It’s been five years since the world watched as Kabul fell and the Taliban seized the city. But the image of thousands of civilians desperately trying to leave Afghanistan, some even clinging on to the side of aircraft as they departed Hamid Karzai International Airport, never quite leaves you. Reflecting on that moment in history today, in an exclusive excerpt from their new book, The Last Free Women, are former New York Times editor Rebecca Blumenstein and journalist Diana Kapp. In a gripping account, Blumenstein recalls in harrowing detail how the Times worked under extreme and extraordinary circumstances in their historic evacuation of their Afghan colleagues and their families. This chapter, and the entire book, is, without a doubt, a must-read.
Elsewhere in the magazine today, ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, VF’s Chris Smith writes about how Zohran Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor, is poised to navigate the tensions surrounding the “sensitive moment” this Friday. | 
