Keeping Afghanistan in the spotlight through the stories of its people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nathalie Paarlberg is an art historian and the Chief Operating Officer at Turquoise Mountain. In this interview, she takes us on a journey through Afghanistan’s rich cultural history and art, as well as sharing her personal story of living and working in the country for several years. Her book, 'Je Ogen Zijn Mooi' (Your Eyes Are Beautiful), has bee…
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In this exclusive and gripping interview, acclaimed historian Professor Mary Beard explores how the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan reflects enduring patterns of patriarchal control throughout history. Drawing on examples and stories of ancient Greek and Roman history, Professor Beard examines how societies have historically s…
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Pascal Maitre is a world-renowned French photojournalist whose decades of work from around the world, particularly in Afghanistan, have produced some of the most iconic images of people, war, culture, nature, and more. He first travelled to Afghanistan in the 1970s and has since covered the Soviet–Afghan War and the Mujahideen civil war; he travell…
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David Tyson is a retired CIA officer who served for 25 years, much of it in Central and South Asia. He cultivated relationships with anti-Taliban leaders and commanders in northern Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, making multiple trips into the country and meeting figures such as Ahmad Shah Massoud. A member of Team Alpha - whose story was to…
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David Tyson is a retired CIA officer who served for 25 years, much of it in Central and South Asia. He cultivated relationships with anti-Taliban leaders and commanders in northern Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, making multiple trips into the country and meeting figures such as Ahmad Shah Massoud. A member of Team Alpha - whose story was to…
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David Tyson is a retired CIA officer who served for 25 years, much of it in Central and South Asia. He cultivated relationships with anti-Taliban leaders and commanders in northern Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, making multiple trips into the country and meeting figures such as Ahmad Shah Massoud. A member of Team Alpha - whose story was to…
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Sir Rodric Braithwaite is a former British diplomat and author who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union. He has written extensively on Russia and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, including in his acclaimed book Afgantsy. In this interview, he offers a rare insight into how Soviet leaders came to the decision to invade Afghanistan, why the co…
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Sir Rodric Braithwaite is a former British diplomat and author who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union. He has written extensively on Russia and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, including in his acclaimed book, Afgantsy. In this interview, he offers a rare insight into how Soviet leaders came to the decision to invade Afghanistan, why the c…
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Steve MacBeth: Inside Canada's Afghan war
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1:08:25Steve MacBeth is a former soldier in the Canadian Army and the author of 'No Names, No Packdrill - An Oral History of Canadians at War in Afghanistan'. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan, and in this interview, takes us inside Canada's mission in Afghanistan, talks about his book, and shares his personal reflections and stories. 📺 Watch/Subscr…
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General Joseph Votel is a retired U.S. Army four-star general and was the Commander of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019. He led multiple operations in Afghanistan, beginning shortly after the 9/11 attacks. In this second part, he talks about his arrival in the country, how he found the people, their values, and their culture. He also offers a…
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General Joseph Votel is a retired U.S. Army four-star general and Commander of U.S. Central Command from 2016 t0 2019. He led multiple operations in Afghanistan, beginning shortly after the 9/11 attacks. In this first part of the interview, he analyses recent developments in the Middle East, including the role of Iran, the geopolitical situation in…
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Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1…
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Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1…
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Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1…
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Toby Harnden is an award-winning journalist and author of 'Dead Men Risen' and 'First Casualty'. In this second part of the interview, we continue the story of the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif on 9th November 2001. In the days that followed, over 400 captured Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters revolted at Qala-i-Jangi, where they were being held, killing Mike…
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Toby Harnden is an award-winning journalist and author of Dead Men Risen and First Casualty. In this first part of the interview, he shares his story of Afghanistan and the inside story of Team Alpha—a group of eight CIA operatives who landed in the mountains of northern Afghanistan to join the forces of General Abdul Rashid Dostum and begin the wa…
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رضا سرور: چگونه بورسیه بگیریم (Farsi Special)
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1:32:30رضا سرور یکی از دانشآموختگان برنامهی تحصیلی فولبرایت و مدیر پیشین پذیرش در دانشگاه آمریکایی افغانستان و در حال حاضر، دانشجوی دکترای دانشگاه Texas A&M ایالت تگزاس آمریکاست. او تجربهی گسترده در کمک به دانشجویان برای درخواست و دریافت بورسیههای تحصیلی در خارج از افغانستان دارد. در این گفتوگو، او داستان شخصی خود را به اشتراک میگذارد و یک راهنمای …
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Shaharzad Akbar is the Executive Director of Rawadari and the former Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. In this interview, she reflects on and reviews 2024, shares her analysis of the current situation, discusses what the future may hold for Afghanistan in the year ahead, and her expresses hopes for the country, particula…
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Saad Mohseni is the Chairman and CEO of Moby Group, and the author of 'Radio Free Afghanistan'. Born in London, raised in Kabul, Tokyo and Melbourne, Saad Mohseni has been one of the most influential figures in Afghanistan's recent history, transforming Afghanistan and its culture by revolutionising the country's media landscape. In this interview,…
