This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, The War and Peace Report.

I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez.

We continue with part two of our conversation with Tarak Ali, Pakistani British historian,

activist, filmmaker, editor of the new left Review, author of over 50 books, including

You Can't Please All, Memoirs, 1980 to 2024.

He's just come to the United States, did a big event at the Brooklyn Public Library,

interviewed by our own Nermin Sheikh, who has known him for decades.

I want to really focus on the book. I mean, your years of anti-war activism, your writing,

your involvement with the arts, first start with the title. You can't please all.

Well, it's our life is dissidents, Amy. You can't please all. Well, it's, our life is dissidents, Amy, you know,

constantly going against mainstream opinions of politics on a global and domestic scale.

And this is a plea to people who, you know, think of maybe we should

move. The world is not looking in our direction. And it's a message for them and many others

saying you can't please all. You have to say what you want to say. Don't try and please anyone.

Just speak the truth.

And Tarek, this is a sprawling memoir over 800 pages, but about a third of the way into

the book you have a section on your family, which talks about how you became engaged in

politics or your home environment.

Could you talk about that a little bit?

Well, I was very lucky.

My sort of extended family was an old feudal family, pretty conservative in politics. None of them were religious extremists in any sense,

but they were conservatives. And what would have happened, had my parents not turned out different,

...