The Saudi Playbook

Don't forget to tell your friends to tell they friends that they need better friends to befriend, my friend.Enjoy The Episode! ⁠YouTube⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠X 

Don't forget to tell your friends to tell they friends that they need better friends to befriend, my friend.Enjoy The Episode! ⁠YouTube⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠X 

The US president is flying in to Saudi Arabia for a high profile visit to the region. It's his first official foreign trip in office - apart from a brief visit to Rome. For Saudi Arabia, Trump's visit is about strengthening ties with their longest-standing Western ally - a relati ... Show More

The Riyadh Comedy Festival was billed as “two weeks of laughs in the desert” but has comics asking, “At what cost?” This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Adriene Lilly, and hosted by Noel King. A poster f ... Show More

On Tuesday this week, Saudi Arabia hosted the first set of high-level talks between the United States and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Saudi Arabia’s role in facilitating the negotiations has drawn attention to Riyadh’s pursuit of an increasingly elevated status on ... Show More

In Episode 23, hosts Hanaa and Lucien discuss a recent interview with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Sport Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud and how the Kingdom is going all-in on football with its recent finalized bid for the World Cup 2034 and major investments into stadiums and the deve ... Show More

There's been two football tournaments in the United States this summer, the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup. Both with an ostensible Saudi feel, all part of grand plan to invest heavily in sport backed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Adam Leventhal has travelled to Miam ... Show More

From Saudi Arabia’s record-breaking box office to Nour Arida redefining confidence and the “LINK” cast’s hilarious behind-the-scenes moments, this week, Arab entertainment is serving energy, empowerment, and pure fun! 

Saudi Arabia has entered into a new era of relations with its long time rival, Iran. It’s a deal that has the potential to be very significant for the Middle East region. It’s part of a vision of a new Saudi Arabia spearheaded by its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It’s a visi ... Show More

When Saudi cinemas reopened in 2018, for the first time in 35 years, they screened the Marvel movie Black Panther. Many saw parallels between the kingdom and the fictional world of Wakanda, as crown prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled ambitious plans for modernisation and an econ ... Show More

Riyadh Season, a globally unique and dynamic annual series of events in Saudi Arabia, is back for 2024-2025. It's *so* back -- and this year is likely to be the best yet. Lucien leads the episode's DEEPDIVE segment on the season, now well-established and evolving with new offerin ... Show More