The Day That Shook Beirut

Over the past year, there has been an increase in violence in the West Bank. Israeli settlers have terrorized Palestinians, set fire to their property, uprooted their olive groves and stolen their animals in an effort to drive them off their land. Rachel Abrams speaks to Loui Rid ...  Show more

Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide. New reporting has found that the impact of rough sea waves on rescue-boat crews in the Coast Guard can lead to long-term effects, including traumatic brain injury. Dave Philipps, who reports about veterans for The New York Times ...  Show more

The explosion near Beirut’s port on Tuesday killed 135 people and injured thousands more, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Officials say 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was the cause. According to public records, the chemicals were held at the port for six years, despite ...  Show more

I spoke with Lebanese writer and translator Lina Mounzer about witnessing and experiencing the Beirut explosion on August 4th, 2020. So far there are 157 deaths, 5,000 injuries, US$10–15 billion in property damage and an estimated 300,000 people left homeless.The blast was linked ...  Show more

The massive explosion that tore through Beirut on August 4th left more than 200 people dead, 6,000 injured, and as many as 300,000 homeless. The explosion was caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. When the blast hit, Lebanon was already ...  Show more

Elias Tarabay remembers Aug. 4, 2020, clearly. He arrived home after having a late lunch with a friend. He was living in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. His house had a balcony that looked out at the city’s ports. Just as he settled in, he heard a loud explosion. Tarabay was ...  Show more