Conversations with Ricardo Karam

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Ricardo Karam sits down with Yvan Caracalla, the calm and visionary force behind one of the world’s most renowned dance theaters. Away from the spotlight, Yvan shares his deep insights on art, legacy, and renewal, explaining how he and his sister have preserved the spirit of Caracalla Theater since its founding by their father, Abdel Halim Caracalla, in 1968,...

Send us Fan Mail In this thrilling and candid conversation, Ricardo Karam meets Ghada Salame the first field correspondent at Télé Liban, who broke barriers and entered the world of security reporting, a field considered almost exclusively “male-dominated”. From accompanying the Lebanese Army on missions during the war, to covering the attempted assassination of Minister Marwan Hamade in 1984, to...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Ricardo Karam meets Munib Al-Masri, a man whose life story mirrors a century of Palestinian history. From his childhood in Nablus, where he first heard of the Balfour Declaration, to his youth spent studying geology and politics in the United States, and his return home determined to make knowledge and success serve identity rather than exile. Munib Al-Masri...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Ricardo Karam sits down with Hiam Abou Chedid, the multifaceted artist, media personality, actress, and trainer who has dedicated her life to reinvention and breaking boundaries. From her early beginnings on stage to her successful career in television, and her powerful return to theater in “Maamoul”, Hiam reflects on the moments that shaped her life and care...

Send us Fan Mail In this heartfelt and deeply human conversation, Ricardo Karam sits down with Carmen Chahine Debbane the woman who transformed her personal pain into a message that changed the face of specialized education in Lebanon. From the experience of a mother discovering that her child faced learning difficulties, an idea was born one that grew into a movement of love, knowledge, and digni...

Send us Fan Mail In this captivating and surprising conversation, Ricardo Karam meets Maurice Sehnaoui a man who blends adventure with intellect, speed on the racetrack with precision in numbers, and a passion for life with the wisdom of experience. From a young man who loved challenges and car racing to a banker who led some of Lebanon’s most prominent financial institutions, from a Minister of E...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam sits down with Fatma Al Shebani, a Qatari visual artist who broke social barriers to leave her mark on the art world. Fatma reflects on her early love for drawing and poetry, her unexpected journey into fine arts at Qatar University, and how art became her voice and identity. She shares her experience as an art consultant for several institutions, as...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Ricardo Karam sits down with Mounir Maasri, the distinguished Lebanese artist whose life has been devoted to theater, cinema, television, and creative expression in many forms. From his childhood in Aley to studying performing arts in the United States, Mounir shares a journey full of highs and lows, passion and challenges, and the defining moments that shape...

Send us Fan Mail In this candid and engaging conversation, Ricardo Karam meets Andrée Sfeir-Semler, a pioneering gallerist whose influence has shaped the course of contemporary Arab art for four decades. From opening her first gallery in Kiel in 1985 to building a bridge between Hamburg and Beirut, she has given a platform to voices that might never have been heard. For the first time, Andrée look...

Send us Fan Mail In a rare and deeply moving conversation, Ricardo Karam meets Ginane Makki Bacho, Lebanese artist and grieving mother, who speaks publicly for the first time since the loss of her son. After years of silence, she opens about war, exile, and memory, revealing how her art, often sculpted from bomb shrapnel, became her voice. This is more than an interview. It is a return, a reckonin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Sarah Chalabi, a Lebanese/Iraqi journalist and publisher with over 20 years of experience in writing and cultural work, based between Beirut, Paris, Kuwait, and New York. Sarah talks about her upbringings, her identity and her belonging. She discusses founding Dongola Publishing, which focuses on artist books exploring cultural, social, and pol...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Wadad Halawani, a civil activist who has dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of war victims and their families. Wadad shares the story of losing her husband Adnan who was kidnapped in 1982 and how this tragedy led her to establish the committee that unites the voices of women and families from diverse backgrounds to champion th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Nada Boulos, a pioneering auctioneer and expert in Middle Eastern art based in Beirut, Lebanon. Nada shares her unique journey from studying political science at the American University of Beirut and Université Paris II to pursuing art history at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. She reflects on her formative apprenticeship with renown...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Josyane Boulos, a prominent Lebanese writer, actress, and theater director known for her profound contributions to theater and media in Lebanon. Josyane shares her artistic journey growing up in a creative environment as the daughter of the late journalist Jean Claude Boulos, and how this background influenced her career in theater and med...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Maria Hibri, Lebanese designer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Bokja, a renowned Beirut-based design studio known for merging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary expression. Maria takes us on a journey through her life in Beirut, where she was born, raised, and continues to draw deep creative inspiration. She speaks about her acad...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Dr. Karam Karam, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the American University of Beirut, former Minister of Health, and one of the leading figures in public health reform in Lebanon and the Arab world. Dr. Karam shares his journey from the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khyam, where his father was tragically assassinated to becoming a global ad...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Nehmeh Taouk, a man whose journey began in the modest surroundings of a simple village life among cows and sheep in Bsharri, northern Lebanon. From these humble origins, Taouk carved an extraordinary path. After early work at "Beit Al-Mustaqbal", a prominent Lebanese research center, he left Lebanon in 1988, driven by a relentless des...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Salim Edde, the leading Lebanese businessman who succeeded in turning his dream into reality through his global company, "Murex."  Born in Beirut, he is the son of former minister Michel Edde. Despite growing up in a political environment, Salim chose a path away from politics to build an economic empire in the world of software...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Jean Boghossian, the Belgian Lebanese artist of Armenian descent who transforms fire and smoke into a unique artistic language. Born in Aleppo in 1949 into a family of jewelers, his journey spans from private painting lessons in childhood to experimenting with abstract art and finding his signature medium—fire. Beyond art, Boghossian reflects o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets with Raeda Taha, a Palestinian director and writer who was born in Jerusalem and is the daughter of Palestinian activist Ali Taha. Raeda talks to us about the impact of the Palestinian struggle on her life and shares her journey between art and politics, having worked as a press secretary for President Yasser Arafat from 1987 to 1994. Raeda spe...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Yasma Fuleihan, the widow of the late Lebanese MP and Minister of Economy and Trade, Bassel Fuleihan, who was the victim of February 14 bomb in 2005. After his death on April 18 of the year 2006, Yasma dedicated her life to preserving his legacy through her involvement in various social and developmental initiatives, as well as her work with th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Alberto Maalouf, the Son of God and emergency physician, who is also the president of the Notre Dame de la Lumière Association in both France and Lebanon. The association's mission is to evangelize the New Evangelization and assist the poor. Alberto travels around the world sharing his testimony of spiritual transformation, praying for the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam sits down with Ghada Aoun, a Lebanese judge who has been at the forefront of the judicial scene with her bold anti-corruption stances. Since her appointment as Mount Lebanon prosecutor in 2017 and till her retirement recently, she has had thorny legal confrontations against powerful figures, making her a symbol of justice for some and a subject of fi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ricardo Karam meets Serwan Baran, an Iraqi Kurdish artist whose life has been a series of challenges and transformations, which are reflected in his work that embodies conflict, pain, and belonging. Born in Baghdad in 1968, he developed a passion for painting from a young age, which led him to study fine arts at Babylon University, where he graduated in 1992 as th...

Send us Fan Mail Some people have an eye for beauty, and others have a soul that seeks it. May Mamarbachi has both. Born in Aleppo, she lived between Damascus, Beirut, London, and Paris, shaping a life that blends cultures, aesthetics, and a deep appreciation for art in all its forms. With an innate sense of style and a passion for creativity, she became a key figure in the worlds of art, interior...