00:00:00 Introduction – Has America Already Lost the Iran War?
00:03:24 How Chris Hedges' Faith Shaped His Journalism
00:05:16 Why Hedges Says America Has Lost the War
00:10:15 Why Did Trump Go to War With Iran?
00:11:34 Israel and America Are Fighting Different Wars
00:15:33 Is the Trump–Netanyahu Rift Actually Real?
00:21:42 Why Netanyahu Can't Back Down
00:24:35 Could America Abandon Israel's War?
00:29:47 Did the War Make Iran Stronger?
00:31:53 Who Is Actually Profiting From the War?
00:34:27 Mossad, Ahmadinejad and the War's "Smoke and Mirrors"
00:37:38 Why Hedges Says There Are No Real Peace Negotiations
00:40:27 Is America's Gulf Alliance Falling Apart?
00:44:29 Are the Abraham Accords Dead?
00:45:22 Has Iran Become the Middle East's Dominant Power?
00:48:53 The Decline of American Power
00:52:25 Trump, War Profiteering and the American Economy
00:55:53 Hedges: "We Don't Live in a Functioning Democracy"
01:00:59 Could Trump Really Seek a Third Term?
01:04:09 Can the Media Still Hold Power to Account?
01:05:28 Why Hedges Believes Direct Action Is the Only Option Left

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

Can workers take on the world’s biggest corporations — and win? For decades, corporate power seemed untouchable. But a new generation of workers is fighting back. From Amazon to Starbucks, a new generation of organisers is challenging some of the world’s most powerful companies—and winning. This week on The Tea, we’re joined by legendary labour organiser and bestselling author Chris Smalls, the man behind Amazon’s first-ever independent labour union. In his new book, When the Revolution Comes, he reveals what it really takes to challenge corporate power—and why the fight is far from over.

Also in the show: ⚡ Inside Amazon’s surveillance culture—and the two-minute mistake that got Chris fired ⚡ Why Amazon’s injury rates remain the highest in the industry ⚡ The hidden human cost behind next-day delivery ⚡ How the Amazon Labour Union forced changes without a contract ⚡ How the US labour movement is failing the working class ⚡ Crashing the Met Gala to take on Jeff Bezos ⚡ From Amazon to Gaza: Why solidarity has no borders As Chris puts it, we gave up our freedoms and handed unprecedented power to one of the richest corporations on Earth. Taking it back means rethinking where we shop and recognising our collective strength.

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🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

AUDIO CREDITS Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François Guest: Chris Small Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi Producer: Nadège Bizimungu Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs Research: Constance Creswell, Martha Missingham Video Editor: Max Bubnov An MPWR Productions show.

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #ChrisSmalls #Amazon #WorkersRights #BigTech #AmazonUnion #Politics #CurrentAffairs #News

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law. This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing. The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Tea with Myriam François

Help build independent media that challenges power.

The internet promised freedom. But has it delivered?

When the World Wide Web launched, it promised a borderless world of knowledge, connection and freedom.

More than three decades later, a handful of tech giants control vast parts of our digital lives—shaping what we see, what we remember, and even how we think—while the internet has become an engine of censorship and surveillance.

This week on The Tea, we're joined by the woman rewriting the history of the internet. Mindy Seu is a technologist, UCLA associate professor, and the author of “A Sexual History of the Internet”. She’s been tracking what the tech giants are scrubbing. Together, we ask the questions Big Tech would rather you didn't: Who decides what survives online? And is it still possible to reclaim the internet?
Also in the show:
⚡ The hidden history of the internet—from women, artists and activists erased from the story
⚡ Open source, local networks & the fight to reclaim the web
⚡ Sex, censorship & who gets erased online
⚡ The Epstein files & the myth of the "forever internet"
⚡ ChatGPT, AI & the danger of “yes men”
⚡ Peter Thiel’s “Praxis” and Big Tech’s attempt to replace democracy

As Mindy argues, reclaiming the internet doesn't start with Silicon Valley. It starts with local communities building alternatives from the ground up.

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #MindySeu #ArtificialIntelligence #ChatGPT #BigTech #Internet #DigitalRights #Cyberfeminism #Surveillance #AI #Tech #Podcast

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Mindy Seu
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.


00:00:00 Introduction – Who Really Owns the Internet?
00:02:48 The Hidden History of the Open Web
00:06:53 The Military Origins of the Internet
00:12:05 Can We Escape Big Tech? The Case for Decentralized Networks
00:19:40 How Big Tech Learned to Control Information
00:29:19 Algorithms, Politics and the Power to Shape Reality
00:35:08 The Myth That the Internet Never Forgets
00:41:39 How AI Is Replacing the Open Internet
00:47:53 Can Online Activism Still Change the World?
00:51:20 Silicon Valley's Vision for a Post-Democracy Future
00:55:15 AI Companions, Loneliness and the Future of Human Connection
00:58:53 How We Fight Back Against the New Internet

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Tea with Myriam François

Help build independent media that challenges power.

