Real Life Lore
Specials
RealLifeLore explains the history, geography, undercurrents and geopolitics of international disputes both big and small around the globe with the occasional diversions off planet or into 'that seems weird" situations that are quite telling.
Where to Watch Specials
64 Episodes
- Modern Conflicts: The Israel-Palestine BorderE11
Modern Conflicts: The Israel-Palestine BorderThere's a lot of messy and complicated borders in the world. But all of them pale in comparison to the world's most controversial border situation: the boundary between Israel and Palestine. In this video, I attempt to explain the whole situation with as little bias as possible. Thank you for watching - Modern Conflicts: The 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan WarE12
Modern Conflicts: The 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan WarFor 6 weeks in 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war saw the use of advanced technology and modern tactics, the intervention of several foreign powers and ended with a decisive victory for Azerbaijan. This is how the war unfolded - Modern Conflicts: Ukraine and Russia Before 2022E13
Modern Conflicts: Ukraine and Russia Before 2022For the past 7 years, the deadliest war in Europe of the 21st century century has been raging in Eastern Ukraine. The war has killed thousands, displaced millions, and brought economic devastation to both Ukraine and Russia. This is the war explained from beginning to end in under 30 minutes. - Modern Conflicts: Afghanistan Before 2001E15
Modern Conflicts: Afghanistan Before 2001The modern war in Afghanistan didn't begin with the American and allied invasion of 2001. Its origins are significantly more complex and date back to the 1970's. This is the War in Afghanistan before the American part of the story. - Modern Conflicts: North Korea Since 2000E16
Modern Conflicts: North Korea Since 2000The conflict between North and South Korea has been raging for more than 7 decades now. The Korean War fought in the 1950's led to the deaths of millions and changed very little geopolitically. The most severe escalations in the conflict since then, have all happened in the 21st century. This is a full overview of the combat operations fought between North and South Korea since the year 2000. - Modern Conflicts: US-IranE17
Modern Conflicts: US-IranThe United States and Iran have one of the most controversial, important and dangerous relationships in the world. The 2 nations have come dangerously close to war in the past on multiple occasions and in order to understand why, you've got to understand the history of American-Iranian relations. This video attempts to condense this enormous subject into a mere 23 minutes. - Modern Conflicts: The War of SaddamE18
Modern Conflicts: The War of SaddamSaddam Hussein ruled Iraq for nearly a quarter of a century and throughout that time, he initiated 2 enormous wars that resulted in the deaths of millions and brought together the largest international coalition ever formed since the Second World War against him. This is the story of how and why a single man led Iraq directly into the abyss at the end of the 20th century, and created the modern world in the process. - Modern Conflicts: The Greco-Turkish Cold WarE19
Modern Conflicts: The Greco-Turkish Cold WarGreece and Turkey have one of the world's most ancient and bitter geopolitical rivalries that stretches back nearly 1,000 years. The modern conflict between the two is familiar, but also quite different than it's been at any time before in the past. - Modern Conflicts: Syria's Stalingrad, AleppoE20
Modern Conflicts: Syria's Stalingrad, AleppoFor 4 long years, the largest city in Syria was torn apart in one of the largest and most ferocious battles of the 21st century. This is the story of how and why Aleppo was so fiercely fought over between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his allies on the one side, and various rebel factions and their allies on the other. - America's Biggest Ghost Town: The Salton SeaE22
America's Biggest Ghost Town: The Salton SeaThe Salton Sea is one of mankind's greatest accidents. For decades it was built up as a beautiful lakeside resort community, and then overtime was promptly abandoned. Today it's a collection of ghost towns in the middle of the desert in California. Let's explore. - Modern Conflicts: The Chechen WarsE23
Modern Conflicts: The Chechen WarsAcross the 1990's and early 2000's, the Republic of Chechnya attempted to secede from Russia and achieve independence. What followed was more than a decade of brutal warfare and violence that saw no real winners. This is the tragic story of the two wars fought between Russia and Chechnya. - Modern Conflicts: The U.S. Invasion of Iraq (2003)E24