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General H.R. McMaster served as Donald Trump's National Security Advisor for 14 months during his first term and he formulated America's South Asia Strategy, which Trump abandoned after McMaster's departure. In this interview, he discusses the implications of the second Trump presidency for the world, looks back at the failure in Afghanistan and wh…
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Sune Rasmussen: Afghanistan is a part of me
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1:03:26Sune Engel Rasmussen is a Danish journalist and author who lived in Afghanistan, reporting extensively for several international outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. In this interview, we discuss his book Twenty Years, which offers an unique intimate insight into two decades of Western involvement in Afghanistan, told throug…
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Andrew North is an award-winning British journalist and former BBC correspondent in Afghanistan, Iraq, India, and the United States. He lived and reported from Afghanistan throughout two decades of international involvement and visited the country three times after the Taliban’s return, with his last visit resulting in his kidnapping by the group’s…
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Rahmatullah Nabil is an Afghan politician and former intelligence chief. Having lost his father at the age of one, he was raised by his mother, who dedicated her life to him. Nabil left school and joined one of the Mujahideen factions as a teenager. An ambush on Soviet forces, during which he was injured, and the discovery of a handwritten letter b…
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Rahmatullah Nabil is an Afghan politician and former intelligence chief. Having lost his father at the age of one, he was raised by his mother, who dedicated her life to him. Nabil left school and joined one of the Mujahideen factions as a teenager. An ambush on Soviet forces, during which he was injured, and the discovery of a handwritten letter b…
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Sir William Patey is a retired British diplomat with extensive experience in Middle Eastern and South Asian geopolitics. He served as the UK Ambassador to Kabul from 2010 to 2012, following earlier roles as Ambassador to Sudan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. In this interview, he shares his insights and analysis on Afghanistan—discussing what went wrong, …
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Mark Urban: Ashraf Ghani was not enough of a bastard
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1:05:23Mark Urban is a British journalist, broadcaster, and best-selling author of many books, including War in Afghanistan and The Skripal Files. He has covered Afghanistan extensively since the late 1980s, witnessing firsthand the withdrawal of Soviet forces, accompanying Ahmad Shah Massoud as he took Kabul in 1992, and other key events. In this intervi…
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Sir Laurie Bristow: Why did we get it so badly wrong for 20 years?
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1:05:37Sir Laurie Bristow, the UK's last ambassador in Kabul, witnessed the disintegration of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban in August 2021. He is the author of Kabul: Final Call, which provides an insider's view of the events as they unfolded. In this interview, we discuss the book, Sir Laurie’s re…
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Professor Thomas Barfield is one of the preeminent experts on Afghanistan, having spent over five decades studying and writing on the country. He is the author of 'Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History' and 'Shadow Empires,' among many others. In this interview, he talks about traveling around Afghanistan for the first time in 1971 and the …
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Professor Thomas Barfield is one of the preeminent experts on Afghanistan, having spent over five decades studying and writing on the country. He is the author of 'Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History' and 'Shadow Empires,' among many others. In this interview, he talks about traveling around Afghanistan for the first time in 1971 and the …
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Artemis Akbary: The costs of being gay in Afghanistan
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1:03:23Artemis Akbary is an LGBTIQ rights activist and the co-founder and Executive Director of the Afghan LGBT Organization (ALO), and a producer/presenter at Radio Ranginkaman. They have spoken and campaigned at various international gatherings about the plight of the LGBTIQ community in Afghanistan. In this moving interview, Artemis shares their person…
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Thomas Ruttig is a co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. He has worked on and in Afghanistan since he graduated in Afghan Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin in 1985: as an East German (GDR) diplomat, including at the GDR Embassy in Kabul (1985-89), as political affairs officer for two United Nations missions in Afghanistan (2000-200…
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Thomas Ruttig is a co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. He has worked on and in Afghanistan since he graduated in Afghan Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin in 1985: as an East German (GDR) diplomat, including at the GDR Embassy in Kabul (1985-89), as political affairs officer for two United Nations missions in Afghanistan (2000-200…
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Fereshta Abbasi: I am lucky to be alive
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1:09:25Fereshta Abbasi is the Afghanistan Researcher at Human Rights Watch and a Chevening Scholar. Born a refugee in Iran, she was taken to Afghanistan as a child, where she pursued her education, eventually becoming a lawyer. In this interview, she shares her remarkable story and inspirational achievements. Subscribe through “Support the show” link belo…
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Llewelyn Morgan: The Buddhas of Bamiyan
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1:06:43Llewelyn Morgan is a professor of Classics at the University of Oxford. He is the author of "The Buddhas of Bamiyan", a book that explores the long and complex history of the Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and their eventual destruction in 2001. Professor Morgan has written extensively on Afghanistan, and in this interview, he discusses hi…
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Franz-Michael Mellbin: Afghans were not good allies
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1:23:58Ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin is a former EU Special Representative and Danish ambassador in Afghanistan. He played a central role in the implementation of the Danish and EU efforts in Afghanistan, from September 11, 2001, until the evacuation from Kabul. He assisted the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations with the planning of US Afghanistan…
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Andrew Quilty: Kabul was my hometown