What if your favourite video game was spying on you?
Gaming isn't just entertainment anymore. With more than 3.5 billion players worldwide, it's become one of the most powerful cultural battlegrounds on Earth. From Beijing and Moscow to Riyadh, Washington and beyond, governments are investing billions in gaming—not just for profit, but to shape narratives and influence young audiences.

This week on The Tea, we're joined by leading video games expert and author George Osborn to expose how states, corporations and political movements are turning the games we play into the next frontier of information warfare.

Also in the show:
⚡ China's crackdown on gaming
⚡ Roblox: the world's first digital nation?
⚡ Hamza Saada and the democratisation of gaming
⚡ Gamergate: where the far-right found its voice
⚡ From Britain to Saudi Arabia and Russia: gaming as a tool of state power
⚡ Can gaming escape surveillance and political manipulation?

Gaming is no longer just about play. As our guest argues, it has become one of the defining arenas where politics, culture and power collide—and understanding it is essential to understanding the world we're living in.

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #GeorgeOsborn #Gaming #VideoGames #Politics #Geopolitics #Technology #News #CurrentAffairs #farright #USPolitics #UKPolitics

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: George Osborn
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Sana Serroukh
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Aliza Kayan-Ahmed and Iman Saleh
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

00:00:00 Introduction – The Secret War Inside Video Games
00:02:44 Why Gaming Is One of the World's Most Powerful Cultural Forces
00:05:28 How Video Games Became the New Public Square
00:09:12 Gaming, Addiction and the Myths About Social Isolation
00:14:17 Digital IDs, Surveillance and the Future of Online Freedom
00:20:14 Roblox, Child Safety and Who Really Controls Digital Worlds
00:27:29 Gaming Influencers Are Changing Political Opinion
00:35:37 How Gaming Predicted Trump's Election Victory
00:38:17 Gamergate, Steve Bannon and the Rise of the Online Right
00:46:07 How Extremists Recruit Inside Gaming Communities
00:51:33 Governments Are Weaponizing Video Games
01:08:50 Can Gaming Strengthen Democracy Instead?

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

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The Tea with Myriam François

Help build independent media that challenges power.

Was the creation of the state of Israel really the only answer to antisemitism?

For generations, Zionism has been presented as the inevitable answer to centuries of antisemitism. But what if that story leaves something important out?

Nearly three years into Israel's genocide in Gaza, support for Israel has fallen sharply across much of the Western world. More people, including many Jews, are asking questions that once seemed almost impossible to ask. Was Zionism inevitable? Were there other visions of Jewish freedom? And what can these forgotten traditions tell us about the future?

This week on The Tea, we’re joined by award-winning artist and journalist Molly Crabapple. In her New York Times bestselling book Here Where We Live Is Our Country, she resurrects the extraordinary history of the Jewish Labour Bund — a movement that imagined Jewish liberation not through a nation-state, but through solidarity, equality and the fight for justice wherever Jews lived.

Also in the show:
⚡ Nationalism vs internationalism: two competing visions of Jewish liberation
⚡ The Bund: the forgotten Jewish movement that challenged Zionism
⚡ From antisemitism to Islamophobia: the politics of scapegoating minorities
⚡ Hebrew vs Yiddish: the battle over Jewish identity and memory
⚡ After Gaza: changing views of Israel, including among many Jews
⚡ Zohran Mamdani and the legacy of Yiddish socialism
As our guest explains, the Bund story challenges the narrative we’ve inherited — and forces us to rethink identity, belonging and the fight for freedom today.

