Discover
Talk to Al Jazeera
198 Episodes
Reverse
Hasan Piker has built one of the largest online political audiences, reaching millions without newsroom oversight or traditional editorial constraints. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, the influential streamer reflects on bias, accountability, wealth, bans and the blurred line between journalism and digital influence. As algorithms replace editors and engagement supplants verification, we examine who shapes political narratives in the age of streaming and what responsibilities accompany that power.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud responds to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland - a self-governing Somali territory, allegations of a possible Israeli military presence near the Red Sea and shifting power dynamics in the Horn of Africa. He addresses criticism by the United States as well as President Donald Trump’s remarks on Somalia, growing ties with regional allies and fears of wider instability as tensions rise between Israel, Iran and their rivals. At home, Mohamud faces pressing questions over security, human rights, media freedom and whether he will seek a third term ahead of crucial elections.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warns that attacking Iran would be wrong and says Tehran is ready to return to negotiations. He urges a step-by-step diplomatic approach and cautions against escalation. Fidan also discusses Turkiye’s position on the future of regional and global security cooperation and the role it can play as the post-World War II order fractures and trust between states erodes.
In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, American philosopher and activist Cornel West delivers a searing critique of the United States, describing what he sees as moral collapse, democratic decay and spiritual bankruptcy. Drawing on the Black freedom struggle and his own run in the 2024 presidential election, West argues that both major parties serve entrenched power while inequality deepens at home and war crimes are enabled abroad. From Gaza to Harlem, he asks whether love, dignity and justice can still form the basis of meaningful political resistance.
As wars intensify and donor funding dries up, the global humanitarian system is under unprecedented strain. Jagan Chapagain, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, warns that life-saving operations are being scaled back just as needs explode from Gaza and Sudan to Ukraine and climate-driven disasters worldwide. He addresses United States and European aid cuts, attacks on humanitarian workers, the erosion of international law, and whether neutrality and protection still mean anything in today’s conflicts.
Since the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of "narcoterrorism", Colombia has found itself under growing pressure from Washington. President Gustavo Petro responds to President Donald Trump’s accusations. The Colombian leader also addresses diplomacy vs confrontation, regional sovereignty and whether Latin America is entering a dangerous new chapter.
The United States is reviving a policy first set out in the 1800s that treats Latin America as its strategic sphere of influence. As Washington expands maritime operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, critics warn of legal violations and rising regional instability. Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin joins Talk to Al Jazeera to discuss US strikes, Venezuela, migration pressures, and China’s growing role in the region — and whether diplomacy can still prevent escalation in a hemisphere shaped once again by power politics.
Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera as tensions between the United States and Venezuela escalate. With Washington deploying additional military assets to the Caribbean, Colombia finds itself on the front line of a widening regional standoff. Sanchez discusses the pressure this places on President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” strategy, the surge in armed groups, and the country’s fight against drug trafficking. He warns that any further confrontation could trigger new migration flows, empower criminal networks, and jeopardise Colombia’s fragile security gains.
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera about the prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, whether Trump can bring Putin and Zelenskyy to the negotiating table, and why Europe insists on clear red lines. From frozen Russian assets to NATO deterrence and Finland’s unique position as a NATO member sharing a long border with Russia, Valtonen explains what a realistic settlement would require, and why she believes Moscow is still not interested in genuine peace.
South Africa’s foreign minister Ronald Lamola speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera about the mysterious arrival of a flight carrying Palestinians, why authorities were blindsided, and what the incident reveals about the networks moving people out of Gaza. He also discusses South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the country’s G20 summit, and how Pretoria sees its role in a rapidly shifting global order shaped by conflict, diplomatic pressure and competing visions of justice.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s foreign minister tells Al Jazeera that Rwanda’s actions on the ground cast doubt on its commitment to a peace process aimed at ending decades of conflict in eastern Congo. Therese Kayikwamba Wagner says a planned presidential meeting remains stalled, with foreign troops still on Congolese territory and abuses continuing despite diplomatic efforts. She argues that meaningful progress depends on real leverage from international facilitators, the United States, Qatar and regional partners, to hold both sides accountable and push the process toward a credible, lasting agreement.
