Bassem Yousef Former cardiac surgeon Bassem Youssef hosted El Barnameg, a satirical news programme that achieved 30 million viewers per episode at its peak. He first gained attention for making fun of Mohammed Morsi on air during the Egyptian president’s short tenure and later had the show suspended when he joked about frenzied Al-Sisi supporters in October… Former cardiac surgeon Bassem Youssef hosted El Barnameg, a satirical news programme that achieved 30 million viewers per episode at its peak. He first gained attention for making fun of Mohammed Morsi on air during the Egyptian president’s short tenure and later had the show suspended when he joked about frenzied Al-Sisi supporters in October 2013. Youssef returned to screens under a different production company for one episode in 2014 before deciding to discontinue the show in June rather than face censorship and threats on his life. Last year, he was made a resident fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics for the spring semester and launched a crowd-funding campaign to produce a documentary about free speech, and satire, in the Middle East. He also won a silver medal for ‘Best TV host in the world’ at the 2015 New York Festivals, before becoming the first ever Arab to host the International Emmy Awards. Cardiac surgeon, satirist and columnist Origin:Egypt Residence:Egypt Sector:Culture and society