After a whirlwind month of travel, Lucien and Dr. Hanaa are back on The TWENTY30 Podcast—and strap in, because they have a LOT of catching up to do. A lot has happened in the fast-paced, fast-changing Kingdom over the past few weeks. The hosts try to tackle as much of it as they can in this episode to kick off the season and a regular schedule of content excellence for listeners and viewers. 

In this show, Lucien leads a DEEPDIVE on the latest "Giga Project" coming to Saudi Arabia: The monumental King Salman Gate project—Mecca’s 12 million m² transformation. The new designs and visuals released by authorities are impressive, but so too are the plans for  heritage preservation. The move is a play to enhance religious tourism as part of Saudi’s economic diversification. The move also reflects the reality of Saudi Arabia as host to the largest annual human migration event on the planet for millions of followers of Islam, and to make that journey more inspirational, peaceful and safe for visitors to the Kingdom.

After the DEEPDIVE, the hosts roll up their sleeves for an expanded NEWS segment, covering the launch of Riyadh University of the Arts (RUA), a first-of-its-kind institution nurturing the next generation of Saudi creatives, Saudi’s film industry, Riyadh Fashion Week, MDLBeast Soundstorm 2025 (Cardi B!), and what we know right now about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s planned U.S. visit.

We're so back!

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