The Fall of Afghanistan

<p><i>This episode contains strong language. </i></p><p>On Sunday, the president of Afghanistan fled the country; the Taliban seized control of Kabul, the capital; and the American-backed government collapsed.</p><p>One outspoken critic of the Taliban — a 33-year-old Kabul resident who asked that we refer to her by the initial R for fear of retaliation — shared her experiences as the insurgents closed in.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Kabul fell to the Taliban far faster than many had imagined it would,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/kabul-afghanistan.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> leaving most Afghans with no way out</a>.</li><li>The Afghan military was built over 20 years.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/world/asia/afghanistan-rapid-military-collapse.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> How did it collapse so quickly?</a></li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>