Kabul Falling

This week on Kabul Falling, we’re sharing a special preview of Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal. This new series uncovers Silicon Valley’s origins as a laboratory for espionage.

At the dawn of the hi-tech age, Moscow’s spies opened up shop in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In this podcast, you’ll get to know the group of FBI spy hunters who assembled to stop them—and solve the case of a lifetime.

Hosted by national security journalist Zach Dorfman, Spy Valley will walk you through a maze of technology theft, double agents, and unbelievable events that put an American engineer at the center of it all.

There are new episodes of Spy Valley out now. To keep listening, search for Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal, wherever you get your podcasts.

To listen ad-free and get early access to new episodes, subscribe to Brazen+ in the Apple Podcasts app, or visit brazen.fm/plus to subscribe on other platforms.

This week on Kabul Falling, we’re sharing a special preview of the first episode of Ritually, a brand new Brazen podcast exploring what spirituality looks like for our secular world.

Join journalist-turned-guinea pig Nelufar Hedayat as she tries a new ritual in every episode. From sacred readings of Harry Potter to tarot cards, Nelufar dives in with the help of a different spiritual guide each week to see if these practices can actually make us feel better. In episode one, Nelufar struggles with patriarchal interpretations of Islam and decides to enlist the help of feminist spiritual practitioner Sarah Zaltash. She tries a new ritual to deepen her connection to Islam: following the daily call to prayer. It’s a practice that unites 1.8 billion Muslims around the world. But this version is different — radical, actually! — because it’s in a woman’s voice.

There are new episodes of Ritually out now. To keep listening, search for Ritually, wherever you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free and get early access to new episodes, subscribe to Brazen+ in the Apple Podcasts app or at brazen.fm/plus.

For more, visit ritually/fm.

This week on Kabul Falling, we’re sharing a special preview of the first episode of Gateway: Cocaine, Murder & Dirty Money in Europe, Project Brazen’s podcast that takes you inside the hidden world of cocaine.

In this six-part podcast series from Project Brazen, host Mitchell Prothero explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through the dramatic stories of cartel leaders, cops, journalists, and the victims caught in the middle. From RPG attacks on newspaper offices to the slaughter of entire families, the war on drugs has arrived on Europe’s shores. And a lot of people are making a lot of dirty money. Reporting from Antwerp and Amsterdam, Project Brazen goes deep inside this crazy under-reported story.

There are new episodes of Gateway out now. To keep listening, search for Gateway: Cocaine, Murder & Dirty Money in Europe, wherever you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free and get early access to new episodes, subscribe to Brazen+ in the Apple Podcasts app.

For more, visit brazen.fm/gateway.

This is a special episode from Project Brazen. How did Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich end up wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, and what happens now?

On March 29, Russian authorities arrested Evan and accused him of spying on Russia on behalf of the US government. Evan was imprisoned in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, where he remains today. In this special podcast episode from Project Brazen, you’ll hear from those close to Evan — his friends, newsroom colleagues, even his former soccer coach — about his shocking arrest, efforts to bring him home, and how he became the journalist he is today.

Evan is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The charge, which The Journal vehemently denies, can carry a sentence of up to 20 years. To support the campaign for Evan’s release or send him a message of support, visit www.freegershkovich.com.

This week on Kabul Falling, we’re sharing a preview of Dynamite Doug, the latest investigative podcast from Project Brazen. Hosted by Ellen Wong (of Netflix’s GLOW and Scott Pilgrim), the 6-part series delves into the alleged crimes of Douglas Latchford, an art dealer who collaborated with a genocidal regime to loot Cambodia’s entire cultural heritage. Latchford’s stolen goods remain in the New York Metropolitan Museum to this day. This is the story the art world doesn’t want told.

To keep listening, search for Dynamite Doug wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to the entire series, ad-free, by subscribing to Project Brazen on Apple Podcasts, visit apple.co/dynamitedoug

Reporter Neha Wadekar interviews Mohsin Mohi Ud Din, leader of Me We International, an organisation that uses art to help refugees around the world heal from trauma, reframe their narratives, and author their futures.

To follow Me We International and learn more about their work, please visit www.meweintl.org. You can find them online at @meweinternational on Instagram and @meweintl on Twitter.

For ad-free listening, exclusive bonus content and early access to Project Brazen podcasts, subscribe to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/brazen

This is a preview of Project Brazen's latest investigative podcast, The SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome. To listen to the rest of this episode, search for THE SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome, wherever you get your podcasts.

In December 2016, a US official in Havana reported a debilitating and confounding illness. The symptoms included headaches; nausea; hearing loss; problems with memory and vision. Soon, a second official came down with the same symptoms. Then a third. Then a fourth. By the time the story went public in summer 2017, dozens of US diplomats, as well as some Canadians, had come down with what was becoming known as “Havana Syndrome.”

In this deep dive investigation, journalist Nicky Woolf peels back the layers of one of the most bizarre mysteries of the modern age. THE SOUND is a story about spycraft, technology, and the brain, and how the Cold War, maybe, never really ended.

New episodes will be dropping in THE SOUND feed on Mondays, so subscribe there now to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

For ad-free listening, exclusive bonus content and early access to Project Brazen podcasts, subscribe to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/brazen

Project Brazen is excited to announce Arson Fahim, the composer of Kabul Falling’s main theme music, has been nominated for an Ambie award for Best Original Score and Music Supervision.

Arson Fahim is a pianist, composer, and conductor from Afghanistan, In 2021, only two weeks before the Taliban took control and once again banned music, Arson arrived in the US and started his studies at the Longy school of music, where he was awarded a scholarship.

The Podcast Academy will announce the winners at its third annual Awards for Excellence in Audio, a.k.a. The Ambies, on 7 March 2023.

For ad-free listening, exclusive bonus content and early access to Project Brazen podcasts, subscribe to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/brazen

Neha Wadekar, Associate Producer of Kabul Falling, speaks with Rahman, a former acting general in the Afghan army, and Carly Sparkes, operations manager at Azadi Charity, about what it’s like to leave behind the only life you’ve ever known and resettle in a foreign country to rebuild anew.

In this exclusive audio interview, Rahman talks about his high-profile military job, his last days fighting on the frontlines as the Taliban closed in, and his months living in hiding with his young children as they waited for assistance to escape. Carly Sparkes shares how the UK-based Azadi Charity helped Rahman’s family travel overland to a neighboring country before eventually settling into their new lives as refugees in Brazil.

Thanks for listening. You can find Kabul Falling on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

For more from Kabul Falling, visit: www.kabulfalling.com

For ad-free listening, exclusive bonus content and early access to Project Brazen podcasts, subscribe to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/brazen

Neha Wadekar, Associate Producer of Kabul Falling, speaks with two Afghan women on their ongoing work in media – and the extreme dangers journalists face as they continue to report under the Taliban’s regime.

In this exclusive audio interview, Rukshana Media founder Zahra Joya talks about setting up the women-focused publication, and shares her own story of escaping Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Shirin Yusofi, a Kabul-based journalist at Rukshana Media, shares her motivation for continuing to report from Kabul despite the risks – including terrifying close calls with Taliban enforcers.

Thanks for listening. You can find Kabul Falling on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

For more from Kabul Falling, visit: www.kabulfalling.com

For ad-free listening, exclusive bonus content and early access to Project Brazen podcasts, subscribe to our channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/brazen