1
00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:17,920
Speaker 1: Previously on Afghan Star, a suicide bomb kills seven employees

2
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:19,239
Speaker 1: at Sad's company.

3
00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,000
Speaker 2: The bomb was placed in a taxi which then crashed

4
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,560
Speaker 2: into the minibus and definated this bomb and of course

5
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,040
Speaker 2: killed himself along with our colleagues.

6
00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,240
Speaker 1: Leaving Sod questioning if he should shut the company down.

7
00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,599
Speaker 2: It's not worth one life. What if what we're doing.

8
00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,600
Speaker 1: After the Taliban attack, Sod MUSSENI considered shutting everything down,

9
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,720
Speaker 1: taking Afghan Star off the air. He can't stomach the

10
00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:02,600
Speaker 1: idea of having his employees targeted again. But then he

11
00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,559
Speaker 1: turns up to the office and the entire staff they're

12
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:12,200
Speaker 1: all there waiting. They're unafraid. They want to take on

13
00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,520
Speaker 1: the Taliban and they want him to lead them into battle.

14
00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,759
Speaker 1: But Sad knows if he's going to win this cultural war,

15
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,959
Speaker 1: he needs more firepower than just his staff alone, so

16
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,240
Speaker 1: he goes to talk to his biggest star. Ariana said

17
00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: one of the judges on Afghanstar and Afghanistan's most popular musician.

18
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,319
Speaker 2: And I really felt for her because I think she

19
00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,280
Speaker 2: was pretty much a prisoner in cobble. She couldn't venture out.

20
00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:45,480
Speaker 2: She can go and see things, she can go to

21
00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:46,920
Speaker 2: the bazaars.

22
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:51,200
Speaker 1: Since the suicide bombing, Ariana has been in hiding, stuck

23
00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,120
Speaker 1: inside the Tolo TV compound for her own protection.

24
00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:56,840
Speaker 3: And I was not even allowed to stay in a

25
00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 3: hotel anymore because things were getting so hard a security vice.

26
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,080
Speaker 1: As the country's most visible pop star and feminist, Ariana

27
00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:11,880
Speaker 1: represents everything the extremists a horror. Sad and his team

28
00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,240
Speaker 1: want to make sure she's protected, so they up the

29
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:20,680
Speaker 1: security around her take more precautions, but every day Ariana

30
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,040
Speaker 1: is faced with new threats to her life.

31
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,560
Speaker 3: I found out that this religious TV channel is holding

32
00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,239
Speaker 3: a show where they would each week they would actually

33
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,880
Speaker 3: invite a priest and they would get this priest to

34
00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,359
Speaker 3: talk about me for I don't know, half an hour,

35
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 3: forty minutes or whatever it was, every week on Thursdays.

36
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,160
Speaker 1: This went on for weeks, and then on one episode

37
00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,000
Speaker 1: they invited a whole group of clerics onto the show

38
00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,720
Speaker 1: and they delivered a unified message.

39
00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,640
Speaker 3: They actually sat on this TV show that my head

40
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,360
Speaker 3: should be cut off and whoever that cuts off my

41
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,639
Speaker 3: head and brings it to them, they'll go to heaven.

42
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,160
Speaker 1: They told viewers it was their duty to find Ariana,

43
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,280
Speaker 1: cut off her head and bring it to them.

44
00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,240
Speaker 3: Just think, oh my god, I just got chills.

45
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:24,400
Speaker 1: To Ariana, her prospects feel dire. If she somehow avoids

46
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,880
Speaker 1: being beheaded, there's still a high chance that the Taliban

47
00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:32,160
Speaker 1: will send a suicide bomber to take her out.

48
00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,520
Speaker 3: They were doing a lot of suicide bombings every day.

49
00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,920
Speaker 3: Every single day, there would be an explosion somewhere and

50
00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,360
Speaker 3: cobble and lots of people would die.

51
00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 1: So it's this context in which Sad approaches Ariana. He

52
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,240
Speaker 1: feels guilty asking her to do more. She's already done

53
00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:57,200
Speaker 1: so much, inspired countless women and musicians across the country,

54
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,720
Speaker 1: but he knows he needs her. He's going to keep

55
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:06,680
Speaker 1: the Taliban and their oppressive ideas at bay.

