Why Freedom Failed in Syria
April 2, 2026
1 hr 6 min
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188 of 210
April 2, 2026
Why Freedom Failed in Syria
0:00 / 1:06:39
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Conflicted Episodes Around April 2, 2026
Episode 188 of 210 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
1:06:39This episodeWhy Freedom Failed in Syria
Summary
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist and author Anand Gopal about his wonderful new book Days of Love and Rage, a profoundly moving and intellectually stimulating history of the Syrian revolution told from the perspective of the northern town of Manbij.
Anand and Thomas discuss:
Anand's first-hand witnessing of 9/11
How Anand embedded with the Taliban
Revolution as a crisis of faith and collapse of social reality
Manbij as a microcosm of the tensions of Syrian modernity
The failure of Manbij's democratic experiment and the limits of liberalism
How ISIS exploited both material grievances and liberal norms
Baathism: egalitarian ethos vs authoritarian reality
Find Gopal on X: https://x.com/Anand_Gopal
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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