Simply Youth Podcast

Latest episode featuring entrepreneur Ayah Bdeir is out now on all streaming platforms!

"What do you expect when you appoint a Merrill Lynch trader as the governor of the Central Bank? You prioritize quick, unreasonable gains that help benefit every middle and upper class citizen. But the game is over now."

Dr. George Corm stepped into office as the Minister of Finance in the 1998 Salim El Hoss government. He sought to reverse the years of post-war neoliberal policies set by savvy businessman Rafic el Hariri. The rentier economy which created an illusion of prosperity and got Hariri immense wealth and support was always meant to fail.

During his tenure, Corm designed a five-year Fiscal Stabilization Plan, prepared the 2000 Privatization law, paid all State arrears to the private sector, and prepared the introduction of VAT.

Right now, Corm is furious. With subsidies being lifted and foreign reserves missing, Salameh is still protected by most political parties.

"The leftist parties in Lebanon are weak due to the long absence of a powerful, global association that truly represents what left-wing politics can achieve."

Sociologist, historian, and leftist intellectual Ahmad Beydoun has seen it all. He has published over fifteen books on Lebanon's societal and political system, with a special emphasis on constructing a national identity given the prevalent communitarianism. His most popular work, "Le Liban: Itinéraires dans une Guerre Incivile" (1993) reflects on the structure of inter-communities and calls for a strong state, capable of dialoguing with internal and external wills and of standing up to them.

With the institutionalization of religious communities, how can we unify a society based on multiple belonging? How can we reconcile the mistrust and the paralysis of the Lebanese government? And, most importantly, how can we learn from a history that is only spoken behind closed doors?

"Back in the Days (feat. Dr. Ahmad Beydoun" is out now on Spotify and other platforms.

New episode on Friday!

"Over the mountains of Lebanon, the skies were dark, the stars intense, and the Milky Way mesmerizing."

In the final episods of our miniseries, Dr. George Helou reflects on his time as a physics student at AUB. While most of his peers and professors discouraged him from studying physics, Helou was stubborn. He got his PhD from Cornell and slowly became the world's leading pioneer in infrared astronomy.

After working with Carl Sagan on the Golden Record, Helou developed infrared technology in order to observe the universe like never before. Since 1983, Helou has worked with NASA and is currently the executive director of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and a professor at Caltech.

Listen to "Postcards from Space (feat. Dr. George Helou)" to learn about exoplanets, blackholes, and the secret behind all the fabulous pictures of space.

“They were a bunch of adventurous kids, trying to mix chemicals at Caltech and see which one blows up more. This is the story of JPL."

Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Charles Elachi always looked out for what's beyond his mundane life in the city of Zahlé. After studying physics in France, Elachi travelled west.

In 1970, he joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecrafts. After getting 4 master's degrees and a PhD from Caltech, Elachi became the director of JPL. Under his tenure, NASA launched Genesis, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and most importantly the Mars Curiosity Rover.

He then became the Vice President of Caltech and now is a professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Planetary Science there.

He wants the young space enthusiasts to know that JPL can be their "serious playground". With innovation and multiple mistakes, JPL managed to send the most technologically advanced rover to Mars. So what's stopping you?

Listen to "All Roads Lead to Space (feat. Dr. Charles Elachi)" this Friday on all streaming platforms.

Within its 10,452 m^2 area, Lebanon is home to 16,000 Non-Governmental Organizations, many established after the August 4th blast.

Many have been in public spotlight after vibrant initiatives to call for the amendement of unfair legislations and support of marginalized communities. However, how healthy is this dependence on the Civil Society?

Is Lebanon becoming a republic of NGOs, a self-reliant group of citizens trying to compensate for the now-normalized government's negligence? If you want to help, where should you begin with?

While some are funded by rich political figures and others are just empty offices with sketchy financial statements, some organizations stand out.

Founded in 1979, Amel Association has set an example to lead by. It has opened 24 medical centers and offered accessible medical and psychosocial services. Amel is well-recognized internationally and was the first Lebanese organization to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.

Join us in a conversation with Dr. Zeina Mohanna, lecturer at the American University of Beirut and member of the Board of Directors at Amel.

"State within a state" is out now on all streaming platforms.

For some, it’s their childhood dream. But, for Maya Nasr (@nasr.maya), it’s her 9-to-5 job helping NASA in their Mars 2020 Space Mission.

Want to be in her place?

1) Get into MIT at 16 years old while being a Lebanese citizen. Easy enough.

2) Study Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering and graduate with distinction.

3) Dedicate all your time to exciting research and internships.

Then, you just need enough passion and grit to land yourself a job exploring the secrets of the universe at NASA.

Maya is also an advocate for expanding space exploration and ensuring the peaceful use of space through her work in the United Nations’ Space Generation Advisory Council. Now, as a PhD student at MIT, she is working on MOXIE to make oxygen gas available on Mars.

We welcome you to our new miniseries "Trip to the Stars" where we will be featuring top Lebanese scientists at NASA. You read that correctly.

To learn more about Maya's work, tune in to "Girl Meets World feat. Maya Nasr" on all streaming platforms.

It started as an afterschool feminist club. One year later, it set off a volatile chain reaction of new campaigns empowering women across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Girl Up (@girlupcampaign) was founded in 2010 by the United Nations foundation and has impacted more than 75,000 girls in nearly 125 countries.

Launched in 2019, Girl Up Lebanon (@girluplebanon) is a safe space for tens of Lebanese teenagers who have had it enough with the patriarchy. A meeting place to initiate necessary conversations, Girl Up Lebanon has started a national movement to raise awareness on the most pressing issues facing Arab girls.

As former president of Girl Up Lebanon, Rym Badran (@rymbadran) is a fierce advocate for intersectional feminism and believes teenagers must politically aware and charged, especially given the grave violations to women's rights in Lebanon. With the help of former secretary Aya Atallah (@ayaa_atallah), Girl Up Lebanon has raised awareness on the Kafala System, domestic abuse, and more. Yes, they are bunch of teenagers, but they are ready to fight for their rights.

Listen to "Rebel with a Cause" and learn more about how Girl Up Lebanon started, the challenges of social media activism, and how we must advocate for Arab feminism.

Out tomorrow on all streaming platforms.

There are 250,000 migrant workers in Lebanon according to governmental figures. The real number is closer to 400,000 based on recent reports by the UN's International Organization of Migration.

The discrepancy is the product of the human trafficking of mainly women and young girls from impoverished countries. Promised a haven on the Mediterranean coast, they are met with physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. They are slaves to the Kafala system, the offspring of the patriarchal and racist ideologies that the men in suits have enforced.

First, you arrive to the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Your passport is taken away. In a small van, tens of women are transported to the agencies. There, you are degraded and sold off to a lucky couple. You live in a 2 by 2 meters "maid's room" and work from 7 AM till 10 PM everyday. Hey, if you work enough, you might get phone privileges!

Some women are raped and many are not paid at the end of the month. The Kafala system doesn't provide these workers with the basic human rights.

This is Lebanon (@thisislebanon961 ) wants to help those women who have been silenced for too long. Especially during the economic crisis Lebanon is facing, migrant workers are stranded in front of their embassies with zero dollars to their name. Also, most workers will not be able to get vaccinated. They offer them financial, legal, and emotional aid, along with a ticket back home. They are fighting against the Lebanese court's decision not to include migrant workers under the unified labor law.

Do not miss our episode with Zain Lawson, the co-founder of This is Lebanon. We delve deep into the Kafala System, the pain those workers endure, and how This is Lebanon seeks to support the young girls trapped with no where to go.

Maid in Hell (feat. This is Lebanon) is out this Friday on all streaming platforms.