The Idle Gentleman with Nadim Shehadi (Ep.436) from The Beirut Banyan

The Idle Gentleman with Nadim Shehadi (Ep.436)

1 hour 15 minutes Posted Jan 29, 2026 at 4:52 pm.

Intro

Protecting the criminals

Diversion from the real issues

Gap Law

Minimizing the state

Defending unpopular figures

Corruption in Lebanon

Investigations

Constant battering

Army spending & budget

Key element is trust

Discussion on Israel

Michael Young

“A Mechanism of Coercion”

Normalization an internal matter

American positioning

“We’ll just go”

Turning 70

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Show notes

An episode discussing the pending gap law, corruption, army spending, rebuilding trust in the banking sector, prospects for Lebanese-Israeli relations and America's diplomatic role at large.

With economist and Arab News columnist Nadim Shehadi.

Check out Nadim Shehadi's article 'Lebanon is not resilient, it is traumatized':

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144181

and Michael Young's piece 'A Mechanism of Coercion':

https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/01/a-mechanism-of-coercion

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