I discuss the wider issue of consensus and how it has shaped modern Lebanese political history. I also reflect on the 1960s and why that decade is an anomaly when it comes to state building, neutrality and sovereignty.
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May 30
A Shifting Landscape with Sarah Yassine (Ep.444)
An episode covering the BIEL displaced encampment, public vs private property disputes, the former Normandy trash dump and Solidere's reconstruction efforts in retrospect. We also discuss missed opportunities and alternatives to Solidere, post-civil war urban landscape beyond the ... Show More
57m 31s
May 26
"It could have been a great story" with George Wardini (Ep.443)
An episode covering Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon on May 25, 2000, loosened state capture 26 years later despite Hezbollah's continued armament, diplomacy at play on multiple tracks, what a pending regional deal with Iran looks like and containment towards their regime means f ... Show More
57m 16s
Nov 2021
Lebanon: Anatomy of a failed state
<p>Lebanon is in economic crisis with shortages of food, medicine and electricity on the ground. Today, how did the country, whose capital was once described as the Paris of the Middle East, get here? And is there hope for the future?</p><p><em>This podcast was brought to yo ... Show More
30m 27s
Sep 2025
The struggle for the good life | Massimo Pigliucci on ancient philosophy for the modern era
<p>We all want to live the good life. But how many of us can claim to be truly content? Join philosopher and evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci as he argues that pleasure, character, and a healthy dose of doubt, form the basis of the good life, and that purpose in life is c ... Show More
29m 29s
