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Speaker 1: Afghanistar Episode one, light camera action. Welcome back to Afghanistan.

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Speaker 1: Please put your hands together for the host, the director,

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Speaker 1: the producer.

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Speaker 2: The man who built this show, Daoud Zibiki.

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Speaker 3: It's around eleven o'clock. I'm so thirsty, I'm so angry.

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Speaker 3: I'm so exhausted that I can't think about anything.

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Speaker 1: It's September two thousand and five, just a few years

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Speaker 1: after the Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan, and Daoud

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Speaker 1: Sadiki has barely slept in days. He's been pulling all

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Speaker 1: nighters to get the first episode of a new TV

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Speaker 1: show out. It's called Afghanistar, and nothing like it has

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Speaker 1: ever aired in Afghanistan before. But right now daoude is

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Speaker 1: so exhausted he's about to pass out. So instead of

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Speaker 1: sticking around to watch the show.

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Speaker 3: Go live, I just drove to my house and went home,

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Speaker 3: and my mom opened the door and I just went

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Speaker 3: to the bit with my offs clots.

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Speaker 1: Daoud collapses into a deep sleep and he doesn't wake

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Speaker 1: until late the next morning.

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Speaker 3: At that time, he didn't have the electricity at Cobble

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Speaker 3: that much like I didn't have a chance to listen

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Speaker 3: to radio or TV or anything.

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Speaker 1: But as soon as he's up, He's in a panic.

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Speaker 1: He has no idea how the show's been received. Are

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Speaker 1: there people cheering in the street? M h are calling

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Speaker 1: for his head? He spent two sleepless months of his

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Speaker 1: life on this thing. Did anyone even watch? Also, he's

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Speaker 1: late for work, like really late. That would throw some

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Speaker 1: clothes on, jumps in his car, his hand shaking as

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Speaker 1: he turns on the radio, the chimes of the clock

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Speaker 1: playing at the top of the hour, and then the.

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Speaker 4: Headlines against afghanst Star. Afghanst Star is one of the

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Speaker 4: most shows in the country. This is a new type

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Speaker 4: of show and the people are watching it, following it intensely,

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Speaker 4: seeing only ten hours through generators in long and starts.

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Speaker 3: Oh my god, what happened?

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Speaker 1: The answer to that question is going to define his life.

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Speaker 1: It will take him on a journey from the back

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Speaker 1: rooms of a makeshift TV station in Cobble all the

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Speaker 1: way across the globe.

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Speaker 3: I was a celebrity of the country everywhere. I was

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Speaker 3: like on the skies.

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Speaker 1: He will watch as his country is transformed.

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Speaker 4: Lights, mikes and cameras.

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Speaker 1: It's a different kind of battle in Afghanistan, one.

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Speaker 5: That has the whole nation watching Osma because in the

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Speaker 5: aftermath of the Taliban.

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Speaker 4: You still see rubble everywhere.

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Speaker 1: There really was an American idol for Afghanistan.

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Speaker 6: We cannot let the darkness come over us again. We

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Speaker 6: have to fight back with music.

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Speaker 1: Afghan Star helped heal a nation torn apart by violence.

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Speaker 6: Between all the explosions and all the disappointment, that was

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Speaker 6: light in the darkness.

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Speaker 1: It allowed its people to fall in love with music

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Speaker 1: again and eventually had them running for their lives.

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Speaker 6: I knew he had the gun, and I said to him,

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Speaker 6: if I get captured, please shoot me in the head.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Legend from Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts. This is

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Speaker 1: Afghan Star.

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Speaker 5: Then make a numba, eat a god, Buddha.

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Speaker 7: Let no more on Ruda.

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Speaker 1: Asma Sjodaka, chapter one, Friday Night Lights. Every once in

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Speaker 1: a while, there's a moment when the world seems to halt,

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Speaker 1: when streets fall quiet and people call one another to

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Speaker 1: stop everything and turn on the television. They gather in

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Speaker 1: apartments and living rooms, huddle onto sofas and floors. They

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Speaker 1: sit together, transfixed. You know these moments. The moon landing,

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Speaker 1: a royal wedding, and Princess of weddings. These moments can

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Speaker 1: be joyous and triumphant, like everyone watching as a hobble

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Speaker 1: gymnast somehow sticks a landing, or unimaginable, like the day

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Speaker 1: the towers fell.

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Speaker 4: Back and then it's flappened out.

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Speaker 8: It looks like it's it at its light tangle.

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Speaker 9: Into the world's race.

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Speaker 1: Then I can see I can see flames now coming out.

