Radio War Nerd EP196 — Bowe Bergdahl & Afghanistan War, with Matt Farwell

Guest: Matt Farwell, author, journalist, US Army vet Recorded: August 28, 2019 It's Radio War Nerd's 4th year anniversary! We celebrate with a great episode talking to Afghanistan War vet & author Matt Farwell about his new book "American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the US Tragedy in Afghanistan" with co-author Michael Ames. Farwell tells us about his own experiences in the war, his journalistic collaborations with the late great Michael Hastings, the shitshow that is the US political & media class, and of course the story of the enigmatic US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his base one day and wound up being held by the Taliban for nearly 5 years. The Bergdahl story serves as a perfect & nauseating narrative thread to see just how depraved America has become in its late-imperial phase. At 2:17:00 Ames & War Nerd discuss how the podcast Serial teamed up with the CIA's favorite Hollywood propaganda duo — Kathryn Bigelow & Mark Boal — to smear Bowe Bergdahl . . . Plus: Israeli attacks against Iran allies scare the Pentagon, while Trump talking Iran peace scares the Israelis . . . Buy Matt Farwell's book "American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the US Tragedy in Afghanistan" co-authored with Michael Ames (no relation to a certain other "Ames").