An interview by the gifted Marie Jo Sader, a Paris and Beirut-based independent journalist and 2023 Lokman Slim Prize winner for her investigative work on the circumstances of Lokman Slim's assassination.
A discussion on the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a retrospective on anti-Assad protests that shaped Lebanon in 2005 and wider implications for Leban ... Show More
Dec 2024
Syrian Rebels Take Aleppo: Kalam Digest 16
The ripple effects of Israel's wars in the Middle East are spinning out of control. Just last week, the Islamist Syrian rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) retook the city of Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria. How did they manage to do so, and how does the severe weake ... Show More
23m 41s
Dec 2024
34. The Fall of Assad with Dr. Neil Quilliam
The Syrian conflict has reignited as opposition forces under the leadership of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) broke out of Idlib, capturing key cities like Aleppo, Hama and finally Damascus, with minimal resistance. What does the apparent fall of the Assad Family's half-century hold ... Show More
36m 51s
Dec 2024
Syria: Can The Tyrant Assad Fall? With Razan Saffour
Become a member to get access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipIt’s been a spectacular week in Syria. The world had written off the rebellion that began in 2011, believing Assad, with the support of Russian air power and Iranian militias, had c ... Show More
59m 5s
Dec 2024
The final hours of the Assad regime
President Bashar al-Assad has fled Syria, ending 50 years of authoritarian rule by his family. Over the weekend, rebels who had already taken Aleppo and Hama began to close in on the city of Homs and set their eyes on the capital Damascus.As it became clear that Assad had fled, t ... Show More
28m 18s
Sep 14
Is Syria Heading for Democracy or Another Dictatorship?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.comIn this week’s episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi is joined by Syrian official Qutaiba Idlbi, who discusses Al-Sharaa’s upcoming appearance at the United Nations, responds to Israel’s relentless assault on Syr ... Show More
34m 43s
Sep 30
Hezbollah's Existential Crisis: Lebanon's effort to disarm the resistance and the future of the Party of God
It has been annus horribilis for Hezbollah.They were struck by a deadly pager attack, Israel launched a devastating air and ground campaign against the group, and their long-time leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The war left Hezbollah battered and broken, and now, the L ... Show More
29m 46s
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
Oct 6
Return to Makdisi Street w/ Samir Makdisi
The brothers welcome their father, Samir Makdisi, Professor Emeritus at the American University of Beirut, to the show. They discuss the significance of Makdisi Street—the street itself!— in Beirut's cultural history, the social and political location of Ras Beirut in the larger ... Show More
1h 14m