Twice a week, award-winning journalist Afshin Rattansi and his team go underground to cover geopolitics and current affairs from a perspective you won’t find in the mainstream media, with some of the most high-profile guests.
Palestine’s Mandela: Interview With The Son of Marwan Barghouti, Imprisoned by Israel for 23+ Years
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Arab Barghouti, son of Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti who has been imprisoned by Israel for over 23 years. He discusses the terror attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the illegally occupied West Bank and what life is like under Israeli occupation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed requests for an update on the potential release of his father, why Marwan Barghouti is a trusted and revered figure in the eyes of Palestinians who could lead a future Palestinian state, Israeli refusing to even allow him to hug his father for 23 years, the recent torture and vicious beating of Marwan Barghouti by Israeli prison guards under the orders of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the efforts of his father to educate Palestinian prisoners despite the horrific conditions he faces, his disappointment with the international community over the double standards over the Gaza genocide, and much more.
The US knows a liberated Palestine means the end of their control of the Middle East (Prof. Jason Hickel)
Prof. Jason Hickel, co-creator of the Global Inequality Project. He discusses the US’ historical and contemporary real motivations for supporting Israel as it crushes Arab national liberation movements and protects Western economic interests, the Gaza genocide being a mask-off moment for Western liberalism, the global apartheid of international law only applying to the global majority and not the West, the destruction of Gaza’s environment and the silence of the environmental lobbies and NGOs, the challenges the grassroots environmental movement faces, the need to rebuild institutions such as the UN Security Council to give the global majority more power, the profound anti-democratic nature of capitalism and it being the root of the major problems we face today, why the capitalist system does not address the threat of climate change, why China has been able to make huge strides in the development of renewable energy, the high level of trust of the Chinese people in their government compared to in Western countries, the Trump Administration’s push for a regime change war on Venezuela and the devastating effect of sanctions, and much more.
Neocon takeover: Venezuela regime change catastrophe & failed peace talks with Russia - Matthew Hoh
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former US State Department officer and former Pentagon official Matthew Hoh. He discusses how neocon officials appointed by Donald Trump such as Marco Rubio have sabotaged his plans for brokering peace with Russia in Ukraine, Rubio’s push for war on Venezuela and his obsession with Latin America, the sidelining of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in favor of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the lack of progress since the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, Trump’s threat to give Zelensky Tomahawk missiles, the need for a mechanism by China and Russia to punish the US if it goes ahead with a regime change war in Venezuela, the Trump administration’s belief that regime change won’t be a disaster despite historical examples, the likelihood of a US-Israeli war on Iran, and much more.
Can Trump stop Israel from destroying the Gaza ceasefire? Is a 2nd war on Iran next? – Mouin Rabbani
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya. He discusses Donald Trump forcing Israel to accept a Gaza ceasefire plan unlike the approach of the Biden administration, the plutocratic system of the US and Miriam Adelson buying Trump’s policy towards Israel, why the US isn’t a colony of Israel as has been claimed over the course of the genocide, Israel waiting for the US to change foreign policy priorities to sabotage the Gaza peace deal, the Palestinian Authority’s increasing irrelevance and shocking dereliction of duty, the future of Arab-Israeli normalization efforts, the high likelihood of a second Israeli war on Iran, the MAGA movement’s increasing opposition towards Israel, and much more.
Cowardice: The UN’s failure over the Gaza genocide (former senior UN official Craig Mokhiber)
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Craig Mokhiber, former New York director of the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights. He discusses the cowardice of United Nations officials who have refused to call Israel’s slaughter in Gaza a genocide, UN officials’ fear over powerful Western states and Israeli proxies, the UN’s failure to prevent the genocide as demanded by the UN Charter, how the UN General Assembly could take action against Israel bypassing the US veto at the Security Council, why UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres should step down from his role, the smearing of UN officials such as Francesca Albanese for revealing Israel’s crimes of apartheid and genocide, Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan, and much more.
Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan: A pivotal moment or farce? (Palestinian Deputy Foreign Minister)
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Dr. Omar Awadallah, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority. He discusses Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan and its last-minute alterations, the absence of the founding of a Palestinian State and the level of involvement of the PA in formulating the plan, Donald Trump being unsure of a one-state or two-state solution, Donald Trump’s refusal to allow an Israeli annexation of the West Bank after pressure from UAE and Saudi Arabia, the future of Mahmoud Abbas as leader of the Palestinian Authority, war criminal Tony Blair’s involvement in the post-genocide governance of Gaza, the PA’s plan for governing Gaza and the West Bank as the occupation continues, the need to disarm Israeli settlers, the fate of Marwan Barghouti, and much more.