Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through The Arab Spring

FEATURING BASSEM YOUSSEF – Former Egyptian President and dictator Hosni Mubarak has been released from military hospital after 6 years of incarceration. His freeing is the most potent indicator yet of how Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring revolution has come full circle.

The current regime has many of the hallmarks of Mubarak’s own rule, including the persecution of dissidents. My next guest was the victim of such persecution, when he was forced to flee his home for the ‘crime’ of political comedy.

Bassem Youssef’s upcoming speaking events:

Tuesday, April 4 at 8pm – Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft Way at Dana Street, UC Berkeley Campus. Tickets available through the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall, at (510) 642-9988 and at www.calperformances.org.

Thursday, April 6, 8pm – Book Soup Presents an Evening with Bassem Youssef, “The Jon Stewart of the Arabic World” Freud Playhouse at UCLA, 245 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Event website and ticket details: http://www.booksoup.com/event/book-soup-presents-evening-bassem-youssef-jon-stewart-arabic-world.

Tickling Giants will show in Southern California starting April 7 through 13 at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills, and is already in theaters in New York City at the IFC Center March 14 – April 6. Find more about the movie at www.ticklinggiants.com.

Bassem Youssef, political comedian from Egypt where his acclaimed TV show garnered tens of millions of viewers making it the most watched TV program in the Middle East region, winner of the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a cardio-thoracic surgeon, and featured in the new documentary Tickling Giants which is currently in theaters. He worked on a series for Fusion called Democracy Handbook, and is the author of Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through The Arab Spring. In a few minutes we’ll be joined by Mr. Youssef but first here is the trailer for the documentary Tickling Giants which showcases his story.