In this episode of Slate’s Serial Spoiler Special, Gabe and Katy discuss Serial’s “Trade Secrets” episode, which describes how the effort to free Bowe Bergdahl fit into the larger U.S. diplomatic mission in Afghanistan.

As always with Slate’s Spoiler Specials, this is meant to be heard after you’ve caught up with the work under discussion. We’ll be discussing new episodes of Serial as they are released, and we hope you’ll join us. After you’ve listened, let us know what you think about this season of Serial by emailing serialspoilerspecial@gmail.com.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and find previous episodes in our archive. You’ll also find them—along with additional writing and commentary about the show—at www.slate.com/serial.