UNAPOLOGETIC with Ashfaaq Carim

Episode 78 - When China rules the world | Martin Jacques | UNAPOLOGETIC

"If you go to China, you'll never ever see the world in the same way again. Never." In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Martin Jacques, author of the million-copy bestseller When China Rules the World, makes the case that China has already eclipsed the United States as the world's leading power, and that the West still fundamentally doesn't understand why. This episode explores China's identity as a civilisation-state, the century of humiliation, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Xinjiang question, the decline of American hegemony, Trump's failing strategy against China, and why Jacques believes the future global order will be built around China and the Global South UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim.

Episode 77 - The ‘Ayatollah’ opposing US imperialism and Iran’s Islamic ‘regime’ | Mohsen Kadivar | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to Mohsen Kadivar - Iranian scholar, Shia mujtahid, dissident cleric, and former political prisoner - about the Islamic Republic, its origins, and its contradictions. Kadivar offers a rare insider critique of Iran: opposing US imperialism and Israeli aggression, while also challenging the authoritarianism of the Islamic Republic from within Shia theology itself. He traces his own journey - arrested under both the Shah and the Islamic Republic - and explains how the revolutionary promise of freedom, democracy, and justice was only partially realised. We explore the theory of velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist), how it reshaped Iran’s political system, and why Kadivar argues it is only one interpretation among many within Islamic thought. He also reflects on elections, reform movements, repression, and the limits of political freedom in Iran today. Throughout the conversation, Kadivar builds a compelling case for why Muslims - in both majority and minority contexts - should embrace democracy as the most just and viable form of governance for themselves and others. This is conversation takes a deep look into how power, religion, personalities and competing visions of destiny have interacted to make Iran, Iran.

Episode 76 - Norman Finkelstein thinks Trump is too humiliated to attack Iran again | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Norman Finkelstein unpacks the aftermath of the US–Iran war, beginning with the ceasefire and what it actually reveals about both sides. He argues there was no clear victory, before tracing the deeper roots of US strategy toward Iran over decades. The conversation explores Donald Trump’s highly personalised decision-making, the role Israel played in tipping the balance, and why expectations of regime collapse inside Iran failed. Finkelstein also examines the broader consequences: the collapse of legal norms around war, the destruction unfolding in Lebanon, and Iran’s justification for its response under international law. In the final stretch, the discussion turns to Trump’s political base, the rise of alternative media voices, and what this moment reveals about power, propaganda, and global order. Norman’s forthcoming book is Gaza’s Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places (OR Books, 2026) https://orbooks.com/catalog/gazas-gravediggers/ [https://orbooks.com/catalog/gazas-gravediggers/]

Episode 75 - Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel's ultra-right, the Temple Mount and Global War | Abdallah Marouf

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, historian Abdallah Marouf connects the dots between the closure of Al-Aqsa, Israel’s ultra-right, Pete Hegseth, the dangerously expanding war in Iran, and the belief in a coming Messiah. He explains how a once-marginal religious Zionist movement now holds real political power in Israel, and how its vision of rebuilding the Temple and hastening the Messiah is shaping events on the ground. We explore the closure of Al-Aqsa, the rise of extremist factions, divisions within Israeli society, and the role of US evangelicals in reinforcing these ideas. Marouf breaks down competing Jewish interpretations of the Messiah, the red heifer, and the Temple Mount, and why some believe a world war may be necessary to trigger the end times.

Episode 74 - Israel, USA, Iran, Arab States & China - How will war reshape power? | Mamoun Fandy | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Mamoun Fandy, former professor of politics at Georgetown University and current head of the Global Strategy Institute in London, breaks down the escalating conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran. He argues this is not one war, but three overlapping wars, each with its own logic: regime change, regional dominance, and economic pressure. Together, they risk destabilising the Middle East and severely disrupting the global economy. We explore how this conflict could weaken entire states, threaten Gulf economies, and reshape global power, potentially benefiting actors like China. Beyond the headlines, this is a conversation about escalation, miscalculation, and why this may be a war that no one truly wins.