In a conflict as polarizing as Syria’s, journalists often struggle to decide how best to bring to their audiences the voices of their sources and subjects. In this episode, two journalists who have written extensively about the conflict in Syria discuss the complexity of opinions in the country and their experiences speaking to Syrians who are ambivalent about the conflict. They share the process they use to assess the credibility of their sources and their narratives about the conflict, and how they decide what to share with their readers.

Participants include:

  • Loubna Mrie is a Syrian activist, journalist, and writer. She covered the Syrian war as a photojournalist for Reuters from 2012 to 2014 in rebel-held areas. She came to the United States in 2014 and earned a MA in Near Eastern Studies from New York University. Currently based in Oakland, she is a frequent commentator on Syrian and Middle Eastern affairs and has written for The Nation, Time Magazine, Vice, and The New Republic, to name a few. She is currently writing her first book.
  • Anne Barnard is a journalist for the New York Times who led coverage of the Syria war for six years, reporting from across the Middle East as Beirut bureau chief. Since 9/11, she has chronicled the human and strategic impact of U.S. war policies on frontline areas, from Iraq to Syria and Gaza. She is currently the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.