Our Sunday Roundup: Pankaj Mishra on Israel, a Guantanamo Reboot, Musk the 'Dadfluencer,' and More
An exclusive interview, plus stories you may have missed this week, including from our newest contributor.
Dear Subscribers,
Happy Sunday – if we can even say that about Sundays. Before you head back into the work week, we wanted to share just a few of the great pieces and segments we published here at Zeteo this week that you may have missed (we’re all busy!), plus a brand-new one: an in-person interview with acclaimed author and essayist Pankaj Mishra.
Last week in London, Mehdi caught up with Pankaj to discuss a new book that’s been ruffling a lot of feathers. The World After Gaza: A History is a book Pankaj says he wrote as a response to the “vast panorama of violence, disorder and suffering that we’re seeing today” and the “rapacious imperialism” he’s seen from the West and Israel when it comes to Gaza. Strong words! Some of you may recall, last February, the Barbican Center in London canceled a lecture by Pankaj after it learned that he would be discussing Israel’s ongoing genocide in the strip.
In a first for Zeteo, Mehdi and Pankaj sit down and have a candid conversation about getting canceled over Gaza, the importance of writing about this subject, and even the parallels between Israel and his home country of India.
Next on the list…
There was a time when it felt like there might have been enough political will to, once and for all, close down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (aka ‘Gitmo’). That will is not just far gone at this point, the Pentagon is now “urging civilian officers” to quickly come work at the notorious and now rapidly expanding prison. Prem Thakker’s latest column reveals that and more, based on an internal memo he was sent by a source.
Zeteo recently announced a lineup of exciting new contributors to help us cover the the growing and varied threats to our freedoms and liberties from the Trump-Musk administration. One of them is renowned tech and culture journalist Taylor Lorenz. In her first piece for us, she dives into Elon Musk’s “dadfluencer” strategy and his “latest attempt to rebrand himself from a ruthless, calculating billionaire to a down-home family man… [using] tactics of parenting influencers.”
And if you’re keen on watching a political interview, Mehdi sat down with the South African Ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool to discuss Donald Trump, Elon Musk (both of whom have been launching a dishonest campaign against South Africa and its new land ownership law), and yes, Gaza. It’s not only a fascinating conversation but it’s also critical that we hear from countries and people around the world who are being hurt by the new Trump administration.
That’s all for now, folks. Let us know if you liked this Sunday digest with a few hand-picked pieces from the previous week – and what more you’d like to see Zeteo doing. We try and read all the comments!