We start the second season of Babel: Translating the Middle East with a conversation with Hanin Ghaddar, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant. Jon and Hanin discuss sectarianism in Lebanon, the changing role of Hezbollah, and what’s next for a country mired in economic troubles.
Jon Alterman, “Iran ... Show More
May 2025
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 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
May 2025
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
Sep 2020
Le Liban sous pression / n°157 (6 septembre 2020)
LE LIBAN SOUS PRESSION
Une explosion de 2.750 tonnes de nitrate d'ammonium a soufflé, le 4 août, les installations du port de Beyrouth et fortement endommagé le centre-ville,faisant 190 morts et au moins 6 500 blessés Elle s’est produite dans un Liban en proie à une grave crise ... Show More
1h 7m
Aug 2021
Is Lebanon a failed state?
Gideon Rachman talks to Chloe Cornish, the FT’s Middle East correspondent, on how decades of misgovernance have led to Lebanon’s current political, economic and social crisis. Chloe recounts how the year since the explosion in Beirut, the country’s capital city, has been one of w ... Show More
22m 15s