What's changed in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover?

Episode 445 of the Beyond the Headlines podcast, hosted by The National News, titled "What's changed in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover?" was published on August 15, 2025 and runs 23 minutes.

August 15, 2025 ·23m · Beyond the Headlines

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Summary

Four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan remains in the shadow of that chaotic August day in 2021 when US troops finally withdrew, ending two decades of war. The images from Kabul’s airport are still etched in global memory, as crowds of desperate Afghans clung to departing planes as the US backed government collapsed and the Taliban took full control. Since then, the country is going through a deepening economic crisis and the end of an active conflict. All of this has been worsened by US aid cuts ordered by President Trump’s administration. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher explores what Afghanistan looks like today and examines the impact of America’s policies on its people. She speaks to CNN’s International Correspondent Isobel Yeung who was in Afghanistan recently to investigate this, and Sulaiman bin Shah, the former deputy minister of commerce who is currently in Kabul.

Episode Description

Four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan remains in the shadow of that chaotic August day in 2021 when US troops finally withdrew, ending two decades of war.

The images from Kabul’s airport are still etched in global memory, as crowds of desperate Afghans clung to departing planes as the US backed government collapsed and the Taliban took full control.

Since then, the country is going through a deepening economic crisis and the end of an active conflict. All of this has been worsened by US aid cuts ordered by President Trump’s administration.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher explores what Afghanistan looks like today and examines the impact of America’s policies on its people. She speaks to CNN’s International Correspondent Isobel Yeung who was in Afghanistan recently to investigate this, and Sulaiman bin Shah, the former deputy minister of commerce who is currently in Kabul.