Lebanon’s Protest Movement Since the Beirut Explosion -- Ep. 28

Jade Saab, who previously appeared on the podcast to discuss “The Uprising in Lebanon,” (https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/episode-6-the-uprising-in-lebanon) returns to provide an update in the wake of the explosion in August that devastated Beirut and triggered the resignation of Lebanon’s government. He and the co-hosts discuss how the country’s protest movement has responded to these and other events; the role that the French government has been playing; and the future of Lebanon’s current political system, based on power-sharing among religious sects. The segment concludes with a discussion of the role of activity, and the role of thought, in overcoming the obstacles that the protest movement faces. A Lebanese/Canadian writer and activist, Saab is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Glasgow. He is the editor of and a contributor to A Region in Revolt (https://darajapress.com/publication/a-region-in-revolt-mapping-the-recent-uprisings-in-north-africa-and-west-asia), a forthcoming book collection about recent uprisings in North Africa and West Asia. This episode’s current-event segment discusses Trump’s succumbing to COVID-19, Glenn Greenwald’s opportunistic attempt (https://theintercept.com/2020/10/04/why-are-democrats-praying-for-the-speedy-recover-of-a-fascist-dictator/) to use this news to take a shot at Democrats, and the completely different, revolutionary-humanist, perspective articulated in MHI’s new editorial, “Trumpism, Democrats, and How to Vote from the Left.” (https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/mhieditorial/editorial-trumpism-democrats-and-how-to-vote-from-the-left.html)