When no one seems to be listening, how far do you go to be heard?
In December 2008, George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad for a press conference. And at the very end of his remarks, a shoe came flying past his head.
It was “the shoe heard around the world,” and countless jokes and memes ensued.
But in the pandemonium, many missed the story of the man at the center: Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, a weary journalist trying to get the world to see the Iraq War in a different light. Even fewer people know what happened to him after.
Nearly two decades later, Radiolab reporter Sarah Qari tracked Al-Zaidi down to learn the story of his life. What she found was a story about grief, anger, and the line where journalism ends and protest begins.
Special thanks to Azmat Khan and Mustafa Salim.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Sarah Qari, with help from Mariam Dwedar
Translation by - Mais Al-Bayaa and Mariam Dwedar
Produced by - Sarah Qari
Sound design contributed by - Sarah Qari
Mixed by - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Emily Krieger and Heba ElorbanyLATERAL CUTS:
If you liked this episode and want to hear more fascinating deep dives we’ve done on The War on Terror, check out our episode:
60 Words (https://radiolab.org/podcast/60-words),
or our series The Other Latif (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/other-latif)
EPISODE CITATIONS:Collaborator’s Work -
Mariam Dwedar
Made in Palestine (https://zpr.io/JBAuqi5zyZMT) - a documentary short
@mariamdwedar - Instagram handle
Mais Al-Bayaa
Iraq Uncovered (https://zpr.io/ebuUcjSFcUJp) - documentary
Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade (https://zpr.io/u9HnCWmnQggG) - documentary
Go Back to Where You Came From (https://zpr.io/J8rxafGCCgUA) - documentary
@maisalbayaa - Instagram
Journal Articles _
The Art of Shoe-Throwing: Shoes as a Symbol of Protest and Popular Imagination (https://zpr.io/6gmuuavLWuHu), by Yasmin Ibrahim
Films -
The President’s Cake (https://zpr.io/bjFeNa2qFYvD) - The story of life in Iraq under sanctions during the 1990s.
Inspired by the shoe throw -
Photos of shoe protests around the world (https://zpr.io/QsMGyWeK8MRR)
This music video (https://zpr.io/Xi5XhHYmWFHv)
This Halloween costume (https://zpr.io/fH97iB4fjL9U)
This play (https://zpr.io/Naj7vWaYfzpv)
If you want more fun facts that didn’t make it into the story, follow Sarah at @bysarahqari on Instagram, where she’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks.
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Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes future. (Part two of a two-part series.)
SOURCES:
Blaise Agüera y Arcas, vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society.
Rosanna Hoffman, head of space law, policy, and sustainability at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
Alex Macdonald, former first chief economist at NASA, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Will Marshall, co-founder and C.E.O. of Planet Labs.
RESOURCES:
"The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface," by Will Marshall (TED, 2018).
The Long Space Age, by Alex Macdonald (2017).
Planet Labs A.I.
EXTRAS:
"Should A.I. Move to Space?," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
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First up on the podcast, we catch up with Celina Zhao, a staff reporter for Science’s AI In Science reporting initiative. She talks with host Sarah Crespi about artificial intelligence’s knack for finding legal loopholes and how philosophers are navigating conflicts of interest around advising companies on AI.
Next on the show, it’s hard to figure out how much force a muscle is exerting without sticking invasive probes into the body. Christopher Bird, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland, discusses a new way to use ultrawideband radar to measure muscle forces that could prove useful for assistive devices and rehabilitation.
Finally, the third in our limited six-part series on scientific biographies. This month, host Angela Saini talks with zoologist Matthew Cobb about his new book on the life of Francis Crick, Crick: A Mind in Motion.
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
Image credit: Chiara Vercesi
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Gary and Stephen talk about creativity, recovery, getting fired, and holding grudges. They also get outside and play basketball, which is a big part of how Gary stays well. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Stories about unlikely heroes have captivated people for thousands of years. This week, social scientist Ben Rogers explores why the "hero's journey" resonates so deeply, and how the stories we tell about our own lives can shape our sense of purpose. He explains why seeing ourselves as the protagonists of our own stories may help us face challenges with greater confidence. Then, on Your Questions Answered, psychologist Jay Van Bavel returns to respond to listeners' comments and questions about group identities.
Interested in learning how to discover the hero's journey in your own life story? Ben Rogers shares practical tips in a companion conversation for Hidden Brain+. That episode is titled "Discovering Your Inner Hero.” If you're not yet a Hidden Brain+ subscriber, you can get a free seven-day trial at support.hiddenbrain.org. If you're using an Apple device, go to http://apple.co/hiddenbrain. Thanks for listening and supporting the show!
What does economic inequality do to our minds? In our latest YouTube video, we explore the psychology of social comparison. Check it out, and be sure to subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any of our upcoming videos! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
