AANCast brings you the latest research and insights from the Afghanistan Analysts Network. Each episode features some of our most compelling reports, read by AAN authors and editors. Listen to The Daily Hustle, our series of first-person accounts on how everyday life has changed since the Taliban takeover, or tune into The Conversation, where our researchers and guest experts unpack AAN’s most in-depth analysis.
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The Afghanistan Analysts Network is an independent non-profit policy research organisation which brings deep knowledge and experience to increase the understanding of Afghan realities at a time when in depth and on the ground research is increasingly scarce.
Afghan women may have been silenced in their own country, but in December 2025, they were given a very public platform to tell the world about life under the Taliban – The People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan. The tribunal took place in Europe, but Afghans were able to watch the hearings via satellite and online livestreams. Rachel Reid attended the hearings and interviewed many of those involved, bringing AANCAST this special report on the tribunal and its potential ramifications.&...
17 Nov 2025
The Conversation: From Taliban morality police to suspected UK war crimes
AAN authors discuss three in depth reports: Kate Clark on what has changed in the year since the introduction of the ‘Vice and Virtue’ law in Afghanistan, Roxanna Shapour discusses a survey on men's views about the restrictions on women and finally, Rachel Reid gives a glimpse into her forthcoming report on alleged war crimes by British special forces in Afghanistan. Duration: 31 minutes Shownotes: The reports discussed in this episode are A year of Propagating Virtue and Preventi...
10 Nov 2025
Are blood feuds on the way out? A special report from Khost province
Blood feuds have long been a feature of Afghan society, claiming countless lives and perpetuating conflict that sometimes spans generations. In recent decades, however, this has shifted, particularly as a young Afghans have begun to question tribal traditions. Original research by AAN’s Sharif Akram in Khost province suggests that this shift in social norms springs from greater access to education and increased exposure to other cultures and values. His report is read by Rachel Reid. ...
3 Oct 2025
The Conversation: Authors discuss the best of AAN’s reports
Every month AANCast dives into some of our longer reports, to give you a flavour of our in-depth reporting, in discussion with a range of authors. In this episode, we’re looking what to expect from the arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for two Taliban for the international crime of gender persecution, with Rachel Reid and Ehsan Qaane, while AAN’s Kate Clark talks us through her report on the impact of massive American aid cuts to Afghanistan, and Roxanna Shapour pulls out ...
3 Oct 2025
The Daily Hustle: Afghans who fled the Iran-Israel war
In this episide of the The Daily Hustle, we hear from an Afghan who had to flee Iran when conflict between Israel and Iran escalated in June 2025. The Iranian government’s drive to deport Afghans had already accelerated the pace of ‘returns’. However, for Afghans who had lived through years of conflict in their own country, the ominous drums of war served as a powerful catalyst to flee Iran. AAN’s Nur Khan Himmat heard the story of a man who left his home in Tehran and took his family to star...
3 Oct 2025
The Daily Hustle: How to get a national ID card in Afghanistan if you’re a Kuchi
The Daily Hustle is our series of first-person accounts by one Afghan about one aspect of their daily life, as they adjust to Taliban rule. In this episode, we hear from a woman who, though born and raised in Pakistan, was forced to leave. As part of the wave of mass deportations and expulsions, she suddenly found herself in Afghanistan – a country she had never lived in, but was now expected to call home. Roxanna Shapour reads her account of this traumatic move and her struggles to settle in...
3 Oct 2025
Losing His Immunity: Former Afghan MP Haji Zaher extradited to US on drug charges
In this episode we look at the dramatic fall of Haji Abdul Zaher Qadir, once a powerful Afghan commander and politician, who is now facing drug trafficking charges in the United States, after being arrested at a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2025. Haji Zaher, as he’s best known, was a prominent police commander and parliamentarian and was accused, multiple times, throughout the Islamic Republic era, of connections to drug smuggling, running private militias and land-grabbing. In this epis...
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