makdisi Street podcast hosts and brothers, Karim, Ussama and Saree…
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"Palestine does matter" w/ Yousef Munayyer
The brothers welcome Yousef Munayyer of the Arab Center in Washington, DC to the show to discuss the US-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, the role of the Zionist lobby and the nature of the relationship between the US and Israel, rapidly shifting attitudes on Israel and the Palestinians among the...
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"Energy is at the heart of it" w/ Laleh Khalili
The brothers welcome University of Exeter Professor Laleh Khalili to the show to discuss the geopolitical and geoeconomic contexts of the US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran, including the role of Iran and the Gulf in global energy and trade markets and circuits; shifts in international trade…
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"Locking in the ethnic cleansing of 1948" w/ Omar Shakir
The brothers welcome the human rights advocate Omar Shakir to the show to discuss the legal basis for the Palestinian right of return, Israel's crime against humanity for denying the right of return, the ongoing attempt to recuperate a "good Israel" of 1948 from a "bad Israel" of 1967, the...
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"Now or never"
The brothers convene to discuss the US-Israeli attack on Iran, Israel's bombardment of Lebanon, the positions and alignments within Lebanon, Iran's objectives in the containing and responding to the attack, and the Israelis' sense that they are losing America and hence face a last chance...
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"The war in Lebanon is existential" w/ Hala Jaber
The brothers are joined by the award-winning Lebanese investigative journalist Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) to discuss the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon in the context of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the timing of the unexpectedly strong re-emergence of Hizballah following 15 months of Israeli...
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"The Israelis are not interested in peace" w/ Jad Ghosn
***Note: This was recorded on the eve of Israel's expansion of its ongoing bombardment and destruction of Lebanon*** The brothers welcome the Lebanese investigative journalist Jad Ghosn to the show to discuss the internal tensions and crises in Lebanon on the eve of Israel's expansion of its...
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"Turning West Asia into a wasteland"" w/ Ali Alizadeh
The brothers welcome the London-based Iranian analyst and journalist Ali Alizadeh to the show to discuss the history and context of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, internal dynamics within post-revolution Iran, the background of and political framework of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program,...
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"Everyone was bombing Yemen" w/ Farea Al Muslimi
**Note: This was recorded before the US-Israeli aggression on Iran** The brothers welcome Farea Al Muslimi, founder of Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, research fellow at Chatham House in London, and analyst of Yemen and wider Gulf region. We discuss the implications of the new Yemeni…
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"Trump isn't just President, he is a gangster and a businessman" w/ Jeremy Scahill
The brothers welcome the investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News back to the show to discuss the looming threat of a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, the various forces driving US foreign policy, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the capacity of Palestinian steadfastness to...
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"Justice or Annihilation" w/ Sharif Abdel Kouddous
The brothers welcome Drop Site News journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous to the show to discuss the latest developments in Gaza, as, despite a nominal "ceasefire," Israel's genocide grinds on, and as, meanwhile, dystopian plans to remake Gaza put forward by the likes of Jared Kushner are slowly put...
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"My disenchantment with Zionism was a very gradual process" w/ Avi Shlaim
A special edition of the Makdisi Street podcast in which Ussama interviews fellow historian Avi Shlaim in Jaipur, India where both were attending the Jaipur Literature Festival. Ussama asks Avi about his new book Genocide in Gaza, the history of coexistence devastated by the project of colonial...
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"Trump, Venezuela and an empire in crisis" w/ Greg Grandin
The brothers welcome Professor Greg Grandin to the show to discuss the US kidnapping of the Venezuelan president against the historical context of other American imperial interventions in Latin America, the recurring use of Latin America as a stage to reboot US interventions elsewhere around the...
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"We are not defeated" w/ Mustafa Barghouti
The brothers talk with the prominent Palestinian politician, activist and medical doctor Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, and presidential candidate during the last elections in Palestine in 2005. We discuss the awful realities of Palestinians living...
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From Jerusalem to Cairo and Beirut w/ Jean Said Makdisi
Special Christmas/New Year edition with the brothers' mother! The brothers welcome their mother, the author and educator Jean Said Makdisi, to the show, to discuss her books, her memories of growing up between Palestine and Egypt, living in America in the 1950s and 1960s and returning to Lebanon,...
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[ARCHIVE] Christmas—and Christians—in Palestine w/ Dr. Mitri Raheb
***Producer's note: This is a repost of an episode we released two years ago. Wishing you a Merry Christmas from the Makdisi Street team! Thanks for your support! FREE PALESTINE*** The brothers welcome Dr. Mitri Raheb to the show to talk about the role and visibility of Christians in Palestine's...
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"Pressuring schools to crack down" w/ Darryl Li
The brothers welcome Professor Darryl Li of the University of Chicago to the show to discuss the new AAUP/MESA report on federal "antisemitism" investigations on US college campuses, revealing the extent to which US civil rights laws have been distorted and weaponized to suppress the advocacy of...
