New Lines Institute's Caroline Rose explains how captagon, a drug you may have never heard of, is propping up genocidal regimes in the Middle East.
What We Discuss with Caroline Rose:
What is captagon? Where did it originate, what are its effects, and why don't we hear about it in the United States?
How captagon — with a potential trade value of over $5.7 ... Show More
Oct 9
1394: Wife Cheated with Friend, But Must Marriage End? | Feedback Friday
Your wife and your fantasy football pal were a secret team. Is staying married smart parenting, or just making you a schmuck? It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your c ... Show More
1h 32m
Mar 2025
Captagon: Syria’s Hidden Drug Empire
Was al-Assad's Syria a narco-state? Captagon—a deadly, addictive amphetamine—has turned Syria into the heart of a $2 billion drug empire few know about, with the Assad regime at the center of it all. From secret labs to smuggling routes, we uncover how this shadowy network operat ... Show More
29m 45s
Jun 2023
Who's behind Syria's Captagon trade?
Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine-like drug, is causing huge problems around the Middle East, as millions of pills are smuggled out of Syria. BBC News Arabic collaborated with the investigative journalism network OCCRP to find out who's behind the trade. Emir Nader tells u ... Show More
41m 32s
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
Feb 2025
Where will Captagon users get the drug after Assad’s fall?
<p>With Syria's new government cracking down on Captagon, where will production shift in the drug trade's supply chain? Under Bashar al-Assad’s rule, Syria became a hub of Captagon production. With demand continuing, where will the drug market turn to next?</p> <p><strong>I ... Show More
19m 56s