Modern Conflicts: The U.S. Invasion of Iraq (2003)In March of 2003, the United States and its allies invaded the country of Iraq under the pretext of dismantling Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ending his regime's sponsorship of terror. But the US did so with no UN approval, the invasion was widely condemned as an act of aggression abroad, and no weapons of mass destruction were ever discovered. This is the tragic and dark story of America's invasion of Iraq. - Modern Conflicts: The Russian Intervention in SyriaE25
Modern Conflicts: The Russian Intervention in SyriaBeginning in 2015, the Russian Armed Forces began a large-scale military intervention in the Syrian Civil War on behalf of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. It ended up turning into a triumph of geopolitics for the Kremlin, and here's how. - Modern Conflicts: The Transnistria WarE26
Modern Conflicts: The Transnistria WarIn 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed into 15 newly independent states. Among these 15 was the Republic of Moldova. However, not everyone within the republic wanted to be independent. 470,000 people in the breakaway republic of Transnistria declared independence from Moldova, desiring to remain a part of the Soviet Union. The first war in Europe fought after the Cold War began as a result. - Modern Conflicts: America's Longest WarE28
Modern Conflicts: America's Longest WarThe longest war in American history was the one fought for nearly 20 years in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. It was so long, it lasted for nearly 8% of all American history from 1776 to the present day. This is the story of that conflict. - Modern Conflicts: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 1E29
Modern Conflicts: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 1On the 24th of February 2022, nearly 200,000 Russian soldiers under direct orders from Moscow invaded Ukraine, sparking the largest war seen in Europe since 1945. During this first phase of the invasion, the Russians seemed intent on capturing the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and toppling the Ukrainian government. But this objective would fail, and their planned blitzkrieg would gradually transform into a brutal war of attrition. - Modern Conflicts: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 2: StalemateE30
Modern Conflicts: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 2: StalemateAfter Russia failed to capture the Ukrainian capital by April, their army began to refocus everything on the eastern front and the battle for the Donbas: the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. This episode covers the invasion of Ukraine between April and September of 2022. - Modern Conflicts: The Yemen Civil WarE31
Modern Conflicts: The Yemen Civil WarYemen is one of the largest and most important countries in the Middle East. In 2014, the country descended into an initially two-sided civil war between the Shia-adjacent Houthis allegedly supported by Iran, and the largely Sunni government supported by Saudi Arabia. The Saudis eventually intervened in the war alongside an international coalition that is still ongoing today, and which has generated one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the 21st-century. - Modern Conflicts: The Libyan Civil WarsE32
Modern Conflicts: The Libyan Civil WarsLibya was once among Africa's wealthiest and most prosperous nations. But for the past 12 years, ever since 2011, the country has known almost nothing but warfare, chaos, and instability. There have been two civil wars fought across Libya, and a third is looming going into 2023. This is the story of how Libya shattered during the 2010's. - Modern Conflicts: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 3: CounterattackE33
Modern Conflicts: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Phase 3: CounterattackFor the first 6 months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainians were entirely on the defensive, holding the lines against Russian attacks. But beginning in September of 2022, the Ukrainians shocked the world by going on the offensive themselves. This is the story of the largest counteroffensive seen in Europe since the Second World War, and how the momentum of the war in Ukraine suddenly and decisively shifted in Ukraine's favor. - Modern Conflicts: The Tigray WarE34
Modern Conflicts: The Tigray WarBy loss of life, the worst human conflict that began in the 21st century was the so-called Tigray War in Ethiopia, which lasted between 2020 and 2022. This video attempts to explain this terrible conflict's causes and why it went as badly as it did. - Modern Conflicts: The Syrian Civil WarE35
Modern Conflicts: The Syrian Civil WarThe civil war in Syria has been one of the most tragic, largest and consequential conflicts of the 21st-century. What initially began as protests against the country's long-standing regime steadily morphed into a full-blown civil war that has lasted for more than a decade and become one of the world's most complicated proxy-battlegrounds, as outside powers like the US, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia all directly intervened supporting various different factions. - Modern Conflicts: The Rise of ISISE36
