Episode 100! Saudi Arabia gets a BRICS invite, a lightning strike on Mecca's clocktower, and leading Riyadh-based architect Nadia Maqbool Al Lawatiya joins The 966

The 966

Nadia Maqbool Al-Lawatiya, a leading Riyadh-based architect and urban designer who is closely familiar with Salmani architecture, joins The 966 to share her journey and discuss some of the themes and thinking behind the new style emerging from Saudi Arabia. Nadia listened to a previous episode of The 966 on Salmani architecture and joins for this episode to discuss the style and answer some questions from the hosts. We learn about the underlying thinking and strategic vision behind the style, and explore some of its more distinctive elements. Before the conversation with Nadia, The 966 hosts reflect on 100 episodes of The 966 and note that this is just the beginning. The hosts also discuss last week's inaugural The 966 golf invitational and, just one day after their golf outing, Lucien's amazing hole-in-one!

MESSAGE FROM THE HOSTS: "The hosts want to thank the loyal, growing listenership and viewership of the program for making it a success and number one in the space. There are tens of thousands of you around the world in over 100 countries and that number keeps growing. It's a privilege and genuinely fun to be doing this - thank you!"

10:30 - Richard's One Big Thing this week is an update on the mining and minerals strategy that Saudi Arabia is executing on now.

26:12 - Lucien's One Big Thing is Saudi Arabia's invitation to join the BRICS group, and some thoughts on the pros and cons of Saudi Arabia joining the group.

45:40 - Nadia Maqbool Al-Lawatiya, a leading Riyadh-based architect and urban designer who is closely familiar with Salmani architecture, joins The 966.

1:31:32 - Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

•Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have bought thousands of Nvidia GPUs as they develop generative AI applications

•SRMG Ventures, the venture capital arm of Ryadh-based conglomerate Saudi Research and Media Group, has announced a small but significant $5 million investment in Anghami

•Axiom Space has raised $350 million in a funding round led by Saudi Arabia's Aljazira Capital and Korean healthcare firm Boryung as the startup works with NASA

•A falcon from a Saudi breeding facility has become the most expensive in the Middle East, fetching a record $134,000 at auction

•More than 7 million students in Saudi Arabia returned to school on Sunday, resuming their studies after a two-month summer vacation

•A video published by the UAE-based The National shows Mecca’s Clock Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world, being dramatically struck by a bolt of lightning amid heavy rains that caused localized flooding.