How did Ahmed al-Sharaa go from an imprisoned al-Qaeda fighter to the leader of Syria? What is the psychological impact of living a secret life for over twenty years? What is the future of Syria? Ahmed al-Sharaa joins Rory and Alastair to discuss all this and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🚨 ARABIC VERSION 🚨 To watch this video in the guest's native language (Arabic) click the link here 👉 youtu.be/edBAP-ihMR4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 00:00 Coming up 00:20 What to expect 00:51 Why were you in Saudi Arabia? 01:46 From childhood to Syria’s presidency 10:46 Leading Syria 16:09 First days in office 23:01 Trump and global affairs 32:21 Living with a $10 million bounty 37:00 Debrief and reflections TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. ✅ Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@restispolitics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🎙️ Listen To The Podcast: https://lnk.to/TheRestIsPoliticsYT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 📱 Follow Us On Socials: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restispolitics/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restispolitics/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@restispolitics Twitter: https://twitter.com/RestIsPolitics