Episodes

  • To Aaliya's - with Nadia Tabbara, Brother Michael, Wael Taleb, Ronnie Chatah & William Dobson

    To Aaliya's - with Nadia Tabbara, Brother Michael, Wael Taleb, Ronnie Chatah & William Dobson
    Dec 21 2024
    Words shared on the closing evening of Aaliya's Books. With Nadia Tabbara, Brother Michael, Wael Taleb, Ronnie Chatah & William Dobson. For Niamh Fleming-Farrel, William Dobson & the Aaliya's community. 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 0:09 Nadia Tabbara 5:59 Brother Michael 12:45 Wael Taleb 17:57 Ronnie Chatah 28:31 William Dobson
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    35 mins
  • Decades Apart - An interview by Marie Jo Sader on the End of the Assad Regime

    Decades Apart - An interview by Marie Jo Sader on the End of the Assad Regime
    Dec 21 2024
    An interview by the gifted Marie Jo Sader, a Paris and Beirut-based independent journalist and 2023 Lokman Slim Prize winner for her investigative work on the circumstances of Lokman Slim's assassination. A discussion on the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a retrospective on anti-Assad protests that shaped Lebanon in 2005 and wider implications for Lebanon, Syria and the region. Follow Marie Jo Sader on X [at]mariejosader 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 0:22 Decades apart 3:17 Post Syria occupation journey 5:01 Signature elimination 6:59 Political reasons & calculations 8:27 Coordination between Syria & Iran 9:47 The Lebanese 'state' 12:38 Emotions of the moment 15:10 Notions of justice 17:14 Mohamad Chatah today
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    19 mins
  • The Fall of the Assad Regime with Bashshar Haydar (Ep.411)

    The Fall of the Assad Regime with Bashshar Haydar (Ep.411)
    Dec 18 2024
    An episode on the fall of the Assad regime and its implications on Syria and Lebanon. Covering the rapid collapse of the Assad regime, identity formation in the wake of over half a century of minoritarian rule mired by tyranny, where Iran stands in the near future and a wider ambition for the region carried by hope. With Bashshar Haydar, professor of philosophy at The American University of Beirut. The Nidaa al Watan article mentioned is accessible here: https://www.nidaalwatan.com/article/297082-الهوية-الوطنية-لسوريا-ما-بعد-الأسد 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 2:37 Carried by hopes 6:50 Many reasons for Assad’s end 11:31 The last stretch of the regime 20:29 Turkish ambition 24:58 Dictatorial security machine 28:07 Minority rule 31:05 Intervention 38:07 Arab nationalism & myth 41:51 We are people who suffered 48:40 Forced identity 55:00 Political Islam 1:06:51 Druze border villages & Golan Heights 1:08:27 Israeli military measures 1:12:34 The problem of peace & Israel 1:14:02 Back to Lebanon 1:21:55 The Iranian regime moving forward 1:26:23 Less pessimistic than usual
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Dominant Narratives & Ideologies - hosted by Ralph Baydoun w/George Wardini & Ronnie Chatah (Ep.410)

    Dominant Narratives & Ideologies - hosted by Ralph Baydoun w/George Wardini & Ronnie Chatah (Ep.410)
    Dec 9 2024
    Recorded Thursday, 5 December 2024. Three days before the Assad regime's fall. An episode for Syria & Lebanon. Hosted by Ralph Baydoun (founder of Influeanswers) with George Wardini (director of PolyBlog) and Ronnie Chatah (host of The Beirut Banyan). Ralph Baydoun leads the discussion and posits 'resistance'-focused counter narratives to neutrality and sub-state disarmament discourse. The conversation includes the potential for Israeli settlements in southern Lebanon, communities allegedly abandoned by the state, liberation as a so-called just means for continued armed struggle, the Lebanese army's limits in offensive and defensive measures, and how ideology and misinformation leads to false assumptions. Make sure to check out and support Ralph Baydoun's Patreon channel: https://www.patreon.com/Perspectiveleb Follow Ralph Baydoun on IG: [at]perspectiveleb and George Wardini on IG: [at]polyblog.lebanon 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 2:48 Up to the Litani 8:17 Ultranationalism 13:03 Settlement literature 17:25 Vulnerability 22:18 Dreams & religion 28:40 Constant war in Lebanon 30:02 Indefensible borders 37:13 Abandoned by the state 42:27 Sectarianism & sacrifice 51:45 The Syrian regime 53:47 Foreign involvement 1:00:21 Expansion & retreat 1:03:51 Liberation in itself 1:07:14 In the name 1:11:59 Warlike reasons to fight 1:14:45 The Lebanese army 1:16:41 A winning argument 1:21:51 Resistance
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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Dust Over Dahiyeh - An interview

