--- title: Bassem Youssef on Bringing His Comedy and Culture to the U.S. description: Bassem Youssef was featured on the TIME 100 list in 2013, when he was the host of El-Bernameg, a popular satirical news show in Egypt. Trained as a cardiac surgeon, Youssef became the voice of a nation hopeful for greater democratic freedoms. However, by 2014 it was clear that Egypt’s military leadership felt threatened by his comedy and Youssef was forced to flee. His story is one of reinvention, from doctor to satirist, to immigrant and now actor, Bassem Youssef keeps finding a new voice. canonical: https://time.com/6270621/watch-bassem-youssef-on-bringing-his-comedy-and-culture-to-the-u-s/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-04-12T16:48:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:43:16.656Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Bassem Youssef on Bringing His Comedy and Culture to the U.S. og:description: Bassem Youssef was featured on the TIME 100 list in 2013, when he was the host of El-Bernameg, a popular satirical news show in Egypt. Trained as a cardiac surgeon, Youssef became the voice of a nation hopeful for greater democratic freedoms. However, by 2014 it was clear that Egypt’s military leadership felt threatened by his comedy and Youssef was forced to flee. His story is one of reinvention, from doctor to satirist, to immigrant and now actor, Bassem Youssef keeps finding a new voice. og:url: https://time.com/6270621/watch-bassem-youssef-on-bringing-his-comedy-and-culture-to-the-u-s/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80d8dc9ffdc186a7/698a3be847ca38a4c53baabe/bassem_smaller.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME100 Pioneers | Bassem Youssef og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bassem Youssef on Bringing His Comedy and Culture to the U.S. twitter:description: Bassem Youssef was featured on the TIME 100 list in 2013, when he was the host of El-Bernameg, a popular satirical news show in Egypt. Trained as a cardiac surgeon, Youssef became the voice of a nation hopeful for greater democratic freedoms. However, by 2014 it was clear that Egypt’s military leadership felt threatened by his comedy and Youssef was forced to flee. His story is one of reinvention, from doctor to satirist, to immigrant and now actor, Bassem Youssef keeps finding a new voice. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80d8dc9ffdc186a7/698a3be847ca38a4c53baabe/bassem_smaller.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch: Bassem Youssef on Bringing His Comedy and Culture to the U.S. by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Apr 12, 2023 4:48 PM UTC  TIME Video by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Apr 12, 2023 4:48 PM UTC ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6270621/watch-bassem-youssef-on-bringing-his-comedy-and-culture-to-the-u-s/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6270621/watch-bassem-youssef-on-bringing-his-comedy-and-culture-to-the-u-s/"},"headline":"Watch: Bassem Youssef on Bringing His Comedy and Culture to the U.S.","datePublished":"2023-04-12T16:48:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:43:16.656Z","description":"Bassem Youssef was featured on the TIME 100 list in 2013, when he was the host of El-Bernameg, a popular satirical news show in Egypt. 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