Episode 51 : Travel journalist Mike No Go Zones

The Afghanistan Project Podcast

Welcome to Episode 51 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Today’s guest, Mike No Go Zones, is a YouTuber and independent journalist who takes his viewers to the places around the country and world that we’re often urged to avoid.

In March 2021, Mike traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, capturing some of the last moments of relative freedom the inhabitants of the city experienced before the country came under Taliban rule just five months later.

Mike and I talk about his trip, getting into some of the corruption and dysfunction he witnessed that he was not able to show on camera, and talking about families and individuals he met who have been deeply impacted by the country’s return to Taliban rule. We juxtapose a lot of the realities he witnessed, versus the realities of today.

Mike and I also talk about the other YouTubers who have traveled to Kabul since August 2021, and who in so doing have effectively shilled for the Talib by portraying the view the new rulers allow them to see: a “safe” country with boundless beauty. Unfortunately, these travelers never mention the realities of life under the Taliban that the average Afghan faces – particularly the hell that Afghan women have been cast into since losing access to education, the ability to appear in public without an escort, and often work, among a plethora of other heinous human rights violations they have faced.

Mentioned in the episode:

Mike No Go Zones visits Kabul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaPDTtT5UQ

ASEEL App, where listeners can send aid to Afghans: https://aseelapp.com/do-good

About Mike No Go Zones:

Follow Mike on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikenogozones

on X: https://www.twitter.com/mnogozones or on his website: https://www.mikenogozones.com/

About the hosts:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram or X ⁠@BWBailey85⁠.

Mikael Cook was an Army non-commissioned officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He was an active member of the #DigitalDunkirk movement to evacuate our Afghan allies in August of 2021. You can follow him on Instagram or X ⁠@Mikaelcook89⁠.

For Afghan listeners:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [e-mail]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.