Tag: podcast

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 11 – Reflection This episode is the season finale of Serial Podcast season two. This episode attempts to summarize Bowe’s story. Bowe’s story is not just one story and it’s not just his. It’s his platoon mates, his family, the US military, the Taliban and many more people's stories. This episode tries to conclude and summarize what is Bowe’s fault? Who...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 10 – Reflection This episode was about Bergdahl’s rescue operation. Who knew? Why was Congress lied to? Did the rescue mission break laws? A lot of outrage stemmed from the seemingly hero like coverage on the news when announcing Bergdahl’s safety. Another source of outrage was the question of whether Bowe Bergdahl was worth releasing five Taliban detainees...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 9 - Reflection In this episode the podcast analyzes what it took to get Bowe back and why it was so complex and difficult. Richard Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, thought that the war could be ended with diplomacy rather that the military. One problem with this idea is that the US doesn’t negotiate with terrorists. Diplomats...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 7 and 8 – Reflection             In episodes 7 and 8, the podcast explores why Bowe walked off and what was he going through at the time. Bowe grew up being homeschooled and spent a lot of his time in solitude and would explore the 40+ acres he grew up on. Bowe was scared of punishments from his family as they were varied and inconsistent. When Bowe was...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 6 - Reflection                       This episode was a more in-depth analysis of what was going during Bowe’s deployment and why he left. Bowe’s platoon mates all repeatedly said that Bowe was an introvert. They noticed that Bowe had his own version of what leadership should be and that he was very disillusioned with the leadership in his unit from...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 5 - Reflection          This episode goes over all of the different organizations and people who had some involvement looking for Bergdahl. The complexity that this episode demonstrates between all the different actors in This search from a family friend to the higher-ups in the CIA and State Department. One thing I noticed is that the FBI got involved...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 4- Reflection                 Episode 4 was all about the Taliban and the people that captured and held Bowe during his five years with the Taliban.  Also in this episode, we are introduced to an American journalist who was captured by the Taliban for 7 months and escaped just prior to Bowe being captured. Bowe did not know much about the Taliban and their...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 3- Reflection                    In this episode, the podcast goes over Bowe’s only two escape attempts.  The first one occurred in week one of his capture. Bowe says it lasted about 15 minutes. He managed to unwrap his wrists, untie his feet and untie the wire latch.  Once Bowe was out of his room he saw three houses and runs past the first two...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 2 - Reflection In Episode Two, Sarah Koenig interviews a Taliban fighter and Sami Yousafzai, an Afghan reporter, who interviewed a half dozen people who claimed to be involved with Bowe’s capture or interacted with Bowe. The Taliban fighter Sarah interviewed is Mujahid Rahman which is an alias to protect his identity. The Taliban’s and Bowe’s stories of...

Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 1- Reflection             In June of 2009, Bowe Bergdahl intentionally walked off his army post in Afghanistan. His plan was to walk of his post at OP Mest and run approximately 20 miles to FOB Sharana which was the base. After looking at the fly-over in the Listening Guide, I don’t think it was a very practical plan due to the terrain and the dangers of...