For the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a NATO member has formally invoked Article 4 of the alliance's founding treaty after a major airspace breach. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna tells Talk to Al Jazeera why repeated Russian provocations are more than isolated incidents - they’re a test of NATO’s credibility. As United States President Donald Trump questions the value of collective defence, Tsahkna warns that Europe’s security consensus is fraying and hesitation could invite danger.
Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader and now Nobel Peace Prize laureate, speaks from hiding about the cost of resistance and the hope driving millions demanding democracy. Barred from elections and under threat of arrest, she discusses the country's deepening crisis, where nearly eight million Venezuelans have fled, and the challenge of confronting a system that has survived sanctions, protests, and global isolation. In this in-depth interview, Machado reflects on her fight for democracy.
In a shifting world order, New Zealand's foreign policy faces new tests, from Gaza to the Pacific. Foreign Minister Winston Peters speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera about why his government has stopped short of recognising a Palestinian state, how small nations can stay neutral amid the United States-China rivalry, and whether multilateralism still protects the weak from the will of the powerful.
As Syria turns the page after Bashar al-Assad's fall, the transitional government promises justice, truth, and rule of law. In his first interview since taking office, Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais tells Talk to Al Jazeera how his ministry preserved the regime's court archives from destruction and plans to prosecute crimes from the war years. But critics say the process is too narrow, focused only on Assad-era abuses, while violence and sectarian reprisals create new victims still awaiting accountability. Can post-war Syria deliver real justice?
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof joins Talk to Al Jazeera at a pivotal moment for Europe and the Middle East. After his coalition collapsed, he reflects on leading the Netherlands through crises at home and abroad. From the war in Gaza and sanctions on Israel to NATO, migration and United States President Donald Trump’s stance on Ukraine, Schoof gives rare insight into how the Netherlands navigates global fault lines. A politically unaffiliated leader and former intelligence chief, he speaks candidly about power, justice and Europe’s future.
Nearly two years into Israel’s war on Gaza, a United Nations fact-finding mission has delivered its most damning verdict yet: genocide. Navi Pillay, chairwoman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, says Israeli leaders’ statements and the destruction on the ground prove intent. Speaking to Hashem Ahelbarra in Geneva, she explains the commission’s findings, what legal consequences Israel could face and what must happen next. As famine sets in and civilian casualties mount, Pillay outlines why this report could mark a turning point in international accountability - and whether the UN will be able to act on its own conclusions.
In the wake of Israel's unprecedented strike on Qatari soil, Muslim leaders are weighing their response. Pakistan, the Islamic world's only nuclear power, warns that words alone will not deter further aggression. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar tells Talk to Al Jazeera that Pakistan, as part of the Ummah or global community of Muslim believers, "will discharge its duty". He discusses whether the Islamic bloc can deliver legal, financial, or diplomatic consequences, and how far Islamabad is prepared to go.
Iraq, once known as Mesopotamia, the “Land of the Two Rivers”, is facing its worst water crisis in living memory. The Tigris and Euphrates — lifelines of agriculture and civilisation for millennia — are running dry. Climate change, upstream dams and decades of mismanagement have turned fertile land into dust, forcing families from their homes and threatening national stability. Talk to Al Jazeera travels to southern Iraq to hear from farmers, environmentalists and officials about a crisis that could decide the country’s future.
Sandra Myrna Diaz, one of the world’s most influential ecologists, argues that humanity is missing the bigger picture. While climate change dominates headlines, she warns the deeper crisis is biodiversity collapse, the unravelling of the living web of plants, animals, soil and water that sustains life. In this Talk to Al Jazeera interview, Diaz criticises governments for failing to meet biodiversity targets and calls for a rethinking of consumerism-driven lifestyles. Her message: The survival of civilisation depends not just on curbing greenhouse gas emissions but also on protecting the fabric of life itself.























