We’ve seen what happens when cartoonists try to tackle religious subjects in Europe but what about when they do it in the Middle East? One comic-book magazine in Lebanon did just that and quickly found itself on the sharp end of the law. Cartoonists have been getting into trouble since the early 18th century and this story brings that right up to date. Monocle’s Beirut correspondent Venetia Rainey reports.
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As more European countries follow Hungary's lead and fence their borders against irregular migration, Maria Margaronis explores Hungarians' responses to the refugee and migration crisis.
"There's real anxiety here that comes from ignorance, but also an insistence on seeing the refugees in the worst possible light."
Listen to the radio story.
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic tale featuring moody gods, siren songs and even a cyclops — and in the mind of Richmond Eustis, it was once a fantastical treat.
But when the literary professor assigned the book to a group of students in Jordan, his framework changed. His pupils, asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories, saw their real stories reflected in the themes of death, danger and displacement.
Today, Eustis and one of his students, Isra'a Sadder, join guest host Talia Schlanger to share a new angle on the 8th century B.C. comic adventure.
Sadder says education and literature are her "only salvation". She also shares what it feels like to lose home.
"It's like your soul is heavy, and you are just a burden."
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