The Shoe Thrower

When no one seems to be listening, how far do you go to be heard?

In December 2008, George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad for a press conference. And at the very end of his remarks, a shoe came flying past his head. 

It was “the shoe heard around the world,” and countless jokes and memes ensued. 

But in the pandemonium, many missed the story of the man at the center: Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, a weary journalist trying to get the world to see the Iraq War in a different light. Even fewer people know what happened to him after. 

Nearly two decades later, Radiolab reporter Sarah Qari tracked Al-Zaidi down to learn the story of his life. What she found was a story about grief, anger, and the line where journalism ends and protest begins.

Special thanks to Azmat Khan and Mustafa Salim.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Sarah Qari, with help from Mariam Dwedar
Translation by - Mais Al-Bayaa and Mariam Dwedar
Produced by - Sarah Qari
Sound design contributed by - Sarah Qari 
Mixed by - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Emily Krieger and Heba Elorbany

LATERAL CUTS:
If you liked this episode and want to hear more fascinating deep dives we’ve done on The War on Terror, check out our episode:

• 60 Words (https://radiolab.org/podcast/60-words),
• or our series The Other Latif (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/other-latif)

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Collaborator’s Work - 

• Mariam Dwedar 
  • Made in Palestine (https://zpr.io/JBAuqi5zyZMT) - a documentary short
  • @mariamdwedar - Instagram handle
• Mais Al-Bayaa
  • Iraq Uncovered (https://zpr.io/ebuUcjSFcUJp) - documentary
  • Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade (https://zpr.io/u9HnCWmnQggG) - documentary
  • Go Back to Where You Came From (https://zpr.io/J8rxafGCCgUA) - documentary
  • @maisalbayaa - Instagram

Journal Articles _

• The Art of Shoe-Throwing: Shoes as a Symbol of Protest and Popular Imagination (https://zpr.io/6gmuuavLWuHu),  by Yasmin Ibrahim

Films - 

• The President’s Cake (https://zpr.io/bjFeNa2qFYvD) - The story of life in Iraq under sanctions during the 1990s.

Inspired by the shoe throw - 

• Photos of shoe protests around the world (https://zpr.io/QsMGyWeK8MRR)
• This music video (https://zpr.io/Xi5XhHYmWFHv)
• This Halloween costume (https://zpr.io/fH97iB4fjL9U)
• This play (https://zpr.io/Naj7vWaYfzpv)

If you want more fun facts that didn’t make it into the story, follow Sarah at @bysarahqari on Instagram, where she’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks.

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Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.