In the last 20 years, Middle Eastern representation in American culture has gone from absolutely horrendous to… somewhat decent. Instead of TV shows like ‘24’ and ‘Homeland’, we now have ‘Ramy’ and ‘Mo’. But before ANY of that, there was Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani, this week’s co-host of ‘We’re Not Kidding’, who has been paving the way for Middle Eastern comics since the late 90s.
In this heartfelt conversation, Maz tells Mehdi about his lifelong struggle of representing his home country while trying to assimilate to American culture. Maz also discusses the challenges of beginning his comedy career during the post-9/11 era, and being a part of the groundbreaking ‘Axis of Evil’ comedy tour during a time of rampant Islamophobia in the US.
Maz and Mehdi also unpack Donald Trump’s “inhumane” immigration policy of mass detentions and deportations. As an outspoken advocate for immigrant rights, Maz slams the Trump admin for its abject cruelty and stupidity.
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CREDITS:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Maz Jobrani
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
Outlining: Khaleel Rahman
Research: Selma Zuaiter