This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ambassador Karim Haggag. After an Egyptian diplomatic career that spanned more than 25 years, Amb. Haggag is now a professor of practice at the American University in Cairo's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the director of the university’s Middle East Studies Center, and a non-resident visiting scholar ... Show More
May 22
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 15
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 8
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
Mar 2025
United States of ‘Hypocrisy’ – Bassem and Mehdi on College Students, Free Speech, and Gaza
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.com
It’s been almost two months since Mehdi and Bassem co-hosted ‘We’re Not Kidding’ together and A LOT has happened since then. As two naturalized US citizens, Mehdi and Bassem co-host again, starting off the co ... Show More
40m 30s
Oct 2024
EMERGENCY EPISODE - Israel Attacks Iran: with Nadav Eyal and Jonathan Schanzer
LIVE EVENT ALERT – PITTSBURGH: On Monday October 28th at 6:00 PM, Dan will be speaking at a live event in conversation with Dave McCormick, combat veteran, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, and candidate for U.S. Senate. A West Point graduate, Dave was deployed to the Middle ... Show More
40m 9s
Feb 2025
Lebanon Finally Decides: Joseph Aoun named as new president
Lebanon finally has a new president. After an over two year wait, Joseph Aoun was chosen to be the new President of Lebanon, with a healthy majority of the votes in parliament .Aoun, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces comes into office with a bulging ... Show More
27m 51s
Jun 2024
Palestinian Genocide Survivors in Egypt
Ali, a humanitarian worker from Gaza now in Egypt, joins host Yara Hawari. He speaks on the experience of Palestinians from Gaza in Egypt as they maneuver the different legal, financial, and social hardships of their forced displacement.Support the show
22m 34s
Aug 2024
Holding Pattern(s) – with Jonathan Schanzer
Israelis are stuck in a tense holding pattern, each day waiting for a response from Iran, or Hezbollah, or both - an attack that was expected to occur last week, then later forecasted to occur over Tisha B’Av. And yet, each day… nothing. What is going on — in Tehran? In Jerusalem ... Show More
45m 44s