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Speaker 7: The side of the building, and the smoke.

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Speaker 8: Continue to billow.

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Speaker 1: These are moments of cultural importance, when everyone drops what

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Speaker 1: they're doing to gather around a screen. Well. In Afghanistan,

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Speaker 1: for about fifteen years, these moments have and every Friday

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Speaker 1: night it's March two thousand and six, New Year's in Cobble.

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Speaker 1: The city should be bustling, two lip festivals, I've gotten

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Speaker 1: polo tournaments, old men wearing colorful clothes walking the streets,

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Speaker 1: spitting poetry. People should be gathering in mosques to raise

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Speaker 1: giant banners and cheer. But instead of it's a ghost town.

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Speaker 1: The only signs of life are coming from a few

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Speaker 1: houses and apartments, lights flickering from the windows. But look

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Speaker 1: closer and you see why. In each of these homes

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Speaker 1: there's a tiny television perched in the corner and huddled

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Speaker 1: around its warm glow. Are people so many people packed

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Speaker 1: in so tightly that you can barely see the ground.

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Speaker 1: They're all there to watch Afghan Star. In one of

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Speaker 1: these apartments, on one such sofa is Omit Nazami. He's

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Speaker 1: relaxing now, but he's been fielding calls all day, trying

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Speaker 1: to help his friends out.

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Speaker 5: The people that they didn't have electricity. They keep calling,

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Speaker 5: do you have power? You have electricity? Tonight? Can you

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Speaker 5: tell me who is eliminated.

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Speaker 1: To watch Afghan Star? People across the nation have pulled

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Speaker 1: their resources and shared their homes.

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Speaker 5: You could see a family member that he is sitting

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Speaker 5: in a corner of the room and he's so upset.

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Speaker 5: She's so upset, and they say, come on, have food,

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Speaker 5: have dinner. No, I'm not doing well tonight. My favorite

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Speaker 5: contestant just got eliminated. He didn't deserve it.

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Speaker 1: Everyone takes it seriously because this show means everything to them.

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Speaker 1: So why was watching a talent show so important to

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Speaker 1: these people? Well, before we answer that question, maybe I

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Speaker 1: should tell you a little bit about myself, because I

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Speaker 1: know what you're thinking. Why is John Legend hosting a

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Speaker 1: show about Afghanistan. Well, there's the talent show connection. For sure.

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Speaker 1: You might have seen me on the Voice. You have

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Speaker 1: so much passion that you also have discipline. I would

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Speaker 1: love for you to be on the team of the

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Speaker 1: defending voice champion. That's me, that's me, But this is

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Speaker 1: about something deeper. Music is my life. When I was

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Speaker 1: growing up, I heard it at home in the car.

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Speaker 1: At church every Sunday, we would sing in the gospel choir.

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Speaker 1: My grandfather was the pastor, my mother was the choir director,

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Speaker 1: my grandmother the church organist. It was my the whole world.

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Speaker 1: After college, I dropped out of a solid career in

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Speaker 1: management consulting because I couldn't stop thinking about music. And

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Speaker 1: then the other day I was reading the news and

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Speaker 1: the story popped up. It had a crazy headline, the

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Speaker 1: Taliban burned a pile of musical instruments because they're immoral.

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Speaker 1: The photo showed four men standing around a fire, just

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Speaker 1: a regular garbage fire. But then you look closer and

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Speaker 1: you see strings, mangled guitars, the shelves of these beautiful

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Speaker 1: harmoniums all charred up. I thought it. He's from Afghanistan's

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Speaker 1: Ministry for the Promotional Virtue and prevention of vice, created

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Speaker 1: a bonfire from a number of seased instruments and allowed

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Speaker 1: speaker in her province over the weekend. The idea that

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Speaker 1: anyone would destroy all these things that bring us so much.

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Speaker 9: Joy and life. It's heartbreaking, but that image, it's the

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Speaker 9: key to understanding why Afghan Star was so important, why

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Speaker 9: a TV show could get a nation.

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Speaker 1: To come to a halt. Because when the Taliban were

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Speaker 1: in power the first time in the nineties, they did

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Speaker 1: everything they could to rid the world of music. Clerics

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Speaker 1: would tear out the ERDs of cassettes and string them

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Speaker 1: up from trees. Morality police went around smashing radios and

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Speaker 1: boomboxes with hammers. They conducted brutal raids on houses and

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Speaker 1: terrified people into submission. Think about that for just onden second.

