As debates in Washington heat up over the fate of Afghan refugees in the United States, Afghanistan has once again slipped into the news cycle as a political talking point—rather than a human reality.

In this revamp of one of our most powerful conversations, Chalin Askew speaks with Dr. Nadia Hashimi—pediatrician, novelist, activist, and Afghan-American—to slow things down and look beyond the headlines. Together, they unpack what actually happened on the ground as the Taliban returned to power, how Afghan women and girls are navigating a future that shrank overnight, and what daily life looks like now for families caught between war, displacement, and broken promises.

Nadia helps us understand why so many Afghans risked everything to evacuate, what they’re facing in exile, and what moral and political obligations countries like the United States still have to those who trusted them.

This episode is a reminder: before “refugee policy” is a talking point, it’s a story about people—and what we decide they are worth.