35: Haughty Disdain (with Bassem Youssef)
The Alexei Sayle Podcast
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti
4.8 • 610 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2023
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Bassem will be playing the Southbank Centre in London on 9th March 2023, The Rep in Birmingham on 10th March and The O2 Ritz in Manchester on 11th March... and our very own Talal Karkouti will be supporting him!
If you didn't already know, Bassem Youssef began as a heart surgeon before becoming a hugely successful TV satirist in Egypt until his freedom became threatened by prison time. After fleeing to the USA he reinvented himself as a stand-up in his second language and has featured frequently on TV alongside John Stewart, Stephen Colbert and his own TV shows.
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The Alexei Sayle Podcast is produced and edited by Talal Karkouti
Music by Tarboosh Records
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, everybody, welcome to episode 35 of the Alexis Hale podcast, and we have a particularly special guest today, |
| 0:19.4 | but some Yusuf, really. |
| 0:22.6 | And I try and disguise my lack of research by saying, |
| 0:27.6 | Bassem, tell me your story. |
| 0:32.6 | Where to begin? |
| 0:35.6 | Well, I was a heart surgeon in Egypt. That's the short version. I was a heart surgeon in Egypt. |
| 0:39.2 | That's the short version. |
| 0:40.2 | I was a heart surgeon in Egypt turned into a political satirist, had my own show in Egypt, |
| 0:45.5 | got kicked out, escaped, and now in the United States trying to reinvent myself |
| 0:49.6 | in a different form of comedy and a different language for a different audience. |
| 0:53.6 | And now I'm in Europe doing my European tour and an English stand-up, |
| 0:58.4 | which is also another challenge since, you know, outside of England, |
| 1:05.5 | English might not be the first language for people who would gravitate to the English stand-up comedy. |
| 1:10.5 | So that's the... |
| 1:11.3 | No. |
| 1:12.2 | That's the short version of the story. |
| 1:16.0 | Right. |
| 1:17.1 | Well, there's a lot to unpack there. |
| 1:20.9 | Where are you... |
| 1:21.7 | So this is your first European tour? |
| 1:23.9 | Yeah, I just landed in Paris. |
| 1:25.8 | I'm having my first show in Paris after tomorrow. |
... |
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