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Speaker 1: Think about all the songs you listen to today on

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Speaker 1: your commute or bopping around the house, the music you

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Speaker 1: heard in your car or hummed to yourself at the

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Speaker 1: grocery store. Think about the soundtrack of your life, from

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Speaker 1: the lullabies your mom sang, to road trips with friends,

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Speaker 1: piano lessons to first dances. Try to picture all of that.

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Speaker 1: He raised about the absence of music. That's what happened

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Speaker 1: in Afghanistan.

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Speaker 7: On Silas.

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Speaker 1: And the thing is, we tend to take shows like

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Speaker 1: The Voice and American Idol for granted, shows that you

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Speaker 1: binge when you want to zone out. But here in Afghanistan,

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Speaker 1: Afghanistan became a beacon, a reminder to a shell shocks

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Speaker 1: nation that it had permission, the freedom really to sing again,

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Speaker 1: to use their voices. Chapter two An impossible dream. So

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Speaker 1: back to Dairud, the guy we met at the top

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Speaker 1: of the show. Long before he set out to make

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Speaker 1: Afghan star. He was already a badass when the Taliban

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Speaker 1: banned music. He kept adding to his cassette collection, even

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Speaker 1: though it could mean a jail sentence or possibly death.

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Speaker 1: At night, He'd traveled to underground dance parties and hang

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Speaker 1: out with Kabo's cultural dissidence, people who'd risk their lives

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Speaker 1: for art. He watched Bollywood movies and fell in love

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Speaker 1: with the heroes, and so once the Taliban fell, he

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Speaker 1: was determined he wanted to be on screen, to be

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Speaker 1: a star. And that's when he met someone who changed

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Speaker 1: his life. I named Sad Mosenne. The world's going to

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Speaker 1: come to our rescue.

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Speaker 9: And perhaps it's time for us Afghans, ourselves.

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Speaker 1: In our own ways, to find a way out for

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Speaker 1: the country. Sad had launched a radio station in Kabu

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Speaker 1: and then a TV network that made news and soap

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Speaker 1: operas and music shows, and it wasn't long before Daoud

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Speaker 1: found his way to Sad's office to ask for a job.

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Speaker 3: Oh my god, this is my place, that's where I

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Speaker 3: want to be.

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Speaker 1: The two quickly hit it off.

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Speaker 3: We would like having jokes and fun and chit chat.

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Speaker 3: Give us this chance to be ourselves.

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Speaker 1: In a lot of ways. Sad story couldn't be more

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Speaker 1: different than Daoud's. He left Afghanistan in the seventies. We

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Speaker 1: took refuge in places like the US and Australia and

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Speaker 1: Europe because we were forced out of our homeland. Then,

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Speaker 1: in October two thousand and one, after American troops invaded

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Speaker 1: Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime, So'd sinsed an opportunity.

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Speaker 1: It feels like a calling to go back. In his

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Speaker 1: mid thirties, at the time, Sad thinks this is it.

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Speaker 1: Afghanistan doesn't have a stock market, the media is dead.

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Speaker 1: He can do something Before long, Sad wants to change

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Speaker 1: the whole culture of Afghanistan, and he knows there's no

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Speaker 1: better way than through the small screen. He's determined to

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Speaker 1: make a splash. He's going to import soap operas and

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Speaker 1: put women news anchors on air. But most of all,

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Speaker 1: he wants to try out a new kind of show,

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Speaker 1: one that has never been seen in Afghanistan before American

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Speaker 1: Idol but Afghan And as if that isn't hard enough,

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Speaker 1: he wants to put it out in just a couple

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Speaker 1: of months to beat any competition to the idea. The

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Speaker 1: thing is, if this is going to work, Sad needs

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Speaker 1: someone he can try to handle it, someone who loves music,

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Speaker 1: someone who can pull favors and hustle to get this

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Speaker 1: to air. And that's when he starts yelling for someone

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Speaker 1: to get him daoude Chapter three, just go make a

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Speaker 1: show to hear Daoud tell it. The conversation didn't take

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Speaker 1: that long.

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Speaker 3: And I remember exactly this sentence, like you said, I

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Speaker 3: want you to make this show happen. I don't know

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Speaker 3: how go and make this show for us. That was

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Speaker 3: a big expectation, Like I knew this is not a

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Speaker 3: small show, this is something big. I didn't know how

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Speaker 3: to start, what to do, what will happen.

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Speaker 1: Sad is watching Daoud carefully waiting for an answer.

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Speaker 3: And after five to ten seconds pause, I said, okay,

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Speaker 3: I will make.

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Speaker 1: It, and then Sad hands him a DVD.

