Hey there, it's Noreen. This week, we're taking a short break from Slowburn to tell you about

Slate Plus and how its members support the work we do here.

There's a lot that goes behind the scenes of making a narrative podcast like Slowburn.

I first started working on the season last spring, and since then, the producers and I have been

reading tons of history books, digging through various archives, conducting dozens of interviews,

and the support we get from Slate Plus is what allows us the time and the resources to dive deep

into those stories. All that knowledge we've accumulated hopefully comes through in the show,

but there is actually so much more we can't fit into the pipe 8 episode structure,

and there is so much good tape that we can include. So that's why we make our Slate Plus bonus

episodes each season, so we can give listeners a peek into our decision making and play some audio

clips and extended interviews that help flesh out more of the story. I think these bonus episodes

offer a broader view of everything we've worked on this season, and they give a better understanding

of the history we're covering. So today, I'm going to give you a preview of what you've been missing

out on. In our first bonus episode this season, we discussed the more personal side of Ahmed Chalibi.

So in the story of the Iraq War, there's a lot of debate about how much influence Chalibi had on

the US's decision to invade, and that's important. But as I was talking to people who knew Chalibi,

I heard lots of personal stories and intimate tidbits about him that I found fascinating.

So we compile a few clips for the bonus episode, and here's one anecdote I really loved.

So my friendship with Ahmed always involved food, because I've lived in different parts of the

world. I lived in Turkey, later on in New York and Washington, and then back in and then in Ankara.

Over the years, I would from time to time meet with him, and it would be over different restaurants.

Usually he had a big entourage. He definitely valued interesting food experiences, and his taste

...