Almost a year after we heard the last episode of Serial season one, the first episode of the podcast’s second season has arrived. The popular podcast launched its second season early Thursday morning, shining a spotlight (as previously rumoured) on the mysterious disappearance of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Berghdahl, allowing him to be heard publicly for the first time since he was freed by the Taliban in May 2014.
Serial’s first episode of season 2 — titled “Dustwun” — is available for download from SerialPodcast.org, iTunes, and can also be streamed via Pandora.
“Dustwun” begins with host Sarah Koenig describing Bergdahl’s dramatic rescue in eastern Afghanistan, something that came nearly five years after he left his post and was captured by the Taliban.
The episode then moves onto the unfolding reaction in the US. There’s a montage of news clips. “Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl: hero or deserter?” one announcer asks. Another says, “Parents of some fallen soldiers say that their sons would be alive if Bergdahl had not gone missing from his post.” Donald Trump says, “In the old days … deserters were shot.” Koenig tells us that Bergdahl’s home town of Hailey, Idaho, cancelled a homecoming celebration. Some of his former platoon mates called him a deserter, even a traitor.
Koenig reminds us that through all of the news, Bergdahl himself has remained a mystery. We heard about Bergdahl, but not from him. Now we will.
Koenig and the Serial team have teamed up with Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal, who had previously interviewed Bergdahl extensively, to tell help uncover what exactly happened the night Bergdahl deserted, and what has happened since.
Berghal explains in his own words why he had left his base in June 2009, an action that prompted a manhunt involving thousands of troops and led him to spend nearly five years in brutal captivity under the Taliban.
“I’m going, ‘Good grief, I’m in over my head,'” Bergdahl says recounting how he walked away from his military base in June 2009.
“Suddenly, it really starts to sink in that I really did something bad. Or, not bad, but I really did something serious.”
Anyway, what are you waiting for? Go download it for free now.
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