# How Qatar is Trying to Become the Switzerland of the Middle East | Wendover Productions Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wendover-productions-7264431/how-qatar-is-trying-to-become-the-switzerland-of-the-middle-east-wendover-productions Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wendover-productions-7264431/how-qatar-is-trying-to-become-the-switzerland-of-the-middle-east-wendover-productions.md Podcast: [Wendover Productions](https://stenobird.com/podcast/wendover-productions-7264431) Published: 2026-08-01T18:06:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN8255112596.mp3?updated=1778675780 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN8255112596.mp3?updated=1778675780 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/wendover-productions-7264431/episodes/how-qatar-is-trying-to-become-the-switzerland-of-the-middle-east-wendover-productions Duration seconds: 1771 ## Resource How Qatar is Trying to Become the Switzerland of the Middle East To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit http://brilliant.org/wendover The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscriptionInstagram: http://Instagram.com/sam.from.wendover Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/WendoverPro Sponsorship Enquiries: wendover@standard.tv Other emails: sam@wendover.productions Reddit: http://Reddit.com/r/WendoverProductionsWriting by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy Editing by Alexander Williard Lead Motion Design by Max Moser Motion Design by Sara Stoltman, Derek Brown Audio and Music by Manni Simon, Donovan Bullen Additional Editing by José Gámez Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster Supervising Producers Graham Haerther, Travis SoutherlandReferences [1] https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/77120 [2] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-blockade-on-qatar-helped-strengthen-its-economy-paving-the-way-to-stronger-regional-integration/ [3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68091659 [4] https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/11/the-pitiful-endgame-of-saudi-arabias-qatar-blockade/ [5] https://fanack.com/gulf-cooperation-council/blockade-of-qatar-2017-2021/ [6] https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-qatar-became-the-worlds-go-to-hostage-negotiator [7] https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-diplomacy-cements-qatars-global-mediator-role-29e0ffb7 [8] https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-how-qatar-used-its-business-connections-to-become-a-leading-mediator-in-the-middle-east-218461 [9] https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/1048298/Kamrava-Qatari%20Foreign%20Policy%20and%20the%20Exercise%20of%20Subtle%20Power.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y Wendover Productions is all about explaining how our world works. From tr… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/wendover-productions-7264431/episodes/how-qatar-is-trying-to-become-the-switzerland-of-the-middle-east-wendover-productions/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/wendover-productions-7264431/how-qatar-is-trying-to-become-the-switzerland-of-the-middle-east-wendover-productions.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.