Qaddafi's Son is Alive, and He Wants to Take Back Libya

<p>Before the Arab Spring, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the second son of the Libyan dictator Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, was establishing himself as a serious figure internationally. Then, the Arab Spring came to Libya.</p><p>His father and brothers were killed and Seif himself was captured by rebels and taken to the western mountains of Libya.</p><p>For years, rumors have surrounded the fate of Seif. Now he has re-emerged, touting political ambitions, but where has he been and what has he learned?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/robert-f-worth?smid=pc-thedaily">Robert F. Worth</a>, a contributor to The New York Times Magazine. </p><p><i>Love listening to New York Times podcasts? Help us test a new audio product in beta and give us your thoughts to shape what it becomes. Visit </i><a href="http://nytimes.com/audio"><i>nytimes.com/audio</i></a><i> to join the beta.</i></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>In his first meeting with a foreign journalist in a decade, Seif al-Islam Qaddafi described his years in captivity — and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/magazine/qaddafi-libya.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> hinted at a bid for Libya’s presidency</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>