"People were calling for my death while I was writing jokes" Meet Egypt's answer to Jon Stewart
Bassem Youssef has long been called ‘Egypt’s Jon Stewart”. The heart surgeon-turned-comedian has racked up millions of YouTube hits and his seditiously funny TV show Albernameg ridiculed politicians in a land where, well, they don’t often ridicule politicians.
He was drummed out of his show, declared a national security threat and now he lives in exile.
Marc Fennell sits down with Bassem to find out exactly how government pressure works in a nation like Egypt and whether comedy really does have the power to change minds and topple tyrants.