Intro

Since the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, last month, many have wondered what kind of rulers they will be.

The memory of the Taliban of the 1990s — the public executions, the whippings in the streets and the harsh rules preventing women from leaving the house unaccompanied — has filled some with fear.

This time around, what will their rule mean for ordinary Afghans?

Guest: Matthieu Aikins, a writer based in Afghanistan for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Since the fall of Kabul, Taliban officials have been scrambling to take up the functions of government.
• When the last of the American troops left Afghanistan, the Taliban celebrated victory. But the scenes of triumph were clouded by the prospect of famine and financial collapse.

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