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Bassem Youssef And The Power Of Satire

Courtesy Brooke Doner / Hinckley Institute of Politics

Thursday, a conversation with Bassem Youssef. He was a heart surgeon in Egypt before he reinvented himself as the Jon Stewart of the Arab world. He joins us to talk about the power of satire to make a point.

RadioWest divider.

When the Arab Spring began in 2010, Bassem Youssef was a heart surgeon. Then he got an idea. Egypt, he thought, needed a Jon Stewart, someone to parody those in power. So Youssef reinvented himself in Stewart’s mold. His own satirical TV news show, Al Bernameg, was more than a massive hit—it was also incredibly risky. Forced into exile by political pressure, Youssef is once again reinventing himself, this time as a comedian in LA. He joins us to talk about his life’s journey and the strength of satire.

Bassem Youssef is a heart surgeon, the host of the Egyptian television show Al Bernameg, and the author of the book Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible].

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.