Modern Conflicts: The Rise of ISISOver the summer of 2014, a previously obscure organization in Iraq suddenly catapulted itself to worldwide attention and infamy through a series of lightning-fast military conquests across Iraq and Syria. That organization would quickly become known around the world as ISIS, and by 2015 they had carved out a de-facto state ruling over as many as 12 million people. But ISIS didn't just come out of nowhere, and this video attempts to explain how circumstances and opportunities aligned in the 2010s to provide them with a rapid rise. - Modern Conflicts: The Fall of ISISE37
Modern Conflicts: The Fall of ISISBy August of 2014, the group calling itself ISIS had exploded onto the world stage and rapidly conquered about half of Syria and a third of Iraq. But that same month, the United States decided to militarily intervene against the group. It would be the beginning of ISIS’s undoing, as this video covers how the growing coalition of nations and organizations aimed at destroying ISIS grew between 2014 and 2016, ultimately resulting in ISIS losing all of its territory and its leader just a few years later in 2019. - Modern Conflicts: The Battle of BakhmutE38
Modern Conflicts: The Battle of BakhmutFor over a year, the Russian and Ukrainian armies threw just about everything they had into a massive battle for control over the small city of Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine. The fight for the city gradually evolved into the most significant and most catastrophic battle fought in Europe since the Second World War, with tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks committed by both sides. - Modern Conflicts: The Turkish-Kurdish ConflictE39
Modern Conflicts: The Turkish-Kurdish ConflictFor nearly 200 years, the Kurdish people have never had a truly independent state of their own. At a population of around 45 million today, that makes the Kurds one of the largest nations that does not have their own country. They are currently divided between the borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and about 15 million Kurds live within Turkey. From time to time over the centuries, there have been demands and calls from among the Kurds to establish their own separate country, but that call has perhaps been the loudest from within Turkey, where ever since the 1980's into the present day, the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, has waged a violent campaign of insurgency and terrorism against the Turkish state for independence that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands since it began. This is the story of Turkey's most horrible, enduring, and tragic modern conflict. - Modern Conflicts: Myanmar & The Rohingya GenocideE40
Modern Conflicts: Myanmar & The Rohingya GenocideMyanmar is a country located in Southeast Asia that has been locked in some form of civil war or another ever since its independence decades ago back in 1948. For most of the country's history since 1962, its government has been directly ruled by the country's military in one of the world's most heavily authoritarian regimes. This military regime engaged in one of the worst genocides of the 21st-century against Myanmar's Rohingya people from 2016 to the present, and overthrew the once-in-a-generation democratically elected civilian government in a coup d'etat in 2021, which has led to the latest chapter in the country's long-running civil war that has since in fewer than 3 years claimed the lives of tens of thousands. This episode in Modern Conflicts explains how Myanmar became the only failed-state in Southeast Asia. - Modern Conflicts: Israel & Gaza Before 2023E41
Modern Conflicts: Israel & Gaza Before 2023The modern conflict between Israel and Gaza has a decades-long history that stretches back at least to 1967, and arguably even before that. This episode of Modern Conflicts attempts to cover the events between Israel and Gaza that have transpired between the period of the First Intifada in the 1980's to the beginning of the most recent war in 2023. - Modern Conflicts: The Lebanese Civil WarE42
Modern Conflicts: The Lebanese Civil WarFor 15 years between 1975 and 1990, Lebanon, a small but extremely diverse country in the Eastern Mediterranean, collapsed into one of the most violent civil wars of the entire 20th-century. This complex conflict would see the direct foreign interventions of both Syria and Israel who each invaded Lebanon and occupied different parts of the country for decades, while the conflict also saw the original rise to power of Hezbollah—a militant organization backed by Iran that continues to remain the most powerful force in Lebanon to this day. - Modern Conflicts: The Yugoslav WarsE43