00:00 Introduction – Was Zionism the Only Jewish Future?
03:01 Why This Forgotten Jewish History Matters Today
09:05 The Bund vs Zionism: Two Competing Visions
12:14 How Political Zionism Chose Colonisation
15:06 Why the Bund Rejected the Zionist Project
19:06 Can People Belong Without an Ethno-State?
22:09 Immigration, Colonisation and the Meaning of Home
25:09 Parallels Between Antisemitism and Islamophobia
28:01 Why More Young Jews Are Rejecting Zionism
33:34 Yiddish, Identity and the Erasure of Jewish History
38:41 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Jewish Resistance
43:03 What History Teaches Us About Gaza Today
```

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #MollyCrabapple #Zionism #Gaza #genocide #Israel #Palestine #TheJewishBund #Mamdani #antizionist #journalism

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Molly Crabapple
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Constance Creswell, Martha Missingham
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

So what’s really driving this shift? This week on The Tea, we’re joined by bestselling author and feminist activist Laura Bates to unpack the growing backlash against feminism, the rise of the so-called manosphere — and the emerging “womanosphere” — and how algorithm-driven radicalisation is reshaping ideas about gender, power and truth.

From the attention economy to masculinity politics, we ask: is this a culture war between men and women — or something deeper being engineered beneath the surface? And who is profiting from it?

Also in the show:

⚡ Institutional misogyny across policing, politics, media, and justice

⚡ Violence against women and girls — a public health crisis

⚡ Algorithms, social media, and misogynistic radicalisation

⚡ Andrew Tate and the mainstreaming of the manosphere

⚡ UK Online Safety Act — protection or mass surveillance?

⚡ Men’s mental health crisis

⚡ The Gisèle Pelicot case and global “rape academy”

⚡ Manosphere meets the far right

⚡ From Narah Smith to Savannah Stone: the rise of the “womanosphere”

⚡ Freya India and feminism’s blind spots

Our guest argues that we’re not passive users of big tech — we’re active citizens with real choices to make about the technologies we use, the AI tools we adopt, and how we embed them in our lives.

👉 Subscribe for independent, unfiltered conversations
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #LauraBates #GenderPolitics #Feminism #GenZ #Manosphere #womanosphere #GenderEquality #UKPolitics #USPolitics #CurrentAffairs #news

You can find Laura Bates’ book, The New Age of Sexism, here https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-New-Age-of-Sexism/Laura-Bates/9781471190513

00:00:00 Introduction – The online backlash against feminism
00:02:25 What Feminism Really Means
00:04:09 Laura Bates on Everyday Sexism and Feminist Awakening
00:06:46 Are Women Equal Yet? Debunking the Myths
00:09:23 Why Awareness Hasn't Ended Violence Against Women
00:13:09 Gen Z Men, Social Media and the Rise of Misogyny
00:16:08 How Algorithms and Big Tech Amplify the Manosphere
00:22:20 Online Safety, Censorship and Regulating Social Media
00:29:05 Why Young Men Are Drawn to the Manosphere
00:38:22 Is Feminism Alienating Young Men?
00:45:03 Tradwives, Conservatism and the Far-Right Connection
00:55:26 Girlboss Feminism, AI and the Future of Women's Rights

AUDIO CREDITS

Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François

Guest: Laura Bates

Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi

Producer: Nadège Bizimungu

Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs

Research: Constance Creswell, Martha Missingham

Video Editor: Max Bubnov

An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Tea with Myriam François

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” — Angela Davis

What happens when one of the most dangerous political theories of our time goes mainstream?

This week in San Diego, two teenagers opened fire at a mosque, killing three people, in an attack reportedly tied to a manifesto driven by “Great Replacement Theory”— the belief that immigrants, Muslims, and minorities are “replacing” white populations.

But San Diego is not an exception. From Christchurch and El Paso to Buffalo, the GRT has become the ideological spine of modern mass violence.
In this episode of The Tea, historian and bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi joins us to unpack how an extremist conspiracy theory evolved into one of the world's most influential political narratives.

The GRT transforms demographic change into an existential threat. It turns diversity into invasion, and violence into “defence.” So who is driving this shift — and whose interests are served by its spread?
Also in the show:

⚡ The origins of the GRT — from Renaud Camus to mainstream politics
⚡ The White House, “remigration,” and the normalisation of extremist rhetoric
⚡ GRT and the myth of “Judeo-Christian” that serves Israel’s agenda
⚡ Anti-racism and DEI — the corporate backlash against structural change
⚡ The rise of “Great Replacement” financiers and politicians
⚡ Tommy Robinson, Elon Musk, and the politics of hate
Kendi argues that confronting this ideology requires rejecting the zero-sum logic at its core. And recognising that shared humanity may be the only way to break the cycle of fear, division, and violence.
👉 Subscribe for fearless, independent conversations
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #IbramXKendi #Islamophobia #IslamicCenter #SanDiego #GreatReplacementTheory #USPolitics #UKPolitics #news # #currentaffairs

AUDIO CREDITS
Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François
Guest: Ibram X Kendi
Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi
Producer: Nadège Bizimungu
Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs
Research: Sana Serrouk, Martha Missingham
Video Editor: Max Bubnov
An MPWR Productions show.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on The Tea YouTube series and podcast are their own and do not reflect those of MPWR Productions or its licensees. The appearance of this YouTube programme and podcast on social media platforms does not imply endorsement by MPWR Productions. MPWR Productions disclaims any liability for damages arising from the use of the podcast and its recordings to the fullest extent permissible by law.

This video is intended for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the personal opinions of the guest and creators. The inclusion of public figures or journalists is based on publicly available information and does not imply guilt or wrongdoing.

The views in this video do not establish a professional relationship with viewers and do not constitute legal, professional, or personal advice. Viewer discretion is advised.