KPFK 90.7 FM

“Whatever’s coming next, I don’t believe at all that [it] would be worse than what we’ve been through, what we lived through,” says Syrian activist and filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab as she celebrates the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship to Syrian opposition groups. Al-Kateab, who was forced to flee her hometown of Aleppo with her family in 2016 and now resides in the United Kingdom, says the end of Assad’s rule has reignited the “dream of a free Syria.” Her Oscar-nominated documentary film For Sama, released in 2019, offered a rare glimpse into Syria’s civil war. The devastating personal account was filmed over the course of five years during the uprising in Aleppo and is dedicated to Al-Kateab’s daughter Sama.

The fall of the Assad family’s 50-year regime in Syria brings with it “many more questions than answers,” says the executive director of the Arab Studies Institute, Bassam Haddad. While the regional and global implications are “not good,” as Israel in particular is celebrating the loss of Assad’s material support for Palestinian and Lebanese armed resistance, Haddad says the immediate relief of those suffering under Assad’s totalitarian regime should not be ignored or invisibilized. Haddad also discusses the political prospects for the rebel forces led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which he says will likely form a coalition with other groups as the future of Syria is determined in the coming days and weeks.

It has been a very busy several days since we spoke with you last on BradCast! So it's another very busy show today. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.] Among our coverage today... BREAKING before air: Law enforcement officials have arrested a "strong person of interest" in last week's Manhattan murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. A [...]

MEANWHILE, AT THE CAPITOL... * * * As The BRAD BLOG's former longtime toon sherpa PDiddie always reminded us: "With editorial cartooning increasingly an endangered species, please consider supporting them if you possibly can." * * * The BRAD BLOG is looking for someone --- other than me --- who may [...]

An in-depth investigation by Rebecca John reveals the extent to which oil companies have usurped the democratic process for decades via deceptive front-groups parading as grassroots organizations opposed to oil taxes and curbs on carbon emissions.

The International Criminal Court on November 21 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”