The podcast phenomenon Serial has returned as a high-profile platform for Bowe Bergdahl, the US army sergeant who spent five years in Taliban captivity after vanishing from his post in Afghanistan, to speak publicly about his alleged desertion for the first time.

The first episode appeared on the podcast's website early Thursday morning. Titled DUSTWUN, it begins by examining a video of Bergdahl's release.

The podcast opens by describing a video, produced by the Taliban and played by nearly every major newscast at the time, of Bergdahl, head shaved and blinking in the sun, boarding a Black Hawk helicopter with US soldiers.

The story then cuts to pundits after questions about Bergdahl's disappearance arose.