Well, hi, everybody. Welcome to Smarter News. My name is Jenna. I am a journalist and the founder of

Smarter News, which is dedicated to quick, concise, nonpartisan news. And we take a little extra time

from time to time with these broadcasts to dig a little bit deeper. And as we kick off a brand

new year, I thought, what would be the top five stories that we're curious about going into

2025? What would that actually be? What would be on the top of that list? The more and more I thought

about that, the longer the list got. But because Smarter News' mission is about brevity, I'm going to

try to limit it to five. There are so many amazing stories that are happening all over the

world. It's a really fascinating time to witness. We have so many different moving parts,

so many different developing stories at different stages. So if I can limit it to five, these

are the top five that we're starting with for this

year. And they're in no particular order. I tried to pick just the gut reaction of what would be on

that list. And here's what I wound up with. We're going to actually start overseas. What will

the Middle East look like in the coming year? Are we seeing a generational shift? And the reason why I'm asking this question

is because of Syria and watching the fall of the Assad regime,

which happened so quickly and so suddenly

to many of us on the outside,

it really reminded us how quickly things can change.

One of the things that's been missing from this story, though,

is a more global look at what the fall of the Assad regime means for not only the region,

but the different relationships that a variety of different countries have had in the Middle East

based on the way things were that now they're not. Let me explain. Syria, and specifically the Middle East, based on the way things were, that now they're not.

Let me explain.

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