A rebel group changed the course of Syria's long civil war when it seized Aleppo this past weekend. The Syria Report's Jihad Yazigi tells us what motivates the group's canny and mysterious leader. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon Rosen and Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Anouck Dussaud, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Rob Byers, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members A rebel fighter celebrates after they seized control of Aleppo, Syria this past weekend. Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Way back in 1982, Syria's dictator Hafez Al Assad brutally crushed an uprising in the city of Hama.
He sealed the city, he cut off food and electricity, and then his army started shelling and then he sent in troops.
This was long before Twitter.
So while thousands of people died, it took time for that massacre to be fully understood.
There were only a few journalists there.
But it was a huge death toll and the smoke hung over the city.
It was a very frightening place.
Ide see it, I guess.
I'm sorry.
I saw it in many ways as.
Dictators do, Hafez handed Syria over to his son, Bashar Al Assad.
Like his dad, he crushes dissent with violence.
But earlier today, Syrian rebels entered Hama.
They say they've taken that city back from Al Assad.
In the past week, this rebel group has changed the course of a 13 year civil war.
And the story of how they did that is coming up on Today Explained.
Did the far left cost Democrats the election?
Identity politics is just so flawed, both morally and as a political strategy, that anyone left defending it in the Democratic Party now I think has to be recognized as someone who shouldn't be listened to.
I'm Preet Bharara and this week neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris joins me on my podcast.
Stay tuned with Preet.