The Beirut Banyan

0:00 Intro

2:36 What brought you to journalism?

7:07 Attention span

9:34 Narrative

13:49 Media's role

22:43 Preconceived notions

27:34 Public-funded media

32:52 Why are you going to Doha?

36:12 Baabda

49:19 Doing what you're doing

53:07 Friendly argument vs journalist grilling

58:28 Appreciation for audio

1:03:23 Q&A

1:28:41 Accountability

1:41:48 Ireland & sectarianism

We're with Imogen Kimber for Episode 364 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/i4bpVDbOkKU

For the first half of the episode we reflect on Imogen's journalism career since her arrival to the Middle East in 2005, a foundation formed in the UK that has only grown deeper since, and a rapid evolution in digital media over the past two decades.

Our conversation includes media's role and effectiveness in shaping expression, the difference between a journalist and an opinion analyst, and an independent role journalists can shape in private and public-funded media.

The second half covers my thoughts on the ongoing presidential election, a security paralysis that has stunted politics and why shaping narrative matters when looking back on modern Lebanese history.

The audience Q&A tackles both halves as well as a section on Ireland's more recent journey through sectarianism.

Imogen Kimber is a journalist and former Lebanon correspondent for TRT. She is moving to Doha to become a news producer at AlJazeera English.

Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:

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@thebeirutbanyan

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GENXZ is a miniseries hosted by Sarah Al Asmar that tackles Lebanese political, economic and social issues from a youth perspective.

For this episode Sarah is joined by Amira Kazoun, USJ MA graduate in clinical psychology and president of the university's mental health club.

Click to watch video-version: https://youtu.be/DpNx8zpGXdw

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:

1:57 Sense of belonging

3:47 Civil war

7:47 Busy surviving

10:03 Mental health awareness

17:17 Lebanese context

20:49 Stigmatized

24:10 Generational trauma

27:04 National identity

30:26 ‘Triggering’

35:57 Humor & healing

40:06 Finland

43:21 Discomfort

46:06 Pain

50:26 Professional help

53:53 Limits

59:01 Prevention

0:00 Intro

2:22 The last three years

16:33 Tourism & narrative

24:27 Lebanon's role

32:56 Consequential to stability

37:24 Expression

42:31 Branding

48:00 Cosmopolitanism

56:39 Q&A

1:25:38 History of wine in the region

We're with Michael Karam for Episode 363 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click for video version: https://youtu.be/gcNOVWJ830k

We reflect on the past three years of political instability, economic collapse and rampant impunity, and the general viability of Lebanon's wine industry moving forward.

Our conversation includes a reflection of Michael's co-created 'Wine and War' film available on Amazon Prime (for free), a general decline of Levantine cosmopolitanism in the region and the role free expression plays in both journalism and cultural identity.

The episode wraps up with a brief history of wine in the region during the audience Q&A.

Michael Karam is a journalist and wine writer.

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

GENXZ is a miniseries hosted by Sarah Al Asmar that tackles Lebanese political, economic and social issues from a youth perspective.

For her first episode, Sarah is joined by William Noun, political activist and younger brother of Joe Noun.

Click to watch video-version: https://youtu.be/nE6ja6THLUE

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 new miniseries hosted by Sarah Al Asmar, covering all things youth-related in Lebanon.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/tOeUz6M2Mfc

For this introduction Sarah sits with me and outlines what she hopes to achieve with her new role as a host on The Beirut Banyan, and the topics she intends to focus in on.

Stay tuned for weekly episodes beginning this June!

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

1:51 One year after the election

10:57 Research & political psychology

37:28 Defining sectarianism

1:01:11 National identity

1:23:23 Q&A

We're with Ramzi Abou-Ismail for Episode 362 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/qIiLdcpx9XI

We reflect on a year following parliamentary elections best defined by paralysis and Ramzi's political psychology research focusing on behavior, attitude and collective violence that pervades modern Lebanese history.

Our conversation includes an in-depth examination of what sectarianism really means along with the wider case for a national identity that transcends sects and communities.

Ramzi Abou-Ismail is a political psychologist.

