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…

Sune 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…

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…

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…

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…

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, …

Mark 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…

Sir 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…

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 …

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 …

Artemis 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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Llewelyn 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…

Ambassador 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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Born 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 …

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…

Born 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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Mir 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…

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…

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…

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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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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Major 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 …

Stephan 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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Jason Criss Howk has spent 21 years focused on Afghanistan in defence, diplomacy, academic, humanitarian, and intelligence roles. He is the director of Global Friends of Afghanistan, a frequently published writer, and guest lectures at American University and the USMC War College. Send us a Text Message. Support the Show. Producer: Roh Yakobi Music…

Mohsin Dawar is a Pakistani politician who leads the political party called the National Democratic Movement. He previously served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 to August 2023. Dawar has been a staunch critic of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, accusing them of being proxies of the Pakistani military. In …

Fawzia Koofi has been a prominent figure in Afghanistan's politics and a women's rights activist. She served a member and the first female Deputy Speaker of parliament before the Taliban's recapture of the country. In this interview she talks about her childhood, life in politics, negotiating with the Taliban and leaving Afghanistan. Send us a Text…

Hussain Shah Rezai fled Afghanistan when he was a teenager almost ten years ago. He is one of over ten thousand refugees from Afghanistan stuck in appalling and inhumane conditions in Indonesia. In this episode, Hussain tells his and their story. Hussain on X: @HussainS_Rezaie Warning: This episode contains a discussion on mental health issues. If …

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Mozhdah Jamalzadah is a singer, actor and campaigner. In this interview, she talks about leaving Afghanistan as a young child, the challenges of settling in Canada, pursuing music, acting, working in Afghanistan, and her interest in politics. Subscribe/Support: https://bit.ly/3QhklBg Send us a Text Message. Support the Show. Producer: Roh Yakobi Mu…

Levison Wood is a British a writer, explorer and photographer. He first walked through Afghanistan in 2004 and then served as a soldier in southern Afghanistan. His latest book, Escape from Kabul, gives a riveting account of the fall of Afghanistan into the hands of the Taliban and the chaotic evacuation of Kabul in August 2021. Send us a Text Mess…

Shakardokht (Shakar) is a medical physicist and multi award-winning innovator, based in the UK. Born in Afghanistan's central highlands of Hazarajat, Shakardokht became a refugee in Iran aged 6. Resisting repeated pressures to accept arranged marriages as a schoolgirl, she studied hard and managed to enter the Tehran University. In 2010, she arrive…