Modern Conflicts: The Yugoslav WarsThroughout the 1990s, a devastating series of separate but connected wars were waged across the territory of the Western Balkans as the former state of Yugoslavia collapsed. The subsequent wars that were fought in the chaos of Yugoslavia's collapse were waged across Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Kosovo. More than 140,000 people were killed throughout these wars and millions more were forcibly displaced by the violence, which made them the most violent conflict fought in Europe since World War II at the time. This is the story of how Yugoslavia was created, why Yugoslavia collapsed in the early 1990s, and why the wars that followed were so monstrously catastrophic. - Modern Conflicts: The Darfur GenocideE44
Modern Conflicts: The Darfur GenocideFrom 2003 through 2005, the first legally defined genocide of the 21st-century took place in the Darfur region of Sudan. Compared in brutality and scale to the Rwandan Genocide a decade earlier, the genocide in Darfur was carried out under the regime of Omar al-Bashir in Sudan and perpetrated against Darfur's non-Arab, African communities. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost as a consequence, and the echoes of the genocide in Darfur have reverberated through to the present day, and continue to influence events in the country and in Africa at large today. - War Room: February 2024 Recap - Avdiivka, Navalny, & GazaE46
War Room: February 2024 Recap - Avdiivka, Navalny, & GazaRecap of all the major geopolitical developments from February 2024. Ukraine’s top general is replaced, Alexei Navalny dies in prison, Avdiivka falls to the Russians, and Israeli forces continue advances into Gaza. - Modern Conflicts: French Intervention in MaliE47
Modern Conflicts: French Intervention in MaliIn January of 2013, rebel factions in Mali backed by al-Qaeda had overrun the entire northern half of the country—an area larger than the entire country of France. Working on expanding their area of control, the rebels began marching on the Malian capital itself and seemed poised to overrun the entire country - which would have transformed Mali into a Jihadist-run state directly on Europe's doorstep. Unwilling to let that happen, France decided to militarily intervene with more than 5,000 troops, and this is what happened next. - War Room: March 2024 Recap - ISIS, Ukraine, & HaitiE48
War Room: March 2024 Recap - ISIS, Ukraine, & HaitiThe recap of major geopolitical developments for March, 2024. Ukrainian missile strikes hit Russian oil refineries. Russia launches its largest bombing campaign of Ukraine of the year. A mass civilian shooting near Moscow perpetrated by ISIS kills more than 140. Ceasefire proposals continue to fail in Gaza. Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping escalate in lethality and destruction. The government of Haiti collapses, leaving the country's future deeply uncertain. - Modern Conflicts: The 2023 Ukraine CounteroffensiveE49
Modern Conflicts: The 2023 Ukraine CounteroffensiveIn the summer of 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a major military counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces across the eastern front in Ukraine. It was one of the biggest military operations to have taken place in Europe since the Second World War and involved the participation of hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides. Ukraine's forces were heavily equipped and trained by Western and NATO militaries for the offensive, while the Russians spent months heavily digging in and fortifying their lines with thousands of miles of trenches, minefields, and artillery dugouts. For months the Ukrainian forces battered against the Russian frontline to little avail, and after months worth of extremely heavy fighting, little ground was gained. This video attempts to explore the reasons why. - War Room: April 2024 Recap - Israel, Iran, and Ukraine AidE50
War Room: April 2024 Recap - Israel, Iran, and Ukraine AidAcross the month of April, 2024, Israel and Iran exchanged missile and drone fire against one another directly, with Iran firing missiles at Israel directly for the first time in history. Iran's consulate in Damascus was destroyed, 7 aid workers in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli drone fire, America passed a $92 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel, & Taiwan, small Russian advances in Ukraine continued, while Ecuadorian security forces raided the Mexican embassy in Quito, sending relations between the two Latin American countries into a tailspin. - Modern Conflicts: The India-China Border BattlesE51
Modern Conflicts: The India-China Border BattlesBetween May of 2020 and January of 2021, thousands of Indian and Chinese troops engaged each other in aggressive melee fights along their disputed border in the former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir. Due to an agreed-upon restriction on firearms and explosives along the border area, both sides fought the other with more primitive melee weapons instead like spiked clubs, metal bars, rocks, and riot gear - making the clashes between them appear like something more from the medieval era than the 21st-century. This is the story of why these events happened, and what exactly took place. - War Room: May 2024 Recap - Rafah, Kharkiv, & Iran's Presidential CrashE52