56
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,160
Speaker 3: Then I sat down on a quote about it. I'm

57
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,960
Speaker 3: the one sitting here giving all these women in Afghanistan

58
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,080
Speaker 3: so much hope. And if I give up myself and

59
00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,960
Speaker 3: I get scared and I run away, that's not the

60
00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:19,720
Speaker 3: right thing to do.

61
00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,160
Speaker 1: Her friends and family have begged her to come back

62
00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,360
Speaker 1: to London wear it's safe, but she refuses. She stays

63
00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:37,120
Speaker 1: because Afghanistan needs her, Afghan Star needs her, and most importantly,

64
00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:44,200
Speaker 1: the next generation of Afghan women need her, and she's

65
00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,640
Speaker 1: determined to help them find their voice.

66
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,839
Speaker 3: I have accepted death to be honest with you, but

67
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,240
Speaker 3: I didn't want to accept defeat.

68
00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:04,279
Speaker 1: I'm John Legend and from Kaleidoscope and iHeart This is Afghanstar,

69
00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:31,400
Speaker 1: Chapter one, The New Normal. While Ariana spends her time

70
00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,520
Speaker 1: in front of the camera, joyfully performing and speaking out

71
00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,120
Speaker 1: for a certain type of freedom, her own life has

72
00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:45,800
Speaker 1: become small and the studio lot has become a cage.

73
00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,919
Speaker 1: Unable to roam cobble during daylight, she spends most of

74
00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,080
Speaker 1: her time in a guest room inside the compound, only

75
00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,640
Speaker 1: venturing out to record the show for us.

76
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,800
Speaker 3: The only way to be able to court the show

77
00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,479
Speaker 3: was to do it during the night, because this is

78
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,479
Speaker 3: when the government was able to send soldiers for our protection.

79
00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,440
Speaker 1: Each night, the street fills with big tanks and soldiers

80
00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,320
Speaker 1: standing guard to protect Ariana and her colleagues.

81
00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,760
Speaker 3: We had security guards everywhere. Every couple of meters there

82
00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,240
Speaker 3: was a security guard with big guns standing there because

83
00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 3: we were so scared of suicide bummers.

84
00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,279
Speaker 1: It's eerie. The judges, the contestants, the production staff, all

85
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,200
Speaker 1: of these people making their way to the studio in

86
00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,080
Speaker 1: the dark under the cover of night. And what's even

87
00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,840
Speaker 1: stranger is that for the first time ever, they are

88
00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,280
Speaker 1: doing this show without a live audience.

89
00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,359
Speaker 3: And the only person in the audience was my fiance

90
00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:53,520
Speaker 3: I remember he was the only one to do the club.

91
00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,800
Speaker 1: They're taping in an empty auditorium.

92
00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,400
Speaker 3: But it was beautiful at the same time because I

93
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,760
Speaker 3: knew that I was making an impact through the TV stations,

94
00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:30,880
Speaker 3: music and entertainment and all this was basically giving people hope.

95
00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,239
Speaker 1: Hope that although the Taliban is clawing their way back

96
00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,520
Speaker 1: and coordinating more attacks and cobble, there are still people

97
00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,840
Speaker 1: standing guard at the doors of the new Afghanistan.

98
00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,160
Speaker 4: For pop culture fans the world over, singers on stage

99
00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,960
Speaker 4: competing to become their country's next music sensation is a

100
00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,160
Speaker 4: familiar scene, but here on the set of Afghanistar, pursuing

101
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,360
Speaker 4: that dream could get them killed.

102
00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,840
Speaker 1: Pop stars and producers willing to give their lives to

103
00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,400
Speaker 1: protect what their beloved country has taken twenty years to reclaim.

104
00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,960
Speaker 4: The hope is the biggest headline of this season will

105
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,280
Speaker 4: simply be the most ordinary. The suspense over who becomes

106
00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,160
Speaker 4: the next Afghan Star.

107
00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,600
Speaker 3: We cannot let them win, We cannot let the darkness

108
00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:45,000
Speaker 3: you know, come overs again. We have to fight back.

109
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,200
Speaker 3: We have to fight back with music, and that's our tool.

110
00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:50,480
Speaker 3: That's how we can fight.

111
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 1: Chapter two proteges. The next season, season twelve, is received

112
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,360
Speaker 1: really well. For the first time ever, A rapper wins

113
00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,880
Speaker 1: Afghan Star Thirst Days.

114
00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:38,120
Speaker 3: I meanin Sanaisa Taurin, Sanaiko, Sabra Poscha ol Man Poet.

