Mo Amer and Mehdi Talk Palestine, Comedy, Netflix, and DJ Khaled, LIVE in Houston!

It's been a long time coming, but Mehdi was finally joined by the acclaimed Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer for a very special LIVE taping of 'We're Not Kidding' in Mo's hometown of Houston, Texas. In this wide-ranging, hilarious, and, at times, emotional conversation, the two talk about Mo's groundbreaking Netflix TV series 'Mo', his roots in the Houston comedy scene, and how the past three years of genocide in Gaza has impacted him and his community.

Mo talks about his family's background in Palestine and growing up in the melting pot of Houston – the primary inspirations for his Peabody Award-winning series 'Mo'. Mehdi asks about the series' truly exceptional second season, which explored ICE detention centers, Israeli cultural appropriation, and even depicts life for persecuted Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Mo also gives Mehdi his unfiltered opinion about another famous Palestinian who has stayed silent on the genocide: DJ Khaled.

The two also talk about:

• Mo's first American Halloween as a bewildered immigrant child

• How Mo got into comedy

• Being the first Arab-American to sell out Radio City Music Hall

• Whether James Talarico will turn Texas blue

• The best places to eat in Houston

• And they play a Texas-themed version of 'This or That'

They also take questions from the audience of 1,500 people in Houston about comedy as resistance, the best ways to support the Palestinian diaspora, and Muslim representation on the stand-up stage.

This interview was published on Oct. 28, 2026 on Zeteo.com. If you want early access to 'We're Not Kidding' and to support Zeteo's 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

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Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan

Credits:

Hosted by: Mehdi Hasan

Guest Host: Mo Amer

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: Yezen Saadah

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