War Room: May 2024 Recap - Rafah, Kharkiv, & Iran's Presidential CrashMay of 2024 was unfortunately an eventful month for global conflicts. Israel's long-anticipated offensive on the Gazan city of Rafah began, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have been sheltering. Russian forces opened up a new military offensive of their own in Ukraine by initiating a renewed assault on the Kharkiv province with tens of thousands of troops. Deadly riots erupted in France's overseas Pacific territory of New Caledonia. A coup d'etat attempt was made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Iran's President and foreign minister were both killed in a helicopter crash. A major assassination attempt was made on the Prime Minister of Slovakia. And the UN issued a warning that genocide is likely taking place in Sudan's Darfur region again. - Modern Conflicts: The Return of the TalibanE53
Modern Conflicts: The Return of the TalibanOver the summer of 2021, the US began pulling out the last of its troops present in Afghanistan after occupying the country for nearly 20 years. The Taliban then launched a renewed assault against the US-backed government in the country that Washington had installed, and against the expectations of virtually everyone, it only took the Taliban a matter of months to completely overrun the entire country again and destroy the US-installed government in the process. This was despite the fact that the Taliban was both significantly outnumbered and significantly less-well equipped. This is how the Taliban shocked America and the World over the summer of 2021. - War Room: June 2024 Recap - Russia-North Korea Pact, IDF Hostage Rescue, & US Weapons Hit RussiaE54
War Room: June 2024 Recap - Russia-North Korea Pact, IDF Hostage Rescue, & US Weapons Hit RussiaThe month of June in 2024 saw several major geopolitical developments around the world. For the first time since the War in Ukraine began, American-made weapons were used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack targets within Russia-proper - marking the first time in history that US-weapons were used to attack a nuclear-armed power. Russia and North Korea signed a landmark mutual-defense-pact, cementing their alliance further with North Korea vowing to support Russia militarily in Ukraine. Putin offered his peace terms in Ukraine for the first time since the war began. The IDF launched a major raid in central Gaza that successfully rescued 4 hostages and reportedly killed hundreds of Palestinians. The Houthis sank a second cargo ship in the Red Sea with an anti-ship missile, and tensions rose sharply between Israel and Hezbollah. - War Room: July 2024 Recap - Major Assassinations, Russia Gains Ground, & Bangladesh RevolutionE56
War Room: July 2024 Recap - Major Assassinations, Russia Gains Ground, & Bangladesh RevolutionIsrael assassinates high-profile targets across Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Houthi drone strikes Tel Aviv, Israel retaliates by bombing Yemen for the first time. Russia launches one of the largest missile attacks on Ukraine since the war began, resulting in the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians in months. Russian troops gain modest ground and push Ukrainians from the east bank of the Dnipro in Kherson. Bangladesh explodes in a revolution. Mali, Burkina Faso, & Niger form a new military alliance and confederation. Donald Trump is nearly assassinated by a gunman in Pennsylvania. - Modern Conflicts: The War on Terror & bin Laden ManhuntE57
Modern Conflicts: The War on Terror & bin Laden ManhuntOn September 11, 2001, the organization known as al-Qaeda carried out the deadliest attack on US soil in the country's entire history that killed nearly 3,000 people. In response, the US launched the Global War on Terror, a worldwide conflict aimed at combatting terrorism and especially aimed at combatting al-Qaeda, with the primary goal to kill or capture all of al-Qaeda's leadership. The war included some of the biggest and most extensive manhunts in human history as al-Qaeda's leadership was relentlessly pursued by the US for decades after the attacks, and eventually culminated with the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003, and the killing of Osama bin-Laden himself during a raid by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011. - War Room: August 2024 Recap - Ukraine Invades Kursk, Israel & Hezbollah Exchange FireE58
War Room: August 2024 Recap - Ukraine Invades Kursk, Israel & Hezbollah Exchange FireUkrainian forces launch a major new offensive into Russia's Kursk province, Israel launches a major pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah and the two exchange very heavy fire, the Houthis destroy another oil tanker in the Red Sea, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh resigns and flees the country aboard a helicopter. - Modern Conflicts: The October 7th AttacksE59
