This podcast aims to discuss the urban life during the pandemic in regards to Syria and the Syrian Civil War. This topic resonates me personally due to my experiences with my Syrian-American classmates during high school. It was the first time I experienced what it meant to rally behind a cause and fight for what you believe in. My classmates organized sit-ins and other forms of protests on campus, and they were often suspended for it. Back then I used to wonder why they would risk having a suspension on their record to make a statement. It wasn’t until when I got to college that I realized that fighting for something bigger than yourself is more important that a few bad marks in high school, in the grand scheme of things. Those memories have always stuck with me and they will continue to drive me in my academic and career pursuits. Here in the United States, there is always mention of the “return to normal’ anytime the coronavirus is mentioned. I wanted to explore how that concept carries a different meaning for others across the world. In the context of Syria specifically, normalcy goes far beyond the eradication of COVID-19 from the country. It represents something much bigger for many, that being the end of the civil war and the rebuilding of infrastructure. That is the “return to normal” that many Syrians are hoping and praying for. I also want to use this podcast to inform people that, even though the civil war seems to be dying down, it is still a substantial issue that needs to be talked about. Just because the news cycle rotates world stories in and out of the public eye, these issues do not simply go away. Millions are still being affected by the regime’s actions in Syria. Millions of people are still unable to return to their homes, their neighborhoods, their cities. Millions of people are still living as refugees, dealing with hunger, clean water, heating and cooling, and other diseases in addition to the coronavirus pandemic. · 

Al Jazeera. “Syria’s Idlib Region to Receive First Batch of COVID-19 Vaccines.” Coronavirus Pandemic News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 21 Apr. 2021, www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/21/syrias-idlib-region-to-receive-first-batch-of-covid-19-vaccines.· 
AlJazeeraEnglish. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XgMtIuGH10&t=123s.·
 “Crying Rose.” Youtube, Nockonsep, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rASIxUHq4lM.·
Lawton, Jessica, and Hussam Al Saleh. “Aleppo, Syria: 'Each Day That Comes Is Worse than the One before': World Food Programme.” UN World Food Programme, 15 Mar. 2021, www.wfp.org/stories/aleppo-syria-each-day-comes-worse-one.· 
Nettler, Jonathan. “Urban Planning Becomes a Weapon in Syrian Civil War.” Planetizen, 30 Nov. 2012, www.planetizen.com/node/59515.· PBSNewsHour. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Feb. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDcb09bSFKE&t=82s.· 
“Razed to the Ground.” Human Rights Watch, 8 Apr. 2021, www.hrw.org/report/2014/01/30/razed-ground/syrias-unlawful-neighborhood-demolitions-2012-2013#.·
Yiftachel, Oren. Theoretical Notes on 'Gray Cities': The Coming of Urban Apartheid. SAGE Publications, 2009.

Syria: Urban Life & The Pandemic

A look into the ongoing Syrian Civil War, the pandemic, how education has been affected by both, and how education holds the key to Syria's future.

Education in Syria

amara & cam - Conference Championship Week, Playoff Predictions

A short podcast about cars, why they are getting larger, and why pedestrians are paying the price for that change.

_the_emperor_of_tmrw_