Kim Barker, author of 'The Taliban Shuffle'

For almost five years, Kim Barker was the South Asia bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, directing coverage of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, meaning she was more at home in a plane than anywhere else. She covered natural disasters like the tsunami in Asia and the earthquake in Kashmir. She tracked manmade disasters – the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the corruption in Afghanistan, the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

During this week's program, Kim Barker talks about her addiction to living in and reporting from war zones. She also reads a disturbing excerpt from the book, in which U.S. troops attempt to train police recruits in Afghanistan.

Bittersweet and unforgettable, Barker's book The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a record of her experiences, one that captures the absurdity and tragedy of our modern wars.

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