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The Jefferson Exchange

A Reporter Investigates His Own Afghan Kidnapping

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U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Wardak Province.
Army/Public Domain

Jere Van Dyk knows Afghanistan well from decades of covering the news there.  But his vast knowledge did not protect him from kidnapping; he was taken in 2008. 

45 days later, he was free... and not sure why.  He decided to investigate the odd circumstances of his release, a story he tells in The Trade: My Journey into the Labyrinth of Political Kidnapping

The title is not applied casually... kidnapping is indeed a business in Afghanistan.  The author joins us with details of what he found out. 

 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.
April Ehrlich is JPR content partner at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Prior to joining OPB, she was a regional reporter at Jefferson Public Radio where she won a National Edward R. Murrow Award.