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, particularly women and girls.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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, he shares his remarkable story, how he brought new media to Afghanistan, its impacts and consequences, as well as sharing his views on the current situation in the country. 

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 whether the country will feature in the new administration's foreign and security policy. He also shares his thoughts on the future of Afghanistan and the contributions he wants to make.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 through the stories and struggles of young men and women affected by it, along with his own experiences of living and working in the country.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 intelligence agents. His recently published book, War & Peace & War, tells his and the stories of five people who lived through the country’s conflicts.

In this interview, he shares his stories and insights.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 belonging to a Soviet soldier, changed his life. This led him to become a refugee in Pakistan, where he graduated from university and worked for the UN. He eventually joined the Afghan Republic government, becoming the country’s spymaster and later a presidential candidate. In this interview, he shares his extraordinary life story, and his thoughts and hopes for Afghanistan.

📺 Watch on YouTube

Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 belonging to a Soviet soldier, changed his life. This led him to become a refugee in Pakistan, where he graduated from university and worked for the UN. He eventually joined the Afghan Republic government, becoming the country’s spymaster and later a presidential candidate. In this interview, he shares his extraordinary life story, and his thoughts and hopes for Afghanistan.

📺 Watch on YouTube.

Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, what the future may hold, and recounting stories from his time in the country.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 reflections on his experiences, and his thoughts on the current situation in the country and its future.

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Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

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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 impact it had on him, his fieldwork in northern Afghanistan, the country's history, its place in the region, its complex politics and society, as well as his thoughts on the future, along with plenty of fascinating and funny stories and anecdotes.

📺 Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/NaKD_xUhlAg

Producer: Roh Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

X: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.