"The freedom of any people can be judged by the volume of their laughter."
Until the Arab spring of 2011, Bassem Youssef was a heart surgeon. In January of that year he was assisting the wounded in Tahrir Square. In March, motivated by what he saw Jon Stewart doing in the U.S., he shot a show of political comedy in his laundry room. He launched it on his own YouTube channel in May of that year, gaining 5 million views in less than three months. Working with a small team he used social media to both showcase his natural talent, and to give voice to the millions of Egyptians who were angry at traditional media's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution.
In September of that same year Egypt's ONTV offered him his own prime-time, mainstream show, the first Internet to TV conversion in the Middle East. At its peak that show had between 30m and 40m viewers each week, more than a third of Egypt's entire population.
And that was more than 10 years ago. Since then he has been arrested by the Mohammed Morsi government, emigrated to the U.S., been named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine and one of Foreign Policy magazine's "100 Leading Global Thinkers". He's even hosted the Emmy Awards. And he's still working his comedy. Last month he played to a packed room at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Video: Bassem Youssef. This is a terrific summary of his career in just three and a half minutes.
Video: The Daily Show - An Egyptian Satirist in America - Bassem Youssef This is a brilliant critique of America's role in the Middle East. Jon Stewart, we miss you.
Wiki Page: Bassem Youssef