Afghan Star, hosted by John Legend – Details, episodes & analysis
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Afghan Star, hosted by John Legend
Kaleidoscope
Frequency: 1 episode/12d. Total Eps: 9
Hosted by John Legend this is the story of a TV show that changed a country.
When the Taliban banned music in Afghanistan the country was plunged into silence. But there were people who fought back. Who smuggled cassette tapes and VCRs into the country. Who danced at secret house parties. And risked death just to watch their favorite Bollywood movies. And then those same people set up a radical new tv show. It was called AFGHAN STAR– an American Idol, but for Afghanistan.
The show sparked a cultural revolution. People marched through the streets campaigning for their favorite contestants. In villages, they’d huddle around a single tv to watch. And the country changed: women took the spotlight and danced and sang on stage. But AFGHAN STAR was so successful the show became a lightning rod for a resurgent Taliban. The Taliban hated everything the show represented. The singing, the dancing, the women. And so they started a campaign against AFGHAN STAR. They threatened the contestants, they issued fatwas and eventually placed a bomb on a bus filled with the show's producers.
This is the story of a tv show that transformed a country and group of young producers faced with an impossible choice …between protecting the show they built and staying alive.
Recent rankings
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Apple Podcasts
🇬🇧 Great Britain - performingArts
23/04/2026#61🇬🇧 Great Britain - performingArts
14/03/2026#69🇬🇧 Great Britain - performingArts
29/01/2026#71🇫🇷 France - performingArts
07/01/2026#94🇫🇷 France - performingArts
06/01/2026#81🇫🇷 France - performingArts
05/01/2026#64🇫🇷 France - performingArts
04/01/2026#55🇫🇷 France - performingArts
03/01/2026#35🇫🇷 France - performingArts
02/01/2026#19🇬🇧 Great Britain - performingArts
27/12/2025#78
Spotify
No recent rankings available
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
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See all- https://omnystudio.com/listener
1131410 shares
- http://www.awastudios.com/afghanstar
16 shares
- https://www.instagram.com/kscope_nyc
29 shares
RSS feed quality and score
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See allScore global : 63%
Publication history
Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.
Curtains
Season 1 · Episode 8
mercredi 3 juillet 2024 • Duration 37:57
As the Taliban returns, Massood Sanjer - the head of TOLO TV - has to make a decision. Should he do what they want and take Afghan Star off the air, or keep fighting for the revolution he helped start.
...
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Exodus
Season 1 · Episode 7
mercredi 26 juin 2024 • Duration 27:57
Aryana Sayeed is doubling down on her life in Kabul while all around her, the Taliban are closing in.
...
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Bomb
Season 1 · Episode 6
mercredi 19 juin 2024 • Duration 29:14
Afghanistan’s biggest popstar leads the fight against the Taliban. And then one January day, a bomb goes off on a bus in Kabul, and nothing about the show– or the country– will ever be the same again
...
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Devil’s Star
Season 1 · Episode 5
mercredi 12 juin 2024 • Duration 31:07
As the show’s producers take a dangerous trip to recruit talent from across the country, Afghan Star becomes a target for a resurgent Taliban.
...
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Dance
Season 1 · Episode 4
mercredi 5 juin 2024 • Duration 26:11
Setara Hussainzada is one of the first women to make it to the final rounds of Afghan Star. It’s a triumph. And then she does something that puts her life – and the lives of everyone who makes the show – at risk.
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bigger than an Election
Season 1 · Episode 3
mercredi 29 mai 2024 • Duration 36:45
As the sole breadwinner for his family, Shakib Hamdard struggles to provide for his mom and sisters. But everything changes when the young taxi driver finds himself at the very first audition for Afghan Star.
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Angels Of Peace
Season 1 · Episode 2
mercredi 22 mai 2024 • Duration 39:20
Daoud Sediqi grows up in an Afghanistan full of music and movies. Then the Taliban arrive and Daoud becomes a revolutionary on the frontline of the cultural war.
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lights, Camera, Action
Season 1 · Episode 1
mercredi 15 mai 2024 • Duration 43:21
A young radio producer in Afghanistan is given an impossible task: to create a brand new, revolutionary talent show in just two months.
Music at the end of this episode from Afghan musician Qais Maroof, contestant on The Voice of Afghanistan.
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introducing: Afghan Star, hosted by John Legend
lundi 1 avril 2024 • Duration 03:39
In Afghanistan, a cultural revolution was televised through a musical talent show, and this is its story.
To purchase original Afghan Star artwork visit www.awastudios.com/afghanstar — proceeds go to support The Noor Initiative, who are on a mission to ensure every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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