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"Anti-imperialism with solidarity at home" w/ Ali Abunimah
The brothers welcome Ali Abunimah of The Electronic Intifada to the show to discuss mainstream media distortion of Palestine and the rise of alternative media, shifting public opinions on Zionism and solidarity for Palestine in the West, the growing divide between ordinary people and political...
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"What did it take for so many Americans to not see" w/ Melani McAlister
**NOTE: The brothers are hosting a live Q&A on NOVEMBER 18 for patrons only. Please sign up today and drop your questions!** The brothers welcome Melani McAlister, professor of American Studies at George Washington University, author of the new book Promises, Then the Storm and scholar of…
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"Public opinion is vastly different than the elites" w/ Mandy Turner
The brothers welcome Mandy Turner, a senior researcher with Security in Context, to discuss the world of think tanks, how they operate as hegemony factories, and the divergence between public opinion and elites on the Gaza genocide Check out her article, "Hegemony factories or independent…
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"At the Threshold of Genocide"
The brothers discuss the "ceasefire" in Gaza, the Trump plan, and the potential contradictions between Israel and its partners and enablers. Date of recording: Oct 21, 2025. Watch the video edition on our YouTube channel Follow us on our socials: X: @MakdisiStreet YouTube: @MakdisiStreet Insta:...
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"My fear is that this is a repackaging of the genocide" w/ Diana Buttu
**Producer's note: This episode was marred by technical problems and connection issues. Apologies for the sound quality** The brothers welcome the Canadian-Palestinian lawyer and former negotiator Diana Buttu (@dianabuttu) to the show to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and the context of the...
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Return to Makdisi Street w/ Samir Makdisi
The brothers welcome their father, Samir Makdisi, Professor Emeritus at the American University of Beirut, to the show. They discuss the significance of Makdisi Street—the street itself!— in Beirut's cultural history, the social and political location of Ras Beirut in the larger context of Beirut...
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Bonus episode - To proxy or not to proxy?
***Producer's note: This is a preview of the latest bonus episode. Sign up on Patreon for as little as $5 a month to access this and other great bonus content.*** The brothers get together for a spirited debate on the age-old question: Is Israel a proxy of the US? Date of recording: Sept 9, 2025....
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"A little more than nothing is better than nothing" w/ Michael Barenboim
The brothers welcome the prominent violinist, classical musician and Professor at the Barenboim-Said Akademie Michael Barenboim to have a heart-felt discussion about the relationship between classic music and dissent, his regret at not speaking out earlier in his life about Palestine, his horror…
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"This is the moment of accountability" w/ Michael Fakhri
The brothers welcome back to the show Michael Fakhri (@michaelfakhri), United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, to discuss the open war of starvation on Gaza, how international institutions have abjectly failed their moral and legal duties, the role of the media, and what…
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"Is God Listening?" w/ Munther Isaac
The brothers welcome to the show the Palestinian theologian and pastor Munther Isaac to discuss Palestinian Christianity in the context of the depravity of the Gaza genocide, the theology of empire, the anti-Palestinian distortions in both so-called Christian Zionism and liberal Western Chrisian...
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"Palestine is getting relegated to an impermissible viewpoint" w/Christine Hong and Theresa Montano
We welcome two brave California educators, Dr. Theresa Montano of Cal State Northridge and Dr. Christine Hong of UC Santa Cruz, who have been at the forefront of developing and advocating for a California Ethnic Studies Curriculum grounded in liberation and social justice rather than identity...
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"A free press is supposed to challenge the government" w/ Assal Rad
The brothers welcome historian and headline fixer Assal Rad to discuss the mainstream media's role in manufacturing consent and perpetuating Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, how it enables the Gaza genocide, how it accepts Israeli state propaganda as fact while rendering suspect...
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"The rot is very, very deep" w/ Ilan Pappé
The brothers welcome back historian Ilan Pappé to the show to discuss whether he still believes that the Gaza genocide marks "the beginning of the end of the Zionist project", his understanding of the nature of Israel's decline, the attacks on institutions of higher learning, and how Palestine…
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Bonus Episode - Live at Socialism 2025
**Producer's Note: This is a preview of the latest bonus episode. You can listen to the entire episode by becoming a member of the Makdisi Street patreon, where you can also find all our other bonus content, including the latest Q&A** The brothers hosted a special live episode as part of the...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Makdisi Street have?
Makdisi Street currently has 116 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Makdisi Street about?
A podcast co-hosted by Saree Makdisi, Ussama Makdisi, and Karim Makdisi.Follow us on X: @MakdisiStreetFollow us on YouTube: @MakdisiStreet
How often does Makdisi Street release new episodes?
Makdisi Street publishes regularly with 116 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Makdisi Street?
You can listen to Makdisi Street on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Makdisi Street?
Makdisi Street is created and hosted by Makdisi Bros..
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