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Speaker 3: He gave me Australian Idol DVDs and he told me

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Speaker 3: go and watch this and try to make something like this.

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Speaker 1: Okay, that's it. That's the only guidance. He had a

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Speaker 1: few Australian Idol DVDs and now he has about sixty

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Speaker 1: days to go make the thing. So he puts the

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Speaker 1: DVDs into the machine and hits play.

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Speaker 6: I'm just gonna find my note.

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Speaker 1: What what sort of music do you like? To listen

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Speaker 1: to it and lock everything? I level styles of music?

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Speaker 2: App yes, mom, it's nothing kiuge.

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Speaker 1: Immediately he starts scribbling down notes as fast as his

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Speaker 1: hand will let him.

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Speaker 3: The stages, the lighting, and I don't have any clue

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Speaker 3: how it works.

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Speaker 1: He's never done anything like this before, never produced a

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Speaker 1: live show of any kind. He has so many things

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Speaker 1: he has to figure out. Singers, stage lighting, He's trying

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Speaker 1: to understand the format, the camera angles, the different components,

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Speaker 1: and he's trying to work out what he should tackle first.

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Speaker 3: Okay, people are coming, and then audition happens, and then

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Speaker 3: come to judges.

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Speaker 1: He thinks maybe if he starts with a few judges,

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Speaker 1: he can build from there.

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Speaker 3: That's good. I thought, that's one of the eazy things

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Speaker 3: that they can do in one or two days.

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Speaker 1: Except with Afghanistar, nothing's ever that easy. Back in two

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Speaker 1: thousand and five, Afghanistan didn't have pop stars. There were

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Speaker 1: no cool girl groups, no singers that shot to fame

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Speaker 1: on social media. Basically, not many good candidates to be

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Speaker 1: a judge on a reality show. But Daoud has an idea.

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Speaker 1: The one thing people hire performers for is weddings, so

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Speaker 1: he starts reaching out to random wedding singers.

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Speaker 3: I introduced myself and said, okay, this is the idea.

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Speaker 3: We want to make a music talent show. I want

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Speaker 3: you guys to be my judges.

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Speaker 1: He promises to put them on air, make them famous,

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Speaker 1: but all he's getting is blank stares. So Daoud explains

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Speaker 1: it in more detail. He talks about the performances, the exposure,

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Speaker 1: the spotlight.

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Speaker 3: And they said no, we can't come to this show.

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Speaker 1: Daoude is taken aback. He can't get his words out

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Speaker 1: fast enough.

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Speaker 3: Why? Why this is a good opportunity. You guys can

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Speaker 3: gain more name for yourselves and that will help you

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Speaker 3: to reach more people and people will know you.

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Speaker 1: But these singers haven't seen a show like this and

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Speaker 1: they don't think it will work. Nothing, Daoud says, can

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Speaker 1: change any of their minds. He's completely deflated. This was

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Speaker 1: supposed to be the easy part. And that's when he

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Speaker 1: gets another call from Sad. Sad tells him not only

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Speaker 1: do I need you to find male judges, I also

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Speaker 1: want a female judge.

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Speaker 3: When he said that a break almost, I said, what

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Speaker 3: you are talking about, Sade?

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Speaker 1: What's going on with you?

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Speaker 3: Do you know you're an Abon's son. There was still

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Speaker 3: people supporters of Toliban, people with different opinions, more traditional,

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Speaker 3: more religious. They were against these ideas.

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Speaker 1: Daoud is losing it on the phone. He's thinking, the

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Speaker 1: Taliban have only just left blue jeans, women returning to schools,

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Speaker 1: that stuff is just starting to come back. But putting

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Speaker 1: a woman on TV in a position of power that

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Speaker 1: feels like something this society isn't ready for yet. The

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Speaker 1: task feels so insane he can't stop himself from yelling

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Speaker 1: into the phone.

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Speaker 3: I can't find a man to be a judge of

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Speaker 3: our true you are asking me to find a woman,

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Speaker 3: are you crazy?

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Speaker 1: But sah, he's an optimist. He knows he's asking too

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Speaker 1: much of Daoude, but he's also got a lead, an

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Speaker 1: aspiring politician, and he says, just talk to her.

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Speaker 3: She was like shocked, what are we talking about. I'm

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Speaker 3: not a musician. I'm not a good choice for this.

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Speaker 1: But as Daoude keeps talking to her, he sees an opening.

