A young radio producer in Afghanistan is given an impossible task: to create a brand new, revolutionary talent show in just two months. ... 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. Music at the end of this episode from Afghan musician Qais Maroof, contestant on The Voice of Afghanistan. Like what you hear? Follow us...

From the fall of the Taliban until its return, people all over Afghanistan planned their lives around Afghan Star. People would pack into apartments. Villages would hook up generators to a single tv so crowds could watch. New Year’s celebrations would come to a halt, all to watch this one show. Over its 15 seasons, Afghan Star spotlighted an Afghanistan that could be: women singing without hijabs, Afghanistan’s first rapper, people of warring ethnic groups hugging and cheering for each other...

Check out this new podcast from Mangesh's good friend and collaborator Jo Piazza!  Every family has an origin story – for author Jo Piazza (Under the Influence, Wilder) her family's is a murder mystery. For as long as she can remember the Piazzas have told the story of their Sicilian roots going back over a hundred years ago: one by one the sons and then their father sailed off to America to carve out a better life. Their mother, Lorenza Marsala was supposed to join them – but she never made...

What is it like to shadow Elon Musk for two years? To sit courtside as he builds a rocket? Or tears apart an engineer? Or couch surfs at the homes of billionaires? And how on earth do you make sense of it all? Walter Isaacson is the biographer of giants: DaVinci, Franklin, Doudna, Jobs...and now Musk, former enfante terrible, rocket launcher, electric car innovator, and Twitter—er, X—disruptor, to put it gently. In this four part series, author Evan Ratliff (Mastermind, Longform Podcast) sits...

They seemed like superheroes. When a group called the Love Commandos leapt into the public eye in India, they pledged to do something that most government agencies and police departments couldn't do: protect and shelter young lovers on the run. Our friends over at NPR's Rough Translation in their final season takes us on a rare look inside that secret shelter with its strange mix of revolutionary ideas, petty grievances and old traditions that die hard. The stories from couples who lived...

Vassilis Palaikostas, aka “Greece’s Robin Hood” has been on the lam for 14 years. In his absence, legends of his generosity have grown. But no one knows where he is, or if the stories are even true.  Here’s what we do know: there’s a million Euro bounty out for Vassilis, and a 24-hour task force trying to track him down. When he robs banks, he shares the money with the poor. When he kidnaps industrialists-- and he only kidnaps those who are known for unfair labor practices-- they give...

Miles and the team learn how Vassilis and his gang pulled off the biggest bank robbery in Greek history without firing a single shot. Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When music promoter and DJ Jean-Claude Olivier is shot outside a club in Miami, Little Haiti wonders – how much further is this going to go? Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this final episode, Mangesh makes some trips to an old family home, a seaside town in South Goa,  and visits with a Tantric astrologer (it's not what you think!), as he tries to get closure.    We made you a mixtape. Listen to Sounds from Skyline Drive Vol 1 and Vol 2.  Episode Transcript: tinyurl.com/skylinedrive8   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Mangesh travels to India to find a horoscope written about him centuries ago and waiting for him in a shop in rural Tamil Nadu... but it isn't long before everything starts going wrong!  Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Vol 1 and Vol 2 Episode transcript: tinyurl.com/skylinedrive7   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Traveling at five miles a second, 250 miles above the Earth’s surface, Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev wakes to a message from his handlers on the ground: the Soviet Union is collapsing. And so is the Soviet Space agency. You have a choice: come down as planned and abandon the world’s only space station to an unknown fate. Or stay, protect the final outpost of a falling empire and risk your life?  Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Twitter and Instagram.  See...

For Jan and Monica, astrology isn't just a hobby; it's a big part of their family identity. And also, it helps them schedule haircuts!      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As George navigates the Los Angeles dating scene, one thing keeps derailing his relationships: every girl he’s into is "too into astrology." Plus, Mangesh’s mom tells him about a bizarre curse that’s been plaguing his family for generations, and we discuss why your astrologer might ask you to get married to a tree.    Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Episode transcript: bit.ly/skylinedrive_6   Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and Twitter. See...

As Annie attempts to clean out her parents’ garage and sort their finances, she has an unusual question for our astrologer. Meanwhile, Mangesh learns how astrology is affecting the world of C-sections, discusses reading babies' palms in utero, and hears a surprising story from his sister.   PLEASE NOTE: there are explicit lyrics and curses in this episode. (Keep your hands over your kiddos’ ears! Or hit pause until they walk out of the room.)    Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Episode...

As a child preacher in a Baptist church, Sam grew up believing that astrology was a sin. Then a chance encounter in a bookstore made him see things differently.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's mini-episode, Mangesh spends time with Maxine Taylor, CNN's first astrologer, and proposes putting her on a postage stamp.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle’s friends are desperate to get her a reading. But all she wants is a peek into her favorite band BTS’ future. Plus, we dig into baseball astrology, and discover why you might consider trading in your emeralds for bananas.    LINKS:  Janelle Belgrave: our wonderful house astrologer for this series. You can reach her here.  Dr. Divya: a caring numerologist who determines how your numbers match up with the stars and picks the ideal days for you to work, rest, and launch shows on (we...

Mangesh and Mary dig into the bizarre astrology scandal that rocked Ronald Reagan’s final year in office. Plus, they mine through old Johnny Carson clips and read way too many Presidential biographies.  Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Episode transcript: bit.ly/skylinedrive_3  Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Jean, a 74-year old romantic who decides she's finally open to astrology as she works to rebuild her life. Meanwhile, NYC astrologer Janelle Belgrave joins the team to offer some much-needed counsel; we interview a midwestern therapist who secretly uses astrology to better understand her clients, and Mangesh and his family hold on to hope in the face of some alarming news.    Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Episode transcript: bit.ly/skylinedrive_2   Like what you hear? Follow...

Mangesh begins his journey into the weird, wonderful world of astrology with a little help from: his mom, a science writer, a famous musician, and one very sneaky author! But when an ominous prediction suddenly comes true, his life turns upside down.   We made you a mixtape! Listen Sounds from Skyline Drive here!  For more information on Dr. Kumar, visit his website.  A transcript of this episode is located here.     Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and...

Introducing Skyline Drive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.