The Beirut Banyan Ronnie Chatah

A conversation with Michael Young - senior editor at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut and editor of Diwan, Carnegie's Middle East blog.

Covering latest Iranian and Israeli attacks, symbolism & psychological notions of victory, US policy vis-a-vis Israel and inherent obstacles towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, the lack of good options for Lebanon and an indefinitely stalled Baadba process.

Read his recent pieces for Diwan:
https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/experts/1258

Previously, Michael Young was opinion editor, as well as a columnist, for the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon. He writes a biweekly commentary for the National (Abu Dhabi) and is author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle. The book was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of its ten notable books of 2010, and won the Silver Prize in the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s book prize competition of 2010.

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0:00 Intro
1:12 Latest Iranian strike
5:54 Israel & escalation
8:12 Netanyahu’s positioning
10:32 Significance & symbolism
16:18 US posture vis-a-vis Israel
23:40 Hezbollah-Iranian relations
30:58 A two-front war
32:58 Lebanese front
35:10 Northern Israeli factors
37:20 Defeating Hamas?
38:52 Hezbollah & ‘victory’
43:16 Psychological gains
47:32 ‘Legitimization’
50:00 Drones above Israel
53:18 Machine functionality
55:31 US policy shifts
58:10 Biden & elections
1:04:51 Arab-Israeli ‘peace’
1:12:37 Possible partition
1:16:01 No options for Lebanon
1:18:45 US-led pressure
1:22:17 Lebanese Forces & Baabda
1:27:31 Record your voice

A conversation with David Schenker - Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

Covering ongoing Hezbollah-Israel attacks, diplomacy and deescalation efforts, difficulties surrounding UNSCR 1701's implementation, opposition capabilities and the likelihood of expanded war into Lebanon.

Read his recent piece 'Changing the Israel-Lebanon Status Quo: U.S. Options':
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/changing-israel-lebanon-status-quo-us-options

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
0:39 An asset for Iran
2:27 Vis-a-vis Lebanese authorities
7:15 Gains to the South
10:38 On Lebanon’s behalf
14:38 UNSCR 1701
18:35 Stalling at best
22:21 July 2006 vs October 2023
27:01 Missed opportunities
30:19 Syrian refugees
33:35 Absent from diplomacy
34:58 Through my father

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:
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
1:29 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.