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Speaker 3: I said, okay, I see you in a different interviews

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Speaker 3: and says thing about the presence of women and the

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Speaker 3: society in media and politics and all the things. If

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Speaker 3: you are not participating, then tomorrow, don't blame me if

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Speaker 3: I don't have any lady, any representative of women in

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Speaker 3: my show.

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Speaker 1: One guilt trip later and she's on board. That's one

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Speaker 1: judge down. Then Daoud's colleague suggests an old singer from

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Speaker 1: the villages, so Daoud gives him a call.

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Speaker 3: He just cuted me in the middle and said, you

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Speaker 3: guys are paying me. I said yes. He said, don't

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Speaker 3: worry about don't explain to me. I will come whatever

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Speaker 3: the show is.

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Speaker 1: He's so in need of money that he doesn't even

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Speaker 1: let Daoud finish his pitch.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I have two judges, he.

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Speaker 1: Just needs three to pull this off. So he approaches

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Speaker 1: a local music shop.

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Speaker 3: On it there was a guy he was okay singer

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Speaker 3: and he had a very good music instrument shop.

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Speaker 1: He also just released a song that was playing on TV,

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Speaker 1: which for Daoude is good enough. Daoud consults his Australian

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Speaker 1: Idol DVDs. He's officially checked off the first item find judges.

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Speaker 1: Now it's time for the fun part. Chapter four, Meet

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Speaker 1: the Stars. On audition day, Daoud is up early. He's

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Speaker 1: heading into the city center.

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Speaker 3: And rented one of the biggest rooms of this five

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Speaker 3: star hotel and in the middle of Coobol.

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Speaker 1: At that time, Daoud is thinking it's only been about

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Speaker 1: three years since the Taliban were in power. He has

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Speaker 1: no idea if even ten people will show up.

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Speaker 3: I went there at eight forty five. When I get close,

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Speaker 3: the streets are jammed. I thought, okay, Cobbol is a

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Speaker 3: big city, maybe that's normal traffic, but this is an

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Speaker 3: unusual jam.

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Speaker 1: Daoud elbows his way through the crowds, thinking what is

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Speaker 1: going on? He can't work it out.

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Speaker 3: Oh my god, Police is there? Security is there? This

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Speaker 3: is a chaos.

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Speaker 1: As the Oude gets closer to the hotel, he realizes

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Speaker 1: that all of this chaos is his fault.

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Speaker 3: And now I see a big crowd of people in

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Speaker 3: front of the hotel.

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Speaker 1: These people have heard his advertisements and they've come to audition.

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Speaker 1: Plus they brought all their friends and family for support.

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Speaker 3: Security. If the hotel is so angry on us, like,

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Speaker 3: you guys are crazy? What's going on with you? What

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Speaker 3: type of show is this? What you guys are doing?

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Speaker 1: Hundreds of people have turned up and now they're all

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Speaker 1: crammed into the hotel lobby.

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Speaker 3: We had space for one hundred and twenty people. We

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Speaker 3: got these people and we took them upstairs and started

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Speaker 3: the audition.

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Speaker 1: The judges are sitting side by side at a long table.

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Speaker 1: On the wall behind them is a red banner with

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Speaker 1: a few yellow stars scattered across it and images of

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Speaker 1: men and women singing into microphones. This is about as

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Speaker 1: close as he can get to Australian idol on his budget.

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Speaker 1: One by one, people step into the room to audition.

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Speaker 3: Some of them were dancing, some of them were singing

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Speaker 3: like English songs. Some of them like Indian songs.

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Speaker 1: There's just one problem.

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Speaker 3: They thought they are very good singers, genuinely, but they

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Speaker 3: were terrible singers.

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Speaker 7: Got heavy light us on.

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Speaker 3: Gote heavy light us on.

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Speaker 2: I why why.

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Speaker 1: His Australian Idol DVDs have taught him that terrible singing

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Speaker 1: is a big part of what makes these shows great.

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Speaker 1: Everyone knows the audience loves shower singers and karaoke hogs

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Speaker 1: and people who think they're great because they're says they are.

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Speaker 1: But as contestant after contestant walks up to the mic,

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Speaker 1: belting out awful sounds, that Wode starts to get nervous.

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Speaker 1: Where are the people you could actually root for?

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Speaker 5: No no, no no no no no no no no

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Speaker 5: no no no no no no no no no no.

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Speaker 1: But just when all seems lost, like the show might

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Speaker 1: fail because no one here can hold a tune, a

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Speaker 1: young guy steps in front of the judges.

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Speaker 8: Zindiggiecausafer, Hey you casufer.

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Speaker 1: Koy some.

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Speaker 2: Johnny coy John, Hey you can yes see the.

