Bassem Youssef is an Egyptian satirist, columnist, and talk show host. A cardiac surgeon by training, Youssef turned to comedy after he was inspired by the Egyptian revolution. He uploaded the first episode of his homemade newscast, “The B+ Show,” to YouTube in May 2011. After it garnered more than 5 million views in three months, Youssef was named the host of “Al-Bernameg,” a satirical newscast televised by the independent Egyptian channel ONTV and later by the Capital Broadcast Center (CBC). Youssef’s bold, intelligent, and humorous critiques of Egyptian politics quickly became a hit with audiences in the country and garnered more than 40 million viewers. In 2012, Mohamed Morsi’s government pursued charges against Youssef for “insulting the president,” “insulting Islam,” and “reporting false news.” In March 2013, Youssef was briefly detained, released on bail, and fined. CBC suspended the broadcast of “Al-Bernameg” in November 2013. In 2014, Youssef announced that he was ending the program due to the dangerous political climate in Egypt. He was named one of TIME’s “100 most influential people in the world” in 2013. Youssef also writes a weekly column for the independent Egyptian daily Al-Shorouk.