This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Haneen Sayed, an international development expert and former lead specialist at the World Bank. During the conversation, Dr. Sayed discusses the roots of the economic crisis in Lebanon and how the international donor community can play a more constructive role. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will To ... Show More
May 2025
Babel Special: Jon Alterman's Next Chapter
This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ... Show More
34m 59s
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 2025
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
Oct 2024
The Tragedy of the Middle East: A Letter from Lebanon
In this episode, we turn our focus to the Middle East, specifically Lebanon, a country currently at the epicentre of political and economic turmoil. Joined by Lebanese economist Carole Nakhle, we dive into the complexities of Lebanese society, a nation shaped by hyperinflation, w ... Show More
44m 34s
Oct 2023
HICHAM SAFIEDDINE | Banking on the State: Lebanon's Economic Rise & Fall
<p>In conversation with Professor Hicham Safieddine, we get to grips with Lebanon’s banking system. He walks us through the history of central banks, who Lebanon’s Barons of Banking were, and how Lebanon’s banking sector got to where it is today. We reflect on Beirut’s economy an ... Show More
1h 11m
Jun 2023
How Lebanon’s economy collapsed
Protests, power cuts and bank hold-ups – Lebanon was already struggling before the 2020 port explosion that devasted its capital, Beirut, but now it’s in a desperate economic collapse. The Lebanese people are struggling to buy basic food and medicine. And the country also hosts t ... Show More
18m 56s
Aug 2020
Ep 82 | What America Can Learn from Lebanon's Financial Crisis | Guest: Patrick Mardini
Matt Kibbe sits down with Patrick Mardini, founder of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, to talk about the recent explosion that rocked the port of Beirut, killing hundreds. It turns out that a big part of the problem was mismanagement by the Lebanese government, which at ... Show More
39m 49s