115
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,959
Speaker 1: People old and young across the nation have voted for

116
00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:49,600
Speaker 1: an entirely new type of music, as they do asda

117
00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:59,000
Speaker 1: Man s. But it's a couple of years later, in

118
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:05,080
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen that something unbelievable happens. This season, Ariana has

119
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:09,240
Speaker 1: been coaching two female contestants, Sadika and Zara.

120
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,559
Speaker 3: Obviously, there was scheduled times for us to spend what

121
00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,480
Speaker 3: the rest of the contestants, but I would actually give

122
00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,800
Speaker 3: these two girls extra time of myself.

123
00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:23,319
Speaker 1: Ariana is patient with them. I've done this with contestants

124
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,760
Speaker 1: on the Voice. I helped them with their songs, their repertoire,

125
00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,079
Speaker 1: even their clothes. But there's one key difference in what

126
00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:36,839
Speaker 1: Ariana does, something I definitely cannot relate to, because she

127
00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,960
Speaker 1: has to spend her time soothing them and guiding them

128
00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:47,040
Speaker 1: through the backlash they are facing, and that backlash was intense.

129
00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,960
Speaker 3: They were in the middle of basically like a battlefield.

130
00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,280
Speaker 3: There was days where they will feel really down and

131
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,160
Speaker 3: they would be on the urge of giving up because

132
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,160
Speaker 3: of the things that they were hearing from people, or

133
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,000
Speaker 3: the pressure that they had from their families and so on.

134
00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:08,520
Speaker 1: Every time they perform, they're attacked by keyboard warriors calling

135
00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:14,640
Speaker 1: them worthless whores, war lords threatening to kill them. Anonymous

136
00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,920
Speaker 1: phone calls saying they know where the two women live

137
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,240
Speaker 1: and threatening to throw acid in their faces.

138
00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,839
Speaker 3: I remember them sharing things like, oh, their uncles or

139
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,080
Speaker 3: their aunt or their relatives have cut ties with them.

140
00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:32,160
Speaker 3: They send the messages and call them and say, hey,

141
00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:36,760
Speaker 3: you are ashamed to the name of our family. And

142
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:41,720
Speaker 3: their brothers would threaten them that I will kill you.

143
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,800
Speaker 1: But the two women stand firm. This is how much

144
00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:55,480
Speaker 1: music means to them. Sadika makes it all the way

145
00:11:55,559 --> 00:12:00,160
Speaker 1: to the top seven before she's eliminated, but Zara she

146
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,160
Speaker 1: actually gets to the final. It's just her and one

147
00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:11,080
Speaker 1: guy left and tonight it's the grand finale of season

148
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:19,439
Speaker 1: fourteen of Afghanistar and judge Arianna Said is standing on

149
00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:21,679
Speaker 1: stage next to Zara.

150
00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,840
Speaker 3: Zara was being grave and I was there standing by

151
00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:34,200
Speaker 3: her side, holding her hand, providing her moral and emotional support.

152
00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,640
Speaker 1: Since the attack three years ago, audiences have been invited

153
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:43,360
Speaker 1: back for live shows. So tonight, Ariana stares into the arena.

154
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:49,480
Speaker 1: She sees guards dotted around the place carrying kalashnakovs, but

155
00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,680
Speaker 1: there are also fans staring back at her, cheering big

156
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:55,040
Speaker 1: smiles on their faces.

157
00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:01,280
Speaker 3: Maney audience members and a member are actually chaunting the

158
00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,079
Speaker 3: name of the male contestant.

159
00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:14,160
Speaker 1: Zara does a duet with her opponent was or recorded

160
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:14,880
Speaker 1: to or.

161
00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,079
Speaker 2: BROI.

162
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,839
Speaker 1: Then Ariana performs.

163
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,760
Speaker 3: The lambayo. The two booms.

164
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:49,520
Speaker 1: John ac.

165
00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:51,280
Speaker 5: Yo.

166
00:13:52,760 --> 00:14:11,640
Speaker 1: Old contestants come up one by one. It's and then

167
00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,440
Speaker 1: the lights down. They've patted the episode enough. It's time

168
00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,320
Speaker 1: to announce the winner. Out of the corner of her eye,

169
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:26,520
Speaker 1: Ariana sees Zara take a breath now Wanaka yes, but

170
00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,320
Speaker 1: he saw that yes, and tilt her head back to

171
00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:31,880
Speaker 1: stare up at the ceiling.

