After more than a decade of destructive civil war in Syria, it was widely assumed that the Assad regime would keep its grip on power. Instead, lightly armed rebels were able to launch an offensive that succeeded in toppling the regime in less than two weeks. Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow.

Louisa Loveluck spoke with Martine Powers as she prepared to cross into Syria.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, with help from Ted Muldoon, Emma Talkoff and Ariel Plotnick. It was mixed by Justin Gerrish and edited by Monica Campbell, with help from Maggie Penman and Reena Flores. Thanks to Naomi Schanen, Lior Soroka, Mohamad El Chamaa, Jesse Mesner-Hage, Jenn Amur and Andrew Golden.

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