The Beirut Banyan

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:

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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