The Beirut Banyan

Starting Monday, 29 April at 8pm. A daily miniseries hosted on The Beirut Banyan podcast & Social Work Research Hub’s YouTube channel. Including intergenerational conversations & roundtable discussions on social work history in Lebanon. Hosted by Aimee Ghanem - founder of Sworld. Stay tuned… سلسلة فيديوهات قصيرة على يوتيوب الخاصة بيروت بانيان بودكاست و مركز SWorld لأبحاث العمل الاجتماعي. يتضمن ذلك حوارات بين الأجيال، ومناقشات طاولة مستديرة حول تاريخ العمل الاجتماعي في لبنان. Sworld تضافة ايمي غانم - مؤسسة

A conversation with musician Zeid Hamdan. Covering Ziad's eclectic career spanning nearly three decades (from Soap Kills to Zeid and the Wings to his more recent band Bedouin Burger), a decision to leave Beirut and heal through creativity, and an ultimate return to performing in Lebanon. Co-hosted by Wael Taleb. The podcast is only made possible through listener and viewer donations. Please 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 YouTube channel and your preferred audio platform. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter: @thebeirutbanyan And check out our website: www.beirutbanyan.com Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:38 First instrument 6:17 Talent 8:05 Composition 11:39 Creativity 17:13 Trouble 24:19 Freedom 27:34 Lebanese musician 35:28 Deciding to leave 41:11 Living abroad 44:17 ‘Arab’ influence 49:18 Preferred project?

A conversation with Christina Assi - photojournalist and photo editor at AFP. Taped live at Aaliya's Books. Made special with the audience that joined. Covering Christina's lifelong passion for photojournalism, an initial false comfort of wartime coverage along the Lebanese-Israeli border, surviving the October 13 Israeli attack that took Issam Abdallah's life and left Christina with an amputated leg, coping through mental and physical scars and her physical recovery ahead. In addition to her commitment to her profession, no matter the consequence. The podcast is only made possible through listener and viewer donations. Please 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 YouTube channel and your preferred audio platform. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter: @thebeirutbanyan And check out our website: www.beirutbanyan.com Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 5:38 Initial passion 11:06 Photography 13:37 Issam Abdallah 19:23 Persistence 22:02 October 13 24:57 What happened 37:50 Investigation & report 43:36 Mental coping 48:09 Physical recovery 53:06 Message to journalists 1:03:34 Power 1:07:11 Dylan Collins & Elie Brakhia 1:11:27 Commitment 1:14:13 “Don’t do it”

A conversation with Michael Young - senior editor at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut and editor of Diwan, Carnegie's Middle East blog. Covering latest Iranian and Israeli attacks, symbolism & psychological notions of victory, US policy vis-a-vis Israel and inherent obstacles towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, the lack of good options for Lebanon and an indefinitely stalled Baadba process. Read his recent pieces for Diwan: https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/experts/1258 Previously, Michael Young was opinion editor, as well as a columnist, for the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon. He writes a biweekly commentary for the National (Abu Dhabi) and is author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle. The book was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of its ten notable books of 2010, and won the Silver Prize in the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s book prize competition of 2010. 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 0:00 Intro 1:12 Latest Iranian strike 5:54 Israel & escalation 8:12 Netanyahu’s positioning 10:32 Significance & symbolism 16:18 US posture vis-a-vis Israel 23:40 Hezbollah-Iranian relations 30:58 A two-front war 32:58 Lebanese front 35:10 Northern Israeli factors 37:20 Defeating Hamas? 38:52 Hezbollah & ‘victory’ 43:16 Psychological gains 47:32 ‘Legitimization’ 50:00 Drones above Israel 53:18 Machine functionality 55:31 US policy shifts 58:10 Biden & elections 1:04:51 Arab-Israeli ‘peace’ 1:12:37 Possible partition 1:16:01 No options for Lebanon 1:18:45 US-led pressure 1:22:17 Lebanese Forces & Baabda 1:27:31 Record your voice

A conversation with David Schenker - Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Covering ongoing Hezbollah-Israel attacks, diplomacy and deescalation efforts, difficulties surrounding UNSCR 1701's implementation, opposition capabilities and the likelihood of expanded war into Lebanon. Read his recent piece 'Changing the Israel-Lebanon Status Quo: U.S. Options': https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/changing-israel-lebanon-status-quo-us-options 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 0:00 Intro 0:39 An asset for Iran 2:27 Vis-a-vis Lebanese authorities 7:15 Gains to the South 10:38 On Lebanon’s behalf 14:38 UNSCR 1701 18:35 Stalling at best 22:21 July 2006 vs October 2023 27:01 Missed opportunities 30:19 Syrian refugees 33:35 Absent from diplomacy 34:58 Through my father

A conversation with Ralph Baydoun - media monitor and analyst, and founder of Influeanswers. Taped live at Aaliya's Books. A discussion on the wider role of media monitoring and online data analysis, an explanation of social listening and research on state-sponsored weaponization of social media, different tools to measure online content's 'viral' impact, built-in polarization that contributes to the spread of disinformation, and partial curbing measures that platforms - and countries - are taking. 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 1:29 Lebanese media 7:05 Cambridge Analytica 12:27 Measuring impact 18:41 Social listening 23:23 Online to mainstream 27:07 Weaponization of social media 34:38 Dead internet theory 41:21 Strategic communication ministry 46:!1 Lebanon 55:46 Built-in polarization 1:00:10 Canada 1:04:19 Q&A

A conversation with Maya Gebeily- Reuters Bureau Chief of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. An episode co-hosted by Wael Taleb - journalist at L'Orient Today. Covering Issam Abdallah's killing, the investigation process into the October 13 Israeli attack on Lebanese reporters, Reuters' response and special report, along with the wider difficulties matched with fact-finding ethics of reporting from a war zone like South Lebanon. See Reuters special report released on December 7, 2023: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-LEBANON/JOURNALIST/akveabxrzvr/ https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/29/un-report-israeli-killing-journalist-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 1:32 Collaborate together 5:20 Coverage of South Lebanon 9:41 October 13 15:34 Pressure vs scrutiny 18:38 Hyper-politicized 20:41 Aftermath of October 13 24:01 The investigation 27:16 Investigation’s findings 29:17 The clear picture 33:01 Calculations of coverage 37:29 A really dark time

A conversation with Lorenzo Trombetta - senior Middle East correspondent and analyst. Taped live at Aaliya's Books. A look back on Lorenzo's two decades long career as a correspondent for ANSA and LiMes covering Syria and Lebanon, and as a researcher looking at power relations within the Assad regime, the intermediary dynamics that shape modern Syrian history and the geopolitics that have dominated both countries' fate. His recent publication: 'Negotiation and Power in the Middle East. The roots of conflicts in Syria and the region' will be available in English early 2025. 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 3:33 What brought you to Beirut? 9:45 The role of a correspondent 19:28 Nuance 25:50 Syria through Lebanon 36:04 The fate of both countries 51:36 The Syrian Mandate 1:04:47 The Syrian system 1:12:57 Into Lebanese affairs 1:18:32 Regional dynamics 1:30:55 Right now 1:39:01 Q&A

My interview with LBC (UK) Radio on continued escalation along the Lebanese-Israeli border and attacks against UNIFIL observers.

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