One pillar of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 development plan is NEOM, a land development, tourism, and model city project... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media, a London-based news site focusing on... more

Just over a week ago, Israel conducted multiple waves of airstrikes against military sites in Iran. These strikes were in... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Amjad Iraqi, a senior editor at +972 Magazine and an associate fellow... more

Last week, Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and one of the main architects of the October... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Lina Khatib, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North... more

One year after the tragedy of October 7th, Israel has launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon to counter Hezbollah.... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Peter Schwartzstein, an environmental journalist who reports on water, food security, and... more

On September 23rd, Israeli airstrikes killed more than 180 Lebanese in the country’s deadliest day of conflict since the 2006... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute... more

Last week, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza. According to Israeli authorities,... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Isabelle Werenfels, a senior fellow in the Middle East and Africa... more

Egyptians traditionally celebrate Sham Enessim, the country’s pharaonic spring holiday, by eating faseekh, a fermented mullet. But in the weeks... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Michelle Nunn, the president and CEO of CARE. Michelle leads more than... more

On July 31, Ismail Haniyeh, a senior leader of Hamas, was killed in Tehran. Just a day earlier, an Israeli... more

Last week, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington D.C. to deliver a speech to a joint meeting of Congress.... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Hasan Alhasan, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic... more

Masoud Pezeshkian recently won the runoff election to replace Iran's late president, Ebrahim Raisi. This week, Leah Hickert speaks with... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ambassador Karim Haggag. After an Egyptian diplomatic career that spanned more than 25 years,... more

On March 20, Saudi Arabia announced that it planned to invest $40 billion into AI development. This move comes on... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Karim Elgendy, an expert on climate and energy policy in the Middle... more

Recently, the Lebanese government developed a plan to deport Syrian refugees who were not registered with the United Nations, which... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Professor Jonathan Rynhold, the head of the Department of Political Studies at... more

Since the revolution, Tunisia has had 12 different governments. Amid chronic political instability, Tunisian institutions lack the legitimacy necessary to... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, about the impacts of... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based security consultant, the author of two books on... more

Desperate for stability and lured by promises of a life of luxury, a Syrian widow accepted a marriage proposal from... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hans Grundberg, the United Nations' special envoy of the secretary-general for Yemen.... more

Leah Hickert speaks with Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, about the tensions rising between Iran... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hiba Husseini, a Palestinian lawyer and a legal adviser to Israeli-Palestinian peace... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Will Todman, deputy director and senior fellow with the CSIS Middle East Program, about... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Natasha Hall, senior fellow with the CSIS Middle East Program, about the U.S. strategy... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dana Stroul, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Natasha Hall, senior fellow with the CSIS Middle East Program, about the challenges of... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Amos Yadlin, a former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate of the... more

On January 28, a drone reportedly piloted by forces connected to Iran killed three U.S. troops at a base in northeast Jordan... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Amb. David Satterfield, the U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues.... more

With violence between Palestinians and Israelis at its highest levels in decades, voices have risen again in favor of a... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Bader Al-Saif, a U.S.-trained Kuwaiti academic. Together, they discuss Kuwaitis’ perceptions of... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Will Todman, deputy director and senior fellow with the CSIS Middle East Program, about... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Yana Abu Taleb, the Jordanian director of EcoPeace Middle East, a trilateral... more

This week, Leah Hickert speaks with Will Todman, deputy director and senior fellow with the CSIS Middle East Program, about... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Rafat Al-Akhali, a Yemeni who went from being an exchange student in... more

China has established itself as an essential partner in Gulf states' energy transitions. However, Western governments have been reluctant to... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with music journalist Danny Hajjar about the changing Arab music scene. They talk... more

This week, Zeid Qiblawi speaks with Natasha Hall, senior fellow with the Middle East Program at CSIS, about the reversal... more

This week on Babel, you will hear excerpts from Jon Alterman's recent discussion with Chatham House experts Renad Mansour and... more

The Middle East is experiencing a water crisis exacerbated by climate change, inefficient water use, and decades of resource mismanagement.... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Palestinian-Israeli scholar and activist Rula Hardal about her life in both Israel... more

The Israeli military is the most formidable fighting force in the Middle East. And yet it is quite possible that... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Palestinian political analyst Khalil Sayegh about what people get wrong about Gaza,... more