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

0:51 Finding the castle

14:29 Refugee influx

28:41 David Saad

47:57 Sensitivity

54:25 Q&A

1:08:05 Relics that survived

We're with Mohamad El Chamaa for Episode 361 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/Ebjl3XrlyKk

We discuss three articles of his long-form articles, including a piece on a forgotten crusader castle, European Jewish refugees arriving to Beirut in the 1930s and a sports history story dating back to the 1970s about a Lebanese Jewish Olympian David Saad.

Our conversation includes a Q&A section that reflects on relics from the civil war era, downtown Beirut's devolution, destruction and reconstruction in retrospect and an audience debate on lessons learned from our history vs capabilities that can shape our destiny.

Mohamad El Chamaa is a journalist and urban planner.

Special thanks to Samer Beyhum for his audio-technical support.

What’s to become of Beirut’s forgotten castle?

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1290303/whats-to-become-of-beiruts-forgotten-castle.html

How Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis found shelter in Beirut

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1302727/how-jewish-refugees-fleeing-the-nazis-found-shelter-in-beirut.html

I was as Lebanese as Anyone: The Story of David Saad, Lebanon’s Last Jewish Olympian

https://books.google.com.lb/books?id=0jVlEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT49&dq=david+saad+(b.+1954)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiryaflorf3AhWH_7sIHYb2CdcQ6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q&f=false

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

2:22 Two different opinions

6:11 Recent trip

13:02 Left to the margins

20:23 2006-2008

26:08 Back to the process

31:51 No IMF deal & no port blast investigation

37:25 Baabda

48:08 A third candidate

52:25 Municipal elections

59:17 Q&A

1:33:29 "Largest militia in the world"

We're with Najat Aoun Saliba for Episode 360 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch :https://youtu.be/JEbMyUvm6lU

We discuss the necessity for international action and protection, recent trips to Geneva and New York, the likelihood for no IMF deal / port blast investigation and a clear stand regarding Baabda.

Our conversation includes circumventing political paralysis, security and state capture and a personal journey that began in civil society and entered politics over the past year.

Najat also reflects on her break from Taqaddom and a marked reassessment over how much leverage local agency offers while Hezbollah's security remains central to our politics.

Najat Aoun Saliba is a member of parliament.

Special thanks to Samer Beyhum for his audio-technical support.

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

0:45 Childhood in Philadelphia

7:49 News bulletin

21:19 Darkly funny

26:51 A place full of weird people

32:13 Israeli invasion

45:09 Azar & Arafat

58:32 The boy in Martyrs Square

1:03:28 Transition

1:11:44 Robert Fisk

1:17:04 Q&A

We're with George Azar for Episode 359 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/WfLoa1iz58M

We discuss a childhood in Philadelphia and university student journey to Beirut, and the civil war years that defined a professional career in photojournalism.

Our conversation includes covering the Israeli invasion and siege of Beirut and looking at a collage of photographs taken in the 1980s (among them with Yasser Arafat).

We also talk about Martyrs Square, dark humor in times of tragedy and shared memories of Robert Fisk.

George Azar is a photojournalist, documentary filmmaker and instructor in journalism and digital media at The American University of Beirut.

Special thanks to Samer Beyhum for his audio-technical support.

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

1:53 What brought you to journalism?

9:19 Linkage

14:08 The written word

21:52 Donations

25:09 Editorial

30:47 Cybercrime bureau case

42:31 Local vs regional issues

48:24 Intimidation

54:33 Switching roles

1:01:18 Radical

1:08:43 Q&A

We're with Lara Bitar for Episode 358 of The Beirut Banyan, recorded live at Aaliya’s Books.

Click to watch: https://youtu.be/2KZhlFMGi9A

We discuss her journey into journalism, creating The Public Source, an emphasis on marginalized communities and powerless voices, and an appreciation for long-form written word and analysis.

Our conversation includes what it means to be 'radical' as well as Lara's recent cybercrime bureau summoning.

Lara Bitar is Editor in Chief for The Public Source.

Special thanks to Samer Beyhum for his audio-technical support.

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