    Dust Over Dahiyeh - An interview
    Nov 21 2024
    Outtakes from an interview on my New Lines piece following Hassan Nasrallah's death titled "Dust Over Dahiyeh". Link to article: https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/hassan-nasrallah-the-killing-of-a-killer/ 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 0:05 Why did you title your recent piece in New Lines Magazine, "The Killing of a Killer"? 0:59 Why is there no feeling of satisfaction? 2:16 Is this a particularly Lebanese experience? 2:37 How do you see Lebanon right now? 4:13 Is this a long war? 6:26 What do you think of Netanyahu's comments to Lebanese? 8:51 Is Netanyahu's rhetoric dangerous for Lebanese? 10:10 Can you criticize this war without risk? 11:44 Do you sense an atmosphere of intimidation? 14:06 Can you differentiate security problems from politics? 15:44 What are 'red flags' for criticism? 16:30 Is Hezbollah popular today in Lebanon? 18:22 Can Israel eradicate Hezbollah? 19:57 Is Lebanon's destiny doomed to failure?
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    22 mins
  • Trump, 1982 & civil strife with Bashshar Haydar & Michael Young

    Trump, 1982 & civil strife with Bashshar Haydar & Michael Young
    Nov 11 2024
    POINT COUNTERPOINT - Episode 2 An exchange on political affairs impacting Lebanon and the Middle East, with a unique vantage point from Beirut. Co-hosted by Bashshar Haydar (professor of philosophy at AUB) and Michael Young (senior editor at Carnegie’s Middle East Center and editor of Diwan) - both Beirut-based analysts sharing their nuanced perspectives while honing in on disagreements. Episode 2 covers three topics: (1) Trump's election win and what that means for US policy towards Lebanon; (2) the example of 1982 and drawing parallels between Western support for Bachir Gemayel's presidency and Joseph Aoun's current status as a potential consensus candidate; and (3) examining preconditions for internal strife and why the likelihood for a return to civil war is low. Michael Young's articles discussed during this episode include: "Trump or Harris? It's pointless to ask who's better for the Middle East" - The National https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2024/11/06/donald-trump-kamala-harris-middle-east-foreign-policy-israel-gaza/ and "Is Hezbollah Moving In?" - Diwan https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2024/10/coming-to-a-neighborhood-near-you?lang=en Stay tuned for more episodes. 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 1:53 Donald Trump's election win 20:16 The Example of 1982 43:04 The Potential for Civil Strife 1:04:34 Outro
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Neutrality & Lebanon by Mohamad Chatah

    Neutrality & Lebanon by Mohamad Chatah
    Aug 2 2024
    From a panel that took place in late November 2013, with the presence of Switzerland and Austria’s then-ambassadors to Lebanon. Including some of my father’s last words on the fundamental need for neutrality, 1701’s necessity, what neutralization actually means and how it worked (albeit briefly) in the 1950s & 60s. We should have no role in regional war other than shielding ourselves from its rippling effects. There are ideological voices today ranging from frustrated academics with fringe access to politics to propaganda-fuelled journalists blinded by hate that are insisting our fate should remain tied to Gaza while making their case for Hezbollah. Ignore them.
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    11 mins
  • Tragedy & Absurdity (Ep.409)

    Tragedy & Absurdity (Ep.409)
    Jul 31 2024
    On all that is happening in Beirut's southern suburbs, southern Lebanon and the region vis-a-vis Israel and Iran. Along with absent Lebanese diplomacy and the upcoming port blast anniversary. 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
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    12 mins