It’s an improbable path, from al-Qaeda to the West Wing. The U.S. had once designated Ahmed al-Sharaa a terrorist. He fought U.S. forces in Iraq and was even imprisoned. Sharaa spent years in northwest Syria leading an Islamic militant group that was affiliated with al-Qaeda until he cut those ties. 

Last year, al-Sharaa led rebel forces that took down Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of repression. As Sharaa looks to gain international favor and trust while rebuilding the country and its security, the 43-year-old met with President Trump on Monday, in the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House. Afterward, Sharaa sat down with The Washington Post for an exclusive interview to discuss the historic meeting, the future of Syria and his plans to work with Americans he once fought. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with the Post’s international correspondent Susannah George about Syria, al-Sharaa and their conversation. 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Alan Sipress. 

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Kathryn Bigelow has been thinking about the threat of nuclear war ever since she was a kid. “I come from the era of duck and cover,” she says, “where when I was very little, we had to hide under the desk in the event of an atomic bomb blast.”

Over the last 40 years, she’s been directing tightly-paced thrillers such as “The Hurt Locker” (which won her the Academy Award for best director) and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Her latest film, “A House of Dynamite,” takes on a question that has been on her mind for decades: What would happen if the U.S. were targeted by a nuclear missile? 

The film, which is out on Netflix, has struck a nerve with audiences, becoming the streamer’s most-watched movie in the world and igniting conversation about the accuracy of its depiction of the U.S. missile defense system. 

Today on Post Reports, Elahe Izadi speaks with Kathryn Bigelow and with the film’s screenwriter, Noah Oppenheim, about why they chose to make this film in this moment, and about how they responded when they saw news that the U.S. could restart nuclear testing for the first time in decades. 

Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan and Josh Carroll, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

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After weeks of holding out, a small group of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans over the weekend to start the process of reopening the government. Since the U.S. government closed its doors on Nov. 1, services like federal food assistance have suffered, and Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service help lines have paused as those workers face furloughs. 

But Democrats had maintained that the pain was worth it, in order to extract more money from Republicans to fund health care subsidies for people who access insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Now, that demand has fallen by the wayside.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with national political reporter and Senate expert Liz Goodwin about what it will still take to reopen the government, and why this funding compromise has further divided Democrats.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Laura Benshoff with help from Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

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Jordie Poncy was about to start a job counseling cancer patients when he learned he had cancer himself. Three years later, his health is stable — and he’s finding meaning by helping others fight.

If you want to hear more from The Optimist, follow our newsletter. 

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Kate Barr ran for state Senate in North Carolina’s 37th District as a Democrat last year, expecting to lose. She even branded her campaign with the words “Kate Barr can’t win.” She ran the unconventional campaign to make an argument against gerrymandering — a tactic used in her state and across the country by politicians who have redrawn congressional maps to favor their party. But now she is switching tactics and running for U.S. Congress as a Republican. 

Host Colby Itkowitz sits down with Barr to talk about her chances this time around and what she thinks of redistricting efforts around the country that are making congressional elections even less competitive.

Today’s show was produced by Reena Flores, Josh Carroll and Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Laura Benshoff and mixed by Sean Carter. 

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This year, taxpayers will spend about $193 billion to compensate almost 7 million disabled veterans. Some of the conditions prevent veterans from working or doing everyday tasks – but a Post investigation found that many are receiving money for easily manageable ailments like acne, eczema and sleep apnea. Others are filing fraudulent claims to get money for conditions they either don’t have or from which they’ve already recovered. 

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with investigative reporter Craig Whitlock about the antiquated rules that have left the system vulnerable to abuse and the failed attempts to enact reform.. 

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sam Bair. 

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There was little suspense after polls closed yesterday. Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the governor’s office in New Jersey, Abigail Spanberger easily defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears for the same office in Virginia, and Californians voted to redraw congressional maps to give Democrats an edge in next year’s midterm elections. In New York City, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani was elected the city’s next mayor after defeating established Democrats like former governor Andrew M. Cuomo in the primary. 

Host Colby Itkowitz talks to Dan Merica, co-anchor of The Post’s Early Brief politics newsletter, about the lessons learned and major takeaways from each of these contests.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. 

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These days, just about any food you could possibly imagine now has “added” protein. There’s protein popcorn, protein muffins and even protein water. But where did this obsession with protein begin? And how much should we really be eating on a daily basis? Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Washington Post health columnist Anahad O’Connor about this latest nutrition craze and best practices for eating a balanced diet.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was mixed by Sam Bair, and edited by Ariel Plotnick. Thanks to editor Emily Codik.

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An estimated 42 million Americans use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – also known as food stamps – to feed themselves and their families. The program ran out of funding over the weekend amid the government shutdown. 

While the Trump administration agreed to release enough funds to pay for half of November's SNAP benefits, many SNAP users are worried about what the rest of the month – and beyond – might look like.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks to technology reporter Heather Kelly about the current state of SNAP and how people are looking to online content creators for practical advice about how to stretch their food budgets.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Mariana Alfaro, Jen Liberto and Yun-Hee Kim.

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On this weekend’s edition of The Optimist, reporter and self-proclaimed cynic Kyle Melnick goes on a journey with a dog. We’ll talk about what he learns, and the science of how dogs make us calmer, happier – and maybe even more trusting.

If you want more optimistic content on the weekends, let us know at [email protected] and [email protected] – and check out our newsletter.

Today’s show was produced and hosted by Maggie Penman and reported by Kyle Melnick. It was edited by Allison Klein and mixed by Ted Muldoon.

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