Bergdahl podcast: ‘Serial’ shows the complex diplomacy that brought the Idaho soldier back
The latest episode of the popular podcast, “Serial,” delves into the complicated diplomatic steps it took to get Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl back to the U.S. after he was captured by the Taliban in 2009.
Bergdahl, of Hailey, was captured after he walked off his Afghanistan base in 2009, and wasn’t released until 2014. The strategies the Obama administration used to get Bergdahl home, including trading five Taliban prisoners for the Idaho soldier, were controversial.
When Bergdahl was pulled out of captivity and first got on the plane, he had a difficult time stringing sentences together, he says on the podcast.
“What I ended up doing was asking for something to write on and first thing I asked them is if they were Special Forces and then when they said they were Special Forces, I immediately went into giving them intel and names,” Bergdahl said in his interview with filmmaker Mark Boal.
You’ll find the most recent “Serial” episode at this link.
Erin Fenner: 208-377-6207, @erinfenner
LISTEN WITH US
We’re following along with Season 2 of “Serial” as it revisits the case of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Every Wednesday after a new “Serial” episode, reporters with the Idaho Statesman and Boise State Public Radio will host a companion podcast, “Speaking of Serial,” discussing Bergdahl’s case, “Serial’s” reporting and what happens when an Idahoan becomes the center of international news.
This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Bergdahl podcast: ‘Serial’ shows the complex diplomacy that brought the Idaho soldier back."