Maabar Podcast

Created and Produced by: Anthony Tawil & Cedric Kayem

Executive Producer: Jenny Munro

Maabar is an oral history podcast launched in 2022 that explores lived experiences from Lebanon’s recent history, with a focus on the Civil War (1975–1990). The name maabar – meaning both “barrier” and “crossing” in Arabic – captures the tension between a fractured past and the hope of a reconciled future. The podcast grew from a personal dissonance: although the war’s legacy is everywhere, it is rarely discussed openly. We belong to the postwar generation and were raised in its shadow: amid silence, selective storytelling, and conflicting narratives passed down through families and communities.

Since its launch, Maabar has produced three seasons, each with a thematic focus. Season 1 explored everyday life during the war: disrupted childhoods, family separations, survival strategies, the trauma of the forcibly disappeared, and why some chose to fight. Season 2 looked at journalists, Lebanese and foreign, who documented the war while navigating its dangers. Season 3, released in April 2025, centered on first responders: doctors, medics, and volunteers who crossed frontlines to save lives.

Across 27 episodes, we’ve drawn on over 130 interviews, anonymized and edited thematically. Narrators are those who lived the histories we explore: everyday people whose stories are often left out of public memory. Using snowball sampling, we aim for geographic, generational, and gender diversity.