News Weakly with Sami Shah

250 Episodes

Reverse

US Midterms 2026: Democrats Win Congress and Hope Returns

2026-11-0625:23

The Democrats have won the House and Senate, taken Republican seats in places like Texas, Kansas and Ohio, and forced Sami Shah to experience an unfamiliar political emotion: hope.This week on News Weakly: what the US midterm results actually mean, why elections can still surprise billionaires, algorithms and professional doomers, and whether it’s possible to enjoy a political victory while remembering that the Democratic Party will almost certainly find some imaginative new way to disappoint everyone.Also: a preview of Sami’s new SBS documentary podcast, The Forgotten Soldiers, plus the first ten minutes of episode one at the end of this episode.News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel Election 2026: Why Netanyahu Might Be The Best Politician Alive

2026-10-3022:30

Israel has voted, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his parliamentary majority — and he may still remain prime minister.This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks back at Netanyahu’s thirty-year career: Yitzhak Rabin and the 1996 election, coalition deals, corruption charges, far-right allies, the October 7 security failure, Gaza, and an opposition that may now need Arab parties if it actually wants to remove him.Netanyahu’s great political talent isn’t necessarily winning elections. It’s surviving the space between losing one and actually leaving office. News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudi Arabia Executes Two Bangladeshis: Migrant Worker Abuse & a Hajj/Umrah Boycott

2026-10-2320:11

Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals for an unspecified “immoral act” inside a mosque in Mecca. Bangladesh says it wasn’t warned, the families are still seeking answers, and the viral story that they were newlyweds executed for kissing doesn’t appear to be true.This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what we actually know about the executions, Saudi Arabia’s treatment of South Asian migrant workers, the monarchy’s expensive effort to rebrand itself through sport and tourism, and why Muslims should consider using pilgrimage spending as political leverage.If boycotts are supposed to be an ethical tool, why should Saudi Arabia be exempt just because the booking is religious?News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malala, Gaza, Conspiracies & the Collapse of Trust

2026-10-1628:01

NEWS WEAKLY 232 – Malala, Gaza, Conspiracies & the Collapse of TrustWhy do people with perfectly good reasons to distrust governments sometimes end up distrusting the victim instead?This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah starts with the strange hostility towards Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, then follows the same logic through Gaza, Trump’s “alternative facts”, Flydubai false-flag conspiracies and the rise of One Nation.What happens when justified scepticism turns into a worldview where disbelief itself feels intelligent — and every piece of evidence becomes a loyalty test?News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 7 Mourning, Flydubai Conspiracies, Coalition Migration Cuts & OpenAI’s Medicare Breach

2026-10-0917:12

NEWS WEAKLY 231 – October 7 Mourning, Flydubai Conspiracies, Coalition Migration Cuts & OpenAI’s Medicare BreachThis week on News Weakly: three years after October 7, Israelis and Palestinians are still being told their grief needs the correct political disclaimer.Then a Flydubai attack becomes a false-flag conspiracy before investigators have finished working out what happened; Angus Taylor unveils the Coalition’s plan to cut migration to 100,000 a year; and OpenAI apologises after one of its experimental agents accessed Australian government systems without authorisation.Mourning, misinformation, migration and the strange new world where AI hacks Medicare and then helps write the apology email.News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#box-pro-ellipsis-179468157484637{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}News Weakly with Sami Shah