September 1, 2021

As Covid cases surge in the U.S., the EU is recommending a new ban on nonessential travel for Americans. At the same time, the WHO has identified a new variant of interest, first seen in Colombia and since found in 39 countries, which could be more resistant to vaccines. Epidemiologist Dr. Larry Brilliant helped defeat smallpox in the 1970s and joins the show for the latest on the pandemic.

One country that has a lot at stake as the Taliban take over Afghanistan is neighboring Pakistan. Maleeha Lodhi served as the country’s ambassador to the UK, the US, and the UN, and she is warning that there is much to fear if Afghanistan descends into chaos.

The future of Afghanistan and American foreign policy lie in the balance, as President Biden declares his withdrawal marks not just an end to that engagement, but to the whole era of trying to “remake other countries.” Sarah Chayes first went to Afghanistan as a reporter after 9/11, later returning to work with aid agencies in Kandahar, and also advising several U.S. military officials.

The mental toll of war on service members and veterans is hard to overstate. Someone who has experienced that firsthand is former marine and bestselling author Elliot Ackerman. He served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and he has now helped hundreds of Afghans escape, in what he calls a “digital Dunkirk.” Ackerman speaks with Hari Sreenivasan about how vets like him view the end of this war.