The Afghanistan Project Podcast

Mikael Cook
  • 5.0 (10)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Mikael Cook and Beth Bailey highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

  1. 3d ago

    Dr. Samantha Nutt, War Child Canada president & founder - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 158

    Welcome to Episode 158 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. My guest is Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder and president of War Child Canada and War Child USA. We talk about her longstanding work in Afghanistan, the issues that have faced children in the country over years of conflict, and other conflict zones that are cause for concern today.About Dr. Samantha Nutt: Dr. Samantha Nutt is an award-winning humanitarian, bestselling author and the Founder and President of War Child USA and War Child Canada. For over two decades, she has worked with children and their families at the frontline of many of the world’s major crises - from Iraq to Afghanistan, Somalia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Sudan. A leading authority on public health, war, international aid and foreign policy, Dr. Samantha Nutt is a highly acclaimed public speaker in North America. Dr. Samantha Nutt is a staff physician at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour, Dr. Samantha Nutt's international work has benefited millions of war-affected children globally.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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  2. Oct 5

    AfghanEvac Shawn VanDiver Talks Camp As Sayliyah Extension - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 157

    Welcome to Episode 157 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. This time, he's giving updates on all the latest for Afghans, including the 9-month extension for Camp As Sayliyah, and the recent entry of two Afghans through the U.S. Refugee Admissions ProgramFind #AfghanEvac here: https://afghanevac.org/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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  3. Sep 28

    Leslie Merriman with Our Culture is Giving Returns - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 156

    Welcome to Episode 156 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. I'm excited to bring back Leslie Merriman, founder of nonprofit Our Culture is Giving, to talk about the last five years of support to Afghans following the Taliban takeover. Lovely Leslie dives into the hard topics - mental health, victims of the Taliban, and the harm being done to ethnic minorities.Find Our Culture is Giving here:https://ourcultureisgiving.org/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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  4. Sep 21

    Andres Caceres-Solari on Unheeded Intelligence Warnings - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 155

    Welcome to Episode 155 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. I'm excited to introduce Andres Caceres-Solari, a former U.S. Marine, to discuss his unheeded intelligence warnings about the Taliban's resurgence while at NATO HQ. We also address major shortcomings in our Afghanistan mission.About Andres:Andres H Caceres-Solari is a former US Marine who served several tours in Iraq and the southern Philippines, and was also a Foreign Area Officer in Indonesia. He is currently an academic living in Europe with a PhD in international law specializing in insurgencies. As a human rights lawyer, he represents several Ukrainian families against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights. He is a published author, has written several books to include Criminal Negligence in Command, where he details the failure of NATO’s HQ to address the advances of the Taliban, as well as the emergence of the Islamic State, the Russian intention to invade Ukraine in 2014, and the rise of the Houthis as a threat in the Middle East.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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  5. Sep 14

    Retired Lt. Gen. John Bradley on Lamia Afghan Foundation - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 154

    Welcome to Episode 154 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Lt. Gen. John Bradley talks about how the Lamia Afghan Foundation started with his wife Jan's incredible efforts to send needed items to Afghans overseas. We talk about how the organization grew and what it continues to do in present-day Afghanistan. About Lt. Gen. Bradley: General Bradley retired from the United States Air Force in August 2008, with 41 years of service. He was the Chief of Air Force Reserve, Headquarters, United States Air Force, Washington, District of Columbia, and the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, the largest Major Command in the U.S. AirForce, responsible for over 76,000 Airmen, around the world. Prior to this he was the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for Reserve Matters, the Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia. He is a Vietnam veteran, with 337 combat missions as a fighter pilot. He has over 7,000 flying hours in the A-37, A-10, F-4, and F-16 fighter aircraft. He is a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. Find Lamia Afghan Foundation here: https://lamia.org/ 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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  6. Sep 7

    Colin Smith on Latest U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Report - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 153

