In this episode, produced in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation, Marc Owen Jones — Associate Professor of Media Analytics at Northwestern University Qatar — talks to us about this age of disinformation and how it manifests in the context of the Middle East. We discuss regulating social media platforms and try to understand what exactly disinformation is ... Show More
Oct 12
Marie al-Khazen: Pioneer Lebanese Photographer, 1899 to 1983 | Art Historian, Dr. Yasmine Nachabe Taan
A collection of black-and-white photographs from 1920s mandate Lebanon completely flips traditional regional history on its head. Dr. Yasmine Nachabe Taan takes us on a fascinating journey behind her PhD research into the life and legacy of Marie al-Khazen, a pioneer Lebanese pho ... Show More
1 h
Oct 5
Human Rights & Accountability in the Arab World: 15 Years After the Uprisings | Mai El-Sadany, TIMEP Executive Director
Reimagining the future of policy and human rights across the Middle East and North Africa requires moving past broken international systems and broadening our collective imagination. Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), Mai El-Sadany, explore ... Show More
57m 11s
Sep 28
Lebanon's Electricity Crisis is Not New - It Started in 1952! | Prof. Ziad Abu-Rish
The history of electricity in Lebanon serves as a vibrant arena for struggles over political economy, foreign corporate ownership, and the very definition of national sovereignty. Associate Professor Ziad Abu-Rish unpacks this evolution, tracking public utilities from early regio ... Show More
57m 7s
Jan 2023
Digital surveillance in the Middle East
For many of the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, technology has long been a tool to enable digital repression. These states are increasingly using information technology to suppress the flow of information, censor content, and even surveil citizens. In this episode: Marc ... Show More
27m 11s
Oct 2022
Mahsa Alimardani: Protest, Social Media, and Censorship in Iran
This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Mahsa Alimardani, a scholar at the University of Oxford and a senior researcher with Article19. They talk about the recent protests in Iran and how both protestors and the regime have used social media, the cat and mouse game of online access a ... Show More
44m 6s