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1:14:56Andrew Quilty is a multi-award-winning Australian photojournalist and the author of "August in Kabul". He lived and worked in Afghanistan for almost a decade, capturing and covering the country's stories. His work has been published globally. He was in Kabul the day the Taliban arrived in August 2021, riding his motorcycle and capturing their arriv…
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Pashtana Durrani: Afghanistan is not accepting its daughters
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1:10:46Born in a refugee camp in Pakistan, Pashtana Durrani is an Afghan human rights activist and the founder of LEARN Afghanistan, an NGO through which she runs undercover schools across the country. In this interview, she talks about her life and work. Her book, "Last to Eat, Last to Learn", is out now. 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gwLgJY4l9Wk …
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In this first Q&A episode, I attempt to answer some of your questions... 🌏 Get 10% discount on your first month of BetterHelp. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy service with more over 34,000 professional therapists. ➼ BetterHelp.com/TheAfgPod Send us a Text Message. Support the Show. Producer: Roh Yakobi Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh Emai…
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Zahra Nader: My mother begged schools to let me in
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1:01:02Born in Bamiyan, Zahra Nader is an award-winning journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of Zan Times, a media outlet focused on women and marginalised communities in Afghanistan. In this interview, she talks about her childhood, her struggles as a refugee in Iran, her life in Kabul and Canada, her experiences, and her dreams for her outlet and herself,…
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Sima Samar: I have three strikes against me
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1:00:26Renowned for her decades of humanitarian work, providing health and education services to millions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sima Samar discusses her extraordinary life journey in this interview. She talks about her origins in a village in Hazarajat and her rise to become a globally recognised physician, activist, and politician. Her memoir, OUT…
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Craig Whitlock: America and the lies of the Afghan War
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1:11:42Craig Whitlock is an investigative journalist at The Washington Post and the author of 'The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War'. The book, which offers a comprehensive examination of the deceptions, shortcomings, missteps, and misguided policies that characterised America's defeat in Afghanistan. In this interview, Craig discusses his …
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Mir Tamim Ansary: I will never see Afghanistan again
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1:05:35Mir Tamim Ansary is an Afghan-American author who left Afghanistan in the early 1960s. He has written many books, including "West of Kabul, East of New York", "Games Without Rules", "Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes" and "The Invention of Tomorrow". In this interview he talks about his childhood in Afghanistan, his ext…
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Larisa Brown is a British journalist and author. She is currently the defence editor at The Times newspaper. In this interview, she talks about her book, The Gardener of Lashkar Gah, which tells the extraordinary story of Shaista Gul, a man who worked at a British military base in Helmand as a gardener, and his son, Jamal, who worked as an interpre…
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Tobias Ellwood is a Conservative member of the British Parliament and a former chair of the House of Commons' Defence Select Committee. In July 2023, he visited Afghanistan, following which he called for engagement with the Taliban, causing an uproar, with many criticising his stance. As a result, he resigned as chair of the Defence Select Committe…
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Heather Barr is associate director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. She worked in Afghanistan for over a decade for the UN and Human Rights Watch. In this interview she reflects on her time in the country, her work and views on the current situation. 🌏 Get 10% discount on your first month of BetterHelp. BetterHelp is the world'…
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Wendy Chamberlain MP: There are concerns Afghanistan is growing the next generation of terrorists
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Wendy Chamberlain MP is a Liberal Democrat member of the British parliament. She is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Afghan Women and Girls and has been a strong voice for the cause of women and girls in Afghanistan. In this interview she talks about her work on Afghanistan, her views and concerns. Send us a Text Message. Suppo…
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Johnny Mercer is Britain's Minister for Veterans' Affairs. He served three tours in Afghanistan as an army officer. In this interview, he talks about his time in Afghanistan, his views on the Taliban and the current situation in the country and stories of fighting the group in Helmand. Send us a Text Message. Support the Show. Producer: Roh Yakobi …
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David Loyn: Engagement has failed, the West should support alternatives to the Taliban
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1:04:16David Loyn is a renowned British journalist and author who specialises in Afghanistan, with decades of experience in the country and the region as a BBC correspondent. He worked as an advisor to Ashraf Ghani's government for a year after leaving the BBC. In this interview, he shares his insights, analysis, and thoughts on the situation in the count…
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Charlie Herbert: Persecution of the Hazaras is the untold story of Afghanistan
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1:02:54Major General Charlie Herbert served multiple tours in Afghanistan and led British forces in Helmand province. He also served in other capacities, working with Afghan government ministries and leaders. In this interview, he shares his insights, thoughts, and stories about what happened during the 20-year Western involvement in the country and what …
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Stephan Jensen: I cried in an Oslo cafe when Kabul fell to the Taliban
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1:02:14Stephan Jensen is a former Norwegian army officer who served in Afghanistan's northern provinces of Faryab and Balkh (Mazar-i-Sharif). Currently, he is working on a book detailing the history of the War in Afghanistan. In this interview, Jensen discusses his experiences during his time in the country, provides an analysis of what went wrong, and ex…
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