Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 3
As the CIA wages a covert proxy war against the Soviet 40th Army, the Mujahideen are showered with billions of dollars and cutting-edge weaponry. An old animosity between two prominent Mujahideen commanders – Ahmed Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar - turns into a bitter, deadly rivalry. Meanwhile, Soviet reformers led by Mikhail Gorbachev attempt to extricate the USSR from Afghanistan with a shred of dignity intact. After the Soviet withdrawal, the world turns it back on Afghanistan as a civil war rages between the Mujahideen factions – and the Taliban emerges.
SOURCES:
Ahmadi-Miller, Enjeela. The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan. 2019.
Alexievich, Svetlana. Zinky Boys. 1989.
Ansari, Mir Tamim. Games Without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan. 2012.
Barfield, Thomas. Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. 2010.
Borovik, Artyom. The Hidden War. 1990.
Braithewaite, Rodric. Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979-1989. 2011.
Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to 2001. 2004.
Dobbs, Michael. Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. 1997.
Feifer, Gregory. The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan. 2009.
Fremont-Barnes, Gregory. The Soviet-Afghan War, 1979-89. 2012.
Galeotti, Mark. Storm-333: KGB and Spetsnaz Seize Kabul. 2021.
Gall, Sandy. Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmed Shah Massoud. 2021.
Grad, Marcela. Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader. 2009.
Goodwin, Jan. Caught in the Crossfire. 1987.
Grau, Lester W. The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan. 1996.
Hosdon, Peregrine. Under a Sickle Moon: A Journey Through Afghanistan. 1986.
Kalinovsky, Artemy. A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan. 2011.
Kaplan, Robert D. Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 2001.
Rosen, Ethan. The Bear, The Dragon, & the AK-47. 2017.
Sands, Chris. Qazizai, Fazelminallah. Night Letters: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Afghan Islamists Who Changed the World. 2019.
Tanner, Stephen. Afghanistan: A Military History of Afghanistan from Alexander the Great to the War Against the Taliban. 2009.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Podcast Episodes
History Daily: The Pirate Trial of 1720
This featured guest episode of History Daily examines the events of November 16th, 1720. On that day, the trials of notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham began in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Learn more abo…
Hiroo Onoda & The Surrender of Japan
In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda emerged from the Philippine jungle, unaware that World War 2 had been over for nearly 30 years. During those three decades, Onoda waged a murderous guerilla insurgency agains…
The Gulf War 1991 – Part 3: Land of Darkness
On January 17th, 1991, Operation Desert Storm begins. As President Bush braces for high casualties, Saddam Hussein desperately seeks a path to survival. In Baghdad, Coalition air forces rain hell on Iraqi soldiers and ci…
Introducing: The French History Podcast - “The Battle of Poitiers 732”
If you’re a fan of Conflicted, we think you’ll enjoy this special featured episode of The French History Podcast. In this episode, host Dr. Gary Girod breaks down what really happened at the Battle of Poitiers, one of th…
The Gulf War 1991 – Part 2: The Storm
As the Iraqi army digs into Kuwait, the world considers how to respond to Saddam Hussein’s breach of national sovereignty. President George H.W. Bush vows that the aggression “will not stand” and begins assembling an int…
The Gulf War 1991 – Part 1: Lines in the Sand
On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The resulting conflict triggered a chain reaction that changed the world. In this first installment in a three-part series, we trace the origins of th…
40 Hours to Freedom: The Invention of the Weekend
Where does the two-day weekend come from? In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we trace the historical trajectory of that oasis of leisure and free time we call “the weekend”. From its mystical beginnings in the rel…
The Partition of India – Part 6: The Spent Bullet
As a plot to assassinate Mohandas Gandhi unfolds, the Mahatma goes to existential lengths to reconcile India’s Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities. Meanwhile, a shadow war erupts between India and Pakistan over the pictur…
The Partition of India – Part 5: A Crisis Made Flesh
The “chief sufferers” of Partition, according to Mohandas Gandhi, were women. As the subcontinent descended into chaos, women of all three religious communities become prime targets in the war for honor and land. Across…
The Partition of India – Part 4: Unholy Rush
As Partition finally becomes reality in August 1947, the new boundary sparks a mass migration in the Punjab and Bengal. Atrocity and ethnic cleansing soon follow. The Sikhs, a long-ignored but well-armed religious minori…