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Speaker 1: Girl, and Daou thinks this is who I've been waiting for.

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Speaker 8: Gooy so.

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Speaker 2: Johnny goody joy.

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Speaker 1: Hey it's John legend. If you've been listening, you already

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Speaker 1: know that Afghanstar is a tale of resistance and hope.

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00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 1: For fifteen years, Afghanstar was a beacon, but when the

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Speaker 1: Taliban returned to power, they shut the show down along

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Speaker 1: with so many Afghan rights. They banned music education for

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Speaker 1: girls and women, and they continue to clamp down on

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Speaker 1: everyone freedoms. But there are ways to show your support.

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00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,280
Speaker 1: We've teamed up with AWA Studios and their incredible graphic

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00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:12,440
Speaker 1: artists to illustrate some of the most extraordinary moments in

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00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:16,959
Speaker 1: this podcast. There is a unique print for each episode,

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Speaker 1: bringing to life powerful moments that are moving and inspiring,

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00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 1: and there's an unforgettable print based on a painting from

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00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: superstar artist Raza that represents the spirit of hope embodied

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Speaker 1: by the show. Art and music have the power to

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Speaker 1: uplift us all, and ordering a work for yourself or

394
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:44,280
Speaker 1: as a gift help support Afghans. With every purchase, we'll

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00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 1: be donating to the Nore Initiative, a nonprofit working to

396
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:53,520
Speaker 1: ensure that every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.

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Speaker 1: For more information on our collaboration with AWA, the artworks

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00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 1: available to listeners, and to learn more about the NORE

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00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:08,760
Speaker 1: initiatives efforts to educate, support independent media, and transform lives

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00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,760
Speaker 1: across the region. Head to the link in our show

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Speaker 1: notes below, Chapter five. Shakib, this she gave had.

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Speaker 8: I was driving a van, you know like Uber and Lyft.

403
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:48,600
Speaker 8: While I driving, I was singing a lot and there

404
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,400
Speaker 8: was the passengers always saying like, oh you have a

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Speaker 8: good vice.

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Speaker 7: Oh no.

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00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:09,200
Speaker 1: Leg. In the behind the scenes biographies you get about

408
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,600
Speaker 1: contestants on reality shows, you often hear about the feel

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00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: good the way Shakib likes to dance to Bollywood, the

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00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,480
Speaker 1: way his favorite passenger won't get out of the car

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Speaker 1: until he's done an encore. But this is not a

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Speaker 1: normal reality show. This is taking place in Afghanistan. That

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00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:32,640
Speaker 1: is the picture.

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Speaker 8: That's my father there.

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Speaker 1: He was a peaceful person.

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Speaker 8: I you gonna tell you about something. Let me smoke

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00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 8: a sig, give me one minute.

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Speaker 1: Not long ago, Shakuiv's father was murdered.

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Speaker 8: It's too hard if you see your father in peace,

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Speaker 8: you know, like dam dum dum, dun dumb someone coming

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00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 8: in sociding the if I'm in, the legs is somewhere,

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Speaker 8: you know, the head is somewhere, the body is, you know.

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Speaker 4: Like.

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Speaker 1: His older brother was murdered too.

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Speaker 8: My brother was always playing soccer. He was crazy about soccer. Wow,

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Speaker 8: during halftime, the rockets come there and you know, boom.

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Speaker 1: So now Shakiv is alone in providing for his mother

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00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,840
Speaker 1: and sister. He thinks auditioning is a waste of time,

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Speaker 1: but his mom won't take no for an answer.

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Speaker 8: My mom, you know, took me there like case and

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Speaker 8: don't worry. I gotta pray for you.

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Speaker 1: So she drives him to the audition with his cousins

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Speaker 1: in tow and watches as Shakiv is welcomed onto the

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Speaker 1: stage by Daoud. Like many of the contestants, Shakiv sings

435
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Speaker 1: a song by one of the only famous Afghan singers,

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Speaker 1: Akhman Sahir a k a.

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Speaker 8: The Afghan elvis Ahmazare was my favorite.

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Speaker 10: As mama, as me as me, they got.

439
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:41,040
Speaker 8: Me as the matz me as mesafer me kum deblah

440
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:47,400
Speaker 8: bosi so it they got me kum.

441
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,680
Speaker 1: The judges like it so much they ask him to

442
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:54,800
Speaker 1: perform another.

443
00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 8: And then I sing farha daya song mm hmm lundio

444
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:15,680
Speaker 8: javonido and they was like, oh, make noises like that.

