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Bassem Youssef: Can laughter ever provoke political change?

During the Arab Spring, Bassem Youssef's mockery of Egypt’s leaders won him millions of fans. But after the military coup he fled to the US and has reinvented his comedy career.

Stephen Sackur is in New York for a special edition of the programme with Egyptian American satirist Bassem Youssef. During the Arab Spring, his mockery of Egypt’s leaders won him millions of fans, but after the military took over he fled to the US where he has reinvented his comedy career. Can laughter ever provoke political change?

(Photo: Bassem Youssef, comedian and political satirist)

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23 minutes

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Fri 16 Feb 202423:06GMT
BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa & BBC Afghan Radio

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  • Fri 16 Feb 202408:06GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Fri 16 Feb 202415:06GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Fri 16 Feb 202418:06GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Fri 16 Feb 202423:06GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa & BBC Afghan Radio

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