Modern Conflicts: The October 7th AttacksOn October 7, 2023, the organization that runs the Gaza Strip known as Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel from air, land and sea, killing 1,139 people and taking another 251 hostage back to Gaza, in what would be the most devastating attack of its kind in Israel’s history. Hamas gunmen targeted military bases, as well as dozens of agricultural communities in Israel’s south, as well as an outdoor music festival. Israel’s inadequate response time to the attacks called into question their invincibility, intelligence capabilities, and threw the status quo of the region into chaos. Israel’s retaliatory attack would be the deadliest and most destructive for Gaza, and claim tens of thousands of lives. - War Room: September 2024 Recap - Russia strikes Poltava, Israel & Hezbollah on the Brink of WarE60
War Room: September 2024 Recap - Russia strikes Poltava, Israel & Hezbollah on the Brink of WarThe IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas, revealing the organization’s shift in tactics to execute hostages close to being rescued. In Ukraine, Russia makes one of the deadliest single attacks on Ukraine, and Israel detonates thousands of Hezbollah pagers, bringing months of escalating conflict to a boil, and pointing to all-out war. - Modern Conflicts: The TroublesE61
Modern Conflicts: The TroublesIn the late 60s, Irish Catholic residents of Northern Ireland began a civil rights campaign in protest of the deeply entrenched discrimination against them and in favor of British Protestants that had defined the region for hundreds of years. After explosive reactions in response from British nationalists and British security, from then until the 1990s, Northern Ireland was the site of a prolonged, bloody conflict between its residents in the name of defining the region’s contentious status: as a part of Ireland, or the United Kingdom. After decades of bombings and shootings between paramilitaries that mostly claimed the lives of civilians, a tentative peace was brought on by the Good Friday Agreement, a groundbreaking step that allowed Northern Ireland’s residents to define themselves as they pleased, along with a soft border with Ireland. But with Brexit, the UK’s exit from the European Union, many of those nationalist tensions were reignited, throwing the region’s status in the futu - War Room: October 2024 Recap - Israel kills Hamas leader, Iran attacks IsraelE62
War Room: October 2024 Recap - Israel kills Hamas leader, Iran attacks IsraelHamas confirmed Israel’s killing of their leader, Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli parliament voted to ban UNRWA, and Iran attacked Israel with 180 ballistic missiles. Russia recaptured about half of the territory in Kursk that they had previously lost to Ukraine, and some 10,000 North Korean soldiers were reportedly training in Russia to be deployed in the war with Ukraine. Finally, the UK announced its return of the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. - Modern Conflicts: The Rwandan GenocideE63
Modern Conflicts: The Rwandan GenocideRwanda was historically home to three ethnic groups: the majority Hutu, the minority Tutsi, and a small population of Twa. Historically, these groups coexisted in a hierarchy, with a ruling Tutsi class, but with mobility between groups. However, under the German and Belgian colonial administrations, these ethnic divisions were politicized and racialized. After Rwanda gained independence, the Hutu became the ruling class and began mass discriminating against the formerly powerful Tutsi. - War Room: November 2024 Recap - Israeli Ceasefire, North Koreans deployed to KurskE64
War Room: November 2024 Recap - Israeli Ceasefire, North Koreans deployed to KurskApproximately 12,000 North Korean troops arrived in Russia’s Kursk province to go into battle with the Ukrainians. After authorization from the US and UK, Ukraine fired their first ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia-proper. Russia deployed their first nuclear-capable, but conventionally armed medium-range hypersonic missile, in Ukraine so far. Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and replaced him with the former Foreign Minister, Israel Katz. The ICC also formally issued arrest warrants for both Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gollant, making Netanyahu the 3rd acting head-of-state to ever be issued an arrest warrant by the ICC. Israel and Hezbollah also finally agreed to a ceasefire, after more with both sides accusing the other of violating it almost immediately. HTS, a Sunni-Islamist militia with links to al-Qaeda, launched a major surprise offensive against the Bashar al-Assad regime - the largest military offensive in Syria since 2019. - War Room: December 2024 - Assad Toppled, South Korean Impeachment, and IsraelE65
