The sheer volume of news stories regarding the Syrian conflict can be overwhelming. With so many seemingly contradictory stories coming out of the region, it may seem impossible to keep up with the political shit storm being fuelled by the Global Superpowers. Luckily for you, this video exists.

Ezra Klein’s 5-minute animation briefly summarises the main events of the last 4 years of the Syrian conflict, starting with the Arab Springs of 2011 and bringing us up to date with Russia’s recent intervention. It details the main power players of the conflict, and cuts through the tides of bullshit as well as can be hoped in 5 minutes. We can’t promise you’ll become an expert on the conflict after watching it, but at least your drunken rants at the pub will sound more informed than “the CIA created ISIS” and “Russia’s only in it for the oil, you know”.