Overview

Middle East in Focus cuts through noise and distortion to deliver the news and views on the Middle East that mainstream media won't touch. Every Sunday at 1pm, hosts Nagwa Ibrahim and Estee Chandler bring you the voices, stories, and resistance movements shaping the region—putting people, not propaganda, at the center.

The show goes beyond headlines, breaking down U.S. foreign policy, media bias, and the real impact on everyday lives in southwestern Asia. By challenging stereotypes and amplifying truth from lived experience, Middle East in Focus builds real solidarity across borders and communities—arming listeners with context, clarity, and the power to think for themselves. If you want honest coverage that empowers the people most affected, this is your station and your show.

History & Legacy

Since its launch in 1980, Middle East in Focus has stood as one of KPFK's longest-running programs, founded during the Iran hostage crisis to provide critical coverage of Middle Eastern affairs absent from mainstream U.S. media. Over the decades, a diverse continuum of producer-host teams—beginning with Michel Bogopolsky and Sarah Mardell, and later including figures like Judith Gabriel, Don Bustany, Moneim Fadali, MD, and Tamadur Alaqeel—have sustained the show's commitment to centering authentic voices, historical context, and grassroots movements. The program has persistently challenged prevailing media narratives, highlighting nonviolent resistance and stories overlooked or misrepresented elsewhere. Its legacy is marked by fostering deeper public understanding and solidarity, equipping listeners to engage critically with U.S. policy and the lived realities of people across southwestern Asia.

Hosts

Estee Chandler

Estee Chandler grew up in Southern California where her work in the film industry, on both sides of the camera, spans more than thirty years. Her political and civic work took on a new urgency in 2001 after the US Supreme Court ruled that the state of Florida must stop counting the votes in their 2000 Presidential election. In 2010 she launched a Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which is the largest progressive, Jewish, anti-Zionist organization in the world. JVP organizes our grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. based Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people. She currently serves as the Board Chair of JVP's sister organization JVP Action.

Nagwa Ibrahim

Nagwa Ibrahim is an attorney and filmmaker whose life’s work centers on defending human rights and telling the multidimensional stories of humanity to connect us beyond borders. She is currently the Legal Director at a national nonprofit organization that represents survivors of human trafficking, where she leads a team of attorneys providing direct legal services to the largest number of survivors of human trafficking in the United States, as well as training and technical assistance on human trafficking cases nationwide. Prior to this role, Nagwa was in private practice with a focus on immigration law and criminal defense, and has also worked as a civil and human rights attorney handling Guantánamo and other prisoner rights cases. Nagwa graduated from UCLA School of Law with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. Deeply connected to struggles both at home and abroad, Nagwa brings humanity, curiosity, and a global perspective to every conversation on Middle East in Focus.

Recent Episodes

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Independent, people-powered media matters. Every broadcast of Middle East in Focus breaks through corporate noise to give voice to those silenced and to movements for justice. Your support keeps truth on the air and community at the heart of every story. Stand with us—be part of the change and help keep KPFK strong. Donate today, and together we'll keep real stories alive.