445
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:24,239
Speaker 3: The mam all along the.

446
00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:29,480
Speaker 1: A smile spreads across his face. Shakid is a natural

447
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:35,120
Speaker 1: and with that, Afghanstar has its first real contender.

448
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:39,360
Speaker 8: When I was selected, you know, like my mom was crying.

449
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: She was so happy.

450
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:47,319
Speaker 8: She was like hugging me and saying, Snai, proud of you.

451
00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:48,279
Speaker 1: I I knew it.

452
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:49,440
Speaker 8: You're gonna make it.

453
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:06,839
Speaker 1: Chapter six, the Ray. Too many people have shown up

454
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,480
Speaker 1: for the audition. Daoud has hundreds of contestants on tape,

455
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 1: but people are still queuing outside begging to be heard.

456
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 1: Before long, Dawood has to reverse course. All the advertisements

457
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,120
Speaker 1: telling people to come an audition are pulled from TV

458
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,319
Speaker 1: and radio and they're replaced with the opposite.

459
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:33,120
Speaker 3: And we made I advertise to people that please don't come.

460
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,319
Speaker 3: The show is finished, the recording is done, Please don't

461
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,359
Speaker 3: come to this area.

462
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,400
Speaker 1: Dawoud feels good about his recordings. He has all the

463
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,760
Speaker 1: tape he needs, but now he's got an even bigger

464
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,200
Speaker 1: task editing. The first episode is airing in just a

465
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,360
Speaker 1: few days now.

466
00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 3: I have like tons of footage in front of me

467
00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 3: and I need to make a show from this. It's

468
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,520
Speaker 3: a huge responsibility. Oh my god, I have like a

469
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,279
Speaker 3: mountain on my shoulders.

470
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:11,359
Speaker 1: And right now. That mountain is looking mount ever is tall.

471
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:15,000
Speaker 1: Remember this is two thousand and five, so before they

472
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,080
Speaker 1: can edit anything, they need to transfer the footage to

473
00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:21,799
Speaker 1: their computers. And these aren't high tech machines. They're doing

474
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,600
Speaker 1: this on a shoe string, so it takes them two

475
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:30,400
Speaker 1: full days. Time is slipping away. That wood is frantically editing.

476
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,440
Speaker 1: He doesn't even have time for sleep.

477
00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 3: And nine pm we need to have a show on

478
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:40,960
Speaker 3: air because we already advertised Afgane Star Show is coming.

479
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,560
Speaker 1: But it's eleven am and only half of the show

480
00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:45,200
Speaker 1: is ready.

481
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,680
Speaker 3: I have the bit stress. I have like working under

482
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:53,160
Speaker 3: the hardest stress in my life at that moment, especially

483
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,760
Speaker 3: after twelve o'clock when whenever the time is getting close,

484
00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 3: my dispressure goes up.

485
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:08,680
Speaker 1: After a few hours, thou would starts to relax, but

486
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:12,160
Speaker 1: then he realizes he's missing something.

487
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,520
Speaker 3: Where is the beginning and end of the show? My god,

488
00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:18,800
Speaker 3: I don't have announcement to say, Hi, welcome to afghanist

489
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,640
Speaker 3: Our show. I am the Oudzedigree. This is the first time.

490
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,240
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for watching.

491
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:28,320
Speaker 1: In the chaos of the auditions, they forgot to record an.

492
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,120
Speaker 3: Intro, Like I have two three hours to the show

493
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,080
Speaker 3: being aired, but slowly, slowly getting darker. And it's Friday

494
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 3: that most of our colleagues left the office.

495
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,360
Speaker 1: That gets up from his desk and starts running around

496
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,080
Speaker 1: the office looking for someone to help. But everyone who

497
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,040
Speaker 1: knows how to operate a camera has gone home except

498
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,920
Speaker 1: for one guy, a cameraman who works for the news team.

499
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,360
Speaker 3: Okay, ask him, you need to come with me. He

500
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,440
Speaker 3: was not interested. You need to talk to my manager.

501
00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:02,880
Speaker 3: I said, just take your camera. You're Mike. Come with me, please.

502
00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,279
Speaker 1: That would cannot believe he's wasting the last minutes of

503
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,520
Speaker 1: daylight trying to persuade this guy to roll some film.

504
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,360
Speaker 3: We drove to this hotel again, but that.

505
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,919
Speaker 1: Would needs the opener to be stylish, so he makes

506
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:18,919
Speaker 1: a pit stop at a nearby music store.

