We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in March. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation with journalist and author Kim Ghattas. Kim, who is half Lebanese and half Dutch, shot to prominence as a BBC reporter, first covering Lebanon and then reporting on U.S. foreign policy from the United States.
Lately, she has gain ... Show More
Sep 22
Suzanne Zeidy & Rawah Badrawi on their life’s pivots
We’re continuing my conversation with Suzanne Zeidy and Rawah Badrawi, he co-authors of a new book Egypt: Recipes and Stories from an Ancient Land.On this episode, Suzanne and Rawah tell me about their life’s pivots, marriage, children and friendship. We also talk about being the ... Show More
29m 45s
Sep 2022
Introducing People Like Us, with Kim Ghattas
A new podcast show hosted from Beirut by NYT best selling author, Kim Ghattas, connecting the dots between today’s Middle East and the world, how it works and why it matters to you, wherever you are. From Dubai to Kyiv, from Amman to Las Vegas, every episode brings you conversati ... Show More
2m 40s
Jul 2025
Author and influencer Ghada AlMuhanna Abalkhail returns to discuss her latest book series and much more...
We're so back! And so is Ghada Almuhanna Abalkhail, the TWENTY30's cultural expert, who returns to the show to discuss her latest book series that explores the concept of the Saudi homeland through archival photographs. She shares insights and observations behind creating the boo ... Show More
1h 16m
Sep 2023
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad: Iraq Through Iraqis' Eyes
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with award-winning Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. During the conversation, Abdul-Ahad discusses the fallout from the war and U.S. occupation, his career reporting from Iraq, and the ways that working alongside leading journalists influ ... Show More
30m 29s
Jul 2021
Space, Fiction and Growing Up in ‘Postwar’ Lebanon w/ Naji Bakhti (E84)
This is a conversation with Naji Bakhti, author of the novel Between Beirut and the Moon (2020), published by Influx Press. He is also Project Manager at SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom at the Samir Kassir Foundation.Topics Discussed:Growing up in a ‘postwar’ context ... Show More
1h 41m
Jun 2022
“The issue with progress is that it’s seldom linear.” Nadia Wassef on narrative structure, trafficking in nostalgia and life after publishing a debut memoir.
This week, we reunite with a previous guest; author and friend of The Lighthouse, Nadia Wassef. Since our first episode with Nadia, her well received debut memoir Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller has been published in several languages and Nadia is now preparing for her second na ... Show More
47m 36s
Dec 2021
#ABtalks with Gina Dirawi - مع غنى ديراوي | Chapter 95
Gina Dirawi is a Swedish-Palestinian TV presenter, singer-songwriter and actress. She has endured some of the harshest critics to come out stronger than anyone imagined. She talks about the racism, threats and trauma she has faced, the loneliness she endured, the sacrifices she’s ... Show More
1h 24m