172
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:40,680
Speaker 3: I was probably as nervous as Zara herself, and maybe more.

173
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,640
Speaker 3: I was as nervous as I've ever been on the

174
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,040
Speaker 3: stage or while recording a TV show.

175
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:55,800
Speaker 1: The tension is excruciating and then they announced it but

176
00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:57,760
Speaker 1: in board y.

177
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,640
Speaker 3: I think I screamed and when I heard her name

178
00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,560
Speaker 3: and I just held her in my arms and I

179
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:10,800
Speaker 3: gave her a tight hat.

180
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,880
Speaker 1: Red and gold confetti rains from the ceiling on top

181
00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,720
Speaker 1: of Ariana and Zara and they both dropped to the floor.

182
00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,960
Speaker 3: It was the most amazing feeling to be standing there

183
00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,600
Speaker 3: and witnessing a female winning the Afghan Star for the

184
00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,680
Speaker 3: first time ever. It was just beautiful and I felt

185
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,760
Speaker 3: so much joy I actually felt like a winner myself.

186
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:13,080
Speaker 1: Zara Elham is crowned the winner of Afghan Stars. It's

187
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,440
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen and look how far Afghan Star has come.

188
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,320
Speaker 1: It's no longer this fly by night operation shot in

189
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,600
Speaker 1: a dingy hotel with lighting fit for a middle school

190
00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:30,040
Speaker 1: talent show. It's so much bigger now, it's modern, it's

191
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,160
Speaker 1: cool and Tonight in some ways is the pinnacle of

192
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,840
Speaker 1: everything the creators of the show have been trying to achieve,

193
00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:43,480
Speaker 1: because after thirteen seasons, Afghan Star has its very first

194
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:49,920
Speaker 1: female winner. Zara takes her trophy and lifts the microphone

195
00:16:50,000 --> 00:17:00,280
Speaker 1: to her lifts she says, tonight, all the women in Afghanistan,

196
00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:03,000
Speaker 1: Well if no more.

197
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:15,200
Speaker 5: That's it by don't amasa asa sha, don't amsha m

198
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,080
Speaker 5: it class that's I'm let me chash me say I

199
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,160
Speaker 5: am by no. So that's it by Amisia.

200
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:39,800
Speaker 3: That's it by Amzia. We have obviously made a tremendous

201
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,280
Speaker 3: amount of progress in twenty years, and I was thinking,

202
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,159
Speaker 3: if we go with that kind of speed for another

203
00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,399
Speaker 3: twenty years, we would slowly be able to catch up

204
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,320
Speaker 3: with the rest of the world. Of course, a lot

205
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,440
Speaker 3: needed to be done, but I was thinking Afghanistan was

206
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:58,520
Speaker 3: finally headed in the right direction.

207
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,320
Speaker 1: Hey, it's John Legend. If you've been listening, you already

208
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:16,639
Speaker 1: know that Afghan Star is a tale of resistance and hope.

209
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:21,280
Speaker 1: For fifteen years, Afghan Star was a beacon, but when

210
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,760
Speaker 1: the Taliban returned to power, they shut the show down

211
00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:29,560
Speaker 1: along with so many Afghan rights. They banned music education

212
00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,040
Speaker 1: for girls and women, and they continue to clamp down

213
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,640
Speaker 1: on everyone's freedoms. But there are ways to show your support.

214
00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:42,280
Speaker 1: We've teamed up with Awa Studios and their incredible graphic

215
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:46,440
Speaker 1: artists to illustrate some of the most extraordinary moments in

216
00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,920
Speaker 1: this podcast. There is a unique print for each episode,

217
00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:55,520
Speaker 1: bringing to life powerful moments that are moving and inspiring.

218
00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,840
Speaker 1: And there's an unforgettable print based on a painting from

219
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:05,520
Speaker 1: Superstar artist Raza that represents the spirit of hope embodied

220
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,240
Speaker 1: by the show. Art and music have the power to

221
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,720
Speaker 1: uplift us all, and ordering a work for yourself or

222
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:18,320
Speaker 1: as a gift help support Afghans. With every purchase, we'll

223
00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,720
Speaker 1: be donating to the Nore Initiative, a nonprofit working to

224
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:27,520
Speaker 1: ensure that every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.

