Mehdi and Wajahat Ali have been friends for almost two decades. And just like with any good friend, there's a lot the two don't agree on, from who they think the best Bond actor is to whether there are alliances the left can make with the far-right on Israel. But one thing they do stand together on is just how vital immigrants are to America.
In fact, it's the premise of Waj's memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From, which he calls both a "love letter to a country that doesn't love us back" and a "warning to a country about what happens when you go against the immigrants." Waj discusses his experience growing up as the child of Pakistani immigrants and Mehdi chimes in with his experience being an immigrant to the U.S.
They also talk about America at 250 and the dueling 4th of July speeches between Zohran Mamdani (very good!) and Donald Trump (very bad!). "There were MAGA people on the mall who told journalists that it was 'liberals in the weather service' trying to ruin the Trump speech on Saturday night," Mehdi says. "They literally see the storm destroying the sets and they're like, 'We don't believe the liberals in the weather service.'" Waj says. "It's a cult, man."
In this intimate and hilarious conversation, the two also discuss:
Waj's parents being sent to prison.
Donald Trump intervening in the World Cup.
Extremism in the U.S. versus the UK.
The rise of Islamophobia.
And… the Epstein Files.
This interview was published several days earlier on Zeteo.com. If you want early access to exclusive content and hard-hitting, independent journalism, subscribe on Substack here: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
Watch, listen and subscribe to 'We're Not Kidding' on Substack:
https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friends
Find Zeteo:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonews
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews
Find Mehdi:
Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan
Credits:
Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan
Guest Host: Wajahat Ali
Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi
Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello
Music: Andy Clausen
Design: Alicia Tatone
Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera
Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali
Special thanks: Kennedy Garmong
To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit