Accessibility links
Leila Fadel Leila Fadel is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Leila Fadel, photographed for NPR, 2 May 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Mike Morgan for NPR.
Stories By

Leila Fadel

Wednesday

Egypt's Morality Crackdown Targets Female Dancers

Egyptian singer Suha Mohamed Ali performs in a music video. She was recently sentenced to six months in jail for inciting debauchery. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption
YouTube

Parallels

Egypt's Morality Crackdown Targets Female Dancers

Activists say the government has stepped up prosecutions for alleged morality offenses. Hundreds of gay and transgender people have been targeted, and now the campaign has moved on to dancers.

Egypt's Morality Crackdown Targets Female Dancers

Listen · 3:47
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/444660113/444660114" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Europe

British Voters Closer Than Ever To Voting To Quit EU

Public opinion against the European Union is fueled by the region's debt and refugee crises and trade negotiations with the U.S. A referendum is planned for 2017, and many Britons say they want out.

British Voters Closer Than Ever To Voting To Quit EU

Listen · 3:27
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/443053721/443053722" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Africa

Out Of Egypt, A Massive Pardon Of Political Prisoners

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has pardoned some 100 political prisoners, including two journalists at Al-Jazeera's English-language network. For more, Renee Montagne talks with Leila Fadel.

Out Of Egypt, A Massive Pardon Of Political Prisoners

Listen · 3:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/442799801/442806434" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

In A Viral Video, A Misleading Taste Of What It's Like In Egyptian Prison

A television journalist, behind bars inside Tora Prison — also called "Scorpion" — in Cairo. The Egyptian government has drawn criticism, and scorn, for allegedly whitewashing brutal conditions there. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters/Landov hide caption

toggle caption
Asmaa Waguih/Reuters/Landov

Africa

In A Viral Video, A Misleading Taste Of What It's Like In Egyptian Prison

A government report — and a video leaked with it — gave a rosy impression of conditions inside a notorious prison, even as accounts of torture stream from Egypt's swelling prison population.

In A Viral Video, A Misleading Taste Of What It's Like In Egyptian Prison

Listen · 4:59
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/441912079/441936844" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

World

At Least 12 Dead After Egyptian Forces Mistakenly Target Mexican Tour Group

Egyptian security forces shot dead 12 people, including eight Mexican tourists, Sunday in Egypt's Western Desert. Authorities say security forces mistook the victims for Islamist militants.

At Least 12 Dead After Egyptian Forces Mistakenly Target Mexican Tour Group

Listen · 2:33
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/440327599/440327600" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Cairo Restores The Eclectic Glory Beneath Decades Of City Dust

Cairo's ornate buildings are a mix of 19th century European and Middle Eastern architecture. A massive project is designed to restore their glory, but street vendors and river boat drivers say they are being displaced by the effort. Courtesy Soheir Zaki Hawas hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy Soheir Zaki Hawas

Parallels

Cairo Restores The Eclectic Glory Beneath Decades Of City Dust

Grime and gaudy shop signs obscure much of downtown Cairo's ornate and varied architecture. The city is undergoing a major wash to uncover that beauty, but at the cost of some residents' livelihoods.

Cairo Restores The Eclectic Glory Beneath Decades Of City Dust

Listen · 4:48
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/439566298/439963065" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

An Art Scene Flourishes Behind Closed Doors In Saudi Arabia

Mohamed Hashem, one of Saudi Arabia's best known musicians, plays the oud, a Middle Eastern lute. Leila Fadel/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Leila Fadel/NPR

Parallels

An Art Scene Flourishes Behind Closed Doors In Saudi Arabia

There isn't much public space to be creative. Artists Arwa Alneami and Ahmed Mater are trying to change that. They host a salon where creative people gather and exchange ideas.

An Art Scene Flourishes Behind Closed Doors In Saudi Arabia

Listen · 6:21
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/437606987/438633673" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Middle East

Egyptian Billionaire Searches For An Island That Migrants Can Call Their Own

A Egyptian businessman wants to buy an island from Greece or Italy to serve as home for 100,000 refugees. He plans to name it after the drowned Syrian boy, whose body washed ashore in Turkey.

Egyptian Billionaire Searches For An Island That Migrants Can Call Their Own

Listen · 3:14
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/438228490/438228491" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Middle East

Court In Egypt Jails Al-Jazeera Journalists After Retrial

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced the Al-Jazeera journalists to prison after being retried on charges of broadcasting false news. More than 20 journalists are incarcerated in Egypt.

Court In Egypt Jails Al-Jazeera Journalists After Retrial

Listen · 3:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/436229305/436229306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

News

Egyptian Court Hands Down 3-Year Sentences For Journalists And Activists

Three Al-Jazeera English journalists and several student activists were sentenced to up to three years and six months in prison in Cairo on Saturday.

Egyptian Court Hands Down 3-Year Sentences For Journalists And Activists

Listen · 3:30
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/435853654/435853655" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Middle East

Egypt Court Sentences 3 Al-Jazeera Journalists To 3-Year Prison Terms

Three Al Jazeera English journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were sentenced to up to 3 years and 6 months in prison in a controversial case that's dragged on for nearly 2 years.

Egypt Court Sentences 3 Al-Jazeera Journalists To 3-Year Prison Terms

Listen · 3:04
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/435741096/435741097" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

World

U.S. Couple Held In Egyptian Prison For 1 Year Over Unfounded Child Abuse

An Egyptian-American and her husband have been held in Cairo prisons for more than a year. They're accused of abusing street children in the shelter they ran, but the government has shown little evidence and may be after them because of suspected political activity.

U.S. Couple Held In Egyptian Prison For 1 Year Over Unfounded Child Abuse

Listen · 3:47
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/427839996/427839997" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Egypt's Military Struggles To Quell Growing ISIS-Linked Insurgency

Egyptians carry the coffin of 1st Lt. Mohammed Adel Abdel Azeem, one of more than 20 Egyptian military personnel killed by militants in the Sinai on July 1. Hassan Ammar/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Hassan Ammar/AP

Parallels

Egypt's Military Struggles To Quell Growing ISIS-Linked Insurgency

Egypt has intensified its military response against insurgents who've pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. But some warn that the government's crackdown is creating more extremists.

Egypt's Military Struggles To Quell Growing ISIS-Linked Insurgency

Listen · 3:49
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/425613224/425834290" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Hearing Postponed For Freelance Photographer Jailed In Egypt

Pictured here in a protest sign, Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid has been held without charge since his arrest on August 14, 2013. He was taken into custody by Egyptian police while he was taking pictures during a chaotic protest in Cairo. Amr Nabil/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Amr Nabil/AP

The Two-Way

Hearing Postponed For Freelance Photographer Jailed In Egypt

Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid has been behind bars for 705 days without charge. He was arrested in 2013 while taking photos at a protest in Cairo.

Monday

Movies

Egypt Mourns Omar Sharif, Its Homegrown Cinema Star

The international film star, best known for Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence Of Arabia, represented a bygone era for many Egyptians — though not many could get to his funeral on Sunday.

Egypt Mourns Omar Sharif, Its Homegrown Cinema Star

Listen · 3:22
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/422490063/422490064" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript