What Happened to Syria?

Episode 13 - Alienation (June 13 to June 24, 2011)

Supporters and opponents of the Assad regime are becoming irrevocably alienated from one another, sowing the seeds for a future war between Assad's Syria versus Free Syria.

 

Sources

A Woman in the Crossfire by Samar Yazbek

Assad or We Burn the Country by Sam Dagher

The Impossible Revolution by Yassin al-Haj Saleh

The Syrian Revolution by Dr. Yasser Munif

Civil War in Syria by Bakzo, et. al

The Home That Was Our Country by Alia Malek

Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad by Dr. David Lesch

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled by Dr. Wendy Pearlman

 

Music Licensing

“Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar” by Ibrahim Qashoush

 

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys

 

Fire Away by Forget the Whale

Creative Commons - Attribution-Non Comercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Forget_the_Whale/you-me-talk-now/fire-away-instrumental

 

Genocide by Silent Carrion

Creative Commons - attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international (cc by-nc-nd 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Silent_Carrion/Suprematism_EP_III_Sol/Silent_Carrion_-_Suprematism_EP_III_Sol_-_01_Genocide

 

"Emotional Sad Piano Music" by Mattia Cupelli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYHk_D5A44

THE TERROR - Bonus Episode 1 - Navy SEAL, CIA, Firefighter: Jeff Butler Reflects on 9/11 and the War on Terror

Jeff Butler's multifaceted career made him the perfect guest for THE TERROR. A warfighter, a CIA counterterrorism specialist, and now a first responder. His perspective is truly one-of-a-kind. 

 

You can find Mr. Butler on Twitter at @SOFFru1

 

"Deliverance" by Aliaksei Yukhenevich

https://tunetank.com/tracks/3960-deliverance/ 

Episode 12 - The Revolutionaries (Part 2)

There are too many amazing heroes among the Syrians who protested in 2011 to fit into a single episode. This is our second attempt at an ongoing effort to commemorate the heroes of the Syrian Revolution.

 

Ghiath Matar, Fadwa Soleiman, Bassel Shehadeh, a certain iconic goalkeeper-turned-singer from Homs, and other incredible individuals make appearances in this tribute to people whose bravery and sacrifices deserve to be remembered.

 

Thank you to @SubhiXCIV and @proud_damascene for the help you provided with this episode.

 

Sources:

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled by Dr. Wendy Pearlman

A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution by Samar Yazbek

Burning Country by Robin Yassin-Kassab

“Syrian Christians Feel Pull From Both Sides In Civil War,” The Washington Times

“The Days of Abd al-Basset” al-Jumhuriya.net

“Abdel-Basset al-Sarout: Controversial Singer of Syria’s War,” Al-Jazeera

Music Licensing

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys

 

"Emotional Sad Piano Music" by Mattia Cupelli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYHk_D5A44

Episode 11 - The Last Straw (May 25 to June 12, 2011)

DISTURBING CONTENT WARNING

 

There is no turning back for Syria after this episode.

 

The Syrian Opposition is nearing its breaking point after months of being massacred, mass-arrested, and mass-tortured by the Assad regime.

 

But all hell breaks loose when the public discovers the torture and murder of 13-year-old Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, leading to the largest protests to take place thus far as well as the first confirmed BATTLE between regime loyalists and armed opposition.

 

Sources:

“We’ve Never Seen Such Horror,” Human Rights Watch

Syria by Dr. Samer N. Abboud

The Fall of the House of Assad by Dr. David Lesch

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled by Dr. Wendy Pearlman

My Country by Kassem Eid

No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid

The Home That Was Our Country by Alia Malek

Assad or We Burn the Country by Sam Dagher

Civil War in Syria by Bakzo, et. al

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

 

Music Licensing:

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys

Arrow Arrow by Aglow Hollow

Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/aglow_hollow/Proximate_Laws_Baba_Yaga_Booty_Calls/arrow-arrow

Ultimate Metal by Loyalty Freak

Creative Commons - CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Loyalty_Freak_Music/HYPER_METAL_/Loyalty_Freak_Music_-_HYPER_METAL__-_08_ULTIMATE_METAL

Genocide by Silent Carrion

Creative Commons - attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international (cc by-nc-nd 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Silent_Carrion/Suprematism_EP_III_Sol/Silent_Carrion_-_Suprematism_EP_III_Sol_-_01_Genocide

Minisode 1 - Daraa‘s Devastation

Episode 11 - The Last Straw is taking longer than expected to edit. Here's an excerpt to tide everyone over until the full episode is done.

 

Sources Cited:

"We've Never Seen Such Horror" by Human Rights Watch

 

Music Licensing

Genocide by Silent Carrion

Creative Commons - attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international (cc by-nc-nd 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Silent_Carrion/Suprematism_EP_III_Sol/Silent_Carrion_-_Suprematism_EP_III_Sol_-_01_Genocide

 

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys 

Episode 10 - Syrian Kurds and the Revolution

This might be our most controversial episode, yet.

 

What is the relationship between the Assad regime and Syrian Kurds? How did Kurds react to the Syrian revolution? Why is it that a majority of Syrian Kurds came to prefer the YPG over the Free Syrian Army?

 

A lot of it has to do with societal attitudes that go back decades before the Syrian Revolution.

 

Peshmerge is a Syrian Kurd from Aleppo who participated in the 2011 protests and vehemently supported the Syrian Opposition. His opinion changed as the opposition gradually changed from a big tent movement to one dominated by racists and religious fundamentalism.

 

Music licensing:

Come and Get It By Scott Holmes

Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/media-music-mix/come-and-get-it

 

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys

 

Genocide by Silent Carrion

Creative Commons - attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international (cc by-nc-nd 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Silent_Carrion/Suprematism_EP_III_Sol/Silent_Carrion_-_Suprematism_EP_III_Sol_-_01_Genocide

UNLOCKED - Bonus Episode 11 - The Northern Revolution

Yusuf was born in Manbij and gave up his job in Latakia to organize protests during the Syrian Revolution.

 

The events of 2011 changed his life forever, resulting in the loss of his freedom (detained twice by the regime, plus once by ISIS) and eventually forcing him to leave Syria in 2015.

 

Music licensing

Fire Away by Forget the Whale

Creative Commons - Attribution-Non Comercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Forget_the_Whale/you-me-talk-now/fire-away-instrumental

THE TERROR - Episode 1 - When Everything Changed (September 11, 2001)

Twenty years ago, the world changed.

 

The Terror is a 12-episode miniseries about 9/11, what led up to it, and it's aftermath. It's the story about how the Cold War led to 9/11 and the War on Terror.

 

Aram Shabanian (@ShabanianAram on Twitter) has extensively researched the events of September 11, 2001 for two decades. He is currently a Non-State Actors Researcher at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy.

 

Music credits

 

"Deep Noise" by Kevin MacLeod 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgB_L7Os5OA 

"Deliverance" by Aliaksei Yukhenevich

https://tunetank.com/tracks/3960-deliverance/ 

"Emotional Sad Piano Music" by Mattia Cupelli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYHk_D5A44 

Message to Listeners (Upcoming Hiatus)

Hey y'all, we're going to put out one or two more episodes before we take a month off. 

In the meantime, keep an eye out for The Terror, a 12-part miniseries about al-Qaeda, 9/11, and its aftermath due for release on September 11, 2021.

 

 

Episode 9 - A Thousand Deaths (April 22 to May 24, 2011)

This week, the Syrian Revolution takes a bloody and tragic turn when the Assad regime begins to put restive towns and cities under military siege. Starvation, indiscriminate bombings, and other horrors associated with the Syrian Civil War (a label that many Syrians see as a misnomer) begin to be seen in mid-2011.

 

Sources cited:

 

Syria by Samer N. Abboud

 

Civil War in Syria by Baczko, et al

 

The Syrian Revolution by Yasser Munif

 

Inside Syria’s Slaughter: A Journalist Sneaks Into Dara’a, the ‘Ghetto of Death’ by Christian Clanet for Le Monde, published in partnership with Worldcrunch and Time Magazine

 

Impossible Revolution by Yassin al-Haj Saleh

 

No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid

 

The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo by Alaa al-Jaleel

 

Assad or We Burn the Country by Sam Dagher

 

Music licensing:

 

Fragments by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-fragments

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ndyyIhwojys

 

Genocide by Silent Carrion

Creative Commons - attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international (cc by-nc-nd 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Silent_Carrion/Suprematism_EP_III_Sol/Silent_Carrion_-_Suprematism_EP_III_Sol_-_01_Genocide