December’s Global Forum pick is Revolution for Dummies: Laughing through the Arab Spring by Bassem Yousef. Yousef is a heart surgeon-turned-satirist whose popular Egyptian TV show Al-Bernameg gained a lot of attention and support (and his government’s ire). Dubbed by some “the Jon Stewart of Egypt,” Yousef brought his own humor and criticism to bear during the Egyptian Revolution. In this book, Yousef talks about Egypt, truth, comedy, and how he tried to make a difference in the face of dictators and censorship.
Here’s an older interview of Yousef from the Guardian [2013]:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/egypt-jon-stewart-al-bernameg
Here’s Yousef’s interview on the Daily Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-B7l-ZMcN8
And some articles about what’s happening in Egypt today:
In Egypt, fake news becomes weapon of choice to crush dissent
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi isn’t like Mubarak. He’s much worse.
For anyone interested in a more detailed report of human rights in Egypt today, check out Human Rights Watch’s 2018 Report
Not about Egypt per se, but for anyone who missed it Time Magazine made journalists the 2018 Person of the Year.