A recent flurry of Islamic experimentation with artificial intelligence has been met with mixed results. A new Mezze from the CSIS... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Tel Aviv-based journalist and analyst Neri Zilber about the war in Gaza,... more

Just over two weeks after Hamas invaded Israel, Leah Hickert speaks with Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Lebanese journalist Dalal Mawad about her new book, All She Lost. The... more

In the desert region of Tindouf in southern Algeria, the sun beats down on sandy expanses that are home to... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman breaks down Egypt's economic crisis with Khalid Ikram, a veteran economist and consultant for... more

Conflict and instability hinder water data collection in the Middle East, thereby complicating water management strategies that could contribute to... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Tarek Megerisi, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.... more

Amid widespread shortages of basic products in Tunisia, grocery store owners have become like black marketeers in one manifestation of... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with award-winning Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. During the conversation, Abdul-Ahad discusses the fallout from... more

Baaloul is not like most towns in Lebanon for two reasons. First, its inhabitants do not use any of Lebanon’s... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Haneen Sayed, an international development expert and former lead specialist at the... more

Amer al-Azaawy founded a small solar company in Baghdad. With little public awareness about the benefits of solar energy and... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hana Al Omair, an award-winning Saudi writer and director, and chairwoman of... more

"The Bride of the Beqaa" captures the imagination of many Lebanese. The mountain city of Zahle overlooking the Beqaa plateau... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman welcomes Jason Rezaian back to the podcast. Jason is a former hostage and alongside... more

Through new urban planning projects, Saudi Arabia is encouraging its citizens to join a quiet revolution of walking. While many... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Shirin Hakim, head of the Environment, Climate Security, and Public Health unit... more

As power outages become more frequent in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is working to attract private investors in... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dalia Hatuqa, a Ramallah-based journalist who has published widely in leading outlets around... more

In a new episode of Babel, we talk to Will Todman about how even well-intentioned Western LGBTQ+ advocacy in the... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Christoph Reuter of Der Spiegel magazine, an award winning journalist and conflict reporter.... more

In mid-2022, Iranian authorities accused Israel and the United Arab Emirates of stealing their rain. But Iran’s increasingly dire water shortages make... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Nicolas Pelham of The Economist and author of a recent article in... more

As Egypt's economic crisis continues, a new proposition of introducing donkey meat to Egypt's cuisine causes public uproar amidst soaring... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hafsa Halawa of the Middle East Institute and author of a new paper... more

Suffering from a debilitating electricity and water shortage crisis, some communities in Libya resort to "power plays" and acts of... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Prof. Killian Clarke of Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service... more

GCC countries are beginning to tackle their obesity problem, but structural and cultural challenges to improving fitness abound. A New... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group. They talk about the current diplomatic... more

What started as a job advertisement for a sandwich maker in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) quickly landed one firm... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. They talk about the Saudi-Iranian agreement to... more

Imported entertainment options have flourished under MBS, helping erode the Saudi state’s ability to shape public culture. But now, Saudi... more

In a special episode of Babel to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Jon sits down... more

In Lebanon, neighboring communities are looking to connect and build off one another's initiatives, but a dysfunctional environment makes capitalizing... more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with the Middle East Program's Will Todman to break down Will's new report,... more

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourism to Israel was growing the fastest out of any country. As Chinese tourists begin to... more

This week, in a special episode of Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Middle East Program senior fellow Natasha Hall about the... more

Egypt's fish farmers have been struggling for years now. Media reports and industry groups blame due climate change and Cairo's... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Bilahari Kausikan, a Singaporean diplomat with a 37-year career in Singapore's ministry of... more

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) doesn’t seem like the ideal place for a salmon farm, but aquaculture is becoming an... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Hanna Notte, a senior research associate with the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.... more

“Every two minutes, an Egyptian couple files for divorce — that's how long it takes to heat up pita bread,"... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Jihad Azour, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at... more

As regional conflicts blaze, Lebanese and Israeli drug markets are feeling the heat: over the past two years, hashish prices... more

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Khalid Albaih, a Sudanese cultural producer, artist, and political cartoonist. They talk about... more

Libya's electricity grid has been struggling for years, but the government thinks it has found a new culprit: illegal bitcoin... more