By now, you’ve probably heard that Donald Trump has appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE, a reference to the 2013 meme that has since been co-opted by a lot of crypto bros and incels.The duo have their sights set on wiping two trillion dollars’ worth of US spending to make the government more efficient. And nothing screams “efficiency” like creating a whole new department and hiring two people to do the same job.But as Elon Musk goes on tweet sprees about how ridiculous government spending can be, Zeteo is riding to the rescue. In the spirit of the US coming together post-election, Mehdi lays out four ways Vivek and Elon can help save taxpayer money and make the US government more efficient.By cutting from America’s ginormous and bloated defense budget!Watch the full video above to learn how the US could save over a trillion dollars by cutting from just one government department, but also why Musk may not be keen to do so. And, if you’re a paid subscriber, leave your own suggestions in the comments below.In case you missed them, here are some recent Zeteo stories you might be interested in: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comWhat does an end to the war in Ukraine look like? Who will draw the short straw when the dust settles? And has the risk of nuclear war increased since the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to strike inside of Russia with US missiles?These questions and many more are at the core of this debate on ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ between the Quincy Institute’s Eurasia Program Director Anatol Lieven, an author on Russian and Ukraine, and the McCain Institute’s Executive Director Evelyn Farkas, a former Pentagon official under President Obama. “The only peace deal that's going to hold while Vladimir Putin is in the Kremlin,” says Farkas, who supports Ukraine joining NATO, is one “that includes a security guarantee for Ukraine… that he won't view any peace deal as a ceasefire and attack later.” A fair argument to make, but a dangerous one according to Lieven. “Article Five is regarded as critical to the security of Europe… by extending it to a country that we've already said that we won't defend, we're not strengthening the effect of Article Five, we're disastrously weakening it.”Mehdi asks both guests whether the United States has any credibility insisting on sanctions against Russia over its occupation of Ukraine, given ongoing and unconditional US support for Israel in occupied Gaza.“I think if you are addressing each policy separately, you just say to yourself, ‘what is the right thing to do in each scenario?’” says Farkas. “You need to look at each on its merits and see whether it aligns with U.S. interests and values.” Lieven has a very different view, and sums it up in a few words. “This is technically called hypocrisy, and that is how it is seen in the rest of the world.” If you are a paid subscriber, you can watch the full debate above to hear why Farkas believes we should take Putin “at his word”, and why Lieven believes time is of the essence for Ukrainian sovereignty.Free subscribers can watch the first two minutes for free, so do please consider becoming a paid subscriber today and financially supporting Zeteo’s journalism.

Meet Jan Egeland. He’s a giant in the world of humanitarian affairs, having held top positions across renowned humanitarian and human rights organizations over the past two decades. The former Norwegian foreign minister served as the UN’s humanitarian chief before becoming the secretary general of the respected Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Egeland was also on the ground providing relief during the Syrian Civil War and, before that, Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon. He even coordinated relief in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.And, yet, this is how he describes what’s happening in Gaza: “There are so many horror scenes on our watch, but Gaza is, in a way, just this indiscriminate warfare on quite a different level.” As humanitarian groups have worked tirelessly to get aid into the area, Egeland also noted how Israel has enacted a “starvation policy” against the people of Gaza. “Of the few trucks that make it into Gaza, which is besieged, the majority is being looted, plundered, because there is no police there,” he tells Mehdi. “The police was bombed to pieces by Israel, and Israel is giving us aid routes that are unsafe.” Engeland asks, “How come these gangs can roam freely, loot everything, and be part of a war economy that is enriching some in Gaza, but really meaning that the vast majority are at starvation?” He was also “not surprised” when the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Secretary of Defense Yoav Gallant last week.“The ICC was not a court created to take African war criminals,” Egeland tells Mehdi. “It was created to take international and potential war criminals. And I'm glad they have now indicted people on both sides because there have been war crimes on both sides in this horrific war.”Watch the full interview above to hear what Egeland, who just returned from Sudan, says about the humanitarian crisis there, and what may be in store for Gaza under a second Trump presidency. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comWe know a lot about Donald Trump, perhaps more than we’d ever like to know about someone known for being hateful and racist. Given how long he’s been famous for, you’d imagine we’d seen all the layers beneath his spray tan. But we haven’t.  “I know Donald. I've known him so well over the years, decades, during his formative years and business career and his political career,” says Donald Trump’s nephew Fred Trump III, who poured a lot of that history into the writing of his new book ‘All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way.’  Fred’s interview with Mehdi this week gives Zeteo subscribers a behind-the-scenes look into the Trump family, with incredible anecdotes about his uncle and former president, Donald Trump. From uses of the N-word to an instance where he quotes his uncle in the Oval Office saying, “These people [the disabled], the cost, they should just die.” Trump’s rhetoric towards disabled people cuts deep for Fred, who has a disabled son of his own, and who Trump also apparently said 'should just die' in a separate conversation with Fred, three years after that first one.Rather alarmingly, Fred also tells Mehdi that Trump’s “purpose right now” is “definitely” to get revenge on his enemies.If you are a paid subscriber, you can watch the full interview above to hear how Fred reacted to Trump’s insults in the past, his views of the Republican Party under the leadership of his uncle, and whether he thinks his book marks the end of the relationship with him.Free subscribers can watch the first 5 minutes for free, so do please consider becoming a paid subscriber today and financially supporting Zeteo’s journalism. *Fred Trump III’s new book ‘All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way’ is published by Gallery Books. In case you missed them, here are some recent Zeteo stories you might be interested in:

President-elect Donald J. Trump sent shockwaves through the Pentagon this week, after announcing his pick for secretary of defense: Fox weekend host Pete Hegseth, who has zero experience in government. But frankly, it’s not the lack of experience or his association with right-wing media that should worry people the most – it’s his clear love for war, war crimes, and war criminals. With apologies to Donald Rumsfeld, he may be about to become the most extreme defense secretary in American history. Watch the short video above to see Mehdi unpack six of Hegseth’s insanely war-mongering views and ideas, all of which are bound to break Trump’s ridiculous promise to bringing lasting peace – to the Middle East, or anywhere else!Also, make sure to check out Zeteo’s other highlights from this past week: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

“President Biden's inaction, given the suffering in Gaza, is shameful,” Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland tells Mehdi on this week’s ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’. “I mean, there's no other word for it.”It’s not often that a top Democratic senator and long-term party loyalist unleashes on a sitting Democratic president, but Van Hollen – who has been critical of the US’s unconditional support for Israel since October 7th – doesn’t hold back in this wide-ranging and exclusive conversation with Mehdi and Zeteo.“If the president doesn't mean what he says,” about holding Israel to account for the lack of aid going into Gaza, adds Van Hollen, “then he should stop saying it because he looks so weak.”For the Maryland senator, Biden has “essentially been played by Netanyahu from day one. And every time the President of the United States says ‘this is what we the United States think is in our interests, please do it,’ he gets the back of the hand from Netanyahu and refuses to take any action.”Van Hollen also criticizes the Biden-Harris administration for failing to uphold the humanitarian aid deadline they set for Israel last month, which has now passed, and questions their motivations.“My concern is this was a political attempt to try to send a message to voters a month ago that, ‘oh, the president really does care about the situation,’” Van Hollen tells Mehdi. Watch the full and eye-opening interview above to hear more about Senator Van Hollen’s top concerns over a second Trump presidency, whether Democrats have alienated working class voters, and what he made of the Harris campaign touting their endorsement from Dick Cheney.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

When chaos erupted in Amsterdam between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax fans, photographer Annet de Graaf watched the violence unfold across the city first-hand. Her footage of Maccabi fans attacking a Dutch resident went viral, and was picked up by several media outlets, who then spun a different narrative that it was the Israelis being attacked.Headlines poured in about antisemitic attacks in Amsterdam. But these stories largely overlooked on-camera, blatant, anti-Arab racism from Maccabi supporters.In an exclusive interview, de Graaf tells Mehdi that outlets like CNN, BBC World News, and the New York Times “told the opposite of what happened in that footage.” She adds that they erased the responsibility of the Maccabi fans behind the attacks because “the truth is inconvenient.”Watch the video above to hear how de Graaf witnessed the violence unfold and how she’s handling the fallout from the misuse of her footage — and the threats against her from the Islamophobic far right in the Netherlands.For more on the Amsterdam rioting, and how it was misrepresented by the mainstream media, be sure to check out academic Marc Owen Jones’s latest piece for Zeteo: Innocent Israelis, Bad Arabs? How the Media Scripted Amsterdam's Soccer Violence This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

In a bold twist, Piers Morgan, a controversial British broadcaster known for his unfiltered opinions, takes the hot seat. The conversation kicks off with a provocative question about Israeli actions in Gaza, prompting Morgan to navigate the tough terrain of labels like 'terrorism' and 'genocide.' They also explore the ethics of military actions and the impact on civilians, with Morgan reflecting on his evolving views of Donald Trump. Tune in for a clash of perspectives that challenges conventional narratives on conflict and accountability!

We all know Donald Trump said and did a lot of racist, offensive, and Islamophobic things when he was president the first time round - and is promising to do so again if he wins a second term next week. It seems, however, that he has not said or done enough to deter the endorsement of a growing minority of Muslim Americans, such as Imam Belal Alzuhairi of The Great Mosque in Hamtramck, Michigan.  “I never claimed that he is infallible,” Alzuhairi tells Mehdi. “I never claimed that he is a saint. I never gave him a blank check. I see him as a leader who, in our discussions, committed to supporting values that matter deeply in our community… We said these are the five points, he said I agree 100% with you.” The imam not only stood on stage at a Trump rally in Michigan to announce his endorsement, in what became a viral online moment, but he also separately met with the Republican nominee – something the Harris campaign, reportedly, refused to do (though they have met with other Muslim and Arab groups in that key swing state). “The other party [Democrats] does not have any time for us and does not have any regards for us as Muslims,” says Alzuhairi. “Now, they understand that… we're not in your pockets. I mean, we have alternatives.”Mehdi, of course, pushed back on the idea that Trump can be trusted or considered “the peace candidate” or the candidate of “family values,” in the provocative words of Imam Alzuhairi.You’ll have to watch the full interview above to hear how heated their discussion got!  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comNote to Subscribers: Interested in chatting with Mehdi on Zoom TODAY? He’ll be hosting a Town Hall ‘Ask Me Anything’ where he’ll be talking about this year’s elections, voting, and taking your questions! This live online event will be at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 10pm GMT and is exclusively for paid subscribers. Please register via the link at the bottom of this email. “In this country, four generations on, we don’t matter, we don’t belong, that we’re still othered, and that it doesn’t matter how much blood, sweat, life you give, you’re still seen as the enemy within.” — Sayeeda WarsiMuslims don’t matter. That’s not just the reality for a lot of Muslims living in Western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, where Islamophobia has gone mainstream in both politics and the media.It’s also the name of a new book from Sayeeda Warsi, the British baroness and former Conservative cabinet minister, which examines her fear and heartbreak when it comes to the way in which even the perception of being a 'Muslim’ results in dehumanization and bigotry.Mehdi recently traveled to London and sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Baroness Warsi on the growth of Islamophobia in the US and the UK and how Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, in the wake of the Oct 7th attacks, has resulted in further hatred directed at Muslims across the globe.The two also discuss the state of the UK’s Conservative Party with Warsi, who served as the country’s first Muslim cabinet member, recently resigning the Conservative whip, saying her party has moved too far to the Islamophobic right.“I think that the Conservative Party's relationship with the Muslim community is deeply toxic and flawed,” Warsi tells Mehdi. Gaza also comes up, with Warsi condemning the UK’s support for “war crimes” against the Palestinians under both Conservative and Labour governments. In 2014, Warsi quit David Cameron’s Conservative-led coalition government in protest over the then Israeli assault on Gaza. Watch the full interview above, it’s a great conversation. Paid subscribers can watch the full 37-minute interview, while free subscribers can watch the first 5 minutes. Paid subscribers: Register via the link below for today’s Town Hall with Mehdi…