Egyptian vendors are reselling leftover and expired foods to Egypt's poor at heavily discounted prices.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman is joined by Karl Sharro, an architect, satirist, and commentator on the Middle East who blogs and tweets as @KarlreMarks. Karl talks about how he developed his style of comedy and the role satire has played in the Arab World. Then, Natasha, Will, and Jon talk about what satire can tell us about the Middle East.

• Karl Sharro, "Explaining Lebanon's Problems in One Minute," Karl Sharro Youtube, October 2, 2020.
• Ahmed Albasheer, "Muhasasa," Albasheer Show Youtube, November 20, 2019.
• Al-Rahel Al-Kabir, "Madad Baghdadi," Al-Rahel Al-Kabir Youtube, August 20, 2014.
• Karl Sharro, "Study confirms Lebanon is indeed the centre of the universe," Karl reMarks, April 5, 2013.
• Episode Transcript: "Satire and Comedy in the Arab World," CSIS, December 15, 2020.

Across the Middle East, ride sharing apps are helping address the region's addressing problems.

This week on Babel, Jon is joined by Sunil John, founder of Asda’a BCW and president for the Middle East and North Africa for BCW, where he runs the annual Arab Youth Survey. Sunil and John talk about the results of this year's survey. They also talk about how his team develops the survey and how it has changed over the last decade. Then, Natasha, McKinley, and Jon discuss their own experiences developing trust in research.

• Asda'a BCW, "Top 10 Findings of the Arab Youth Survey," Arab Youth Survey, 2020.
• Jon Alterman, "Designating the Houthis as Terrorists Would be a Mistake," DefenseOne, November 25, 2020.
• Jumana Khamis, "Survey sheds lights on hopes, expectations of Arab region's college students," Arab News, November 24, 2020.
• Jon Alterman, "Pivoting to Asia Doesn't Get You Out of the Middle East," CSIS, October 19, 2020.
• Transcript, "Surveying Arab Youth," CSIS, December 1, 2020.

Amidst a tangle of political banners, martyrs’ portraits, and crisscrossing power lines in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, the image of a boy gazes down. Sixteen-year-old Muhammad Okasha is celebrated in death, but unlike the fighters whose images otherwise line the streets, he did not die for the Palestinian cause. Hailed as an “electricity martyr,” he died struggling to bring power to his home.

Song Credit: "Uncertain Ground" from Duck Lake.

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman talks with Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East North Africa Programme at Chatham House, where she leads the Future Dynamics in the Gulf project and the Iran Forum. Sanam and Jon talk about how Iran is thinking about the Biden presidency. They also talk about the upcoming election in Iran and what that could mean for Iran's strategy towards the United States. Then, Jon, Natasha, and Will discuss the Biden administration's likely approach to Iran.

• Sanam Vakil, "Five Key Learnings for the Biden Administration," Chatham House, November 12, 2020.
• Jon Alterman, "Actions in Anticipation of the Iranian Election," CSIS, October 5, 2020.
• Jon Alterman, "The Killing of Quds Force Commander Qasim Suleimani," CSIS, January 3, 2020.
• Sanam Vakil, "By Pulling Out of Nuclear Deal, Trump Hands Gift to Iranian Hardliners," Chatham House, May 9, 2018.
• Transcript, "Iran and the New U.S. Administration," CSIS, November 17, 2020.

In July 2019, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu denounced the excessive use of Arabic on the city’s storefronts.

Song Credits: "Bir Demet Yasemen" from Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road; the track Gambrel via Blue Dot Sessions; and the end music is from Syrian street musicians Munzer Sheikh Alkar and Jemal Shber in Istanbul.

This week on Babel, Jon is joined by Hassan Barari, a professor of international politics at University of Jordan who is currently on leave teaching at Qatar University. Jon and Hassan talk about how the Middle East has viewed past U.S. administrations and the current one. They also talk about what a Biden administration might mean for the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Then, Jon, Will, and Danny discuss anti-Americanism in the Middle East.

• Jon Alterman, "Pivoting to Asia Doesn't Get You Out of the Middle East," CSIS, October 19, 2020.
• Jon Alterman, "Actions in Anticipation of Iranian Elections," CSIS, October 5, 2020.
• Will Law, "From Obama to Trump: U.S. Policy in the Middle East," Arab Digest, September 25, 2020.
• Episode Transcript, "How the Middle East Views the U.S. Election," CSIS, November 3, 2020.

Some treat diplomacy in the Middle East like political theater—but for South Korea, it’s more of a musical.

Music Credits: Highride & Club Felix from the album Radio Pink via Blue Dot Studios.

This week Jon is joined by Hassan Hassan, director of the program on non-state actors in geopolitics at the Center for Global Policy and the editor-in-chief of its new online journal, Newlines Magazine. Hassan talks to Jon about his late colleague, Hisham al-Hashimi, and the research Hisham was conducting on the rise of Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Then, Natasha, Will, and Jon talk about the affects of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

• Hassan Hassan, "How Iraq's Top ISIS Scholar Became a Target for Shi'ite Militias," Newlines Magazine, October 4, 2020.
• Hassan Hassan, "ISIS in Iraq and Syria: Rightsizing the Current 'Comeback'," Center for Global Policy, May 12, 2020.
• Hisham al-Hashimi and Renad Mansour, "ISIS Inc." Foreign Policy, January 16, 2018.
• Episode Transcript, "The Rise of Iraq’s Shi'ite Militias," CSIS, October 20, 2020.