Why Trump might pardon this controversial whistleblower

On today’s show: Trump advisers have renewed a push for a pardon of Edward Snowden. The Washington Post’s Michael Scherer explains why.

Rebels in Syria overtook the capital, Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee and bringing an abrupt end to more than a decade of civil war.

Mensah M. Dean of The Trace investigates the intergenerational fallout of gun violence in the U.S.

Plus, the College Football Playoff is set, Trump gives his first televised interview since the election, and why the internet reacted the way it did to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.