225
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:33,520
Speaker 1: For more information on our collaboration with AWA, the artworks

226
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:37,120
Speaker 1: available to listeners, and to learn more about the Nere

227
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,760
Speaker 1: Initiative's efforts to educate, support independent media, and transform lives

228
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,760
Speaker 1: across the region, head to the link in our show

229
00:19:45,840 --> 00:20:00,800
Speaker 1: notes below, chapter three, The Most Glamorous Escape. After that season,

230
00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,920
Speaker 1: Ariana joins a spin off show called Superstar, and while

231
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,720
Speaker 1: she works on that, she builds her own business.

232
00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,760
Speaker 3: When the show finished, I decided to actually launch my

233
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:17,200
Speaker 3: clothing brand in Afghanistan. I had the choice to launch

234
00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,760
Speaker 3: my brand somewhere else in England or in Turkey or anywhere,

235
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,440
Speaker 3: but I decided to do it in Afghanistan because I

236
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,640
Speaker 3: wanted to invest my money there. Because I thought, that's

237
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 3: a country where they need this to happen.

238
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 1: Ariana is optimistic about the fate of the country. She

239
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,679
Speaker 1: plans to build a store right in the heart of Kabo.

240
00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 1: She's doing live shows again. Things are going well, but

241
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,000
Speaker 1: the situation in the rest of the country is deteriorating.

242
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,040
Speaker 1: Violence has surged in Afghanistan since early May, when the

243
00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,720
Speaker 1: militants launch a sweeping offensive as US led foreign forces

244
00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:57,360
Speaker 1: began their final withdrawal.

245
00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,600
Speaker 3: Overnight, multiple rockets were fired on Kabo Airport in new attack.

246
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:04,520
Speaker 3: Taliban insurgents have over run dozens of districts in several provinces.

247
00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:09,000
Speaker 1: Civilian casualties are renoc course prize, and hundreds of thousands

248
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:14,320
Speaker 1: are being continused from their homes. But Ariana thinks the

249
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,720
Speaker 1: Taliban have been saying they're about to take over for years.

250
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,760
Speaker 3: I was thinking, no, this is just impossible that Taliban

251
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:26,400
Speaker 3: would take over because we have a solid government, Our

252
00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,040
Speaker 3: soldiers have been trained by the US for the past

253
00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:33,640
Speaker 3: twenty years, and there's no way that a few thousands

254
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,240
Speaker 3: of Taliban members would just come and take an entire

255
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 3: country so easily.

256
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 1: And so she keeps working and on July fourteenth, twenty

257
00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:48,800
Speaker 1: twenty one, she launches her brand. There's a party, She's happy,

258
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:56,080
Speaker 1: it's a big success. But then over the next couple

259
00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,720
Speaker 1: of weeks she starts getting these calls from her friends.

260
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,920
Speaker 3: I remember when they said to me, oh, they just

261
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 3: captured Herat.

262
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,040
Speaker 1: On the outskirts of Harat, Afghanistan's third biggest city, government

263
00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:12,560
Speaker 1: forces try to hold off the Taliban.

264
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:14,800
Speaker 2: Out the like what.

265
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:15,760
Speaker 3: I couldn't believe it.

266
00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 1: The Americans are pulling their forces out of Afghanistan and

267
00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,440
Speaker 1: are now saying by August they will be gone.

268
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,200
Speaker 4: Taliban forces are wasting no time in trying to seize

269
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 4: as much of the country as they can.

270
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:33,320
Speaker 1: The Afghan military told us coordinated Taliban offensives are ongoing

271
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:39,160
Speaker 1: in twenty provinces across the country. Ariana's friends are telling

272
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,680
Speaker 1: her that Taliban have just captured these big provinces. We

273
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 1: don't think this is the same as before. We think

274
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,680
Speaker 1: they're going to come and take the capitol.

275
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,680
Speaker 3: I thought maybe these provinces were not strong enough when

276
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,760
Speaker 3: they couldn't cope with Taliban. But there's no way Taliban

277
00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:05,320
Speaker 3: would be able to gain power and kubble, and so

278
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,480
Speaker 3: I stayed behind. Then I continued with my work.

279
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,840
Speaker 1: And then on August fourteenth, she gets another call.

280
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,840
Speaker 3: Saying that there is the risk of Taliban taking over Kobol,

281
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,639
Speaker 3: telling me to get out of Afghanistan because they were

282
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,760
Speaker 3: obviously watching the news and they were really scared for

283
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:21,280
Speaker 3: my life.

