Saudi Arabia: Playing the long game
In Saudi Arabia’s campaign of reform and rebranding, sports investment plays a big role. Plus, talking God and Godlessness on YouTube in the US.
Saudi Arabia’s massive spending on sport is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy to diversify the petrostate’s economy and re-shape its brand.
Contributors:
Abdullah Al-Arian – Author, Football in the Middle East
Gregg Carlstrom – Middle East Correspondent, The Economist
Kristin Diwan – Senior Research Scholar, The Arab Gulf States Institute
Rayhan Uddin – Journalist, Middle East Eye
On our radar:
This week saw the launch of the biggest antitrust trial of the century against tech behemoth, Google. Flo Phillips explains what’s at stake, and why governments in the US and Europe are taking big tech to task.
God and atheism on YouTube
Religious evangelists of all stripes have long enjoyed large platforms on social media – now, atheism is growing online. The Listening Post’s Ryan Kohls reports from the US on the country’s Godless apostles on YouTube.
Contributors:
Seth Andrews – YouTuber, @TheThinkingAtheist
Drew McCoy – YouTuber, @GeneticallyModifiedSkeptic
Chrissy Stroop – Senior Correspondent, Religion Dispatches