    Welcome to Episode 153 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Colin Smith returns to The Afghanistan Project Podcast to discuss the latest report from the U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team on terror growth inside Afghanistan and around the world. About Colin:Colin Smith is the UK Threat Assessment Expert and Coordinator, overseeing the work of the United Nations’ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, which supports implementations of sanctions against the Taliban. The monitoring team also provides biannual assessments of the global threat that Al Qaeda and ISIL and its affiliates pose. Colin was a British diplomat in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for twenty years, focusing on national security and counter-terrorism.Find the latest UN Monitoring Team assessment here:https://docs.un.org/en/S/2026/651About 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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

  7. Aug 31

    Badger Six fight for post-9/11 Afghan counterparts: The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 152

    Welcome to Episode 152 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’s guest is retired U.S. Army Colonel Justin Sapp, a member of Team Alpha, the CIA’s original eight-man team of analysts, linguists, warriors, and tribal experts who went into Afghanistan to defeat al Qaeda in the days immediately following Sept. 11, 2001. In this episode, Justin talks about Team Alpha and other early American units' reliance on their Afghan counterparts in the earliest post-9/11 efforts inside Afghanistan. He describes the ongoing efforts of Badger Six, the nonprofit that Team Alpha and supporters have created in order to assist the families of those Afghans who were indispensable to Team Alpha, and who are currently facing uncertainty because of Green Card processing in the pipeline for access to U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. About Justin:Justin Sapp is a contingency strategist for Constellis, and recently retired as a US Army Green Beret Colonel following 30 years of exceptionally distinguished service. He received numerous military decorations during his service, including the Defense Superior Service Award and the Bronze Star with “V” device.Find Badger Six at their website: https://badgersix.org/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 Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram or X ⁠@BWBailey85⁠.

  8. Aug 24

    Temporary Protected Status, Sonia Norton, Daniel Salazar - The Afghanistan Project Podcast Ep. 152

    Welcome to Episode 152 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 guests are Sonia Norton, Director of Advocacy at No One Left Behind, and Daniel Salazar, a refugee and protection policy advisor at Global Refuge.We discuss Congressional efforts to restore Temporary Protected Status for our Afghan allies, recent legal decisions that impact processing halts for Afghans, and what both No One Left Behind and Global Refuge are doing as the five-year anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal falls.A correction from Daniel on the status of the Dorcas lawsuit: Most of the policies discussed in the Dorcas lawsuit remain vacated. However, the comprehensive re-review of Afghans and others who entered between 2021 and 2025 is allowed to resume. In an order this month, an appeals court sided with the government's motion for a stay pending appeal with respect to that policy. The remainder of the policies-- including the adjudications pause-- remain no longer in effect under the lower court's ruling.About the guests:Sonia Norton is the Director of Advocacy at No One Left Behind. Before joining No One Left Behind, she worked in the House of Representatives for five years with members of the House Committees on Armed Services, Judiciary, and Ways and Means. Most recently, she served as the Senior Legislative Assistant for Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), where she led a policy portfolio including Afghan allies, foreign affairs, and judiciary issues. In that role, Sonia was the lead House Democratic staffer for the introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act and was named one of the Top 10 Policy Staff to Watch. Sonia has also served as a Fulbright-Nehru English Teaching Assistant and was elected for three terms on the Women’s Congressional Staff Association Board.Daniel Salazar is a refugee and protection policy advisor at Global Refuge, the national refugee resettlement agency formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. He does policy and advocacy work on the U.S. refugee admissions program, Afghan and Ukrainian resettlement, and other topics. He has worked on Afghan-related legislation such as the Afghan Adjustment Act, the Afghan SIV program, and CARE authorization since July 2022, first at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and now at Global Refuge. He is also a coalition member of Evacuate Our Allies and has helped campaigns on Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan and re-parole for Afghans. Before this work, he was a journalist in Kansas and Texas before moving to Washington, DC for his master’s in foreign service at Georgetown University.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 Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

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Welcome to The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Mikael Cook and Beth Bailey highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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