Simply Youth Podcast Simply Youth Podcast

Latest episode featuring entrepreneur Ayah Bdeir is out now on all streaming platforms!

"What do you expect when you appoint a Merrill Lynch trader as the governor of the Central Bank? You prioritize quick, unreasonable gains that help benefit every middle and upper class citizen. But the game is over now."

Dr. George Corm stepped into office as the Minister of Finance in the 1998 Salim El Hoss government. He sought to reverse the years of post-war neoliberal policies set by savvy businessman Rafic el Hariri. The rentier economy which created an illusion of prosperity and got Hariri immense wealth and support was always meant to fail.

During his tenure, Corm designed a five-year Fiscal Stabilization Plan, prepared the 2000 Privatization law, paid all State arrears to the private sector, and prepared the introduction of VAT.

Right now, Corm is furious. With subsidies being lifted and foreign reserves missing, Salameh is still protected by most political parties.

"The leftist parties in Lebanon are weak due to the long absence of a powerful, global association that truly represents what left-wing politics can achieve."

Sociologist, historian, and leftist intellectual Ahmad Beydoun has seen it all. He has published over fifteen books on Lebanon's societal and political system, with a special emphasis on constructing a national identity given the prevalent communitarianism. His most popular work, "Le Liban: Itinéraires dans une Guerre Incivile" (1993) reflects on the structure of inter-communities and calls for a strong state, capable of dialoguing with internal and external wills and of standing up to them.

With the institutionalization of religious communities, how can we unify a society based on multiple belonging? How can we reconcile the mistrust and the paralysis of the Lebanese government? And, most importantly, how can we learn from a history that is only spoken behind closed doors?

"Back in the Days (feat. Dr. Ahmad Beydoun" is out now on Spotify and other platforms.

New episode on Friday!

"Over the mountains of Lebanon, the skies were dark, the stars intense, and the Milky Way mesmerizing."

In the final episods of our miniseries, Dr. George Helou reflects on his time as a physics student at AUB. While most of his peers and professors discouraged him from studying physics, Helou was stubborn. He got his PhD from Cornell and slowly became the world's leading pioneer in infrared astronomy.

After working with Carl Sagan on the Golden Record, Helou developed infrared technology in order to observe the universe like never before. Since 1983, Helou has worked with NASA and is currently the executive director of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and a professor at Caltech.

Listen to "Postcards from Space (feat. Dr. George Helou)" to learn about exoplanets, blackholes, and the secret behind all the fabulous pictures of space.

“They were a bunch of adventurous kids, trying to mix chemicals at Caltech and see which one blows up more. This is the story of JPL."

Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Charles Elachi always looked out for what's beyond his mundane life in the city of Zahlé. After studying physics in France, Elachi travelled west.

In 1970, he joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecrafts. After getting 4 master's degrees and a PhD from Caltech, Elachi became the director of JPL. Under his tenure, NASA launched Genesis, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and most importantly the Mars Curiosity Rover.

He then became the Vice President of Caltech and now is a professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Planetary Science there.

He wants the young space enthusiasts to know that JPL can be their "serious playground". With innovation and multiple mistakes, JPL managed to send the most technologically advanced rover to Mars. So what's stopping you?

Listen to "All Roads Lead to Space (feat. Dr. Charles Elachi)" this Friday on all streaming platforms.