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Full episode
515: Good Guys
Act Four

The Deepest Darkest Open Secret

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In 2009, a U.S. soldier contacted our show and offered to send audio dispatches from his deployment in Afghanistan, to do a story about what it's really like to go to war. But what he learned when he was over there was way more personal and honest than we, or he, expected. Producer Sarah Koenig explains. Note: Ira warns listeners that this story may not be appropriate for children. (20 minutes)

Song:

“Good Guys and Bad Guys” by Camper Van Beethoven

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When Yousef Hammash left Gaza a year ago, his sisters decided to stay behind.
861: Group Chat
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Act Two: Week Eleven

Mohammed Mhawish, a reporter who left Gaza a year ago with his family, talks to a young woman in Gaza about how she manages her hunger. Israel blockaded all food from Gaza for more than two months. (15 minutes)Mohammed Mhawish is a contributing writer for The Nation, which is where we first read about his experiences with hunger in "What It Feels Like to Starve."
859: Chaos Graph
Apr. 25, 2025

Act One: Solving For Why

American doctors returning from Gaza compare notes and start to see a pattern. (28 minutes)

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266
June 4, 2004

I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help

Nancy Updike goes to Iraq to try to figure out what it's like to be a private citizen working in the middle of a war zone.

206
Mar. 1, 2002

Somewhere in the Arabian Sea

Life aboard an aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Sea supporting bombing missions over Afghanistan.

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