Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    The journalist who survived being kidnapped in Syria

    This war in Syria is now more than five years old and along with civilians, several journalists have been captured and killed in the country. Today, the story of one who survived. Theo Padnos thought he had hired guides to take him over the Turkish border into Syria. He wanted to write stories about the people living on the outskirts of the war.

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Oct 21, 2016 • 1 min read

    This war in Syria is now more than five years old and along with civilians, several journalists have been captured and killed in the country. Today, the story of one who survived. Theo Padnos thought he had hired guides to take him over the Turkish border into Syria. He wanted to write stories about the people living on the outskirts of the war. But his guides were actually members of a militant group. They kidnapped him and sold him to Jabhat al Nusra. That’s what Al Qaeda is called in Syria. A new film, Theo Who Lived, tells his story.

    The full episode

    1 of 4
    Surviving capture in Syria
    1. 0:29The journalist who survived being kidnapped in SyriaYou’re reading this
    2. 17:32New guidelines relax screen time rules
    3. 27:23Film Roundup: ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Jack Reacher’
    4. 42:23LA’s casinos and card clubs
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      KCRW Staff

      KCRW Staff

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jolie Myers

      Managing Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      David Schisgall

      Filmmaker

    • KCRW placeholder

      Theo Padnos

      Journalist

      News

    The full episode

    1 of 4
    Surviving capture in Syria
    1. 0:29The journalist who survived being kidnapped in SyriaYou’re reading this
    2. 17:32New guidelines relax screen time rules
    3. 27:23Film Roundup: ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Jack Reacher’
    4. 42:23LA’s casinos and card clubs
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand