SHAPIRO: Mohammed al-Refai was a 22-year-old refugee from Syria. In 2015, millions of Syrians fled the civil war in their country. Mohammed's family went across the border to Jordan, but something ...

As Syria's economy collapsed during the long ... GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hey, Ari. SHAPIRO: What is Captagon? MYRE: Well, Captagon was created as a legal pharmaceutical drug in Germany in the 1960s.

SHAPIRO: In just a week, the rebels have taken two major cities and are closing in on a third. Bring us up to date. SHERLOCK: Well, Ari, yeah, I mean, just to give you a sense of how quickly this is ...

What comes next in Syria? That is a huge question after the ... TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Ari. SHAPIRO: What kind of chemical weapon stockpile did Bashar al-Assad have? BOWMAN: Well, Ari, Assad ...

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Steven Heydemann, Middle East Studies director at Smith College, about how Syria might avoid replicating Arab countries that are worse off after overthrowing dictators.

As Syria's economy collapsed during the civil war, the country became something of narco-state. The now-ousted regime was estimated to earn billions annually from trafficking a drug known as Captagon.

The news in Syria has raised immediate questions about the fate of Assad's stockpiles of chemical weapons and the continued presence of U.S. forces fighting the Islamic State in the northeast.

HEYDEMANN: Well, I think Syria faces significant headwinds, and they arise in part from the identity of HTS as an Islamist movement. SHAPIRO ... Thank you very much, Ari. Transcript provided ...

SHERLOCK: Well, Ari, yeah, I mean ... so this gives them a seat at the table in what comes next in Syria. SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Ruth Sherlock. Thank you. SHERLOCK: Thank you.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Steven Heydemann, Middle East Studies director at Smith College, about how Syria might avoid replicating Arab countries that are worse off after overthrowing dictators.