Scenes of panic and chaos in the capital city of Kabul have played on repeat around the world as the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan has precipitated the swift fall of the government and the Taliban’s takeover of the country. With much fear, anger, and uncertainty throughout the country, it is an open question what the future will hold for Afghans under Taliban rule in the wake of the devastation wrought by the US and its allies over the 20th and 21st centuries. This week on The Marc Steiner Show, we begin a crucial and urgent series of conversations about the US war in Afghanistan, the world-historical failure of the “War on Terror,” and the future of the Afghan people.

On Aug. 9, 2021, with the Taliban’s takeover just days away, Marc spoke with journalist Ali M. Latifi from Kabul about the scene in the city and the Kafka-esque nightmare facing Afghan citizens trying to find refuge in the US or elsewhere. Then, on Aug. 16, after the Taliban had taken Kabul and announced the dawn of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Marc spoke with Latifi again about the events of the past week and why he is not trying to flee his country. In this segment of The Marc Steiner Show, we feature both of these important interviews in chronological order. Ali M. Latifi is an online journalist with Al Jazeera English based in Kabul, reporting on Afghanistan, migration, and refugee issues.

Tune in for new segments of The Marc Steiner Show every Tuesday and Friday on TRNN.

Pre-Production/Studio/Post Production: Stephen Frank

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Host, The Marc Steiner Show
Marc Steiner is the host of "The Marc Steiner Show" on TRNN. He is a Peabody Award-winning journalist who has spent his life working on social justice issues. He walked his first picket line at age 13, and at age 16 became the youngest person in Maryland arrested at a civil rights protest during the Freedom Rides through Cambridge. As part of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, Marc helped organize poor white communities with the Young Patriots, the white Appalachian counterpart to the Black Panthers. Early in his career he counseled at-risk youth in therapeutic settings and founded a theater program in the Maryland State prison system. He also taught theater for 10 years at the Baltimore School for the Arts. From 1993-2018 Marc's signature “Marc Steiner Show” aired on Baltimore’s public radio airwaves, both WYPR—which Marc co-founded—and Morgan State University’s WEAA.
 
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