Saad Mohseni joins Rory Stewart to share the story of his twenty-year struggle to build a free press in Afghanistan – and reveal a stunning portrait of the resilience of the Afghan people.

‘Saad Mohseni is one of the most remarkable figures in modern Afghanistan – brave, entrepreneurial, with a knack for imagining the impossible – he transformed the Afghan media landscape […] in the most testing circumstances imaginable.’ –  Rory Stewart

In the early days of the American occupation, at the dawn of a new Afghanistan, investment banker Saad Mohseni made what seemed like a quixotic decision to leave the comforts of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings.

This unlikely venture blossomed into a burgeoning television empire whose radio and television networks became a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans, who relied on them not just for independent news but for joys like Afghan Star, a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music.

Now Saad Mohseni joins Rory Stewart live in London to share his story, which continues to unfold today in the Moby offices of Kabul where hundreds of men and women continue to bring programmes and news to the country. Together, Rory and Saad will present a vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil, poised between despair and hope.

Tickets to this event are half price for members to How To +, and members can also watch the livestream for free.

Praise for Saad Mohseni’s Radio Free Afghanistan:

‘Radio Free Afghanistan is the extraordinary memoir of a remarkable man […] more than any other book, it reveals the reasons for the failure of the western attempt to impose democracy in Afghanistan and gives an incredibly intimate portrait of the men who have shaped that tragic history.’ – William Dalrymple