Cover of "Peace Meals" by Anna Badkhen

War correspondent Anna Badkhen finds kindness in conflict zones

From: KALW
Length: 08:16

When reporters are sent to cover conflict zones, they focus on doing their job, and getting the story. As any reporter will tell you, it’s never about them. It’s about the people they talk to. But, journalists are often witnessing more than what makes it to the headlines in the middle of the most extreme violence, life is still going on. One journalist who wrote about her experience covering life in the midst of war is Anna Badhken. her most recent book, Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories, chronicles her experiences in conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Somalia. KALW’s Greg Gheorghiu talked to her, and asked her how she first became a war reporter. Read the full description.

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Badkhen_small When reporters are sent to cover conflict zones, they focus on doing their job, and getting the story. As any reporter will tell you, it’s never about them. It’s about the people they talk to. But, journalists are often witnessing more than what makes it to the headlines in the middle of the most extreme violence, life is still going on. One journalist who wrote about her experience covering life in the midst of war is Anna Badhken. her most recent book, Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories, chronicles her experiences in conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Somalia. KALW’s Greg Gheorghiu talked to her, and asked her how she first became a war reporter.

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Piece Description

Broadcast History

KALW 91.7 FM:
February 24, 2011

Transcript

When reporters are sent to cover conflict zones, they focus on doing their job, and getting the story. As any reporter will tell you, it’s never about them. It’s about the people they talk to. But, journalists are often witnessing more than what makes it to the headlines in the middle of the most extreme violence, life is still going on.

One journalist who wrote about her experience covering life in the midst of war is Anna Badhken. her most recent book, Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories, chronicles her experiences in conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Somalia.

KALW’s Greg Gheorghiu talked to her, and asked her how she first became a war reporter.

* * *

ANNA BADKHEN: I went to my first real war in 2001, when the United States went to war in Afghanistan. I was a freelancer at the time, writing mostly for the San Francisco Chronicle....
Read the full transcript