Correction: There was a technical error with the video in the earlier version of this email that went out to subscribers.
“Hope is not some end goal. Hope is a process.” - Mehdi Hasan
You’ve seen in the past what happens when our two hosts, Mehdi and Owen Jones, are outspoken in front of a camera, but what happens when they’re let loose in front of a live audience of hundreds? Zeteo kicked off our one-year anniversary multi-city tour by taping this episode of ‘Two Outspoken’ with a fantastic crowd of our subscribers in London!
“It's our first event of our five-city tour… It's amazing to be starting the tour in London with you. And I would say this: in the UK, we have built up a presence, slowly but surely, challenging a lot of what's going on,” Mehdi tells the lively audience in Notting Hill, in the video above.
Owen kicks things off by addressing the elephant in the room: Will Mehdi be allowed back into the US under deporter-in-chief, Donald Trump? “I'm one of these people who thinks if it can happen to green card holders, it can certainly happen to naturalized citizens,” Mehdi replies.
From deportations to tariffs, Owen and Mehdi go through Trump’s most alarming and destructive actions and talk about how the UK has been dealing with the US president. According to Owen, the UK’s strategy is to “disappear up Donald Trump's ass.”
“Disappearing up the ass of a bully is always a very effective strategy, but he [Keir Starmer] went there [the US] and he did that whole performance and he got nothing out of it. I mean literally no concessions on Ukraine or anything whatsoever, and he got tariffed anyway.”
The pair go on to discuss Britain’s version of Donald Trump, how authoritarians try and neuter mainstream media organizations, and why speaking up against the genocide in Gaza is not just helping Palestinians, but everybody. “I genuinely believe this depravity being normalized would be a precursor for much worse. So that's why we have to speak at this time,” says Owen, adding: “The journalists who stayed silent [on Gaza] should never be forgiven.”
The audience got the chance to be outspoken in their questions to the hosts on stage as well, asking about a variety of topics including the media, the BBC, double standards, Gaza, the US, the UK, and even whether Mehdi or Owen plan to run for elected office one day (they seem to have some votes already!).
Paid subscribers can watch the full discussion above to hear who Mehdi’s dream interviewee would be, why Owen believes Gen Z might save us, and whether Elon Musk is buying Zeteo (LOL!).
Free subscribers can watch a 10-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the work we’re doing and get access to all of our content, paywall-free.
