The Afghanistan Project Podcast

Welcome to Episode 147 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I am joined by Mashal Sherullah, who has spent years advocating for Afghan allies awaiting processing for the Special Immigrant Visa and U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in Pakistan. We discuss the plight of these Afghans wh...

Welcome to Episode 146 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I am joined by Robert Billard, an Afghanistan veteran and content writer at Military.com. We chat about his Afghanistan deployment as an IA in 2014-15, about his recent article on controversial Gen. Raziq, and about the str...

Welcome to Episode 145 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I am joined by Katharina Ritz, Head of the Afghanistan Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Katharina just returned from Kabul, and talks about the various periods in which she has worked in Afghanis...

Welcome to Episode 144 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, former ANA Major Yaser Yarghal talks about his upbringing and education in Afghanistan, and how he made his way to the Afghan National Military Academy. We talk about his service, and his participation in Ranger School and...

Welcome to Episode 143 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I've got a familiar returning guest, #AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver. We talk about not only the Afghans at Camp As Sayliyah whom the administration was recently considering sending to the Democratic Republic of th...

Welcome to Episode 142 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, Gold Star Father Mark Schmitz shares the story of his son, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, who perished on August 26, 2021 alongside 12 U.S. service members and 160 Afghans. Mark shares the story of The Freedom 1...

Welcome to Episode 141 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, Ellen Smith, the founder and Executive Director of Keeping Our Promise, brings a great news story about being able to reunite an Afghan ally and his wife with the baby they were forced to leave behind when making their way...

Welcome to Episode 140 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm talking about a project that I began over a year ago to preserve the stories of the volunteers, advocates, and other supporters who have been part of the effort to keep Afghans safe and supported in the leadup to an...

Welcome to Episode 139 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm thrilled to bring on two incredible experts on the expansion of terrorism in the Taliban's Afghanistan, Colin Smith, and Graham Aikin. We discuss how terror groups have found safe haven in the Taliban's Afgh...

Welcome to Episode 138 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce Spencer Sullivan and Abdulhaq Sodais, coauthors of 'Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them.' We talk about the deployment...

Welcome to Episode 137 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm thrilled to bring back Daniel Salazar and Sonia Norton for a discussion on updates for Afghans in various U.S. programs and pathways, and the long-awaited discussion on how to write, pitch, and promote an op-ed on A...

Welcome to Episode 136 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm thrilled to host Kieran Ramsey, Chief Investigative Officer at Global Reach. Kieran talks about the support Global Reach provides to the families of those wrongfully detained by overseas regimes, and discusses the T...

Welcome to Episode 135 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. This is the third segment in a special sub-series of the podcast in conjunction with The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living. Today’s guests are three Green Berets from ODA 595, Mark Nutsch, Paul Evans, and Mike Elmore, and three...

Welcome to Episode 134 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. This is the second segment in a special sub-series of the podcast in conjunction with The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living. Today’s guests are three Green Berets from ODA 595, Mark Nutsch, Paul Evans, and Mike Elmore, and three...

Welcome to Episode 133 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. This is a special sub-series of the podcast in conjunction with The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living. Today’s guests are three Green Berets from ODA 595, Mark Nutsch, Paul Evans, and Mike Elmore, and three members of VF-213, Na...

Welcome to Episode 132 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I'm thrilled to host Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Director of Global Policy for the George W. Bush Institute. An incredible expert on the dire situation inside Afghanistan, Natalie talks about many of the ongoing struggles...

Welcome to Episode 131 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, I've got a familiar returning guest, #AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver. We talk about not only the Afghans at Camp As Sayliyah who are in proximity of the ongoing military conflict with Iran and have had debris from...

Welcome to Episode 130 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is social justice activist Shannon Galpin, who has a long history of supporting women inside Afghanistan. We talk about Shannon's work in Afghan women's prisons, supporting the deaf community in Afghanistan...

Welcome to a special episode of The Afghanistan Project focused on the heightened conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, its origins, and how regional dynamics play a role. About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Was...

Welcome to Episode 129 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Danilo Zak, the Director of Policy at Church World Service. We discuss the value refugees add to society, the successes of the Pacito v Trump lawsuit in forcing the restarting of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Prog...

Welcome to Episode 128 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is 'Noori,' a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) in the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command. Noori talks about how he was selected for ANASOC, training to become a JTAC, and the ground miss...

Welcome to Episode 127 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Jordan Kane, who was the team lead for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on aid diversion by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Jordan and I discuss the changes that SIGAR unde...

Welcome to Episode 126 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Mark Flanigan. Mark spent the 2016-17 academic year teaching at a women's liberal arts college in Bangladesh. Four years later, when he was helping Afghans who had been moved to Ft. McCoy following the Talib...

Welcome to Episode 125 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Hasht-e Subh editor Hussain Haidari, who discusses his journey fleeing Afghanistan and becoming a refugee inside the U.S. We talk about Hussain's advocacy for the refugee community, the safety and stability...

Welcome to Episode 124 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Andrew Sullivan, Executive Director of nonprofit No One Left Behind. Andy talks about the Jan. 14 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on vetting practices for Afghan allies, including OIG revelations about vettin...