A Mezze: Saudi Arabia's New Anime Journey

This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ...  Show more

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ...  Show more

The Saudi Arabian purchase of Newcastle football club has been a huge news story. But football isn't the only area of British public life in which the Saudis play a part. The Evening Standard and The Independent can both trace their ownership back to Saudi Arabia, while in the US ...  Show more

Heidi is the first American to study psychology in Arabic at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She started learning Arabic through Saudi TV shows and after living in the kingdom for only 3 years she had mastered the language. On this episode, Heidi talks about how she ...  Show more

In 2018 journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi regime operatives, shocking the world and drawing widespread condemnation. Mohammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s young crown prince, denied any involvement in the killing but his reputation as a moderniser was tarnished. Bin S ...  Show more

In this episode, Tom and Helen explore Saudi Arabia - a place at once futuristic and authoritarian. From Aramco Oil to Cristiano Ronaldo, we discuss the ways in which the Kingdom in the Middle East is trying to take over the world, and how worried we should be. <hr>