A Reporter’s View From Beirut, and a New Film Plumbs the Depths of Netanyahu’s Corruption

Israel has launched a ground invasion into Lebanon. On this week’s On the Media, hear from a reporter in Beirut on the state of the press as the country braces for more violence. Plus, the state of book censorship in America.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Nada Homsi, correspondent at The National’s Beirut bureau, on what the press looks like in Lebanon as Israel launches a ground invasion into the country.

[14:23] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Raviv Drucker, an Israeli journalist, to hear about his role in the unreleased documentary, The Bibi Files, directed by Alexis Bloom. The film uses never-before-seen leaked interrogation footage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle to lay out his corruption case.

[31:05] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Kelly Jensen, an editor at the online publication Book Riot, about how book censorship has shifted over the past year to a government affair – with new laws and regulations passed in Idaho, Utah, and South Carolina among other states. 

[39:36] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, whose children’s picture book, And Tango Makes Three, is among the long list of banned titles across the country. Hear why they’re suing in Florida to make their book — and others — accessible again.

 

Further reading:

• “Hezbollah’s dominance raises questions about Lebanon’s army role in Israel conflict,” by Nada Homsi
• "It’s Still Censorship, Even If It’s Not a Book Ban," by Kelly Jensen
• And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and illustrator Henry Cole
• Jacob's Missing Book, by Sarah Hoffman, Ian Hoffman, and illustrator Chris Case

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.