The origins of the Taliban

The origins of the Taliban

Twenty years after they were ousted from Kabul, the Taliban are now back in control of most of Afghanistan. In this episode, two Afghan experts trace the origins of the Taliban back to the late 1970s, and explain what's happened to the group over the past two decades.


Featuring Ali A Olomi, assistant professor of history at Penn State Abington in the US and Niamatullah Ibrahimi, lecturer in international relations at La Trobe University in Australia.


And Lee-Anne Goodman, politics editor at The Conversation in Toronto, commends some further reading on what the Taliban takeover means for Afghans.


The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this episode available here.


Further reading



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