War Room: December 2024 - Assad Toppled, South Korean Impeachment, and IsraelIn an astounding lightning offensive in Syria, a coalition of rebel forces led by the Islamist HTS seized control over all of Syria’s major cities and decisively overthrew the 53-yearlong Assad regime. HTS then established a new temporary interim government in the country, Bashar al-Assad himself fled in exile to Moscow, while fighting in the north of Syria between the Turkish-backed SNA faction and the US-backed SDF faction continued. Meanwhile, Israeli forces seized control over a UN buffer zone in Syria and areas adjacent to the Golan Heights, marking the first Israeli ground invasion of Syrian territory in decades. Amnesty International also released a landmark report, concluding Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza as amounting to genocide. The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza reported by the Gazan Health Ministry also exceeded 45,000 people since the war began in October of 2023. In South Korea, the country’s president declared martial law, sparking hours of chaos, before being quick - Modern Conflicts: The Overthrow of AssadE66
Modern Conflicts: The Overthrow of AssadFor 53 years, the Assad family ruled Syria with an iron fist. In the civil war that erupted against them in 2011, the Assad regime responded by brutally killing at least 500,000 people, and imprisoning and torturing thousands alongside numerous other human rights violations. On November 27, 2024, to the surprise of the entire world, an offensive would begin that would bring the Assad regime to a stunning end in just eleven days. For the Islamist HTS and its anti-Assad allies, this was an opportunity like no other. The Syrian government was already weakened thanks to demoralized soldiers, and Assad’s allies were otherwise preccupied in their own conflicts: Hezbollah with Israel, Russia in Ukraine, and Iran, demonstrably incapable and unwilling to intervene on behalf of its proxies. With this unprecedented opening, a coalition of rebel forces led by the Islamist faction HTS, which had controlled Syria’s Idlib province for years, seized control over all of Syria’s major cities and decisi - Modern Conflicts: Israel’s Invasion of GazaE68
Modern Conflicts: Israel’s Invasion of GazaOn October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an invasion of Israel, killing 1,180 people, including 797 civilians, wounding around 3,400, and taking 251 other people hostage. The Israeli response, involving a total blockade, continuous airstrikes and a ground invasion, was fierce. As the death toll and destruction in Gaza mounted, international attention to the region grew. and with it, beyond calls for a ceasefire and an end to the war, came accusations of something greater. Many began to accuse Israel not just of excessive force and war crimes, but of perhaps the greatest crime in international law: genocide. On December 29, 2023, just under three months after Israel’s invasion of Gaza began, South Africa added its voice to these accusations, bringing an official case to the International Court of Justice. As of now, no decisive ruling has been made, and it will likely be a long while before one is. But as the court deliberates, discussions between governments, human rights organizations, an - War Room: February 2025 Recap - US Foreign Policy Shifts in Gaza and Ukraine, M23 RebelsE69
War Room: February 2025 Recap - US Foreign Policy Shifts in Gaza and Ukraine, M23 RebelsIn February of 2025, US President Donald Trump ushered in major changes in US foreign policy. In the wake of the war in Gaza slowly coming to an end, he called for the US to take over Gaza, and relocate Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt. The US also voted against a UN resolution condemning Russia for the invasion, while Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly reprimanded Zelenskyy, leading to a potential fallout in relations between the US and Ukraine. Israel began withdrawing from Gaza, while remaining in five positions in Southern Lebanon, despite the previous agreement to withdraw. And in the DRC, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into the city center of Bukavu, the provincial capital of the South Kivu province. - Modern Conflicts: The 21st-Century Kursk OffensiveE70
Modern Conflicts: The 21st-Century Kursk OffensiveSince Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war since has overwhelmingly been on their terms. But in August of 2024, something shifted. Ukraine began an incursion into Russia’s Kursk province, opposite their own Sumy province, engaging Russians on their own territory for the first time—and the first time in over 80 years that Russia had been occupied by a foreign power. Their goal was not to take over Russian territory to keep it, but to use it as leverage, in hopes of forcing Russia to divert resources from elsewhere on the front. But while the lightning incursion came as a shock to Russia, whose unpreparedness and slow response allowed the Ukrainians to gain significant territory in a short number of days, the Kursk offensive quickly stalled, as Russia began to regain territory in anticipation of their own counteroffensive. - War Room: March 2025 Recap - Violence in Syria, Russia Gains in Kursk, & the Gaza Ceasefire CollapseE71
