The Longest War: What The Future Holds For Afghanistan's Free Press

This is Part IV in our series The Longest War.

Over the last 20 years, journalists and entrepreneurs like Saad Mohseni have built a free and independent press in Afghanistan.

Mohseni recently told the Journo podcast that the Taliban can’t shut that all down.

“We have to be able to continue whether we’re in Afghanistan or outside Afghanistan. We owe it to the Afghan nation, to our viewers to continue, with both news and our entertainment programs," Mohseni said. "I don’t want to overstate this, but I think media has become the beacon of hope for the country.”

Today, On Point: Our series The Longest War concludes with a look at what the future holds for Afghanistan’s free press and, ultimately, its citizens.

Saad Mohseni, chairman and chief executive of the MOBY Group, an independent media company in Afghanistan. (@saadmohseni)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

Aisha Barakzai, she spent her childhood in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. at age 14.

Dr. Iman Ahmad-Sediqe, sociologist who conducted the first in-depth ethnographic study of the Afghan American diaspora. She lives in Washington, D.C. (@imanistan)

Sana Safi, Afghan broadcast journalist who works for the BBC World Service. (@BBCSanaSafi)

Washington Post: "Opinion: My Afghan news channel won’t stop its important work. We hope the world doesn’t look away." — "The streets of Kabul have been swept by fear and panic since the Taliban arrived and took control of the government this week."