Six Questions for Wajahat Ali
‘Corporate media, much like most of our establishment institutions, have laid out the red carpet for fascism.’
Not a couple of hours go by without me getting an email from Wajahat Ali reacting to the day’s headlines.
I’ve known Waj since 2013, when we both were part of Al Jazeera America’s “The Stream.” He now has his own site, The Left Hook, which consistently churns out incisive conversations with some of the country’s top progressive voices.
THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali
Waj is one of the hardest-working and most prolific voices I know. He has written for outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New York Review of Books. You may have seen Waj on Piers Morgan Uncensored or back when he was a CNN contributor.
Over the years, I’ve worked with Waj in newsrooms as we developed the concept for a late-night talk-show, “Waj Invades America,” as well as a comedy idea called “This Week in White Journalism.” Those television dreams never materialized, but that didn’t stop Waj from jabbing with The Left Hook, one of Substack’s top U.S. Politics sites.
When The Left Hook was in its infancy, I was one of Waj’s first guests back in the summer of 2024. Little did he or anyone else think that this little site that started with “Chai Talk” conversations would become required reading (and viewing) during Trump’s second term.
THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali
This week, I connected with Waj about The Left Hook and the state of media in general. He also shared his thoughts about the coverage surrounding the New York City mayoral election.
Julio Ricardo Varela: Waj, it’s been nearly a year since the 2024 election. Where is The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali these days?
Wajahat Ali: The Left Hook is busy growing its humble community to the tune of 91,000 subscribers who refuse to normalize fascism, infantilize white supremacy or rationalize corporate America’s complicity in Trump and MAGA’s authoritarian agenda. As you can imagine, we’ve been busy!
Because I’m a terrible capitalist, I’ve kept every post, every interview and the comment section free, without a paywall, because only an informed citizenry can organize effectively to combat the very real threats to our freedoms, democracy and security. It’s been busy, but I’m a son of immigrants, and America was built by people like us who work harder, better, faster, stronger and smarter than mediocre white racists like Pete Hegseth.
JRV: How are you managing it all? What should other independent journalists and commentators know about the work involved?
WA: Independent media has its blessings and challenges. First, we are not bought by any corporate entity or donors, which means there is intellectual freedom. We can say, write and post what we want, when we want and how we want. The flip side is that we can’t afford to outsource the work to others or take days off. Also, I believe we should have high editorial standards, so, believe it or not, I always aim to ground the commentary and essays with sources and facts. I also try my best to use correct grammar and spelling, and whenever I mess up, the vigilant readers gently edit me. What we lack in resources, we make up for in integrity and quality.
JRV: It seems everyone has a Substack or a newsletter and is asking for support. Is this indeed the future of a media ecosystem that will provide alternatives to legacy and corporate media that are now part of the American Billionaires Club?
WA: It’s the Wild Wild West — for better and worse. Corporate media, like most of our establishment institutions, have laid out the red carpet for fascism. This is nothing new. We saw industrialists in Nazi Germany do the same. Why let the end of democracy get in the way of larger profits and greater market share?
Legacy media institutions have a major role to play in educating the public and holding the powerful accountable, but with corporate capture of CBS, CNN, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, The Washington Post and other outlets, the majority has to create its own platforms to inform the public and regain trust of the majority. It’s all ad hoc right now. You’re seeing legacy cable-news hosts now on Substack and YouTube.
It’s a fractured environment, but it’s important for us to build alliances and community. That’s a major reason I started The Left Hook — not only to serve as an outlet for my own writings, without censorship, but also to elevate those voices that are doing the good work and deserve a larger audience.
JRV: You pull no punches, no pun intended, about how you and your guests describe the Trump administration. Words like “Nazis” are common. To some, that language might feel polarizing. Care to make your best case as to why it isn’t?
WA: Words matter and have meaning. I haven’t referred to Trump as America's Hitler — that was JD Vance, [back before he was] his vice president. Maybe Trump saw it as a compliment? However, if it acts like a Nazi, tweets like a Nazi, shares Nazi talking points, then maybe it’s a bit Nazi.
In the past two weeks alone, there have been at least three articles sharing messages from MAGA that reveal young Republicans (in their 30s) openly sharing white supremacist slogans, such as “1488,” and saying, “I love Hitler.” Trump’s [original] office of special counsel pick, Paul Ingrassia, said he has a “Nazi streak.” Another young Republican aide was caught putting up a U.S. flag with a swastika in Congress. So, MAGA can miss me with the bullshit.
JRV: Before we wrap up, just a quick question about coverage of the New York City mayoral race. Islamophobia has been cranked up, particularly by Zohran Mamdani’s opponents. What do you think about it all?
WA: It’s both sad and heartwarming to see the response to Zohran Mamdani on his way to becoming the first Muslim-American mayor of New York City. Let me explain. First, all of the Islamophobia and bigotry I’ve tried to confront and deflate for the past 24 years has surged in the world’s most ugly, unnecessary reboot.
All the vile conspiracy theories and casual smearing of Mamdani as a terrorist simply due to his faith are exactly what Muslims have dealt with since the 9/11 terror attacks. This was normalized and accepted for years, even in liberal circles. I give you Bill Maher, both then and now.
However, a young generation isn’t having it. Every desperate attack hasn’t landed on Mamdani. All the racism and bigotry have only boomeranged against the hatemongers. The world’s worst people are about to have an epic meltdown after Mamdani’s win. Their tears will be sugar for my chai.
JRV: Do you ever feel as if you are running on borrowed time with The Left Hook, or are you hopeful?
WA: I’m a 44-year-old South Asian man with a family history of heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol, and I’ve survived a couple of near-death experiences. It’s all borrowed time! I have less years ahead of me than behind me. It’s all good. I’m grateful to be alive.
With whatever time I have left, I have to make sure I can do my part to push this country forward and protect the legacy of our ancestors who fought too hard, sacrificed too much, for a bunch of mediocre, weak-ass, racist chutiyas to burn it all down. Our children, and their generation, deserve that we old heads and uncs fight until the end. So, I have to be hopeful. There’s no other choice.
Open tabs
Over at Techdirt, editor Mike Masnick warns that a new lawsuit by Reddit against AI data-scraper company Perplexity is a “fundamental attack on the very concept of an open internet, using a twisted reading of copyright law that — if it succeeds — would break how search engines, archives, and the web itself operate.”
“Even if you love Reddit and hate AI, you should be worried about this lawsuit,” Masnick continues. ”If it succeeds, it would fundamentally close off most of the open internet.”
Mike Masnick
Longtime Free Press friend Micah Sifry points us to a homemade map by novelist K. Starling that overlays the 2024 voting data of each of the No Kings Day protest locations to highlight the spread of anti-Trump sentiment across “red” America. Check it out:
Finally, the editorial board of The Washington Post supported Trump’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing, telling its readers that “In classic Trump fashion, the president is pursuing a reasonable idea in the most jarring manner possible.” Coincidentally (or not?), guess who is one of the donors for Trump’s ballroom? Amazon, whose executive chairman, Jeff Bezos, also owns the WashPo.
The kicker
“Truth is fighting for its life and fighting to stay above the fold.” — Wendy McMahon, former president of CBS News
About the author
Julio Ricardo Varela is the senior producer and strategist at Free Press. He is also a working journalist, columnist and nonprofit-media leader. He is a massive Red Sox, Knicks and Arsenal fan (what a combo). Follow him on Bluesky.
