DiscoverThe Beirut Banyan
Claim Ownership
429 Episodes
Reverse
A conversation with Lamia Moubayed - President of Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan. Taped live at Aaliya's Books.
A look back on Basil Fuleihan's legacy in addition to current efforts to promote fiscal awareness and responsibility, simplifying budgets for citizen access, public procurement and limited success stories, and a necessary 'militantism' from within that pushes for better civic engagement and public service.
Check out the Institute’s website: ioflebanon.gov
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:49 The Institute
9:10 Basil Fuleihan
13:38 Anti-establishment sentiment
18:50 Tied to the Ministry of Finance
29:18 Citizen budget
40:14 'Militantism'
45:26 Procurement
1:05:25 Public investment
1:08:30 Oil revenue
1:15:36 Q&A
A conversation with Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today. Taped live at Aaliya's Books.
A reflection on the nineteen year anniversary of March 14, 2005 and parallels of the rise and fall of political movements in Lebanon.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:41 Part one: Defining March 14
22:22 Part two: Shifts into politics
45:28 Part three: October 17
1:08:49 Part four: Q&A
A conversation with Antoni Barakat and Karl Haddad - co-founders of Naqd Media.
Looking back on Naqd Media's inception post-October 17, 2019, navigating social media narrative wars and gauging a younger audience by design, reasons for relaunching their website today (naqd.media) and a reflection on March 14, 2005.
Follow Naqd Media on Instagram: [at]naqdmedia
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:53 Journey through politics
7:38 Defining Naqd Media
12:31 Social media
15:01 Serving a purpose?
19:16 Achieving goals?
22:50 Utility
28:25 Relaunched website
31:59 Intended audience
35:22 Business perspective
37:58 English & Arabic
40:06 Inclusive to the region
A conversation with Tylor Brand - author of Famine Worlds: Life at the Edge of Suffering in Lebanon's Great War.
Tylor Brand received his Ph.D. from the American University of Beirut in 2014 and has taught at AUB, the American University of Sharjah and in his current position in the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Trinity College, Dublin.
His book Famine Worlds: Life at the Edge of Suffering in Lebanon's Great War examines how people struggled to survive and to endure the traumas of life during the Lebanese famine of World War I.
Famine Worlds is available for pre-order at Aaliya's Books.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:56 Recent cliff
8:26 Adaptive strategies
14:10 Confluence of crises
26:58 Famine & geography
40:11 Social attitudes
50:32 Identity & suffering
1:07:27 Humanitarian aid
1:21:08 Q&A
A conversation with Ziad Akl - director of YASA - Youth Association for Social Awareness (YASA). An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today.
Covering road safety promotion, driving education and awareness, and achieving improved traffic conditions.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:36 Lebanon traffic study
5:07 Driving chaos
8:10 Drivers license & plates
10:20 Lebanese driving test
11:14 Infrastructure vs culture
16:00 Maintenance
17:59 Engineering
21:04 Motorcycles & scooters
23:34 Public transport
33:26 Drunk driving
37:24 Driving at night
42:34 Post-war transport
45:03 Law enforcement
47:18 US driving test
53:11 Highway danger
56:59 Municipal vs national
1:02:13 Lessons not learned
A conversation with David Wood - senior analyst at Crisis Group. An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today.
Covering warfront expansion deeper into Lebanon, “cautious escalation” between Hezbollah and Israel and wider geopolitical developments..
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps::
0:00 Intro
1:53 Retaliation vs provocation
3:20 Calibrated responses
5:12 Resisting calls
8:27 Respective targets
10:55 Baalbek strikes
13:08 2006 in retrospect
15:58 Statements taken seriously
18:29 Invading Lebanon in history
24:12 Borders
28:55 Displacement
32:10 Palestine
A conversation with Richard Salame - journalist at The Public Source. An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today.
A discussion covering fact-checking and journalism in Lebanon, relative perspectives on public sourcing, a passion for the public sector and other topics ranging from reporting on the IMF staff level agreement to recurring civil employee strikes.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:12 Western vs local ‘fact-checking’
7:01 IMF staff agreement reporting
11:21 Hezbollah & possible IMF deal
17:39 Passion for public sector
21:43 Corruption in Lebanon
26:28 Public sector contracts & CDR
32:03 Public employment
37:22 Recurring strikes
A conversation with Albert Moukheiber - neuroscientist and clinical psychologist. An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today.
