Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Ehsani, who has spent his career in the financial industry and economics. He prefers to go by his Twitter handle. During this episode, Ehsani provides a deep dive into the roots of an intense financial crisis and outlines why the banking industry is largely insolvent. Much of it revolves around a fixed currency rate and the way in which banks acted as brokers for those willing to deposit their funds in the form of U.S. dollars. Rania and Ehsani offer a brief political history of the players involved, and Kevin asks Ehsani to address the role of international institutions like the World Bank or IMF in stifling Lebanon's ability to deal with the crisis. Finally, Ehsani shares his view on the economic outlook for Lebanon in 2022 and beyond. If you were looking for a message of hope, you came to the wrong podcast. This is the bleak reality for hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people driven into poverty by a scheme that enriched elites at the expense of the country.