Losing Afghanistan

In a four-episode podcast and a series of dispatches, Afghans forced into exile when the U.S.-backed government fell to the Taliban in August 2021 recount tales of migration and seek accountability for the collapse of the Afghan security forces. The product of a unique collaboration between The Intercept and New America, these stories illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war.

The Evacuation of the CIA’s Afghan Proxies Has Opened One of the War’s Blackest Boxes

Fahim Abed
Former Zero Unit members are facing a reversal of fortune that is humiliating, infuriating, and utterly intractable.

I Watched the Afghan Government Collapse Under the Weight of Its Own Greed

Elyas Nawandish
Our leaders failed to give Afghan soldiers the food, tools, and respect they needed to defeat a brutal insurgency.

No Way Home, Episode Four: Getting Out Alive

No Way Home, and Summia Tora
After a year in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, one family gets an unexpected chance to leave.

No Way Home, Episode Three: Born Again

No Way Home, and Maryam Barak
An Afghan refugee finds new purpose teaching fellow migrants Italian.

Livestream: Leaving Afghanistan

The Intercept
Afghans forced into exile after the Taliban took over last summer tell their stories in a conversation with The Intercept and New America.

No Way Home, Episode Two: The Desert of Death

No Way Home, and Mir Abdullah Miri
As a desperate family tries to flee Afghanistan, a father disappears. His cousin sets off in search of answers.

When the Taliban Took Kabul, an Afghan Pilot Had to Choose Between His Family and His Country

Humaira Rahbin, and Candace Rondeaux
The U.S. apparently had no plan in place to stop the Taliban from seizing Afghan Air Force planes and pilots if the republic collapsed.

No Way Home, Episode One: Life and Death

No Way Home, and Summia Tora
Two Afghans try to flee Kabul after the Taliban takeover. Only one makes it out.

Telling Afghanistan’s Stories — in Their Own Words

Summia Tora, Mir Abdullah Miri, and Maryam Barak
Over four episodes, three Afghan exiles describe their experiences and those of others who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan a year ago.

Afghanistan Observatory Scholars: Fahim Abed, Maryam Barak, Mir Abdullah Miri, Elyas Nawandish, Humaira Rahbin, Qayoom Suroush, Summia Tora
Project Editor and Executive Producer of No Way Home: Vanessa Gezari
Supervising Producer and Editor of No Way Home: Laura Flynn
Project Editor for New America: Candace Rondeaux
Editor-in-Chief: Roger Hodge
Afghanistan Observatory Project Coordinator: Ali Yawar Adili
Story Editors: Murtaza Hussain, Alice Speri
Producers: Jose Olivares, Zach Young
Mixing: Rick Kwan
Art Direction: Philipp Hubert
Photo Editing and Illustration: Elise Swain
Product Development: Fei Liu
Fact Checking: Emily Schneider
Research: Margot Williams
Voiceovers: Ali Yawar Adili, Mir Abdullah Miri, Humaira Rahbin
Theme Music: Zach Young
Copy Editors: Nara Shin, Sunny Sone
Legal: David Bralow

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