Rhyming Chaos
Rhyming Chaos
How does a city feel when it's invaded by an occupying army?
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How does a city feel when it's invaded by an occupying army?

Clarissa Ward has reported for CNN on many of the major wars of the last decade. She talks about entering Kabul as it fell to the Taliban, Syria, Ukraine, and more.
Clarissa Ward and Taliban fighters. Screenshot from CNN report , August 16, 2021.

Clarissa Ward is a British-American journalist who frequently reports on global conflicts and crises as CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, including the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, the overthrow of the Assad regime by rebel forces in Syria, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Clarissa is the recipient of multiple Peabody and Murrow awards, and the author of the 2020 book On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist.

In this interview we talk about:

  • The fall of Kabul and the atmosphere in the city

  • The role of women in Afghanistan, and being a female journalist in Muslim countries

  • Code switching and reporting

  • The end of the Assad regime in Syria

  • Lessons the Syrian rebels took from the Taliban

  • Reporting from Kharkiv as the 2022 Russian invasion

  • Perceptions of war and media coverage of different wars

Challenges for American media


The Rhyming Chaos podcast is produced by Jeremy Goldkorn and Maria Repnikova, and edited by Cadre Scripts. The theme music is Paper Boy, composed and performed on the guzheng by Wu Fei. Our closing music is Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, arranged and performed by Wu Fei. Our cover art is by Li Yunfei.

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