Discussion of HRW's Beirut Blast report begins at 07:30.

Ben and Timour are joined this week by Aya Majzoub, Lebanon and Bahrain researcher at Human Right's Watch, to walk through HRW's mammoth 700+ page report: “They Killed Us from the Inside” An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast)

One year on from the deadly explosion that killed 218 people, wounded 7,000 and displaced 300,000, the report breaks down how the Rhosus and it's cargo came to be in Beirut, the catalogue of failures across the Lebanese state that allowed 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to be unsafely stored for so long and how best to seek justice for the victims.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Hariri's resignation starts at 17:50.

Ben, Nizar and Timour are back to analyse the latest in Lebanon's ongoing crisis, including protests over the lack of progress in the Beirut Port explosion investigation, potential sanctions against Lebanon's political class and our main focus, the resignation of PM-designate Saad Hariri.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's finances begins at 07:19.

After a week packed with financial news, Ben and Timour are joined by Omar Tamo, journalist at L'Orient Today focused on banking and finance, to discuss the latest array of confusing decisions and negotiations between Lebanon's central bank and commerical banks and what it all means for ordinary depositors and Lebanon's struggling subsidy program.

Also discussed: cabinet formation, Lebanon's new sexual harrassment law, the STL and the World Bank's latest economic monitor.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on the new opposition in Lebanon begins at 11:00.

Nizar and Timo are joined this week by Hussein El Achi, lawyer, activist and secretary general of new political movement Minteshreen, to talk about the landscape of Lebanon's opposition, the dynamics of coalition forming and early projections for next year's parliamentary elections.

Also discussed: Assad's election victory, corona in Lebanon, BDL's dwindling reserves and the Lebanese army looking for aid.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Palestine starts at 11:11.

Ben and Nizar are joined this week by Laura Albast, communications and social media manager at the Institute for Palestine Studies, to discuss Palestine, the #SaveSheikhJarrah campaign and if the momentum and solidarity in response to the latest violence can translate into improvements for Palestinians on the ground.

Also discussed: Lebanon's covid situation, the Charbel Wehbi scandal, government formation and violence at pro-Assad rallies during Syrian expat elections.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on access to data starts at 16:20.

Ben and Timour are joined by Assaad Thebian, co-founder and managing director of the Gherbal Initiative, a project that aims to make data visually accessible to the public, to discuss access to information in Lebanon and how data can challenge narratives and empower citizens.

Also discussed: coronavirus, movement in the Beirut blast investigation, the Hajj Hobeiche case, investigations against Riad Salameh, the economic crisis and little progress on cabinet formation.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's media landscape begins at 15:15.

Ben and Nizar are joined by Jean Kassir, co-founder of Megaphone, an independent news platform, to discuss Lebanon's media landscape, the constraints and failures of traditional media and the challenges facing alternative media.

Also covered: the latest on coronavirus, port reconstruction plans, BDL's audit and cabinet formation.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's Great Famine begins at 11:30.

Nizar and Timour are joined by Christian Taoutel, head of the history department at the USJ to talk about Lebanon’s 1915-1918 famine and the parallels it has to the situation in the country today.

Also discussed: coronavirus numbers on the rise, the lira fluctuating wildly, calls for resignations but no progress on cabinet formation and the latest on lifting subsidies.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Timour and Ben are joined this week by political journalist Jad Ghosn to put the news of a hectic past week in the country into context by discussing the politics underpinning it all and whether or not March 8 and March 14 still hold up as prisms with which to analyse Lebanon.

Discussed in the episode is the rise in daily coronavirus cases, the controversy over the treatement of Dr Sandrine Atallah, protests across the country, shocking statements from security officials, the passing of the World Bank loan with Parliament's amendments, electricity on the brink of running out and cabinet formation.

Referenced: https://www.reuters.com/article/lebanon-women-sexuality/lebanese-sexologist-lambasts-ridicule-by-childish-tv-hosts-idUSL8N2L8522

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on extreme inequality in Lebanon and the country's tax system begins at 33:00.

Ben, Nizar and Timour are joined this week by Lydia Assouad, a PhD candidate at the Paris School of Economics and research fellow at the World Inequality Lab, to discuss why levels of inequality in Lebanon are so extreme and how this inequality is reflected in Lebanon's tax system.

Also covered: blackouts across the country, a scandal over vaccine distrubition to MPs, the protest at Bkerki and the use of terrorism charges against Tripoli protesters.

Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel