Rich People ‘Run Everything’ - Arian Moayed on on Gaza, Iran, and ‘Succession’

Video Description

If you were a fan of the HBO series ‘Succession’ — then do we have a treat for you. On this new episode of ‘We’re Not Kidding’, Mehdi is joined by Iranian-American actor Arian Moayed who played the scene-stealing character Stewy Hosseini on the hit HBO show. Mehdi and Arian unpack the ways our reality mirrors the fictional world of ‘Succession’, like how pro-Israel billionaire Larry Ellison, the world’s second richest man, has bought up media companies Paramount, CBS News, and TikTok. Mehdi also challenges Arian to a new rapid-fire question game called, “Real Billionaire or ‘Succession’ Character?” As two naturalized US citizens, Mehdi and Arian discuss the military-style ICE raids in Arian’s hometown of Chicago and the fears that many immigrant communities are feeling in the Trump era. Mehdi and Arian also get into the recent political history of Iran, including the 1979 revolution which led to Arian’s family immigrating to the US when he was a child. Finally, the two discuss the two-year anniversary of Oct. 7 and the genocide in Gaza. As Arian was one of the earliest signatories on the Artists 4 Ceasefire letter in October of 2023, Mehdi asks if he feared retribution from Hollywood and the entertainment industry for being pro-Palestine. 00:00 - Opening montage 1:07 - Intro 2:44 - Marvel 5:26 - The truth of ‘Succession’ 13:56 - ‘Succession’ Character or Real Billionaire? 15:55 - Larry Ellison and media empires 18:33 - Arian’s politics 22:10 - Attacks on free speech 24:20 - Waterwell 27:10 - ICE raids and deportations 34:23 - Iran 42:04 - Gaza 45:25 - Hollywood censorship 48:51 - Outro This interview was published 10 days earlier on Zeteo.com. If you want early access to exclusive content and hard-hitting, independent journalism, subscribe on Substack here: https://zeteo.com/subscribe Watch, listen and subscribe to ‘We’re Not Kidding’ on Substack: https://zeteo.com/s/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-and-friends Listen to ‘We’re Not Kidding’ as a podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-friends/id1743028415 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ogT7ZvKhH04CInjNQbbdp Find Zeteo: Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonews TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews Find Mehdi: Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan Credits: Hosted by Mehdi Hasan Guest Host: Arian Moayed Executive Producer: Kiran Alvi Senior Producer and Editor: Frank Cappello Music: Andy Clausen Design: Alicia Tatone Mix Engineer: Valentino Rivera Title Animation: Ehsaan Mesghali Special thanks: Safiya Chagani