In Lebanon's first election since the Oct. 17 uprising, voters sent a sizable contingent of change candidates to Parliament, while clipping the wings of both Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement. Nizar and Ben take a look at the vote, its translation to seats in Parliament, the new MPs, and what all this means for Lebanon in the coming months. Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Ahead of Sunday's national elections, Nizar and Ben run through what to expect, both in terms of voting and results — and what's in store for Lebanon in the aftermath. Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Elections have begun! As expats head to the polls around the world this weekend, Nizar and Ben take a deep dive into what political parties are saying — and what that tells us about how they see Lebanon's problems and their proposed solutions. 0:00 - 4:51: Intro *Diagnosing the problem* 4:51 - 14:00: The establishment and/or hezbollah? 14:05 - 19:00: Hezbollah's reasoning - 28:20: Bassil's disillusionment with 'power' 28:21 - 37:32: Alliance justifications *Solutions* 37:34 - 51:42: Stability rhetoric (Hezbollah - Amal - Mikati - Jumblatt) 51:43 - 57:45: The 'sovereigntists' 57:48 - 1:03:30: Neo-liberalism & technocratic economics 1:03:30 - 1:09:05: FPM's new rhetoric: Attacking banks & systemic change 1:09:07 - end: Strategies for change Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

In our second episode focusing on Lebanon's 2022 parliamentary elections, Nizar and Ben analyze the strategic responses to two major developments — Hariri's withdrawal and the FPM's perceived weakness — and what they tell us about how moneyed interests interact with politics. Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Elections are coming! Returning after a long break, Ben and Nizar review major developments since the last parliamentary elections in 2018 and examine to what extent the two electoral moments are different or similar. We zoom in on the gradual deterioration of the economic situation alongside political deadlock and a campaign by financial elites and their allies to protect their interests. This episode is the first of a limited run leading up to the vote on May 15. Episode 111 will zoom in on alliances and strategies. Follow us on Twitter for updates @lebpoliticspod Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion of HRW's Beirut Blast report begins at 07:30. Ben and Timour are joined this week by Aya Majzoub, Lebanon and Bahrain researcher at Human Right's Watch, to walk through HRW's mammoth 700+ page report: “They Killed Us from the Inside” An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast) One year on from the deadly explosion that killed 218 people, wounded 7,000 and displaced 300,000, the report breaks down how the Rhosus and it's cargo came to be in Beirut, the catalogue of failures across the Lebanese state that allowed 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to be unsafely stored for so long and how best to seek justice for the victims. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Hariri's resignation starts at 17:50. Ben, Nizar and Timour are back to analyse the latest in Lebanon's ongoing crisis, including protests over the lack of progress in the Beirut Port explosion investigation, potential sanctions against Lebanon's political class and our main focus, the resignation of PM-designate Saad Hariri. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's finances begins at 07:19. After a week packed with financial news, Ben and Timour are joined by Omar Tamo, journalist at L'Orient Today focused on banking and finance, to discuss the latest array of confusing decisions and negotiations between Lebanon's central bank and commerical banks and what it all means for ordinary depositors and Lebanon's struggling subsidy program. Also discussed: cabinet formation, Lebanon's new sexual harrassment law, the STL and the World Bank's latest economic monitor. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on the new opposition in Lebanon begins at 11:00. Nizar and Timo are joined this week by Hussein El Achi, lawyer, activist and secretary general of new political movement Minteshreen, to talk about the landscape of Lebanon's opposition, the dynamics of coalition forming and early projections for next year's parliamentary elections. Also discussed: Assad's election victory, corona in Lebanon, BDL's dwindling reserves and the Lebanese army looking for aid. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Palestine starts at 11:11. Ben and Nizar are joined this week by Laura Albast, communications and social media manager at the Institute for Palestine Studies, to discuss Palestine, the #SaveSheikhJarrah campaign and if the momentum and solidarity in response to the latest violence can translate into improvements for Palestinians on the ground. Also discussed: Lebanon's covid situation, the Charbel Wehbi scandal, government formation and violence at pro-Assad rallies during Syrian expat elections. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on access to data starts at 16:20. Ben and Timour are joined by Assaad Thebian, co-founder and managing director of the Gherbal Initiative, a project that aims to make data visually accessible to the public, to discuss access to information in Lebanon and how data can challenge narratives and empower citizens. Also discussed: coronavirus, movement in the Beirut blast investigation, the Hajj Hobeiche case, investigations against Riad Salameh, the economic crisis and little progress on cabinet formation. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's media landscape begins at 15:15. Ben and Nizar are joined by Jean Kassir, co-founder of Megaphone, an independent news platform, to discuss Lebanon's media landscape, the constraints and failures of traditional media and the challenges facing alternative media. Also covered: the latest on coronavirus, port reconstruction plans, BDL's audit and cabinet formation. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Lebanon's Great Famine begins at 11:30. Nizar and Timour are joined by Christian Taoutel, head of the history department at the USJ to talk about Lebanon’s 1915-1918 famine and the parallels it has to the situation in the country today. Also discussed: coronavirus numbers on the rise, the lira fluctuating wildly, calls for resignations but no progress on cabinet formation and the latest on lifting subsidies. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Timour and Ben are joined this week by political journalist Jad Ghosn to put the news of a hectic past week in the country into context by discussing the politics underpinning it all and whether or not March 8 and March 14 still hold up as prisms with which to analyse Lebanon. Discussed in the episode is the rise in daily coronavirus cases, the controversy over the treatement of Dr Sandrine Atallah, protests across the country, shocking statements from security officials, the passing of the World Bank loan with Parliament's amendments, electricity on the brink of running out and cabinet formation. Referenced: https://www.reuters.com/article/lebanon-women-sexuality/lebanese-sexologist-lambasts-ridicule-by-childish-tv-hosts-idUSL8N2L8522 Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on extreme inequality in Lebanon and the country's tax system begins at 33:00. Ben, Nizar and Timour are joined this week by Lydia Assouad, a PhD candidate at the Paris School of Economics and research fellow at the World Inequality Lab, to discuss why levels of inequality in Lebanon are so extreme and how this inequality is reflected in Lebanon's tax system. Also covered: blackouts across the country, a scandal over vaccine distrubition to MPs, the protest at Bkerki and the use of terrorism charges against Tripoli protesters. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on Hezbollah, the Syrian regime and political impunity in Lebanon begins at 16:45. Nizar and Timour are joined this week by political researcher and commentator Ziad Majed to discuss the lack of accountability over political assassinations in Lebanon, the differences between the roles of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime with regard to the country and whether Hezbollah is a weak point in its history. Also covered: the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, the removal of Judge Fady Sawwan from the Beirut port explosion investigation and Nasrallah's take on the slaying of Lockman Slim. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion on the World Bank's Lebanon Emergency Crisis and COVID-19 Response Social Safety Net Project (ESSN) begins at 18:40. Ben and Timour are joined this week by Sami Zoughaib, a Beirut-based researcher and former LCPS researcher/podcaster at Alternative Frequencies, to discuss social protections in Lebanon and the technical and political difficulties with the World Bank's $246 million loan for the ESSN. Also covered: vaccines arrive in Lebanon, the probe into the Beirut port explosion restarts, controversy around Lockman Slim's memorial, the 16th anniversary of Rafik Hariri's assassination and government formation. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

The Lebanese Politics Podcast is back for season four and with a new co-host joining the team to boot! Timour Azhari, Lebanon correspondent for the Thomson Reuters Foundation and long time friend of the show is joining Ben and Nizar as a permanent host of the podcast. In our first show of 2021, we cover the continuing crises in Lebanon, including the coronavirus lockdown, protests in Tripoli, the assassination of Lockman Slim, the six month anniversary of the Beirut port explosion and the lack of push to form a government. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion of the investigation into the Beirut port explosion begins at 30:00. Ben is joined by friend of the show and Al Jazeera English's Beirut correspondent Timour Azhari to discuss the latest on the investigation into the deadly explosion at Beirut's port with no accountability so far four months after the blast. Also covered, protests in Hamra as Lebanese universities more than double their tuition, coronavirus on the rise again as Lebanon moves into a holiday period easing of restrictions, Macron's non visit to the country, a packed Parliament agenda and the looming spectre of the loss of subsidies on bread, fuel and medicine. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel

Discussion of the BDL forensic audit begins at 15:35. Ben and Nizar are joined by NERD and finance professional Mike Azar to talk through the ins and outs of the forensic audit of Banque du Liban, Lebanon's central bank. Also covered, the latest on coronavirus, the new lockdown, cabinet formation and the maritime border talks. Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel