Bowe Bergdahl explains why he walked away in 'Serial' Season 2

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The Season 2 premier of hit podcast Serial features a rare phone interview with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held hostage by the Taliban for five years.

During the episode, released early Thursday, the former Taliban hostage talks about the reasons he walked away from his military post in Afghanistan in the middle of the night in June 2009.

Berdahl's story of alleged desertion, detainment and ultimate freedom to return to the United States will be the podcast's focus this season.

Host Sarah Koenig opens the episode by describing in detail the first images of Bergdahl during the Taliban-recorded video of his release, shown below.

"I'm going, 'I'm in over my head,'" Bergdahl is recorded saying over the phone to screenwriter Mark Boal of his thoughts just after leaving his post and entering the desert. "Suddenly, it really starts to sink in that I really did something bad -- or, not bad, but I really did something serious."

In 2014, after five years in captivity, Bergdahl was released in exchange for a handful of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The controversial decision caused Bergdahl's return to prompt mixed public feelings, as some claimed he was a deliberate deserter, and so, a criminal.

Koenig explained the "bare-boned" reasoning behind Bergdahl's decision to step away into the Afghan wilderness, saying the sergeant wanted to call attention to his witnessing of "bad" leadership practices.

"Bowe says what he was trying to do was to cause a 'DUSTWUN,'" Koenig said. The term is directly associated with a specific radio signal aired when a soldier goes missing from his post. "Bowe formulated a plan. He would create a crisis, a 'DUSTWUN' in order to call attention to another crisis."

This season of Serial will take advantage of about 25 hours of taped conversations between screenwriter Boal and Bergdahl. Bergdahl has refused to talk to the media, but Koenig reports he has given Serial permission to use the tapes.

The podcast's first season, quickly named one of the most popular podcasts of all time, covered the investigation of the 1999 murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee in Baltimore, Md.

Season 2 will consist of about eight to 10 episodes, Koenig said.