War Room: March 2025 Recap - Violence in Syria, Russia Gains in Kursk, & the Gaza Ceasefire CollapseIn March 2025, with US military aid and intelligence frozen on orders by President Trump, Ukraine continued to lose territory in Kursk. In Turkiye, the PKK, a Kurdish militant organization, called a ceasefire with the Turkish government after decades of conflict. In Syria, in the wake of the toppled Assad government, new clashes erupted between new government forces and the Assad-loyalist Alawite community, killing over 1,300 over 3 days. Gaza’s future continued to hang in the balance as the Arab League proposed a postwar plan for the territory, including the removal of Hamas, and an ultimate state merged with the West Bank — which neither Israel nor Hamas publicly accepted. - War Room: April 2025 Recap - Conflict in Kashmir, Israel’s Encircling Gaza & Russia’s Latest StrikeE73
War Room: April 2025 Recap - Conflict in Kashmir, Israel’s Encircling Gaza & Russia’s Latest StrikeIn April of 2025, Russia launched a massive renewed spring offensive. Multiple major Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians behind the frontlines in Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, and Kyiv, killed dozens of people and injured scores more. The IDF was rocked by a scandal in which a video revealedIsraeli troops ambushing and massacring 15 Palestinian aid workers and paramedics in Gaza. Throughout the month, the IDF encircled over half of Gaza’s territory. The disputed Kashmir territory between Pakistan and India became the site of severely ignited tensions after gunmen massacred 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. And in Rwanda, with 7,000 people killed since January, the DRC and M23 agreed to an immediate ceasefire, with M23 still remaining in control of the eastern cities of Bukavu and Goma. - Modern Conflicts: The Benghazi Embassy AttackE74
Modern Conflicts: The Benghazi Embassy AttackOn the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the US suffered another attack, this time, abroad. On September 11, 2012, US diplomatic forces were in Benghazi, Libya, in the wake of the country’s destabilizing civil war, which had left several competing militant factions vying for power. In the previous months there were numerous warning signs of a deteriorating security situation for the Americans stationed in Benghazi, who were viewed with distrust and hostility, especially by those local militia. In one instance, US Ambassador to Libya J Christopher Stevens had his jogging route posted to a Facebook group, which called for his assassination. Attacks and threats against the US presence led to various consulate officials making requests for additional security. Most of these were either denied, or ignored. On the evening of September 11 into the 12, the US consulate and the CIA annex nearby would endure an attack lasting over 8 hours, during which four Americans, including the Amb - War Room: May 2025 Recap - Russia & Ukraine Ceasefire Negotiations and 4-Day India-Pakistan WarE75
War Room: May 2025 Recap - Russia & Ukraine Ceasefire Negotiations and 4-Day India-Pakistan WarUkraine & Russia host their first direct negotiations in more than 3 years. Israel announces its plan to seize control over the entire Gaza Strip and to hold it indefinitely. The conflict in Kashmir explodes into a brief 4-day war between India and Pakistan. The PKK agrees to disband, North Korea loses a brand new missile cruiser, and the US agrees to a ceasefire with the Houthis. - Modern Conflicts: Tiananmen SquareE76
Modern Conflicts: Tiananmen SquareThe events that took place in and around Tiananmen Square in June of 1989 are among the most controversial, propagandized, and disputed events in all of modern history. On the one hand, Chinese government sources likely downplay the severity and scale of the events, while Western sources likely overexaggerate and embellish the scale of what happened. Join us in our attempt to explain what we know, and what people claim, took place across Tiananmen Square that summer in 1989. - Uday Hussein: The Mad Prince of IraqE77
Uday Hussein: The Mad Prince of IraqUday Hussein, the son of his much more well-known father, Saddam, lived a life of nearly unchecked power and opulence in Iraq for decades. Throughout his life, Uday personally killed, abused, and tortured thousands of victims without remorse and with little punishment. He is likely one of the most prolific serial killers and sadists throughout the annals of human history, and despite his incredibly well known father, few people in the West have ever even heard of him. This is the true, horrifying story of Uday Hussein; mad prince of Iraq.