logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2020
17m 42s

The future of Lebanon

Financial Times
About this episode

The Lebanese have survived civil war, decades of rolling blackouts and even managed the influx of 1.5m Syrian refugees, about a quarter of the country's population. But the explosion in Beirut's port in early August that killed scores of people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and cost billions in property damage, have prompted a more intense reckoning about the decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country’s political elite. Chloe Cornish, the FT’s Middle East correspondent, is in Beirut and tells Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator, about the changes taking place in Lebanon in the aftermath of the blast. 

 

Review clips: Reuters, Associated Press



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Aug 21
Trump ‘plays into Putin’s hands’
Gideon discusses the outcome of the recent Alaska and Washington summits with Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Has Russia emerged as a clear winner? What can be achieved without more pressure on Vladimir Putin? How effective would western security ... Show More
22m 46s
Aug 14
What next for India as Trump-Modi friendship sours?
The Trump administration has hit India with 50% tariffs. And just after a short military conflict between India and Pakistan, President Trump played host to Pakistan’s army chief of staff at the White House. Gideon discusses what this means for India and for the region with Tanvi ... Show More
22m 37s
Aug 7
The cold war guru whose warnings on Russia still stand
Zbigniew Brzeziński was one of the most influential statesmen of the cold war. But many of the geopolitical problems he wrestled with in Russia, China and the Middle East, have returned with a vengeance. Among his many prescient ideas, ‘Zbig’ as he was known, predicted that Ameri ... Show More
29m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2020
News Digest: The world scrambles to aid Lebanon in the aftermath of Beirut Explosion
This week, we tackle the aftermath of the massive explosion that shook Lebanon’s capital Beirut on August 4.The cataclysmic blast at Beirut’s port claimed the lives of at least 171 people and injured around 6,500 others. About half the city was left damaged or destroyed, with hun ... Show More
9m 29s
Aug 2020
What’s gone wrong in Lebanon?
The massive explosion that tore through Beirut on August 4th left more than 200 people dead, 6,000 injured, and as many as 300,000 homeless. The explosion was caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. When the blast hit, Lebanon was already ... Show More
23m 56s
Aug 2021
No port, still a storm: Lebanon a year after the blast
The explosion at Beirut’s port was a symptom, not a cause, of the country’s malaise. We find more questions than answers about the blast and a political class unshaken by it. For half a century, one Beirut resident has, from the same apartment, witnessed a history pockmarked by u ... Show More
22m 23s
Oct 2021
What's behind the violence in Lebanon's capital?
Lebanon's capital saw its worst street violence in more than a decade. What started as a protest over an investigation into last year's Beirut port blast became a gunfight. Could this trigger more chaos in a country already on the brink of ruin? Join host Imran Khan. Guest: Sami ... Show More
20m 48s
Aug 2020
Lebanon's Latest Explosion
This week Jon is joined by Nora Boustany, an award-winning former correspondent and a professor at the American University of Beirut. She draws on her own experiences living in Lebanon during and after the Civil War to provide perspective on Lebanon's current collapse. Then, Nata ... Show More
27m 2s
May 2022
Will the Lebanese election be a turning point?
People across Lebanon cast their votes last Sunday in an election that was meant to be different.  So much has happened since the last poll, in 2018, when familiar faces were elected from parties largely made up of the same people who had fought the civil war decades earlier.  Fi ... Show More
21m 19s
Apr 2022
Introducing What Happened to the Beirut explosion?
Elias Tarabay remembers Aug. 4, 2020, clearly. He arrived home after having a late lunch with a friend. He was living in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. His house had a balcony that looked out at the city’s ports. Just as he settled in, he heard a loud explosion. Tarabay was ... Show More
39m 53s
Aug 2020
The aftermath of the Beirut explosion
The explosion near Beirut’s port on Tuesday killed 135 people and injured thousands more, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Officials say 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was the cause. According to public records, the chemicals were held at the port for six years, despite ... Show More
20m 23s
Jun 2023
How Lebanon’s economy collapsed
Protests, power cuts and bank hold-ups – Lebanon was already struggling before the 2020 port explosion that devasted its capital, Beirut, but now it’s in a desperate economic collapse. The Lebanese people are struggling to buy basic food and medicine. And the country also hosts t ... Show More
18m 56s