We're with Asser Khattab for Episode 150 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/8Aq47slh38M We discuss his reporting from Beirut and how his own relationship to Lebanon changed as the uprising took hold. We also talk about identity, and why the protests that followed 17 October 2019 made him feel - for the first time - at home. Asser is a freelance journalist currently living in Paris. He is a former Washington Post reporter and Financial Times Middle East news assistant. Help su...
May 12, 2020•38 min
A new branch for The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/KelJ8ammFbc Elia Haber returns for a new series called "On the Move", exploring her journey from Beirut while reflecting on all that's happening in Lebanon. Each episode of "On the Move" tackles a different subject impacting Lebanon that also plays a role in her life abroad. Elia is a recent Master's degree graduate in science journalism from Concordia University. She is the founder of Café Scientifique - Beirut and previously ...
May 11, 2020•6 min
0:00 Intro 4:12 Migration Complications & Covid-19 7:01 "How Covid-19 Halted NGO Migrant Rescues in the Mediterranean" 13:20 Geopolitical Threats 19:25 Legal Requirements & Maritime Law 34:27 The Power of Storytelling & Beirut 42:22 How Eric & I Met 52:31 Hopes for Lebanon We're with Eric Reidy for Episode 148 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/G_rpqhIsjVo We discuss his recent reporting on migration and Covid-19, and the security / political dimensions facing...
May 08, 2020•59 min
0:00 Intro 1:52 Decades-Long Rivalry & The Middle East 3:41 Youth & Collective Memory 12:04 Storytelling, the Wider Narrative Story & Local Details that Matter 16:17 Lebanon & the Protest Movement 22:30 Struggle & Initial Targets Following Revolution, Now & Then 29:24 The Way Forward for Lebanon 38:17 "Dancing into the Abyss" We're with Kim Ghattas for Episode 147 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/EWPsSWtAtwQ We discuss her recent book "Black Wave" an...
May 07, 2020•47 min
We're with Lina Khatib for Episode 146 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/RhTAtG2ZJMM We discuss the economic crisis in Lebanon and prospects for accountability and political reform given the complexities in tackling rampant corruption and sub-state weaponry. We also get into the distinction between the governing regime and the Lebanese state. Lina leads the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, and is a co-founder of the World Metal Congress: https://www.wor...
May 05, 2020•50 min
I read one of my father's previous blog posts, "True or False?" for Episode 145 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/ZOSF5O5dpxs And I reflect on what political reform should look like in light of economic decisions underway. The previous interview I shared of my father in March 2013 can be viewed in full below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iChW3GUpqIY&t=2137s My father's blogspot page is: http://mohamadchatah.blogspot.com VIDEO INTERVIEW FOOTAGE USED WITH PERMISSION BY ...
May 01, 2020•23 min
0:00 Intro 6:30 Trash River (2015) 10:32 Downtown Protests (2015) 15:23 Riad El Solh Water Cannons (2015) 16:00 Tear Gas (2019) 21:54 Running from Undercover Security 25:38 Protest & Counter-Protest (2019) 34:38 Baabda (2019) 41:25 Tires Burning (2019) 46:46 Security & Bank Machine (2019) 49:48 Attacks Against Journalists (2019) 52:17 Women & Young Protesters (2019) 54:54 Flare Shots (2019) 58:49 Martyrs Square (2019) 1:01:12 Empty Roads (2020) 1:04:58 Full Supermarket Shelves (2020)...
Apr 30, 2020•1 hr 18 min
VIDEO INTERVIEW FOOTAGE © MTV Lebanon, Beirut Al Yawm, 2 March 2013 Click to watch: https://youtu.be/6SSP6a42xPQ I share an interview with my father on MTV Lebanon / ‘Beirut Al Yawm’, including one of his last tweets posted five days before his assassination. The full interview video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iChW3GUpqIY&t=2137s My father's twitter handle is: @mohamad_chatah Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut ...
Apr 29, 2020•25 min
I read one of my father's previous blog posts, "Déjà vu" for Episode 143 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/OOVyJCG0eaU And I share reflections on the Lira's rapid devaluation and the 'broken record' that matters most. My father's blogspot page is: http://mohamadchatah.blogspot.com Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut Or donating through our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan Watch these episodes via ou...
Apr 27, 2020•24 min
We're with Mohamad Bazzi for Episode 142 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/HXElWWX-iy0 Mohamad is an award-winning journalist and journalism professor at New York University. We discuss our shared experience living in New York during the Covid-19 pandemic and precautions taken as New York became the epicenter of the virus. We also reflect on growing up in Beirut and our familiarity with ongoing crises, and how we're handling a regular - and at times demanding - online routin...
