Home of the Brave

Last spring I was invited to speak at the Oorzaken Audio Festival in Amsterdam. I remember seeing leaves come out on the trees along the canals and tulips blooming on the bridges. The first night I was there i was interviewed on stage at the Torpedo Theater by the hosts of the Podcastclub, a Dutch podcast hosted by Lieven Heeremans and Misha Melita. This time I’m the one answering the questions.

Baghdad, Iraq

May 7, 2005

A suicide car bomb in Baghdad's downtown Tahrir Square killed at least 5 and wounded at least 31.

PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN

I worked with photographer Alan Chin covering the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in November of 2001, but then I didn’t see him again until recently, at his apartment in New York City. I wanted to know what he’d learned from being a war correspondent. Here are a some links to look at more of his work:www.instagram.com/alanschin/ @alanschin on Twitterwww.muckrack.com/alan-chin

New York, New York

September 11, 2001

Attacks on World Trade Center

Photograph by ALAN CHIN

New York, New York

September 11, 2001

Attacks on World Trade Center

Photograph by ALAN CHIN

Balkh, Afghanistan

December 3, 2001

Northern Alliance soldiers wait in a snowstorm while their commanders negotiate the surrender of a group of Taliban still holding out in Balkh, Afghanistan.

PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN

Seberghan, Afghanistan

December 2001

Thousands of Taliban soldiers were transported to a prison in Seberghan controlled by Northern Alliance general Abdul-Rashid Dostum.

At least a thousand of those prisoners died en route to prison, either suffocated in overcrowded trucks or helplessly massacred by vengeful Northern Alliance soldiers.

PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

June 13, 2005

A car bomb, a white Mercedes, exploded next to a primary school in the Yarmouk neighborhood, targeting US vehicles that were carrying an embassy official. 2 US soldiers and 8 Iraqi civilians were wounded. 2 Iraqi police and an Iraqi 12-year old girl, ATHRA ZUGHAYR, were killed. She was the daughter of the school guard; the family lives on site; here her sister (with child) learns the bad news.

PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN

Baghdad, Iraq

April 18, 2003

Iraqis ride a head of Saddam Hussein being dragged by a truck. They are also beating it with shoes, which is considered to be the most insulting gesture in Iraqi society.

Photograph by Alan Chin

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

May 5, 2005

Remains of suicide bomber who killed 15 people in front of Iraqi Army base, of potential recruits awaiting entry.

PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN

The top of the highway through Rocky Mountain National Park.

The day before it snowed three inches.

This story originally aired on This American Life in 1996, but there's a new rant at the end. Music: White Rabbit by Grace Slick, performed by Mayssa Karaa for the American Hustle soundtrack.

Photo by Carlo Nasisse