The Shoe Thrower
Summary
Radiolab reporter Sarah Kari interviews Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush in 2008. Al-Zaidi explains that the act was a symbolic protest against the war’s civilian casualties and the failure of traditional journalism to convey Iraq’s suffering. The episode explores the cultural significance of the shoe, his subsequent imprisonment and torture, and the complex line between nonviolent resistance and violence.
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