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"We've Hit a Tipping Point" - Riz Ahmed on Protest, Joy, and the Power of Story

Old school friends Mehdi & Riz host the latest episode of 'We're Not Kidding', on aunties, Gaza, and who the better actor is.
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Mehdi is joined by Oscar-winning actor and producer Riz Ahmed for a high school reunion (yes, they went to school together back in London in the 1990s!) and catch up on life, work, and how the world has changed for brown folks since their childhood. They talk about Riz’s journey as an actor — from playing stereotypical roles to now creating his own work and championing the work of up-and-coming filmmakers. 

“Representation within a broken system doesn't necessarily get us anywhere.” Riz tells Mehdi. “We need to build our own systems.”

They also discuss Riz’s decision to speak out against Israel’s war on Gaza early on in the conflict, and how much things have changed — or not! — from 9/11 to Oct. 7. Finally, Riz asks Mehdi to co-write his next rap song…

Paid subscribers can watch the full episode above.

Free subscribers can watch the first 10 minutes as a preview. (So hurry up and upgrade!)

You can also subscribe and listen to ‘We’re Not Kidding’ wherever you listen to podcasts:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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Zeteo
We’re Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends
We’re Not Kidding is a show where funny people talk about serious things, hosted by Zeteo founder and CEO Mehdi Hasan and regularly featuring internationally acclaimed comedian Bassem Youssef. Each episode, Mehdi is joined by a renowned guest host for a sometimes lighthearted, sometimes vulnerable conversation about topics they can't discuss anywhere else.