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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    The Real-Life Reporter Behind 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'

    Tina Fey’s character in her new film, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on the real-life journalist Kim Barker. She served as the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune From 2004 to 2009. During that time she covered the war in Afghanistan and also reported from Pakistan.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Barbara Bogaev • Mar 3, 2016 • 1 min read

    Tina Fey’s character in her new film, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on the real-life journalist Kim Barker. She served as the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune From 2004 to 2009. During that time she covered the war in Afghanistan and also reported from Pakistan. She wrote about her experiences in her book The Taliban Shuffle, which came out in 2011. It’s a darkly comic memoir recounting life in the so-called “Kabubble,” the Kabul enclave of journalists, government officials, NGO workers, fixers and others brought together by war. Eventually, Tina Fey convinced Paramount Pictures to option the memoir.

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    The Rodney King Beating 25 Years Later; and the Real Life 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'
    1. 0:32Police Brutality and Rodney King, 25 Years Later
    2. 10:32The Power of Hashtag Activism
    3. 19:48Web Roundup: Apple v. FBI
    4. 28:48The Real-Life Reporter Behind 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'You’re reading this
    5. 43:08The Craziest Ballot Proposals of 2016
    • KCRW placeholder

      Barbara Bogaev

      radio journalist

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jolie Myers

      Managing Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kim Barker

      author, 'The Taliban Shuffle'; ProPublica

      News

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    The Rodney King Beating 25 Years Later; and the Real Life 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'
    1. 0:32Police Brutality and Rodney King, 25 Years Later
    2. 10:32The Power of Hashtag Activism
    3. 19:48Web Roundup: Apple v. FBI
    4. 28:48The Real-Life Reporter Behind 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'You’re reading this
    5. 43:08The Craziest Ballot Proposals of 2016
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand