Almostexactlytwentyyearsago, detainee244 gottransferredtoGuantanamoBay. CapturedbyAmericanforcesatthebattle ToraBorafivemonthsprevious,AbdulLatifNasserwasshaved,hooded,shackled,diapered,andflownhalfwayacrosstheworld.

TheRadiolabspecialseries, TheOtherLatif,kickedoffwhenoneofourhosts,LatifNasser,madeabizarreandshockingdiscovery.Heshareshisnamewithdetainee244.AmantheU.S.governmentpaintsaterrifyingpictureofasAl-Qaeda’stopexplosivesexpert,andoneofthemostimportantadvisorstoOsamabinLaden.Nasser’slawyerclaims,ontheotherhand,thathewasatthewrongplaceatthewrongtime,andthathewasnevereveninAl-Qaeda.Thisclash launched ourLatifintoayears-longinvestigation,pickingapartevidence,attemptingtoseparatefactfromfiction,andtryingtouncoverwhatthemanwithwhomhesharesanameactuallydidordidn’tdo.Alongtheway,Radiolab’sLatifreflectsonAmericanvaluesandhisownreligiouspast,andwondershowafellownerdy,suburbanMuslimkid,mayhavegonedownsuchastrikinglydifferentpath.

Episode5:Cuba-ish 

TomarkthesolemnoccasionoftheotherLatif'stransferto,"thelegalequivalentofouterspace,"we thoughtwe'd replayCuba-ish,thefifthepisodeofourspecialserieswhichfirstairedbackin2020.Inthisepisode,ourLatifheadstoGuantanamoBaytotrytospeaktohisnamesake.Beforehegetsthere,he divesdeep,seekingtheanswertowhatseemslikeasimplequestion:whyCuba?WhyintheworlddidtheUnitedStatespickthissleepymilitarybaseintheCaribbeantohouse“theworstoftheworst”?  SupportRadiolabbybecomingamemberofTheLabtoday.    

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