507
00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,440
Speaker 3: I got one of the guitars in my shoulder. I

508
00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:25,600
Speaker 3: kind of make a style for myself for the first show,

509
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:30,719
Speaker 3: and I basically recorded my introduction in this hotel. Run

510
00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:33,680
Speaker 3: back to Tolo TV and put it in front of

511
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:34,080
Speaker 3: the show.

512
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,359
Speaker 1: The show is airing at nine PM, and now at

513
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,520
Speaker 1: two minutes before nine, they only have the first twelve

514
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:47,520
Speaker 1: minutes lined up and ready to go.

515
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,560
Speaker 3: I'm running between the control room and the edit room,

516
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,000
Speaker 3: like or you finish, please export, please.

517
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:56,120
Speaker 1: But the computers are moving too slowly. Part two of

518
00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:59,040
Speaker 1: the show isn't ready, and the ads are almost over

519
00:39:00,239 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: racing between rooms, begging people to just export whatever they have.

520
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,720
Speaker 3: We put some extra advertisement to give us a little

521
00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:08,120
Speaker 3: bit of time.

522
00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:11,160
Speaker 1: They start patting the show with extra ads to give

523
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,440
Speaker 1: them cushion. Part two is ready, it goes on air,

524
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,879
Speaker 1: but Part three is so far behind, so they play

525
00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:22,120
Speaker 1: more commercials. They do that over and over again. Daoud's

526
00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:23,960
Speaker 1: blood pressure is through the roof.

527
00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,920
Speaker 3: Basically, I run from the control room and edit room

528
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:33,040
Speaker 3: for the entire show, and the show was aired, and

529
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:43,040
Speaker 3: I'm exhausted, so I don't care about anything right now.

530
00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:45,680
Speaker 3: I just delivered the show. It's fine. I didn't see

531
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,279
Speaker 3: the show. I don't know what it looks like, how

532
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:51,560
Speaker 3: it feels like, what it is. I put something on.

533
00:39:51,600 --> 00:40:08,760
Speaker 1: Air, and as you know, thou doesn't stick around to watch.

534
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:14,600
Speaker 1: He needs to go to bed, so it won't be

535
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,719
Speaker 1: until morning that he turns on his car radio and

536
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:22,080
Speaker 1: finds out the show he just aired has kicked off

537
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:23,080
Speaker 1: a revolution.

538
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 5: It was something new like never before in the history

539
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:39,439
Speaker 5: of Afghanistan moving.

540
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:42,239
Speaker 3: A visor from one house to another house. It was

541
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,360
Speaker 3: kind of like moving a truck full of drugs.

542
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,720
Speaker 1: I think it was called Devil's Star by some people.

543
00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:53,359
Speaker 6: They actually said that my head should be cut off,

544
00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:56,799
Speaker 6: and whoever that cuts off my head and brings it

545
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:57,360
Speaker 6: to them.

546
00:40:57,280 --> 00:40:58,120
Speaker 3: They will go to heaven.

547
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:02,280
Speaker 1: That's this season on Afghanis Stars.

548
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:34,520
Speaker 7: Asma Name Name done by your de What do gia ma?

549
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: Afghan Star is a Kaleidoscope production in collaboration with iHeart Podcasts,

550
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:47,280
Speaker 1: produced by Samizdat Audio and hosted by me John Legend

551
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:52,719
Speaker 1: from Samizdat Audio. The series producer is Meera Kumar. Our

552
00:41:52,800 --> 00:42:01,880
Speaker 1: executive producers are Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina. Mix and

553
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:07,720
Speaker 1: sound designed by Jeff Emtman, Story editing by Joe Sykes,

554
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:14,280
Speaker 1: with original composition by Kyle Murdoch, Recording engineer Tim McClain.

555
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:24,200
Speaker 1: Chapter artwork by A W A Studios . From Kaleidoscope,

556
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:29,560
Speaker 1: the executive producers are Kate Osborne, Mangesh Hattikudur Oz Woloshyn

557
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:34,680
Speaker 1: and Costas Linos from iHeart. The executive producers are Ali

558
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:39,279
Speaker 1: Perry and Katrina Norvell. Social Media by Dara Potts and

559
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:50,200
Speaker 1: Vahini Shori. Special thanks to Tom Freston, Lizzie Jacobs, Will Pearson,

560
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 1: Carrie Lieberman, Nikki Ettore, Bob Pittman, John Sykes, Conal Byrne,

561
00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:01,360
Speaker 1: Saad Mossehni and the Mossehni family, Matthew Anderson, and Axel Alonso,

562
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:18,800
Speaker 1: who oh, thank you,