One year after the end of America's war in Afghanistan, what can we learn?

What must we learn about what happened?

And how can long-form storytelling, long-form narrative, help us learn those lessons?

Those are a couple of the questions for this week's Reliable Sources podcast.

So let's cue the music.

I'm Brian Salter and this weekly podcast is our chance to go more in-depth

at talking with media leaders and newsmakers about the story behind the story.

Everyone remembers the story of mid-August 2021, the fall of Kabul,

the Taliban's takeover of all of Afghanistan, the chaotic, deadly withdrawal from Kabul

by American forces.

And of course, as with all the stories every day throughout the news cycle,

the Afghanistan story started to fade.

And now we hear about the country mostly through brave reporters on the ground,

some of whom have had to flee in recent months.

Now with the one-year anniversary, there's a new book that documents the horrors of the

Afghanistan withdrawal. It's titled The Fifth Act, America's End in Afghanistan.

The author is Elliot Ackerman, a decorated marine raider, CIA tactical officer, a combat veteran

of Iraq and Afghanistan, and also a distinguished novelist. But this is a very real story he's

telling in his new book and he's joining me now. Elliot, welcome to the podcast.

Thanks so much for having me, Bren.

Tell me about bringing a novelist background to this very real

unbelievable story that we all witnessed from afar this time last year.

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