284
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,879
Speaker 1: But Ariana isn't taking the warnings seriously.

285
00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,919
Speaker 4: In one propaganda video, they claim to be in control

286
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,960
Speaker 4: of the road to Kabble, saying they're allowing government forces

287
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 4: who surrender to pass.

288
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 3: Even when we heard the whisper from people that they're

289
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,919
Speaker 3: almost capturing kabul I. At first I thought, no, that's impossible.

290
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,439
Speaker 3: My heart would never accept it.

291
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 1: And so she keeps going. It's now the morning of

292
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,960
Speaker 1: August fifteenth, and Ariana is already in her hair and

293
00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,800
Speaker 1: makeup in her hotel room, getting ready to shoot the

294
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,320
Speaker 1: video for her new song. She's chilling in her chair

295
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,760
Speaker 1: for a couple of hours play out her mood, getting

296
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,440
Speaker 1: in the zone while her hair and makeup team is

297
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 1: working on her. But just when they finished applying the

298
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: last stroke of eyeshadow and setting the final stray hair

299
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:12,919
Speaker 1: into place, we.

300
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,479
Speaker 3: Hear this news of Taliban into Cobol.

301
00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 1: Ariana, her hairstylist and makeup artists rushed to the window

302
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,119
Speaker 1: of the hotel room.

303
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 3: My hairdresser and makeup artists. They went pale and they

304
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,879
Speaker 3: were so scared, and I remember me and my manager Hassi,

305
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,920
Speaker 3: telling them to just take it easy, calm down, and

306
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 3: that people drop them to their homes before things got worse.

307
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 1: Ariana gets dressed and heads downstairs to the hotel lobby.

308
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,080
Speaker 1: When she gets there, she sees something strange.

309
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 3: I saw all the security guards taking their uniforms off.

310
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,399
Speaker 3: They were all in Afghany traditional clothes. None of them

311
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,879
Speaker 3: were wearing any pants. You could see no pans and

312
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 3: no suits and no uniform anymore.

313
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 1: And that's when it hits her. The Taliban are back.

314
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:22,480
Speaker 1: There's no one standing in their way, and Arianna knows

315
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:28,159
Speaker 1: she's at the top of their kill list. She rushes

316
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 1: back upstairs and changes into a job.

317
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,280
Speaker 3: We were in a hurry. We had to head to

318
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,560
Speaker 3: the airport, so I took a video of myself in

319
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 3: the car telling them that I'm heading to the airport

320
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 3: and everything is okay, don't worry, blah blah blah. And

321
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,160
Speaker 3: then one of my sister's messages mean what's up, saying Ariana,

322
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 3: why do you have so much makeup on your face.

323
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,800
Speaker 1: She didn't have time to take her video shoot makeup off,

324
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,880
Speaker 1: so she's in full glam fleeing from the taliban.

325
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,359
Speaker 3: I guess it was the most glamorous running for your

326
00:25:58,480 --> 00:25:59,160
Speaker 3: life ever.

327
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:27,159
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's next time on Afghan Star. Afghan Star is

328
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:32,679
Speaker 1: a Kaleidoscope production in collaboration with iHeart Podcasts, produced by

329
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: samas dot Audio and hosted by me John Legard from

330
00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,359
Speaker 1: samas dot Audio. The series producer is Mira Kumar. Our

331
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 1: executive producers are Joe Sikes and Dasha Lissitsina. Mix and

332
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:58,639
Speaker 1: sound designed by Jeff Imptman. Story editing by Joe Sikes,

333
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:04,520
Speaker 1: with original composition by Kyle Murdoch. Recording engineer Tim McClain.

334
00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 1: Chapter artwork by AWA Studios from Kaleidoscope. The executive producers

335
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:16,840
Speaker 1: are Kate Osborne, Mengesh Hatikadur Oz Volisian and Costas Linos

336
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 1: from iHeart. The executive producers are Ali Perry and Katrina Norvel.

337
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:28,600
Speaker 1: Social Media by Darra Potts and vaheiny Shori. Special thanks

338
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:34,040
Speaker 1: to Tom Freston, Lizzie Jacobs, Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman, Niki Etore,

339
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 1: Bob Pittman, John Sikes, Connell, Byrne, Sad Mussenni and the

340
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 1: Mossenni family, Matthew Anderson and Axo Alonzo