Lebanon, USA

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is a story of a road trip. After a particularly traumatic Valentine's Day, Fadi Boukaram was surfing google maps and noticed that there was a town called Lebanon... in Oregon. Being Lebanese himself, he wondered, how many Lebanons exist in the US? The answer: 47. Thus began his journey to visit them all and find an America he'd never expected, and the homeland he'd been searching for all along.

This episode was made in collaboration with Kerning Cultures, a podcast that tells stories from the Middle East and North Africa. The original "Lebanon USA" story was reported by Alex Atack with editorial support from Bella Ibrahim, Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, and Hebah Fisher. Original sound design by Alex Atack.

Editor's Note: In an earlier version of this episode, we inaccurately described a grain elevator. We have updated the audio to reflect the correction.

The new update of the story was produced and reported by Shima Oliaee.

We had original music by Thomas Koner and Jad Atoui.

Be sure to check out Kerning Cultures at their website kerningcultures.com, instagram @kerningculture, or twitter @kerningcultures. You can read more about Fadi’s trips and see his photographs at lebanonusa.com or on his Instagram at @lebanonusa.

Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate.

If you would like to donate to Beirut at this time, please visit our website for a list of organizations.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Wait, you're listening to Radio Lab from WNYC.
0:16.0	We're here reading for today is coming from Psalm 92 from verse 12. The righteous
0:26.2	shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are
0:33.0	planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
0:40.0	I have a brother called Jad by the way. No way. And he's a stand-up comedian and actually pretty famous in 11
0:50.0	months. What's his name? Jad Bukaram. Oh wow. He has his like he's on a TV show. His handle on all
1:03.2	these social media was always been oh my God because it's oh my god. Yeah. Yeah. Get it.
1:08.0	This is Radio Lab. I'm Jad Abumarad. We start this episode just for kicks with two
1:12.4	jads but really it's about 47 Lebanon's. Lebanon of course. Lebanon the country has been in the news a lot recently.
1:25.0	In the most heartbreaking way. On its Tuesday night an enormous explosion blasts through
1:31.0	bay routes. Who may think disaster rubble everywhere. Buildings blasted open. The Red Cross has put out an urgent appeal for blood donors.
1:40.0	My family comes from Lebanon and to be Lebanese is I don't know. Being a constant state of vertigo where you never know when the
1:51.0	floor is going to drop out from under you. Lebanon has a history of conflict and a bombings at the scale of this is like nothing else.
1:59.0	As we are watching this latest horror unfold we happen to be simultaneously working on a story about Lebanon. Very different story that in its own way kind of explores that
2:11.0	feeling of dislocation. And it actually wasn't our story to begin with a year ago I was listening to this wonderful podcast.
2:18.0	I'm Hibba Fisher and you're listening to Kurning Cultures called Kurning Cultures radio documentaries from the Middle East and
2:25.0	her story called Lebanon USA in 2005 a Lebanese man I immediately called Hibba Fisher who runs the podcast and asked her if we could
2:34.0	air it to she very graciously said yes and the main character of the story my name is a Fadi Bukaram is the guy with the
2:41.0	brother named jet and I'm a photographer and you also work in finance right. Yeah I do US tax law. Okay. It's a growth
2:52.0	industry. Yeah, but I'm on the good side not the bad side. So I help the IRS cats people who don't pay their taxes.
2:59.0	Oh right on. Now Fadi's story the one I heard on Kurning Cultures the one that we're going to quote from now deals with a road trip.
3:08.0	A road trip that frankly I've been wanting to do my whole life but have never gotten around to but that he actually did.
	...

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