Radio Free Afghanistan : A Twenty-Year Odyssey for an Independent Voice in Kabul

The deeply moving and surprising story of the attempt to build a truly independent media company in contemporary Afghanistan-Saad Mohseni chairman and CEO of Moby Group Afghanistan’s largest media company charts a twenty-year effort to bring a free press to his country after years of Taliban rule and how that effort persists even after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021-In the heady days early days of the American Mohseni returns to Kabul which he had last seen as a child before the Soviet inasion- Casting about for ways to be involved in the dawn of a new Afghanistan Mohseni makes what seems like a quixotic decision to leave the comfort of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings- This unlikely venture quickly blossoms into a burgeoning television empire bringing Mohseni and his family and employees into sometimes uncomfortable contact with everyone who has a stake in the country―from the government of Hamid Karzai to White House officials- Moreover their radio and television networks soon become a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans who rely on them not just for independent news but for joyful pleasures like soap operas and “Afghan Star” a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music-Mohseni’s position at Moby affords him unique insights into this extraordinary yet troubled country the youngest in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa and his powerful account captures the spirit and resilience of the Afghan people – notably the hundreds of men and women still working in Moby's Kabul office today who once again under Taliban rule create programs report the news and educate the public-Radio Free Afghanistan is a stunning vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil poised between despair and hope-