Jacobin Radio: Lebanon special

Suzi talks to Gilbert Achcar (https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff30529.php) about the horrific explosion, on August 4, in his native Lebanon. Nearly 3000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been sitting in the port of the City for seven years ignited, leaving hundreds dead, thousands injured, and hundreds of thousands homeless. Gilbert Achcar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Achcar) outlines Lebanon’s decades long history of corrupt neoliberal rule, which he characterizes as marked by exploitation, criminal neglect, sectarian divisions, and utter disregard for the population. This catastrophic explosion comes on the heels of economic collapse -- in the midst of a pandemic that derailed one of the largest and broadest protest movements from 2019, now in the streets again demanding an end to the regime in power. We spoke to Gilbert just before the Prime Minister and Cabinet resigned.