Apr 26, 2020•1 hr 11 min
We're with Josie Ensor for Episode 141 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/4YBSHtzvsik Josie is the previous Middle East and current US correspondent for The Telegraph. We discuss her piece "My memories of Syria, where the world collectively lost its humanity" released earlier this year: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/02/24/syria-world-collectively-lost-humanity/ And we reflect on her years living in Lebanon and reporting on the Syrian war. Josie also shares her imme...
Apr 24, 2020•44 min
We're with Adham Sahloul and Shadi Hamid for Episode 140 of The Beirut Banyan. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/n_stQt1cAYY Adham is a foreign policy analyst and former advisor to the Pete Buttigieg campaign. Shadi is a senior fellow at Brookings Institution. We discuss their recent piece: "How Foreign Policy Factors for American Muslims in 2020": https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/04/03/how-foreign-policy-factors-for-american-muslims-in-2020/ And reflect on the Bernie Sanders...
Apr 22, 2020•1 hr 1 min
We're with Jwanah Qudsi for Episode 139 of The Beirut Banyan. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/k6nqDg9gWjA Jwanah is the founder of Aleppo Heritage Fund - an NGO dedicated to preserving the old city of Aleppo - and an urban planner / urbanist. We discuss Aleppo’s current reconstruction and the need to preserve the old city’s architectural heritage. Our conversation includes Jwanah’s own story of her dedication to saving the old city’s historic charm, her father’s legacy, comparisons between Alep...
Apr 22, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Watch the following episode on our YouTube channel via the following link: https://youtu.be/paJRa0TvIAg I read one of my father's previous blog posts, "Five Facts and a Conclusion" for Episode 138 of The Beirut Banyan. And I share reflections on The Bristol Hotel's closing, the "Bristol Meeting" in late 2004 and why that political gathering still matters. My father's blogspot page is: http://mohamadchatah.blogspot.com Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal....
Apr 20, 2020•31 min
Watch the following episode on our YouTube channel via the following link: https://youtu.be/wi0ofe69Bo0 "Remembering Basil Fuleihan" by Mohamad Chatah. Narrated by Ronnie Chatah. And listen back to Episode 10 with Yasma Fuleihan: https://soundcloud.com/thebeirutbanyan/episode-10-yasma-fleihan-bassel-fleihans-legacy Basil Fuleihan, 10 September 1963 – 18 April 2005 Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut Or donating through our Patreon page: htt...
Apr 18, 2020•6 min
Watch the following episode on our YouTube channel via the following link: https://youtu.be/A9hdz33DUQU I read one of my father's previous blog posts, "But Can the Frog Still Jump Out?" for Episode 137 of The Beirut Banyan. And I share some reflections on an irreplaceable friendship. My father's blogspot page is: http://mohamadchatah.blogspot.com Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut Or donating through our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.c...
Apr 17, 2020•32 min
We're with Alexandra Talty for Episode 136 of The Beirut Banyan. Alexandra and I discuss travel writing and reporting in Lebanon, and the wider field of journalism in the Middle East. Alexandra shares her own passion for storytelling and why she lived in Lebanon for nearly a decade. Alexandra also shares her passion (and family tradition) for surfing, and her own experiences catching waves off the Lebanese coast. Alexandra is a Forbes contributor and an award-winning journalist. Her features are...
Apr 16, 2020•47 min
We're with Hadi Zeidan for Episode 135 of The Beirut Banyan. Hadi and I discuss aspects of the electronic scene in Beirut, our shared appreciation of analog / synthesizer experimentation - Aphex Twin comes up once or twice - and how Lebanon fits into the backdrop of his music. Purchase Hadi's upcoming release 'Sketches' via his bandcamp profile: https://hadizeidan.bandcamp.com And follow his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hadizeidanFB/ Hadi is a sound artist, musician and curator. Make ...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 2 min
We catch up with Elia Haber for Episode 134 of The Beirut Banyan. Elia and I reflect on the past three months, and how our shared experiences of euphoria, social cohesion and revolt turned into necessary social distancing, isolation and pause. Elia was the co-host of this podcast during the first three months of demonstrations following the 17 October 2019 uprising in Lebanon. Her episodes are listed under our 'Voices from the Square' series. She's also a great friend. When Elia is in Beirut (an...
Apr 10, 2020•45 min
We're joined by Hussein Ibish for Episode 133 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss COVID-19's impact on US domestic politics, protestor demands in Lebanon and Iraq, and the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict vis-a-vis a likely 'Likud' - 'Kahol Lavan' unity deal and the consequences of Israeli settlement annexation policy. Our discussion picks up from where we left off in Episode 122: Internal and External Pressure. Hussein Ibish is a Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in ...
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 24 min
We're joined by Kareem Shaheen for Episode 132 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss his career in journalism and the coronavirus pandemic we're going through. Kareem reflects on his years as a Middle East reporter for The National and The Guardian, and his focus on the human side of the story. He shares his thoughts on covering the Syrian war and its spillover into Lebanon, and what initially brought him to the world of storytelling. Kareem Shaheen is a current writer for Al Hudood, a Middle Eas...
Apr 04, 2020•1 hr 24 min
We're joined by Jasmine El-Gamal for Episode 131 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on recent protests that swept the region and the continued demands for economic reform and political change. Jasmine takes us back to the beginning of her political career as a translator and cultural advisor for the US Army following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. She reflects on the lessons she took from her post as a Middle East advisor in the Office of the Secretary of...
Apr 02, 2020•1 hr 10 min
We're joined by Anne Barnard for Episode 130 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the coronavirus pandemic and feelings of claustrophobia, and how contagions today are reminiscent of foreign correspondency from Baghdad in 2003. Anne reflects on reporting from Baghdad following the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, and being 'stuck' in Room 606 at the Al Hamra Hotel. She discusses how her current reporting in New York shares a parallel 'siege-like' emotion that brings her back to he...
Mar 24, 2020•49 min
We're joined by Paul Salem for Episode 129 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the steps needed to translate protestors' grievances into sustained political power. Paul reflects on a century of shifting political tides that impacted Lebanon and the region. He separates the geopolitical issues from domestic reform and emphasizes that ongoing regional struggles should not prevent action against corruption at home. Paul Salem is the president of The Middle East Institute. He was the founding direc...
Mar 21, 2020•59 min
We're joined by David Daoud for Episode 128 of The Beirut Banyan, and we dive into the individual level within Lebanese society when it comes to aspirations for economic reform and possibilities for political change. David dissects competing layers of political interests at stake and how that has shaped recent confessional politics. He analyzes the societal hindrances that are, in his view, longstanding and go back to the foundation of modern Lebanon. David is a research analyst focusing on Leba...
Mar 17, 2020•49 min
We're joined by Faysal Itani for Episode 127 of The Beirut Banyan, and we compare the local, regional and geopolitical factors that differentiate the current protest movement from other recent attempts at demanding accountability and reclaiming sovereignty. Faysal shares his thoughts on the past fifteen years of US engagement with the Lebanese state and how that has shifted due to factors within Lebanon and general American reluctance to commit more political capital in the Middle East. Faysal i...
Mar 15, 2020•1 hr 4 min
A brief update on the podcast in a time of coronavirus, social distancing and global shutdown. Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut Or donating through our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan And subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform. Follow us on Instagram: thebeirutbanyan Twitter: beirut_banyan Facebook: The Beirut Banyan Website: www.beirutbanyan.com Graphics by Sara Tarhini.
Mar 14, 2020•6 min
We're joined by Bilal Saab for Episode 126 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the interconnectedness of the moment and the possibilities for political change within Lebanon. Bilal analyzes the 'auditing' process protestors are delivering against the Lebanese state and the initial steps needed for long-term accountability. He also shares his views on long-term US engagement with the Lebanese Army. Bilal is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense and Security Program at The Middle East Insti...
Mar 08, 2020•40 min
We're joined by Aline Sara for Episode 125 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the role of conversations in language instruction within Lebanon and throughout the region. Aline is the founder of NaTakallam, a language learning program delivered by locals with a focus on refugee support. Check out NaTakallam's website: https://natakallam.com And read about their new Lebanese dialect program by following NaTakallam on LinkedIn: @natakallam Facebook: @natakallam2015 Instagram: @natakallam Twitter:...
Mar 03, 2020•40 min
We're joined by Nour Hodeib & Elsa Saade for Episode 124 of The Beirut Banyan, and we discuss the diaspora's involvement in the revolt snd the political role of activists from around the world demanding a better future for Lebanon. Nour and Elsa are both students at CUNY. Nour is currently pursuing his PhD in History and Elsa is working towards her Masters in Middle East Studies. Both are talented poets and musicians in their own right. If you're enjoying these episodes, help support The Bei...
Mar 01, 2020•1 hr 8 min
