Before Martyrdom, Breakfast

Flagg Miller, of the U. of California at Davis, has listened to hundreds of audio tapes that once belonged to Osama bin Laden. It’s the everyday conversations among jihadis that he finds the most interesting.

For the past seven years, Mr. Miller, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of California at Davis, has been poring over hundreds of audio tapes that were part of Osama bin Laden’s personal collection. Some of the tapes feature jihadis making small talk, cooking breakfast, laughing at each other’s lame jokes—not exactly riveting material. But listen closely and they start to get interesting.

It begins with mysterious hissing and popping noises. When he first heard it, Mr. Miller imagined militants in a remote outpost fixing a communications balloon or perfecting some as-yet-unknown terrorist weapon. Turns out, they are making eggs. They are having a hard time, too—the kerosene stove is being uncooperative.

I seek God’s forgiveness.Read more at chronicle.com