Courtesy Al Jazeera America
Al Jazeera America has announced that it is launching the new weekly show, Third Rail, on Sunday, May 17th. The program will air at 6 PM ET for the full hour and will be hosted by Imran Garda.
Garda has been with Al Jazeera since 2006. He has been a host of Inside Story and The Stream. He was also a senior anchor and producer for AJ+, Al Jazeera’s digital-focused news operation. The Stream did have an American equivalent for a time, but it has since ended and it appears that AJAM’s The Stream’s Twitter account has been repurposed for Third Rail.
The network says that The Stream will focus on taboo topics that the mainstream media will not cover and controversial opinions. The first episode looks at whether religion does more harm than good. Tavis Smiley and Alan Dershowitz will both appear on the premiere episode.
“‘Third Rail’ will ask the tough questions other news programs avoid, and hold guests accountable on their views,” said Garda. “We’ll push and challenge guests to spark a clash of ideas and help viewers understand issues and stories in new ways. ‘Third Rail’ is smart, lively and fast-paced—it’s the death-zone for conventional wisdom.”
Other topics to be covered in the future include whether or not African-Americans should be paid due to the history of slavery, the US-Saudi Arabian partnership, and the college sexual assault programs.
Based off the Twitter account, the program will be pre-taped.