Monuments Woman
Monuments Woman
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    • Home
    • About
    • Episodes
    • Featuring
    • Press
    • Blog
    • Gallery
    • Video
    • Reviews
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Featuring
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Video
  • Reviews

Episodes 1–10

The Reluctant Monuments Woman


Host and oral historian George Gavrilis introduces the podcast featuring American archaeologist Laura Tedesco's 11-year journey to help protect and preserve Afghanistan's cultural heritage.     


July 6, 2021

Introduction (2 min)


Troubletown


Laura, our archaeologist, arrives in Kabul jet-lagged and without a plan. Her job is to help preserve Afghanistan's vast archaeological and historical treasures. Money is no object. But where do you even start?     


July 6, 2021

Episode 1 (22 min)


Two Lone Minarets


Laura, in flak jacket and helmet, heads to Ghazni, a city whose rich history is matched by crushing poverty. Two ancient minarets just outside the city become the focus of her attention. Rocket attacks and punishing heat prove challenging, but not insurmountable.     


July 13, 2021

Episode 2 (31 min)


A Seat at the Table


Laura takes another swipe at the dreaded podcast title before she continues the story of Ghazni and why the work to preserve culture and history mattered.     


July 20, 2021

Episode 3 (27 min)


What Would You Save? 


Laura shows up at the national museum in Kabul. What she finds inside the building moves her and begins a saga to set the stage for building a new museum for the nation.     


July 27, 2021

Episode 4 (24 min)


The Once and Future Museum


Laura and George discuss the competition to design a new national museum in Afghanistan. But will the winner become the loser?     


August 3, 2021

Episode 5 (19 min)


Digging Up Rocks


Back in South Carolina, George, our host, asks Laura's daughter what she thought about mom spending so much time in Afghanistan.     


August 10, 2021

Episode 6 (22 min)


We Will Not Look Away


A message from the host of Monuments Woman to our Afghan friends and colleagues.     


August 17, 2021

Special Message (1 min)


Caravan of Kuchis


Laura makes a surreal journey to Mes Aynak, Afghanistan's largest Buddhist archaeological site not far from Kabul. George suggests a motto for Afghanistan's tourism industry.     


August 24, 2021

Episode 7 (31 min)


It's Not Either / Or 


The story of Mes Aynak continues as George and Laura ask: does Afghanistan have to eliminate a chapter of its history to become less poor? And Laura gets personal and talks about how she avoided becoming a cat lady.     


August 31, 2021

Episode 8 (23 min)


Folks Are Scared


In this 3rd part of the story of Mes Aynak, Laura and George talk about past and present, and the stunning exhibit of artifacts at the National Museum in 2011. But the conversation turns dark as they face the reality of the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.     


September 7, 2021

Episode 9 (27 min)


People, People, People


Laura had an idea: a book on heritage work across Afghanistan, that tells the stories of how Afghans live and observe the archaeology and history around them. This book has become a document of what might be lost in the years ahead, now that the Taliban have taken over the country.     


September 14, 2021

Episode 10 (33 min)
Next episodes, 11–20
Next episodes, 21–28


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