About The Cafe

Ever eavesdropped on a fascinating conversation and wished you could take part? Ever wanted the opportunity to confront the mighty and hold them to account?

The Cafe is your chance – a truly democratic forum for ideas, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.

The programme discusses global themes with people who are experiencing these events first-hand – from the global economic crisis to resource wars and ethnic cleansing.

It will be a robust and challenging discussion, cutting through the spin to get right to the heart of the subject. The guests will be politicians, philosophers, academics and activists who will dissect the topic from all angles and all sides.

Stylistically, it turns its back on austere studio settings in exchange for the intimacy and immediacy of on-location reporting.

The Cafe itself will be an iconic location that aims to capture the atmosphere of the country we are visiting.

The egalitarian setting will encourage the free and frank exchange of perspectives and make the viewer feel as if they are, or could be, part of the proceedings.

In the past, The Cafe has looked at the ‘Arab Spring’ and the newfound power of the developing world amongst a range of topics.

In the new season, we will be travelling even further afield – from Mexico to Pakistan and throughout the Middle East, examining issues such as the war on drugs, the ‘war on terror’, multiculturalism and Islamophobia.

The Cafe is your chance to listen in and contribute to a lively exchange of ideas – talking – not shouting heads, from around the world.

Mehdi Hasan is a journalist, broadcaster, author and political editor of the New Statesman magazine. Join him in The Cafe on Al Jazeera English from July 13.