During his two tours in Afghanistan, Ian eavesdropped on the Taliban for hundreds of hours, shared intelligence with various Special Forces units on the ground, and—according to official records—totaled 123 "insurgents EKIA" ("enemies killed in action").

But the more conversations he heard below, the more conflicted he became about his job, the war, the killing, and even his desire to continue living. His increasing linguistic fluency and cultural familiarity had humanized the enemy. It created a "moral injury" that Ian feared would never heal...

In the interview, we talk about Ian's experience learning languages at DLI, his experience as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, what he would do differently if he started a new language from scratch, and his best tips for beginner and intermediate language learners.

Articles, Books & Movies Mentioned

• What I Learned While Eavesdropping on the Taliban

• What the Taliban Told Me

• The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War

• The 13th Warrior

• Harry Potter (Farsi box set)

• Adjective Order in English

Language Institutes & Resources Mentioned

• Defense Language Institute (DLI)

• Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT)

• Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

• Anki (spaced repetition flashcards app)

• italki (1-on-1 online language teachers and tutors)

Languages & Groups Mentioned

• Dari (دری)

• Pashto (پښتو)

• Farsi (فارسی)

• Pashtuns (پښتانه)

• Taliban (طالبان)

United States Air Force Terms

• Direct Support Operator (DSO): Another name for an "Airborne Cryptologic Linguist" (pronounced "Dizzo").

• Joint terminal attack controller (JTAC): Armed forces member who directs military aircraft during close air support.

• Boeing RC-135: A family of large reconnaissance aircraft. Also called the "Rivet Joint" (RJ).

Learn More About Ian

• Website: IanLFritz.com

• Twitter (X): @IanLFritz