A love story, a political narrative, and a tale of self-discovery converge in this intimate conversation. What happens when queerness, Palestine, exile, and truth-telling all intersect in one life? How do we reclaim ourselves when the world teaches us to hide?In this episode of Out Loud with Ahmed, I sat down with acclaimed writer and analyst Tareq Baconi (President of the Board of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, author of Hamas Contained) to unpack his groundbreaking new memoir Fire in Every Direction.Together, they explore the emotional archaeology of first love, the silence of queer Arab boyhood, the inherited weight of the Nakba, and the price of telling the truth in a world collapsing under genocide. Tareq opens up about the letters that shaped him, the rupture that reshaped his family, and the lifelong work of integrating queerness, identity, politics, and belonging—without apologizing for any part of the whole.We also move through the political with brutal clarity: narrative, media, power, and why Palestinians are so often forced to “explain” themselves to institutions that don’t want to hear them. This is a conversation about shame and desire, generational rage and tenderness, chosen family and survival—and the impossible beauty of becoming whole while history is still burning.👉 If this moved you, like, subscribe, and share it with one person who’s trying to stay human in inhuman times.📖 Get Tareq Baconi’s book: Fire in Every Direction: A Memoirhttps://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fire-in-Every-Direction/Tareq-Baconi/9781668068564More from Tareq:— Al-Shabaka: https://al-shabaka.org/authors/tareq-baconi/— Hamas Contained: https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/hamas-containedCHAPTERS01:08 Opening: Welcome to Out Loud02:44 Why Tareq Wrote the Book05:02 Reader Reactions & Emotional Impact07:00 Integrating Identity & Politics08:33 Writing Privately vs. Publishing13:03 Returning to Old Letters & Reconstructing Memory18:57 The Rupture: Love, Secrecy, and Shame22:00 Publishing a Memoir During Genocide32:04 Palestinian Maternal Rage & Legacy36:01 The Childhood “Look” & Social Policing39:58 The Weight of “Ayb” (Shame Language)54:32 Exile, Diaspora Privilege & Estrangement59:19 Storytelling as Resistance & Political Power01:08:10 Is Palestine the Litmus Test for Humanity?01:17:24 Closing Reflectionstags: Tareq Baconi, Fire In Every Direction, Palestine, Gaza, Queer Arab, Out Loud With Ahmed

Every few months, the world rediscovers the word peace.
A ceasefire is staged, a headline sighs in relief — and for a moment, we all pretend coexistence is possible.
But coexistence without equality isn’t peace — it’s PR.

In this episode of Out Loud, I sit down with two women who refuse to perform peace — and instead expose its price:
🎬 Amber Fares, the Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker behind Speed Sisters and Coexistence My Ass, and
🎭 Noam Shuster-Eliassi, the Israeli comedian and activist whose story and stand-up form the heart of that new Sundance documentary.

Together, we talk about:
• The danger (and necessity) of being funny in a fascist moment
• Growing up in the “Oasis of Peace” and seeing the myth of coexistence unravel
• The cost of telling the truth in a society built on denial
• How women are using comedy, art, and film to resist propaganda and reclaim empathy

“What we’re saying in this film — Palestinians have been saying for decades,” Noam makes it a point to tell me.
“If it’s easier for you to hear it from me, then that’s your homework.”

🎧 Coexistence, My Ass is about courage, laughter, and the moral clarity we need to imagine real peace — not the photo-op kind.

Recorded just before the ceasefire — and released as Israeli forces violate it — this Out Loud episode with Abby Martin confronts Gaza not just as a tragedy, but as a mirror.

From the Great March of Return to today’s live-streamed horror, Abby and I explore what Gaza exposes:
— the death of moral illusion,
— the collapse of journalism’s conscience,
— and an empire that depends on permanent war.

“We all see the Holocaust being live-streamed. It’s on our screens daily in 4K.” — Abby Martin

Abby’s unflinching honesty cuts through propaganda to show why silence has become policy — and why love, solidarity, and collective defiance are humanity’s last stand.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation and subscribe for new episodes of Out Loud with Ahmed Eldin.

Follow:
Ahmed Eldin → @ASE on X | Substack
Abby Martin → @AbbyMartin on X