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Consume This is a Gold Award-winning podcast. It’s brought to you by Consumer NZ, hosted by Jon Duffy and Sophie Richardson.

Our goal is to help you navigate the increasingly complex world we live in. For the most part we all want to make good, well-informed decisions, but it can be difficult to know what they are. We’re constantly bombarded with conflicting articles, news bulletins, social media posts and research reports. Throw in marketing and ad campaigns and it’s practically impossible to keep up. You can’t be an expert in everything. You shouldn’t have to be. And let’s face it, you’ve got other things to be getting on with. 

That’s where we come in. Consume This is designed – or as one of those ad campaigns would say, specially formulated – to provide you with impartial, entertaining and actionable information. We cover the topics that you’ve told us you care about. Things that will actually make your life better and provide a window into our culture along the way.  

All the views and opinions expressed in the programme are the hosts’ own and do not represent those of any employers, institutions or organisations they are affiliated with, unless explicitly stated. At least for Sophie, Jon's the Consumer CE so... All views and opinions are expressed in good faith. 

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The speed of the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021 took the world by surprise. Now there is uncertainty and fear among many Afghans - what will Taliban rule look like? What will become of their country?

The Taliban took control of Kabul just weeks before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the event that led to the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 and the Taliban’s fall. It was hoped this would be a new beginning, bringing peace to a country that had known nothing but war since the Soviets invaded 20 years earlier. After 2001, there was a new constitution and elections; women returned to parliament, girls returned to school and civil society flourished. But there was also a resurgence in violence. And now, with the last American soldier gone and the Taliban back in power, many Afghans are fearful for the future.

The BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet has followed every twist and turn of the Afghan story. In this landmark series of interviews for the BBC World Service, she hears from Afghans how the last 20 years have shaped them: their dreams for a new future and their fears that the cycle of violence will never stop.

Afghans have a word which seems to capture this moment: kashke. It's a word that conveys sadness, regret and hope, roughly translating as "if only", which is why we've called this series A Wish for Afghanistan.