Please note: This episode was taped before the recent earthquake in Eastern Afghanistan, to learn more about the earthquake please click here.

The death toll from an earthquake that hit Afghanistan on June 22 has reached 1,000. The disaster barely made news in the West. The West seems to have moved on. And left behind it a trail of broken promises and lost opportunities. Taliban is back in Kabul, and there is a humanitarian crisis on our hands. In Episode 8, we talk to Chayanika Saxena about urban geography, ISI’s evolving relations with the Afghan Taliban, kebabs, and why we must not forget the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

We also talk about India as a smart power in Afghanistan and how Taliban 2.0 is different from Taliban 1.0.

Podcast recommendations include:

The Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud
The Stranger, Albert Camus
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
Bunker: Building for the End Times, Bradley Garrett