861: Group Chat

This American Life

Society & Culture, News, Politics, Arts

4.6 • 88.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Conversations across a divide: Palestinians who are outside Gaza check in with family, friends, and strangers inside.

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Prologue: The Hammash family’s group chat unfolds over texts, starting before the war. (8 minutes)
Act One: When Yousef Hammash left Gaza a year ago, his sisters decided to stay behind. We hear about the toll that separation has taken on Yousef and the sister he’s closest to, Aseel. (30 minutes)
Act Two: Mohammed Mhawish, a reporter who left Gaza a year ago with his family, talks to a young woman in Gaza about how she manages her hunger. Israel blockaded all food from Gaza for more than two months. (15 minutes)
Coda: Chana gives a short update about Banias, a 9-year-old girl in Gaza she's been speaking with for months. (4 minutes)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeaped in today's episode of the show.
0:04.9	If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, This AmericanLife.org.
0:11.5	From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. I'm Hannah Jaffe Walt sitting in for Ira Glass.
0:18.6	Family group chat created May 19, 2023, two years ago, before.
0:26.1	Yusuf Hamash, send this link to Aseil, Salzabil, and Heba so they can enter the group.
0:31.5	Manal, we are all gathered together. What a blessing. Heart emoji. I don't have Hassan or
0:37.4	Ahmed. Yusuf must add them. I don't have Hassan or Ahmed.
0:38.6	Yusuf must add them.
0:40.2	I sent the link above, you idiots, so you can send it to them.
0:43.6	Yusuf re-shares link.
0:45.5	Send them the link. I sent it.
0:48.2	Manal. We want to go out tomorrow, to the beach.
0:51.8	Okay, why is the group called the shitty family? Yeah, who's the son of a gun who names a group?
0:58.0	Laughing emoji. Please, isn't this Yusuf's doing? It's Yusuf. I did it for your sake, sister. God bless you,
1:06.5	pride of the Arabs. Whenal wants to invite us to the beach, Hadil. I want to take you to the beach.
1:12.7	When?
1:13.7	We're thinking either tomorrow or Monday.
1:16.3	I will let my children go, but what day?
1:19.0	We're thinking Monday.
1:20.7	We need a watermelon.
1:22.2	That's the most important thing.
1:24.2	You're making conditions as well?
	...

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