A discussion covering mental health, political agency, maladaptation to uncertainty and a wider understanding of narrative and identity.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:38 Emotionally invested
7:37 An adaptive mind
9:47 Split personality
17:42 An uncertainty landscape
38:13 Mental health issues
52:30 SSRI in perspective
57:30 Political absolutism
1:06:31 Political maladaptation
1:15:33 Diminished leadership
1:23:21 Perpetual battlefield
A quick take on Saad Hariri's current visit, Rafik Hariri's legacy 19 years following his assassination and assuming positions of power under Hezbollah-led paralysis.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
A conversation with Mohanad Hage Ali - deputy director for research at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center. An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today.
A discussion on Hezbollah's calculations in the South, regional diplomacy underway and Lebanon's position vis-a-vis the ongoing Hamas-Israel war.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:25 We are all learning
5:31 Increasing danger
10:31 Active & reactive
13:58 Israeli public opinion
17:30 Hamas’ rhetoric
22:31 Back to Lebanon
30:48 Hezbollah’s capabilities
36:09 Houthis
39:10 Israel & the region
42:21 Hezbollah-Iran relationship
59:10 Regional negotiations
1:06:33 Parallels
1:18:56 ‘Pacifying’ force
1:26:11 Battlefield role
Welcoming Wael Taleb to The Beirut Banyan.
Wael will co-host upcoming episodes covering ongoing Hezbollah-Israel clashes, constraints rubbing against free expression, and topics that range from a determined stand-up comedy scene to mental health awareness.
Find Wael on Instagram: [at]wael.ramzi.taleb & Twitter/X: [at]waeltaleb23
Wael Taleb is a journalist at L'Orient Today.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
A quick take on words shared and promises made during commemorations of political assassinations, and the stark reality that no local solutions are available to hold Hezbollah's hitmen to account.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
On the third commemoration of Lokman Slim's assassination...
What stability means when looking back on the port blast aftermath and political assassinations. A word that implies improvement while doing the opposite - accepting a country's security fate tied to Iran's regime survivability.
Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut
Or donating through our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan
Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:
@thebeirutbanyan
And check out our website:
www.beirutbanyan.com
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with former UK Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:02 Business of diplomacy
2:13 Fellow diplomat
3:17 Showing off vs transactional
4:56 Influence towards outside players
6:26 Stability
10:17 Beyond the next corner
12:28 Risks involved
14:11 International Contact Group for Lebanon
15:39 Ambassadors & influence
16:53 Twitter
18:06 How would you describe him?
19:15 Pushing back against standard narrative
20:44 Gap he leaves behind
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with former US Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:02 Looking back
3:04 Stopping by
5:08 July 2006 War
7:15 Bigger picture
8:52 Dinners vs Masterclass
12:37 UNSCR 1701
15:34 Strategic Vision
17:15 Day of assassination
18:27 Principled & integrity
19:44 Serving in vs serving for Lebanon
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:45 Central Bank Vice Governor & Lebanese Ambassador to U.S.
6:10 Senior Advisor for Foreign Affairs
12:51 STL & UNSCR 1701
21:34 July 2006 War
25:57 2006 - 2008
29:51 Assassinations, Doha Agreement & Finance Ministry
42:32 Months leading up to assassination
55:29 Aftermath
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with Malek Mrowa, member of the Democratic Renewal Movement (Tajaddod).
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:02 Nassib Lahoud
2:45 Common cause
5:00 Civil society
13:40 Mathematical equation
15:08 Shared history
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with former President Michel Sleiman.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:02 Looking back
3:53 Problem-solving
9:04 Buildup to Baabda Declaration
12:24 Pursuing neutrality
15:35 On his own?
17:49 Characterization
21:00 Months leading up to assassination
24:11 How would you describe his loss?
26:16 Any comparison in history?
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:02 Looking back
3:26 Role within March 14
5:48 Problem-solving
8:24 Aligned positions
11:04 His thought process
13:49 Seeing through the problem
15:57 Any comparison?
20:13 Characterization
Reflections on Mohamad Chatah with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
Make sure to watch 'TEN YEARS' that includes conversations with family, friends and colleagues that reflect on Mohamad Chatah's life and career, a decade after his assassination:
https://youtu.be/_jAM77Vz7bk?si=69WFPNc6MDKIY-yT
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:09 Looking back
7:12 Friendship
8:55 Shared interpretation
10:55 His role in March 14
14:42 International relations
17:00 Mountain, valley & coast
21:28 Letter to Rouhani
24:16 Any comparison?
27:25 Last words